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: Boko Haram's First Message In French Threatens Christians In West Africa
On March 17, 2017, the jihadi group Boko Haram, also known as the West Africa province of the Islamic State (ISIS), released a new video message by its leader Abu Bakr Shekau. The message also included an unprecedented message in French by a French-speaking African fighter, in which he threatens the Christians in the area.
EXCLUSIVE: Abu Qatada Al-Falastini To Uyghurs: Jihad Is Obligatory Upon You Everywhere
The 20th issue of Turkestan Al-Islamiyyah, an Arabic-language magazine put out by the primarily Uyghur group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), published a religious decree (fatwa) issued by the prominent Salafi-jihadi cleric Abu Qatada Al-Falastini, who lives in Jordan. In the fatwa, Abu Qatada seeks to dispel the notion among some Uyghur jihadis that jihad is not obligatory upon them personally outside of their homeland of eastern Turkestan.
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity/sympathies.
Platform: Facebook
Type of account: ISIS sympathizer, and radical.
On March 22, 2017, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) hacking entity United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) released a video on its Telegram channel detailing the group's structure and calling for other Muslim hackers to join its ranks.
On March 20, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Raqqa province released a video that highlights ISIS's efforts to indoctrinate Muslims, particularly children, living in its territories.
ISIS Ninawa Video Reaffirms Group's Determination To Continue Fighting Over Mosul
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On March 18, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Ninawa province released a video documenting some of the group's ongoing operations and battles in Mosul.
Al-Qaeda General Command Welcomes New Union Of Sahel Jihadi Groups
On March 19, 2017, Al-Qaeda's General Command issued a communiqué congratulating its affiliates in Mali and the Sahel for establishing a united front called Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims).
On March 17, 2017 Al-Andalus, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), released a statement in which the group's leader, Abu Mus'ab 'Abd Al-Wadood, commended the recently-formed Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen – "Group for Supporting Islam and Muslims" (GSIM) – as a result of a merger of four Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.
In a March 17, 2017 audio message on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Syrian revolution, the leader of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), Hashem Al-Sheikh, praised those who have sacrificed their lives for the revolution and said that their sacrifice obliges HTS to realize the goal they had pursued.
French-Speaking ISIS Operative On Telegram Threatens The West, Says 'France Will Shake'
On March 18, 2017 a French-speaking Islamic state (ISIS) operative published a message on Telegram threatening that ISIS operatives are ready to carry out attacks in the West, especially in France.
Female Dutch ISIS Members And Male Fighter Active On Facebook
A group of Dutch female ISIS members in Syria interact with one another on Facebook. They occasionally upload photos of food, their surroundings, and their children. The Dutch women interact with numerous women who are still located in the Netherlands. The following report will include posts from several Facebook accounts.
On March 22, 2017, the Islamic State Nashir News Agency posted a message to ISIS media supporters and disseminators encouraging them to keep fighting the media war and thanking them for their contributions. The message stressed that their role in the cyber battlefield is no less important than a fighter's role in an actual battlefield.
ISIS Publishes Photo Of U.S. Drone It Claims To Have Downed In Afghanistan
On March 23, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Khurasan (Afghanistan) province published a photo of a U.S. reconnaissance drone it claimed to have downed in Dih Bala District, Nangarhar.
Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Releases Part 21 In Its 'Lovers Of Paradise' Video Series
On March 17, 2017, the Syrian branch of the Uyghur jihad group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) released part 21 in its "Lovers Of Paradise" video series. The series commemorates TIP fighters who died in Syria and recounts various aspects of their lives and deaths.
Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): French ISIS Supporter On Telegram And YouTube
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies.
Platform: Telegram and YouTube.
Type of account: ISIS supporter
Statistics: His YouTube channel has 6 videos and he claims to have had several channels shut down.
Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): Facebook Official ISIS Media In French
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies.
Platform: Facebook
Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): French-Speaking ISIS Supporter On Facebook
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies.
Platform: Facebook
Type of account: ISIS supporter
