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: Dispute Over Takfir Rocks Islamic State
On August 3, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 92 of its weekly online newspaper Al-Naba'. The new issue was published on multiple jihadi Twitter accounts and Telegram channels. In the opening article of the issue, ISIS called on Muslims to target embassies of "infidel" nations and the people working in them, calling them "important targets."
On August 7, 2017, Al-Hayat, one of the media arms of the Islamic State (ISIS), released a video featuring an Australian fighter called Abu Adam Al-Australi urging Australian Muslims who are unable to come to Syria to carry out attacks in "the land of Crusaders," or go to the Philippines and fight against the government there. MEMRI JTTM members can view the clip here.
EXCLUSIVE: Closed Facebook Group For Sydney Muslims Promotes Extremist Clerics, Causes, Ideologies
A closed Facebook for Sydney Muslims (Uniting Upon Tawheed [Monotheism]), which has over 5,100 members, includes group members who often express sympathy for the Islamic State (ISIS) and share pro-jihad content.
On August 9, 2017, the Islamic State Al-Janoub Province in Iraq released a video lashing out at Iran's role in the war against Sunnis in Iraq while threatening attacks inside Iran. The video urges young Sunnis in Iran to leave the country and join the Islamic State (ISIS), or, if they are unable to do so, to carry out attacks from where they are.
ISIS Announces Military Conscription Of All Young Muslim Men In Deir Al-Zour, Syria
On August 3, 2017, Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Khayr Province, Syria issued a communique titled "An Announcement Of The Opening Of The Conscription Offices," in which it announced "the obligatory conscription of all young Muslim men aged 20-30 in Al-Khayr Province who are able to wage jihad and to fight." It added: "Only those whom Allah has absolved will not be conscripted."
In Issue 12 Of 'Rumiyah,' ISIS Vows To Strike Western Countries
On August 6, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) media wing for non-Arabic languages, Al-Hayat Media, released Issue 12 of its Rumiyah magazine. The 46-page issue was distributed via ISIS channels on Telegram. The content of the current issue is unremarkable compared to previous issues and does not meet ISIS's usual standard of editing and design. The following is a review of the main points in the issue.
On August 6, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 12 of its English-language online magazine Rumiyah. Links to the latest edition of the magazine have been posted on multiple pro-ISIS Twitter accounts and Telegram channels.
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Issue 12 of the Islamic State (ISIS) online magazine Rumiyah, features an interview with the military commander of Raqqa, Syria, who spoke about the ongoing battle in the city between ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia with support from the U.S.-led international coalition.
On August 8, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 12 of its English-language online magazine Rumiyah. The issue features an article titled "A Mujahid's Memories From The Battle Of Mosul," by an anonymous ISIS fighter.
On August 7, 2017, Issue 12 of the Islamic State (ISIS) online magazine Rumiyah was released. One of its articles, "The Female Slaves Of Allah In the Houses Of Allah" argues that it is preferable for women to pray at home, as opposed to praying in a mosque.
On August 4, 2017, the Islamic State in Al-Khayr (Deir Al-Zour, Syria) released a photo report documenting the punishment of five men: a thief, whose hand is cut off; two adulterers, one of whom is whipped and the other stoned to death; an apostate, who is executed by a gunshot to the head, and a homosexual who is pitched from a rooftop. The punishments are carried out in front of a crowd of onlookers following the reading out of the sentence.
Below are several of the pictures:
Whipping of man convicted of adultery
Execution of man convicted of apostasy
Stoning of a man convicted of adultery. The sign announces the man's sentence
Man convicted of homosexuality cast to his death from a rooftop
Reports: Senior ISIS Cleric Killed In Coalition Airstrike
On August 8, 2017, ISIS supporters on Telegram reported the death 'Omar Al-Qahtani, aka Abu Bakr Al-Qahtani, a senior cleric in the organization.
ISIS Announces New Domain For Its Online Radio Station Al-Bayan
On August 8, 2017, the Islamic State- (ISIS-) affiliated Nasher News Agency published a new domain (bayan.biz.ua) for the ISIS radio station Al-Bayan.
Pro-ISIS Tech Group Posts Infographic On Activating Two-Step Verification On WhatsApp, Telegram
On August 2, 2017, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Horizons Foundation (aka Electronic Horizon Foundation, EHF) posted two infographics showing how to activate the two-step verification feature on WhatsApp and Telegram. Two-step verification is an added layer of security that is employed across many platforms and technologies. On Telegram, for example, two-step verification requires a user to enter a passcode (i.e. the second step in the verification) after Telegram sends the user a special number that is used to sign in.
A vocal ISIS supporter from Madeira, Portugal has, according to his Facebook account, recently started a job as a door-to-door salesman in Sligo, Ireland.
Jihadi Social Media Account Review – (JSM-AR): Thai Woman Expresses Support For ISIS On Instagram
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies.
Platform(s): Instagram
Type of account: ISIS supporter
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies.
Platform(s): Instagram, Twitter
Type of account: Islamic State (ISIS) and Hamas supporter
On August 7, 2017, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) issued a statement refuting a report that members of the Uyghur jihadi group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) had stormed an HTS prison in rural southern Idlib, Syria in order to free TIP prisoners held there.
On July 30, 2017, Muhammad Al-Mansuri, the spokesman for the Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Derna and its Environs, which is located in eastern Libya, confirmed in an interview with the Al-Tanasuh Foundation that the missile that had brought down a MIG-23 fighter jet of the Libyan Air Force.
Al-Shabab Attacks, Threatens Kenya Ahead Of Upcoming Election
In the last three months, the Somali Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab Al-Mujahidin has increased its activity against Kenya ahead of this country's presidential election, to be held on August 8, 2017. Al-Shabab's present aim is to prevent the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, since his rival, Raila Odinga, promised in his electoral campaign to withdraw the Kenyan forces from Somalia.
Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Video Commemorates Two Of Its Syrian Fighters Who Died In Battle
On August 3, 2017, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) released a video in Arabic with Uyghur subtitles titled "Lovers of Paradise 24." The video seeks to glorify and inculcate the love of "shahada (martyrdom) for the sake of Allah."
On August 2, 2017, the Taliban published a statement titled "Mercenaries cannot stop Afghan Mujahid Nation's march towards Freedom" on its English-language website. The statement addresses media reports that security firms are lobbying the Trump administration to fully privatize the war in Afghanistan. The Afghan government, it says, is also pushing for this and is attempting to lure the U.S. with its natural resources. According to the statement, there are currently 25,000 contractors in Afghanistan, and this proposed strategy will only lead to failure. The following report includes the Taliban's statement in the original English.
