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.
On May 15, 2017, the Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen Shahada news agency reported that the U.S. "had finished its preparations" to open a special anti-terrorism unit focusing on monitoring jihadis in the Horn of Africa, that will operate out of the U.S. Embassy building in Khartoum, Sudan.
A Palestinian man who appears to reside in Nablus supports the Islamic State on his Instagram account. He shared several photos of himself competing in an official Google-sponsored engineering competition called Hash Code, which according to Google is "a team-based programming competition organized by Google for students and industry professionals across Europe, the Middle East and Africa."
He posted a photo of himself holding a Hash Code sign.
A UK man on Facebook who claims to be serving a life sentence in prison maintains a Facebook account which shows a timeline of postings, some of which were authored before his sentencing. It is evident from the content of recent posts that he is continuing to express his support for jihad from his prison cell.
Iraqi-American Salafi preacher and cancer researcher Ali Al-Tamimi, from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, was sentenced to life in prison on July 13, 2005, for inciting his followers in northern Virginia to join the Taliban and wage jihad against U.S. forces shortly after the 9/11 attacks. It was noted by the prosecution in his case that he had led a group of followers in Virginia in training for jihad by playing paintball. Although he has not preached for over a decade, his work lives on online; he is frequently mentioned by his admirers in glowing terms, and his lectures are distributed on both pro-ISIS and pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram groups.
In recent months, Islamic State (ISIS) media operatives have become cultural heroes among the organization's supporters, even to the same extent as ISIS fighters on the battlefield. As the pressure on ISIS in Syria and Iraq mounts, ISIS's media branches have come under increasing attack; their headquarters are being bombed, and their operatives are being targeted. The danger these operatives face is proportionate to the danger faced by the fighters in the field. Many of them are being killed on the front lines as they cover battles, or when they themselves carry out suicide attacks; some of them have become rank-and-file fighters on the frontlines.
On May 17, 2017, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Ninawa province released a video featuring fighters from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Russia and Belgium urging Muslims living in the U.S. to carry out attacks and highlighting the group's weapons manufacturing capabilities.
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On May 13, 2017, the Al-Qaeda media wing Al-Sahab released a 10-minute video that includes an audio recording by Hamza bin Laden, son of the slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, giving advice to "martyrdom seekers" living in the West on preparing and choosing their targets. Hamza prioritizes the targets in the following order: Anyone who insults Islam and Muhammad; Jewish interests; Americans; NATO member states; and Russia. Highlighting that "the message you [the attacker] intend to convey through your blessed operation must be explained unequivocally in the media," he added, "It is absolutely imperative that people should know the objective of your operation." He added that explaining the operation, the attacker should reiterate Al-Qaeda talking points previously used by the group to justify its actions.
'Amaq Video Shows ISIS Destroying Archeological Artifacts In Albu Kamal, Syria
On May 13, 2017 the Islamic State (ISIS) news agency A'maq published a short video showing the destruction of archeological artifacts (statues and statuettes) found by ISIS in the Al-Salehiyya area west of Albu Kamal. The video, posted on the ISIS-affiliated outlet Nashir News and elsewhere, states that the artifacts were found by the organization's Antiquities Committee, and that its Shari'a Committee ordered to destroy these objects "that have become idols worshipped alongside Allah." It shows ISIS members walking around a cave, presumably the site where the artifacts were found, and then shows an ISIS member taking a large hammer to some of them. (It is impossible to tell from the video if all the artifacts were destroyed).
On May 12, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a statement claiming responsibility for today's suicide attack in Balochistan province which targeted Abdul Ghafoor Haidari, the deputy chairman of the Senate in Pakistan.
Report: Malian Jihad Group Ansar Dine Stones Couple For Adultery
On May 17, 2017, a Malian news website reported that the jihadi group Ansar Dine had stoned to death a couple in the Taglit area in Kidal, northern Mali.
ISIS Affiliate Group In Syria Amputates Foot Of Man Accused Of Stealing For Second Time
On May 16, 2017, the Khalid bin Al-Walid Army posted photos showing the amputation of the foot of a man who was accused of stealing for the second time.
ISIS Pictorial Report Shows Amputation Of Thief's Hand In Albu Kamal, Syria
On May 15, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Furat province released a pictorial report documenting the activity of its various departments in the city of Albu Kamal, Syria. The photos cover different aspects of the activity of the departments of education, charity, public service, and hisba (Islamic police), among others.
Pro-ISIS Media Group Lampoons What It Calls Failure Of Western Media War On Islamic State
On May 10, 2017, Yaqeen Media, a pro-ISIS (Islamic State) media group, released an infographic on its Telegram channel titled "The Failure of the Media War on the Islamic State." The infographic includes statistics and quotes, which it attributes to Foreign Affairs magazine and the Associated Press, to buttress its claims that the Islamic State is winning the media war despite its limited resources.
On May 7, 2017, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel published a post calling on "lone Lions" in France to carry out attacks using explosive belts, IED's, and trucks, as well as by poisoning drinking water.
On May 11, 2017, the pro-ISIS (Islamic State) hacking group Caliphate Cyber Terrorism Army (CCTA) announced that it was ending its hacking campaign named for the late ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-'Adnani. The campaign, which apparently was launched in March 2017, had, according to the group, targeted 1,843 Facebook accounts and 376 Facebook pages. The announcement was posted in both English and Arabic on the group's Telegram channel.
The announcement reads: "The end of the raid of Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-'Adnani (May Allah Accept Him)
On May 10, 2017, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) released an Arabic version of its "The Truth About Chinese Media" video that it had released entirely in Uyghur in January 2017. The video highlights China's "crimes" against the ethnic Muslim Uyghurs, and the Chinese media apparatus's alleged efforts to hide those crimes, in East Turkestan (Xinxiang province) in western China.
On May 16, 2017, the Syrian branch of the Uyghur jihadi organization Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) released Part 31 in video series "A Call from the Frontlines of Jihad." The nine-minute video, which was posted on TIP's Telegram channels, features only one TIP fighter, face uncovered, speaking somewhere in Syria; he calls on others to join the jihad and immigrate to Syria.
Like previous videos in the series, the current video is entirely in Uyghur and is not subtitled.
Taliban: We Have No Military Relations With Any Nation, U.S. Has Distorted Our Image And Objectives
On May 10, 2017, the Taliban released a statement via its English-language website stressing that the group does not maintain military relations with any nation, including Russia. The statement accused the U.S. of tarnishing the Taliban's image, stating that the former had "established thousands of media centers, spreading poisonous propaganda against the Islamic Emirate day and night through their visual and audio programs."
On May 18, 2017, Al-Kataib, the media arm of the Somalia-based and Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadi group Al-Shabab, released a video featuring a captured soldier who described himself as a senior private in the Kenyan Army.
