memri
January 19, 2019 Special Announcements No. 723

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

January 19, 2019
Special Announcements No. 723

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.)annou

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 Supporters Circulate Posts Celebrating Death Of U.S. Soldiers In Syria

On January 17, 2019, supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Telegram published and circulated posts celebrating the deaths of U.S. soldiers in an attack claimed by ISIS in the city of Minbij, Syria.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Al-Shabab Says It Carried Out Nairobi Compound Attack In Response To Trump's Declaration Of Jerusalem As Capital Of Israel, Threatens To Kill Jews, Target U.S. Interests In Africa

On January 16, 2019, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadi group based in Somalia, released a statement saying that the group's January 15 killing of dozens of people at a residential compound in Nairobi, Kenya, including a U.S. citizen was in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Jihadis Celebrate Al-Shabab Terror Attack In Nairobi

 

The attack in Nairobi, Kenya sparked an immediate string of reactions from Al-Qaeda supporters online who praised Al-Shabab, as an Al-Qaeda affiliate, for demonstrating the organization's commitment to global jihad wherever Muslims are oppressed, and justified the targeting of Kenya, which is one of the African countries fighting Al-Shabab in Somalia as part of the AMISOM peacekeeping mission.

 

EXCLUSIVE: YPG And Pro-ISIS Media Report The Capture Western Fighters

On January 9, 2019, the Kurdish Yekineyen Parastina Gel (People's Protection Units, YPG), operating as part of the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), released a communique stating that they had captured eight Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Syria, including a 16-year-old American national.

 

ISIS Claims Responsibility For Suicide Attack Against Global Coalition In Manbij, Killing And Wounding 9 Americans

On January 16, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a communique via its A'maq News Agency claiming responsibility for a suicide attack that targeted a patrol from the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Manbij, Syria.

 

ISIS In West Africa Releases Video Featuring Fighters Calling On Muslims To Join Them, Documenting Attacks On Nigerian Military Bases

On January 15, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) in West Africa released a video featuring two fighters urging Muslims from around the world to migrate to the Islamic State join the jihad.

 

Seventh Issue Of ISIS Magazine Released By Supporters Includes Map Of U.S. Bases In Africa

 

On January 15, 2019, online supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) published the seventh issue of Liwa' Al-Ansar ("The Supporters Brigade") on their Telegram channels. Prominent items featured in the latest issue are a map showing the locations of U.S. bases in Africa, accompanied by an explanation about the American military presence at those bases.

 

Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): Man Possibly In NYC Tweets About ISIS, Content Featuring Ahmad Musa Jibril, Anwar Al-'Awlaki, Anti-U.S. Content; Lived In Syria For Two Months

 

Platform: Twitter

 

Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): Activity Of A Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) WhatsApp Group

Platform: WhatsApp

 

Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): Self-Described Iraqi ISIS Media Operative Active On Facebook

Platform: Facebook

 

Pro-ISIS Poster Threatens Arabic Translators Considering Working With The U.S. Military In Iraq (Warning – Graphic)

 

On January 12, 2019, a pro-ISIS media outlet released a poster on Telegram threatening Arabs who choose to work as translators for the U.S. military in Iraq.

 

Pro-ISIS Tech Group ‎‎Suggests Alternatives To Google Services

 

On January 13, 2019, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) tech group released a poster listing alternatives to various Google services.

 

Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Eulogizes Belgian ISIS Fighter Killed In Syria

 

On January 13, 2019, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Muhajireen Foundation eulogized a slain Belgian fighter killed fighting Syrian government forces.

 

Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Promises 'France's Nightmare Has Just Started'

On January 12, 2019, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a video titled "France's Nightmare" on Telegram. The three-minute video, which is in French and subtitled in English and Arabic, refers to the recent attack in Strasbourg as one of a series of attacks that has only "just started."

 

Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Releases Posters Threatening New York City, U.S. President Trump

Two posters recently released by an Indonesian pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group threaten attacks on targets in the U.S., such as New York City and President Donald Trump, in retaliation for the American military bombardment of ISIS targets in Syria.

 

Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Releases Poster Showing ISIS Flag Atop Big Ben

On January 15, 2019, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media foundation released a new poster on Telegram inciting supporters to take part in jihad.

 

Urdu Daily: Iran Offered India Help In Establishing Contacts With Afghan Taliban

Iran offered to help India establish contacts with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization), according to a Jaunary 10, 2019 report in the Urdu-language daily Roznama Ummat.

 

Urdu Daily: Iran Advises Afghan Taliban To Form Political Alliance With Hizb-e-Islami

Iran has advised the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) to form a political party and develop a political alliance with Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), according to a January 15, 2019 report in the Urdu-language Pakistani daily Roznama Ummat.

 

Urdu Daily: U.S. Has Deployed Over 25,000 Blackwater Men In Afghanistan To Cause Civil War And Eliminate Taliban Leaders

According to a January 12, 2019 report in the Urdu-language daily Roznama Ummat, the United States has deployed more than 25,000 members of private security firm Blackwater in Afghanistan and plans to increase their number following the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Blackwater was renamed Xe Services in 2009 and was renamed Academi in 2011.

 

Pakistani Cleric Mufti Ilyas Masood Kashmiri: 'The Mujahideen Of Kashmir Will Unfurl The Flag Of Islam Over All Of India'

Radical Pakistani cleric Mufti Masood Ilyas Kashmiri told a religious gathering in the Swabi district: "The mujahideen of Kashmir will unfurl the flag of Islam over all of India."

 

Forty Afghan Taliban Fighters Graduate From Faryab District Training Center

On January 8, 2019, the Urdu-language website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) reported that 40 mujahideen had recently graduated from the training center in the Faryab district of Afghanistan.

Share this Report: