memri
July 27, 2019 Special Announcements No. 792

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

July 27, 2019
Special Announcements No. 792

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: Hamas Military Wing 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades Launches Facebook Page For Its 'Liberation Vanguards' Military Summer Camps

On July 21, 2019, the Gaza-based Hamas' military wing 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, or simply Al-Qassam Brigades, launched a Facebook page titled "Tala'i' Al-Tahrir [Liberation Vanguards]" a day after its previous Facebook page was blocked.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham's (HTS) 'Salvation Government' Returns Yazidi Child To His Family, Drawing Criticism From Online Jihadis

On July 16, 2019, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham's (HTS) news agency posted a video showing HTS's "Salvation Government" returning an Iraqi Yazidi child, named Hokar, to his family.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Jihadi Fundraising Campaign Offers 'Multiple Secure Methods' For Muslims Worldwide To Donate To Mujahideen In Syria, Provides WhatsApp Number For Donors

On July 16, 2019, a Saudi jihadi cleric based in the rebel-controlled area in Syria and one of the organizers of the trench- and tunnel-digging campaign published a poster offering "Multiple Secure Methods" for Muslims worldwide to send money to the mujahideen in Syria.

 

EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Supporters On Telegram Urge Increased Twitter Use To Promote Jihadi Agenda

In recent days, pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram users have published several posts as part of an effort to increase engagement with jihad via Twitter, asserting that the exclusive use of the Telegram platform to promote jihad is very limiting.

 

Al-Qaeda In The Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Denies Algerian Government Claim Of Plot To Attack Algerian Protestors

On July 14, 2019, the Algerian Ministry of Defense published a statement on the arrest of five terrorists suspected of planning to attack Algerian anti-government protestors who have been demonstrating weekly for the past six months.

 

Al-Qaeda Supporter Urges Reconciliation Among Opposing Jihadi Factions In Syria

On July 21, 2019, an Al-Qaeda supporter published an essay on his Telegram channel urging reconciliation among opposing jihadi factions in Syria.

 

Al-Qaeda Affiliate In Mali Claims Responsibility For Suicide Attack On French Army Base

On July 25, 2019, an official media outlet of an Al-Qaeda (AQ)-affiliated organization released a communique claiming responsibility for the July 22 attack on a French military base in Gao, Mali.

 

Al-Qaeda Affiliate Al-Shabab Releases Video Showing June 2018 Ambush On Two Hirshabelle MPs, Attack On Somali Soldiers In Lower Shebelle Region

On July 23, 2019, the Somali Al-Qaeda affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (HSM) released a seven-minute video titled "Disperse With Them Those Who Follow Them (13)" (Quran 8:57).

 

Al-Shabab Claims Attempted Assassination Of U.S. Citizen, Who Is UN Envoy To Somalia

On July 24, 2019, the Somalia-based jihadi group Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attempted assassination of James Swan, the United Nations special envoy to Somalia.

 

In New Video, ISIS Leader In Somalia Boasts Of Successes To Date, Including Against Americans, Hopes To Expand Activities

On July 20, 2019, the branch of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Somalia published an approximately five-minute video on its Telegram channel titled "And The [Best] Outcome Is For The Righteous."

 

ISIS In Sinai Claims Multiple Attacks On Egyptian Army In North Sinai, Highlighting Upsurge In Operations

In recent days, the Islamic State (ISIS) carried out attacks against the Egyptian Armed Forces in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, highlighting an upsurge in the group's intensified operations there.

 

ISIS Telegram Channels Mourn Pakistani-Born Operative Killed In U.S. Airstrike

On July 19, 2019, Al-Talee'ah, a media outlet of the Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), announced on its Telegram channel that operative Huzaifa Al Bakistani had been killed in Afghanistan in a "Crusader drone strike" on July 18.

 

ISIS In Central Africa Releases Video Featuring Fighters In DRC And Mozambique Vowing Fealty To ISIS Leader

On July 24, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) in Central Africa released a video featuring a masked man condemning Muslims for being divided and showing groups of fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mozambique reciting the oath of fealty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

 

ISIS Video Praises Attack In Lebanon, Threatens More

On July 23, 2019, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Taqwa Media Foundation released an 11-minute video.

 

Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Releases Video Promising ISIS Victory And Poster Threatening U.S. Soldiers

On July 16, 2019, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released an 11-minute video. The video features archival messages from late ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-'Adnani and leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi promising that despite the organization's setbacks and losses, ISIS will inevitably attain victory against its enemies.

 

Pro-ISIS Outlet Shares Poster Threatening Attack In London

On July 25, 2019, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channels operating under the name "Lone Wolves," shared a poster originally published by the media outlet and Telegram channel "Greenb1rds," on July 12, 2019, showing London Bridge exploding.

 

Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Posts Video Showing Children In Al-Hawl Refugees Camp Vowing To 'Step On Apostates' Heads,' Retake Territory ISIS Lost

On July 22, 2019, Al-Basha'ir news, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel, published a short video featuring six children, five boys and a little girl, vowing to "step on the heads of the apostates one by one," referring to members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and saying that they would retake the areas that used to be under ISIS control.

 

In Open Letter On Telegram, ISIS Members In Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Jails Complain Of Torture, Appeal To Al-Baghdadi For Help

On July 21, 2019, Islamic State (ISIS) supporters on Telegram distributed an open letter in Arabic from members of the organization who are imprisoned in jails run by the Kurdish U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria.

 

Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham's (HTS) Ebaa' News Agency Publishes Article Offering Tips On Computer Data Security

On July 23, 2019, Ebaa', the news agency of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), published an article offering tips on computer data security including the use of encryption software, strong passwords, and deleting data using "wiping" programs.

 

Pro-ISIS Communications Security Group Recommends Phones That Use LineageOS

A Telegram channel belonging to a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group warns that every smartphone poses a security risk, and recommends choosing a phone that runs on the Lineage operating system if it is absolutely necessary to own one.

 

Jihadi Cleric Abdallah Al-Muhaysini Issues Fatwa Prohibiting Use Of Apps That Change 'Creation Of Allah'

On July 17, 2019, a Syria-based Saudi jihadi cleric posted on his Telegram channel a fatwa prohibiting the use of apps that generate an altered photo of a person. 

 

Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Releases Jihadi Song Applauding Fighters For Waging Jihad, 'Always Seeking Martyrdom' In Syria

On July 24, 2019, the media arm of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), an Uyghur jihadi organization fighting alongside groups associated with Al-Qaeda in Syria, released a video featuring a nasheed ("Islamic song") applauding TIP fighters for waging jihad, "carrying the Quran in one hand and their weapon in the other," and "always seeking martyrdom."

 

Telegram Channel Of Pakistani Terror Group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Marks Anniversary Of 2007 Pakistani Military Operation At Red Mosque Of Islamabad, Posts Messages Against Pakistani State

A Telegram channel named after Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a Pakistani jihadi organization known for systematically killing Shi'ite Muslims in Pakistan over the past few decades, claims to be the "only central channel of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Pakistan" on Telegram and has recently been posting jihadi messages against the Pakistani government and military.

 

Afghan Taliban: 'Our Country Has Been Invaded By American Forces And Our Believing Nation Is Opposing Them With Armed Jihad'

In a July 22, 2019 statement, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) compared its jihadi fight in Afghanistan with the nationalist movements that fought against the colonial powers of the day across the world during the 19th and 20th centuries.

 

Afghan Taliban Accuse 'Soldiers Of Democracy' Of Killing Civilians In Several Provinces, Vow 'To Seek Revenge' On Behalf Of Afghan People

On July 22, 2019, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) released a statement accusing the American and Afghan forces of committing atrocities against civilians in several provinces of the country.

 

Afghan Taliban To Trump: 'Afghans... Have Never Bowed Down To The Bullying Of Foreigners Nor Will They Bow To The Bullying Of A Mad President Like Donald Trump'

On July 23, 2019, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) published statements in view of some comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Afghanistan during his recent meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Washington DC.

 

Afghan Taliban Take Over Mine In Badakhshan Province, Tribal Chieftains Sign Oath Of Allegiance To Taliban Leader

According to an Urdu daily report, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) took over a lapis lazuli mine in the country's province of Badakhshan. The mine contains the world's largest deposits of lapis lazuli, a kind of bright blue stone used in jewellery.

 

Pakistani Wives Of Former Kashmiri Militants Demand To Be Given Indian Citizenship Or Be Deported Back To Pakistan

The Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned to Indian Kashmir and abandoned terrorism under a rehabilitation program, have demanded that they be granted Indian citizenship or be deported back to Pakistan, according to a Kashmiri news website.

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