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January 21, 2017 JTTM Weekly No. 255

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

January 21, 2017
JTTM Weekly No. 255

The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.)

Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@memri.org. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Al-Sahab Media Releases Video Of Al-Zawahiri Commemorating Prominent Jihadi Figures

On January 17, 2017, Al-Sahab, the media arm of Al-Qaeda, released Part I of a video series featuring the group's leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, commemorating, eulogizing, and recounting stories of three prominent jihadi scholars: the late head of the Shura Council of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Abu Al-Hassan Rashid Al-Bulaidi, killed in December 2015; the late Jabhat Al-Nusra spokesman, Abu Firas Al-Suri, killed in April 2016; and veteran jihadi figure Sheikh Rifai Taha.

 

EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Publishes Guidelines For Sarin Gas Attacks Highlighting Dangers, Symptoms, Safety Measures

Issue 64 of ISIS's weekly newspaper Al-Naba', which was released on January 19, 2017, featured guidelines on use of Sarin gas, including its dangers and characteristics, the symptoms of exposure, and the safety guidelines to follow in case of a chemical attack. Links to the latest issue of the newspaper were posted on dozens of pro-ISIS Telegram channels.

 

EXCLUSIVE: JFS Claims Its Fighters Carried Out Deep-Strike Operation, Double Suicide Attacks Against Russian Military Consultants In Damascus

On January 18, 2017, the Syria-based jihadi group Jabhat Fath Al-Sham (JFS), formerly known as Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN), released a statement noting that two of its fighters had carried out a deep-strike operation and a double suicide attack against Russian military consultants inside the security complex in Kafr Sousa, Damascus.

 

AQIM Claims Responsibility For Deadly Attack Against Malian Forces In Gao, Mali, Threatens Further Attacks Against 'Crusader Occupiers'

On January 18, 2017, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a statement claiming responsibility for a martyrdom attack that targeted a military camp run by France and MINUSMA (the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali) in Gao, Mali, earlier that day.

 

 

Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Releases Video Titled 'The Truth About Chinese Media'

On January 18, 2017, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) Telegram channel released a 50-minute video by the Uyghur jihad group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) that focused on China's media apparatus and the oppression of the ethnic Uyghurs by the Chinese in East Turkestan (Xinjiang province) in western China.

 

Interview With Syria-Based British Rebel Fighter Published By Fursan Al Sham Media

On January 14, 2017, an interview with a British fighter named Abu Bakr Al-Britani was posted on Fursan Al Sham Media's Telegram channel. Fursan Al Sham Media supports rebel groups such as Jaysh Fath Al-Sham. Recently, the media group shared articles from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Risalah magazine. It should be noted that the group claims that it is not affiliated with any organization.

 

AQIM Claims Rocket Attack On French Forces In Timbuktu Airport

On January 15, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for a January 13 rocket attack on French military forces stationed at Timbuktu airport in Mali. The message, posted on AQIM's official Telegram channel, states that the attack was carried out in response to the Africa-France summit that convened in Bamako that day, and was intended to convey to the French "Crusaders" that they would not be safe anywhere as long as their troops remained in Mali.

 

GIMF Release Video Featuring Final Message, Execution Of Ugandan POW

On September 17, 2017, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) released a video on its Telegram channel featuring Ugandan hostage Masassa M.Y., who was captured by the Somali jihadi group Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen in September 2015 at Janaale in Somalia.

 

As It Loses Ground In Mosul, ISIS Releases Video Showing New Volunteers Joining Its Ranks

A short ISIS video shows new volunteers, some of them very young, joining the ranks of the organization in Mosul. Released by ISIS's media wing Al-A'maq on January 15, 2017 and distributed via Telegram, the video, some 2:30 minutes long, is presumably meant to improve morale among the fighters of the organization, which has lost ground and suffered heavy losses in the city in the last few weeks.

ISIS Weekly Publishes Second Article On Countering Drones, Spies In Urban Areas

Issue 63 of the Islamic State (ISIS) weekly Al-Naba' featured an article that presented various Operations Security (OPSEC) measures for the mujahideen to follow in countering drones and spy surveillance in urban environments.

 

Article In ISIS Magazine Rumiyah Justifies The Killing Of Women And Children

On January 6, 2017, the Islamic state (ISIS) released the fifth issue of its magazine Rumiyah ("Rome"), which is produced by the organization's media wing Al-Hayat and comes out in several languages including French, German, Russian and Turkish. The English-language edition of this issue includes an article titled "Collateral Carnage," which presents quotes from the Koran and Hadith to justify killing the enemy's women and children, especially in the course of attacks in the West. Articles like this one, especially in ISIS's non-Arabic magazines, play an important part encouraging ISIS supporters to carry out attacks despite possible damage to innocents.

 

Issue 5 Of ISIS's 'Rumiyah' Magazine Presents Religious Justification For Burning Prisoners Alive

The Islamic State's Rumiyah magazine is published in several languages, including French, German, Russian and Turkish. The fifth issue of the magazine is largely devoted to matters having to do with fire and burning. One article addresses the topic of arson as a form of terror; another, titled "Flames of Justice," presents religious justification for burning prisoners alive in retribution for their participation in the attacks of the anti-ISIS coalition. It should be noted that on December 22, 2016 ISIS released a video showing the execution of two Turkish soldiers by fire. This was the third official ISIS video of this sort, the first was the video showing the execution of the Jordanian pilot Mu'adh Al-Kasasbeh in February 2015.

 

Fifth Issue of ISIS Magazine 'Rumiyah' Offers Operational Advice For The Use Of Arson As Terror Tactic

On January 6, 2017, the Islamic state (ISIS) released the fifth issue of its English-language magazine Rumiyah [Rome], which is produced by the organization's media wing Al-Hayat and comes out in several languages including French, German, Russian and Turkish. The issue features the third part of an article series titled "Just Terror" offering operational instructions for carrying out lone-wolf attacks on behalf of the organization. This installation of the series is devoted to arson attacks, modeled on attacks that occurred recently in Israel. A photo that accompanies the article features a Baptist church in Texas as an example of a suitable target.

 

ISIS Turkish-Language Nasheed Promises More Attacks Against Turkey

On January 16, 2017, ISIS's Al-Furat media company released a nasheed (Islamic song) in Turkish that threatened Turkey with more attacks and retaliatory actions by the Islamic State. Titled "Soon, Soon," the nasheed is accompanied by a video featuring archival ISIS content such as gory beheadings and executions of prisoners and martyrdom attacks carried out by the group. The nasheed promises to bring about all those and more to Turkey.

 

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