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.
FROM THE JTTM ARCHIVES: RESEARCH ON LIBYA
Facing Setbacks In Syria, ISIS Highlights Libya As New Destination For Western Youth
In recent months, Libya has become a new destination for young Western recruits seeking to join the Islamic State (ISIS). This has become clear based on the online activity of operatives and activists who have recently arrived in Libya and begun fighting for ISIS there. ISIS activists have also conducted campaigns on social media calling for volunteers to "migrate" to Libya and join ISIS. More ISIS recruits are now streaming to Libya instead of to Syria, particularly since travel to Syria has become more problematic for Westerners. Moreover, ISIS members and potential recruits are openly speaking of the setbacks the group is facing in Syria and the growing difficulty of living there, as a motive for seeking out other destinations.
British ISIS Fighter Ordered To Close Down Telegram Channel By Islamic State Media Center, Urges Followers To Join ISIS In Libya
On January 8, 2015, British ISIS fighter posted his final messages on his Telegram account, revealing that he had been asked to close it by the Islamic State Media Center. He also shared a plea from an ISIS fighter in Libya for those interested in jihad to join the battle in Libya. He was previously very active on Twitter and Tumblr, frequently penning advice articles about life in the Islamic State and offering glimpses into Syria with many photographs. At the time of this writing, his channel had 707 members.
ISIS Al-Barqa Province In Message To Doctors: The Caliphate Needs You, Libya Is Gateway To Conquest Of Africa And Europe
On November 8, 2015, the information office for ISIS in Libya's Al-Barqa province released a six-minute video titled "A Message to Medical Staff Members". The speaker in the video that was distributed by the Nasher Al-Khilafa channel on Telegram and elsewhere, urges Muslims specializing in medicine to immigrate to the Islamic State and help their fighting brothers who sorely need them. Likewise, he announces that Libya would serve as a gateway for the conquest of Africa and Europe and would become the graveyard of the apostates, "the agents of America" [the Arab leaders of Libya and North Africa].
Articles By ISIS Supporter: Libya Is ISIS's Strategic Gateway To Europe
In the last few months, the Islamic State (ISIS) has made great efforts to establish a name for itself in Libya, since its official spread to the country in November 2014 (for a review of ISIS's presence in Libya, see MEMRI Inquire and Analysis report Changing Dynamics In The Global Jihad Movement (3): The Growing Presence Of ISIS In Libya, January 29, 2015). ISIS has established its reputation with, inter alia, a number of high-profile attacks against Western and Libyan targets, both government and economic. The organization has also been implementing the bloody modus operandi it has used in Syria and Iraq, as it showed in its February 15, 2015 video of the beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts it had captured in Libya.
As part of efforts to increase the Islamic State's (ISIS) influence in Libya, operatives and supporters of the organization recently launched a campaign on Twitter aimed at recruiting new members from outside the country. Using a hashtag to the Islamic State in Libya, they called upon Muslims to reach Libya and join the fighting in the ranks of ISIS there.
In the editorial of a recent issue, the Islamic State's weekly newsletter Al-Naba' urged followers to travel to the group's branches in the Sinai, in Libya, West Africa, or Khurassan (Afghanistan), because the routes to joining it in Iraq and Syria have been almost completely shut off.
REPORTS FROM THIS WEEK:
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Al-Khayr Video Issues Repeated Appeals For Recruits To Join Its Ranks
On May 19, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Khayr province released a video titled "Answer the Call," which includes repeated appeals by the group for new recruits to join its ranks. The name of the video is part of a larger ISIS campaign on the ground in areas under its control.
Platform: Facebook
Type of account: Pro-jihad
Additional Information: According to his Facebook profile, heresides in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Sharing of jihadi content: He has shared graphics of the late Al-Qaeda leader Yemeni-American preacher Anwar Al-'Awlaki and of extremist American cleric Ahmad Musa Jibril; another graphic he shared contained a quote attributed to an ISIS fighter. He also follows the pro-ISIS Maryland-based cleric Sheikh Suleiman Anwar, and the Kashmir-based social media group "Did you know?" which endorses jihad on Facebook and Instagram.
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EXCLUSIVE: Profile Of Belgian 'Verviers Cell' ISIS Operative Tarik Jadaoun
On May 17, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a new video featuring several Western fighters calling for Muslims around the world to carry out attacks on Western targets. One of the speakers is a well-known jihadi originally from Verviers, Belgium. He was the subject of a MEMRI report in January 2015 after he was mistakenly reported dead by Western authorities. The following report is a profile on him.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Claims Attack On Iraqi Base Allegedly Housing U.S. Military Personnel
A message released by the Islamic State's (ISIS) A'maq news agency states that in the night of May 22, 2017, four ISIS suicide commandos attacked the Kirkush training camp, east of Ba'qubah in the Diyala governorate, which it says is used by U.S. forces to train Iraqi Army recruits.
Yesterday (May 20, 2016), on the first day of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Al-Qaeda's media outlet Al-Sahab released a 17-minute audio message by Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden.
Al-Qaeda Attacks Saudi Arabia For Welcoming Trump, Making Arms Deals With U.S.
On May 21, 2017, Al-Qaeda's official media outlet Al-Sahab released the 15th issue of the organization's news bulletin, Al-Nafir, dealing with the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia. The bulletin attacks the Saudi leaders for making large-scale weapons and investment deals with the American "Crusaders," and calls on the Muslims to join the jihad in order to fight the loss of their assets, the shedding of their blood and the violation of their honor.
Al-Shabab Spokesman Rallies Fighters To Conquer Kenya, Implement Shari'a There
On May 22, 2017, the Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen media wing Kata'ib Media released a video featuring the first part of an address delivered by the group's spokesman, Ali Mahmoud Rage, at a commencement ceremony at one of the group's training camps. The video, 15:27 in duration, is titled "An Analysis of Events." The address was delivered in Somalis to foreign fighters from all over East Africa – Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and, primarily, Kenya. This shows Al-Shabab's great appeal to Muslims all over East Africa.
ISIS Claims Manchester Bombing
On May 23, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the May 22 bombing in the Manchester Arena. It said that one of its members placed multiple explosive devices at the scene of the attack, stating that it was carried out to terrorize "polytheists" and in revenge to Western "transgressions" - attacks - on Muslim lands.
ISIS Supporters Online React To Manchester Bombing
In their reactions to the May 22, 2017 bombing at a concert in Manchester, UK, online supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) expressed joy and satisfaction. Supporters disseminated news of the attack, saying it was likely carried out in response to calls by ISIS leaders for attacks in the West by its followers who reside there. They shared posters, video clips, and images inciting to further attacks in the West.
Against the backdrop of reports that Islamic State (ISIS) militants have taken parts of the city of Marawi, on the island of Mindanao, Philippines, the group released several statements celebrating the still-unfolding events there.
ISIS Claims It Killed 10 Philippines Soldiers In Southwest Of Country
On May 25, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) A'maq news agency reported that the group had killed 10 Philippines soldiers, including four officers, in an attack in Jolo island, Sulu province, southwestern Philippines.
Report: ISIS Commemorates French Fighter
On May 21, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Dijlah province published a photo commemorating a fighter identified as Abu Nadhir Al-Faransi ("The French"). No further information about him is available as of now.
On May 19, 2017, the Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) announced launching a new outreach campaign aimed at helping it establish a shari'a court system in areas it controls and to effect overall improvement in its governing of these areas. HTS realizes that the campaign's success hinges on its acceptance by and cooperation of the local population; to this end, the language employed in the campaign's announcement (below) is aimed at those elements.
On May 24, 2017, the 50th issue of Al-Masra, a pro-Al-Qaeda weekly newspaper based in Yemen, published an article written by Abi Abd Al-Ilah Ahmed, a religious official of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) condemning French President Emmanuel Macron for visiting French troops stationed in Gao, Mali, and calling on the "hidden lions and soldiers of Islam" to carry out attacks inside France and to target French citizens.
Two French HTS Commanders Targeted In Syria
Two Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) commanders of French origin have recently been targeted by IEDs while in their vehicles in Islamist controlled areas of north-western Syria.
ISIS French Media Outlet Uses Firefox Add-on To Share New Website
On May 21, 2017, the An-nur Media Center, ISIS's official media outlet distributing material in French, distributed a browser add-on for Mozilla Firefox that directs its users to a website containing all of its materials – ISIS audios, videos and documents – and which automatically redirects them to the site's new address if the old one is shut down.
ISIS Forbids Its Fighters To Use Social Media
A memo issued May 14, 2017 by the Islamic State's (ISIS) Delegated Committee, a central body that oversees ISIS's institutions, forbids the organization's fighters to use social media, on the grounds that they are employed by the enemy to spy on ISIS fighters and target them. The memo, a copy of which was circulated on pro-ISIS Telegram channels, states: “To all Islamic State soldiers:…
GIMF_Tech1 is a public Telegram channel belonging to the technical department of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), which posts a variety of technical information. The channel currently has 466 members.
