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September 16, 2017 JTTM Weekly No. 293

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

September 16, 2017
JTTM Weekly No. 293

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: ISIS-Sinai Claims September 11, 2017 Attacks On Gaza Border, Releases Photos Of One Of The Attacks

On September 13, 2017, ISIS Sinai claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks on Egyptian police and military forces near Rafah on September 11, 2017.

 

AQAP Senior Commander Ibrahim Asiri Vows To Continue Targeting U.S. Until It Stops Supporting Israel, Killing Muslims

On September 12, 2017, the 16th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Al-Malahem, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a statement written by its senior commander, Saudi national Ibrahim Asiri, who vowed to continue targeting the U.S. until it stops supporting Israel and killing Muslims around the world.

 

Marking 16th Anniversary Of 9/11, Al-Qaeda Releases Previously Reported 2015 Letter From 9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammad To President Obama

On September 11, 2017, the Al-Qaeda media wing Al-Sahab released a 20-page letter dated January 8, 2015 from Khalid Sheikh Muhammad (KSM), referred to in the 9/11 Commission Report as "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks," to then-president Barack Obama.

 

Marking 16th Anniversary Of 9/11, Al-Qaeda's Al-Sahab Releases Message By Hamza Bin Laden Appealing To Muslims Everywhere To Support Jihad, Mujahideen In Syria

On September 14, 2017, Al-Qaeda media wing Al-Sahab released an audio recording by Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden, appealing to Muslims everywhere to support the jihad and the mujahideen in Syria.

 

Marking 16th Anniversary Of 9/11, Al-Qaeda Releases Martyrdom Will Of 9/11 Hijacker

On September 11, 2017, Al-Qaeda's media wing Al-Sahab released a video featuring the martyrdom will and testament of Muhannad Al-Shihri (aka Abu Omar Al-Azdi), one of the 9/11 hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175, which was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

 

ISIS Supporters On Telegram Commemorate September 11 Attacks With Threatening Graphics, Including Arc de Triomphe In Paris

Numerous pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channels are commemorating the 16th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by publishing and circulating graphics promising future attacks. The Telegram channel ISIS Watch posted an image of the twin towers of the World Trade Center burning with the caption: "Their Liberty will go down as quick as their twin towers & we'll drag them by their necks to pay jizya [poll-tax on non-Muslims]."

 

Fifth Installment In Series Of Guides For Lone Wolf Attacks Suggests Causing Road Accidents

On September 10, 2017 a pro-ISIS Telegram channel, likely administered by jihadi operatives in South-east Asia, posted the fifth guide in its how-to series for lone jihadis titled "Knights Of Lone Jihad." This installment suggests carrying out terror attacks in the West by causing car accidents, a method already suggested in the fourth installment of the series.

 

Issue 13 Of ISIS's Rumiyah Magazine – Overview

On September 9, 2017, the Islamic State's media wing, the Al-Hayat Media Center, released issue 13 of its Rumiyah magazine that comes out in English and 12 other languages, including German, French and Russian. The 44-page issue covers the recent attacks in Spain and threatens further attacks.

 

ISIS Releases Issue 13 Of 'Rumiyah,' Threatens To Escalate Attacks Against 'Infidel' Countries

On September 9, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 13 of its monthly online magazine Rumiyah, in which it condemned European countries for taking part in the war against it under the leadership of the U.S. and threatened to "escalate" its attacks "to a greater level in the coming period." Links to this issue of Rumiyah have been posted on multiple pro-ISIS Twitter accounts and Telegram channels.

 

In Issue 13 Of ISIS Magazine 'Rumiyah', An Australian Woman Describes How She Joined ISIS Alone With Her Children

Issue 13 of the Islamic State's Rumiyah magazine released September 9, 2017, features an article by an Australian woman, Umm Sulaym Al-Muhajirah, who tells how she traveled from Australia to the ISIS-controlled territories in Syria in the summer of 2014, alone with her children. She says that the Turkish authorities arrested her but, following negotiations, delivered her first to some Syrian rebels and later to ISIS fighters – thus shedding light on the close ties that existed at the time between the Turkish authorities, Syrian rebels and ISIS.

 

Al-Qaeda General Command Statement Condemns Persecution Of Rohingya Muslims, Urges Muslims Everywhere To Aid Them, Reaffirms Duty Of Jihad

On September 12, 2017, Al-Qaeda General Command issued a statement in Arabic and English condemning the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and promising retaliation against the Myanmar government.

 

Al-Shabab Calls On Muslims In South And Southeast Asia And On Al-Qaeda In The Indian Subcontinent To Rescue Rohingya Muslims, Punish Buddhist Regime In Myanmar

On September 7, 2017, the Shahada News Agency posted an Al-Shabab General Command communique titled "Arakan Pleads For Help – Does Anyone Answer Concerning The Continued Genocide Of The Rohingya Muslims," referring to Myanmar.

 

Afghan Taliban Urges Muslims To Support Rohingya Refugees: 'Gird Your Loins For The Defense, Rescue, Sanctuary And Every Type Of Aid To Them'

Given below is the text of a statement issued by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's umbrella organization) on the problem of Rohingya refugees, who are mostly Muslims but also include some Hindus. The original English of the statement has been lightly edited for clarity and standardization.

 

Jihadi Social Media Account Review – (JSM-AR): Arizona Man Brags About Listening To Anwar Al-'Awlaki Sermons At Work

The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies.

Platform(s): Facebook

Type of account: Pro-jihad

 

Jihadi Social Media Account Review (JSM-AR): Pro-ISIS German Convert Disseminates Extremist Content In Facebook Group

The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies.

Platform(s): Facebook

Type of account: Pro-ISIS

 

Former ISIS Supporter From NYC Recants Previous Extremist Views, Is Admonished By ISIS Supporters On Facebook

On August 29, 2017, a New York man on Facebook and who had in the past been a supporter of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a YouTube video in which he recanted his past positions.

 

Al-Naba Editorial Calls On ISIS Fighters To Focus Efforts On Syrian Desert

Recently, following its withdrawal from many parts of eastern Syria, such as the city of Deir Al-Zor, ISIS has been concentrating forces in the Syrian Desert, which borders on Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula.

 

ISIS Leadership Orders Fighters In Hamah To Emulate Mosul Fighters And Fight Until The End

On September 13, 2017 pro-ISIS Telegram channels distributed a document attributed to the ISIS Delegated Committee and addressed to the Hamah province in Syria.

 

ISIS In Hama, Syria Releases Video Showing Two Dead Russian Soldiers

On September 7, 2017, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Hama, Syria, released a video showing the dead bodies of two men it claimed were Russian soldiers.

 

Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Releases On Telegram Second Installment In Video Series Titled 'Series Of Recommendations'

On September 11, 2017, the Syrian branch of the Uyghur jihadi group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) released the second installment in a video series titled "Series Of Recommendations."

 

Pakistan's Arrest Of Terror Suspects Turns Focus To University Of Karachi As Terror Hub

According to a report in an Urdu-language Pakistani daily, the little-known terror group Ansarul Sharia planned the failed September 2, 2017 assassination attempt against Khwaja Izharul Hassan, a politician of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party in Karachi.

 

Book By Jaish-e-Muhammad Chief Maulana Masood Azhar Sells 30,000 Copies

According to an Urdu-language weekly published by the Pakistan-based jihadi group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), a book authored by JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar has sold 30,000 copies. Azhar is one of three terrorists released by India in 1999 in exchange for the passengers of Indian Airlines Flight 814, which was hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

 

Pro-ISIS Telegram Channels Warn Of Suspicious Channel Posting 'Modified Apps With Added GPS Permissions'

On September 6, 2017, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) English-language Telegram channel Terror Agency posted a warning about suspicious Telegram channels posting "modified apps" with GPS enabled in them to reveal the user's location.

 

ISIS-Affiliated Nasher News Agency Provides Instructions On Pinning Its Telegram Channels And Groups

On September 13, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS)-affiliated Nasher News Agency, which posts ISIS's official content on Telegram, posted instructions on pinning its Telegram channels and groups.

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