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 December 31, 2018, following a long period of silence, a prominent American Islamic State (ISIS) media operative posted a new message in English and Arabic.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been accused recently of killing Afghan officials in Herat, which is the north-western province of Afghanistan that shares a border with Iran and Turkmenistan. On December 29, 2018, a reporter of an Afghan news service filed a report from Herat City, the province's provincial capital, after Herat's top counter-terrorism officer filed a case against the Iranian consul general for his recent involvement in targeted killings.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Supporters Post Recommendations In Spanish For Effective Terror Attack
On December 30, 2018, Islamic State (ISIS) supporters on Telegram released a poster in Spanish titled "The Time Has Come, O Crusaders" featuring a text urging Muslims in the West to commit to jihad and perpetrate terror attacks while seeking martyrdom.
On January 3, 2018, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 163 of its weekly newspaper Al-Naba', whose editorial described the repeated U.S. announcements of the defeat of the mujahideen in Iraq and Syria as an "illusion," of which the U.S. "tries to convince itself and its followers."
EXCLUSIVE: Islamic State (ISIS) Launches Translation Initiative
On December 31, 2018, Islamic State (ISIS) supporters launched a new media project.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Tells French Taxpayers Terror In France Is Revenge For Bombing In Syria
On December 28, 2018, the official Islamic State (ISIS) radio station, Al-Bayan, released a 13-minute audio sermon in French titled, "Do You Realize?"
On December 29, 2018, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated media foundation published an article castigating the Islamic State (ISIS), accusing its members of being Western agents and of betraying the cause of jihad, and urging Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen, the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, to launch a relentless and persistent campaign to wipe out ISIS in Somalia.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
On December 28, 2018, Syrian rebel media sources reported that a veteran Al-Qaeda-aligned jihadi who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq was killed in ambiguous circumstances east of Daraa along with three other commanders. The fighter was born in Zarqa', Jordan, and was a brother-in-law to Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi.
On December 27, 2018, a group of foreign fighters and former officials of Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN), an Al-Qaeda- affiliated jihadi group that was dissolved in 2015, released a statement condemning Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) for imprisoning its opponents.
Mali-Based Al-Qaeda Affiliate Urges Local Tribes Not To Participate In Government Security Projects
On January 2, 2019, an official media wing of Al-Qaeda's branch in West Africa released a nine-minute video.
On December 30, 2018, Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a 12-minute video titled "Grippers Of Hot Coal," documenting various operations against the UAE-backed Security Belt Forces (SBF) in Abyan, Yemen.
ISIS Urges Yemeni Tribesmen To Join Its Ranks In New Video
In December 31, 2018, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video on Telegram from its Al-Bayda' Province in western Yemen titled "Save Yourselves."
Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Urges Muslims In The West To Perpetrate Indiscriminate Terror Attacks
On December 29, 2018, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media foundation released a document urging supporters in the West to perpetrate terror attacks in their countries by any means, preferably during the current Christian holidays, so as to engender maximum fear as revenge on the enemies of ISIS.
Pro-ISIS Media Company Video Threatens Attacks Against Egypt's Christians During Holidays
On December 31, 2018, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel released a 14-minute video, titled "Egypt's Christians – A Futile Blood," legitimizing the targeting of Egypt's Coptic Christians and urging attacks on them during their holidays.
Prior to and during the Christmas and New Year holiday season, online supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) customarily intensify their calls to the organization's followers, especially those in the West, to perpetrate attacks when large numbers of people gather at central locations to celebrate. Posters shared on social media are a popular means for the dissemination of this incitement.
Platform: Facebook
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating terror-related activity / sympathies
Platform: WhatsApp
Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): Pro-ISIS Instagram Account
The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account that demonstrates terror-related activity/sympathies.
Platform: Instagram
Indian Media Report: 200 Kashmiri Youths Joined Jihadi Groups In 2018
According to an Indian media report, around 200 Kashmiri youths joined different jihadi organizations active in Jammu & Kashmir state of India during 2018, while 255 militants were killed in clashes with Indian security forces. This 2018 figure is considerably higher than last year's 126.
On Its Telegram Channel, Pakistani Taliban Group Releases Issue Two Of 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' Magazine
On its Telegram channel, the Pakistani jihadi group Hizbul Ahrar released its 29-page Issue No. 2 of its magazine Ghazwa-e-Hind ("The Battle of India"). The magazine, in Urdu, is published by Al-Ahrar Media of Hizbul Ahrar.
On January 2, 2018, Sawt Al-Islam, the media arm of the Syria branch of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), released a video featuring fighters undergoing military training and officials who threatened China, saying the country "will pay" for oppressing Uyghurs, and urged Muslims to march forth to join jihadi groups.
Speaking at an event in Pakistani Kashmir, radical Islamic cleric Mufti Mumtaz Qadri said: "India is caught in a panic by America's defeat [in Afghanistan]."
On December 27, 2018, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) issued a statement marking the 39th anniversary of the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.
