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 October 16, an African jihadi group released a video that called on individuals to immigrate to the Congo, possibly referring to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and featured an Arabic-speaking militant who proclaimed that "this is the Islamic State in Central Africa."
"After the defeat of the Russians in Afghanistan, the mujahideen turned towards Kashmir with the desire for martyrdom and liberating the Muslims of Kashmir from the arms of cow-worshippers [i.e. Hindus]. As Ilyas Kashmiri... was a well-trained experienced commander and perhaps that was the reason that the [Pakistani] security establishment didn't consider it suitable to let him [be] independent and told him... to help Kashmiris."
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies
Platform: Facebook
Support for jihadi groups: He has made several statements in support of the Islamic State (ISIS). He is also Facebook friends with individuals who are sympathetic to the group.
On October 21, 2017, Al-Malahem, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released an audio recording in which the group's senior commander Khaled Batarfi condemned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for imprisoning dozens of prominent scholars and writers and accused him of secularizing the country.
Maulana Masood Azhar, the emir of Pakistan-based jihadi organization Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), wrote a column to mark the 16th year of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, launched on October 7, 2001, in the Urdu-language weekly Haftroza Al-Qalam published by JeM.
Jihadi Scholars Attempt To Settle Disputes Between Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) And Al-Qaeda In Syria
On October 25, 2017, a group of jihadi scholars launched an initiative to reconcile jihadi factions in Syria. The move came following tensions that had been brewing among these groups since Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) – formerly Jabhat Fath Al-Sham and Jabhat Al-Nusra – announced that it was cutting ties with Al-Qaeda in July 2016.
Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen News Agency Reports On U.S. Military Bases in Africa
On October 12, 2017, the Shahada News Agency, a media branch of Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen, published on its website a special report about "the overt and covert U.S. military bases in Africa."
Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen News Agency Reports On Foreign Military Bases In Djibouti
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On October 23, 2017, the Shahada News Agency, a media branch of Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen, published a special report on its website titled "Djibouti – The Smallest Country with the Largest Number of Superpower Bases on its Territory."
GSIM Claims Attack On Malian Military Camp Guarding French Company's Site In Central Mali
On October 26, 2017, the Al-Zallaqa News media agency of the Mali-based jihadi group Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimin ("The Group for Supporting Islam and Muslims," GSIM) posted on its Telegram channel a communique in which the group claimed that it raided a Malian military camp in central Mali that is guarding a site there that belongs to the French company Sogea-Satom SA, which operates as a subsidiary of Vinci Construction.
Pro-ISIS Outlet 'Al-Wafa' Releases More Posters Threatening Terror At 2018 World Cup Games
On October 20 and 21, 2017, the Al-Wafa media outlet, associated with the Islamic State (ISIS), released another series of posters in Russian, English and Arabic threatening terror in the West and at the 2018 World Cup games, to take place in Russia next summer.
On October 24, 2017, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Wafa' media foundation published new posters on its Telegram channel threatening Russia, which will be hosting the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2018, and Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi.
An editorial in the October 19, 2017 issue of Al-Naba, the weekly news bulletin of the Islamic State (ISIS), says that the hardships currently facing ISIS are only trials set by Allah.
ISIS Publishes Image Of Young-Looking Russian Fighter Killed In Iraq
On October 23, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Furat province released two images of fighters who carried out a commando-style attack against an "apostate" (i.e. Iraqi military) position in Iraq.
Video By ISIS In Iraq Shows Teen Fighters And Teen Suicide Bomber
A video titled "Knights of the Front," released on October 21, 2017 by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Al-Dijlah Province in Iraq, documents an attack on positions of Shi'ite militias in the southern Al-Shirqat area.
ISIS Supporters Share Videos Of Protesters In Kashmir Chanting ISIS Slogan
Several pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channels have recently circulated short clips from a group of pro-ISIS protesters in Kashmir, India.
Al-Naba' Weekly Reports ISIS Executes Man, Woman In Syria For 'Uttering Blasphemous Phrases'
On October 19, 2017, in a report in the Islamic State's (ISIS) weekly newspaper Al-Naba', the group announced that it had executed a man and a woman in ISIS's Al-Khayr province, Syria, for "uttering blasphemous phrases and insulting the religion and Allah.
Platform: Facebook
Additional Information: It is unclear where she is from. However, based on her use of British-English spelling, she may be from the UK.
Support for jihadi groups: She expresses support for the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) clerics Suleiman Anwar and Abdullah Al-Faisal.
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies
Platform:Facebook
Additional Information: He claims to be residing in the UK. His posts are almost exclusively in English, but several are in Albanian.
Latest ISIS Releases Easily Distributed, Archived On Google Plus
For the past several years, Google Plus has remained a reliable platform for Islamic State (ISIS) supporters wishing to share and retrieve links to the latest ISIS releases. Numerous Google Plus groups are used by ISIS activists, and links featuring old and new releases easily circulate via posts within many of these groups.
On October 23, 2017, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) tech entity Electronic Horizon Foundation (EHF) published a tutorial on using the chat app Riot.im.
A London-based organization circulates popular graphics and videos featuring quotes by Anwar Al-'Awlaki, Ahmad Musa Jibril.
In the last several days, the Uyghur jihad group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) has released several videos on its Telegram channel.
Afghan Taliban Statement: 'Complete Victory Has Been Won In The Maroof District [Of Kandahar]'
Following are excerpts of a statement published by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government) translated from Urdu: "After [U.S. President Donald] Trump's announcement of the new strategy, the happiness of Ashraf Ghani, the head of the Kabul administration, has reached the level of madness. He has thanked Trump many times. He has very excitedly welcomed this strategy. He is demanding that more bombs and weapons of mass destruction be given to the Afghan government. With much enthusiasm, Ashraf Ghani has warned the mujahideen to throw away their weapons; otherwise, they will be eliminated from the face of the earth.
