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 January 13, 2013, the Kuwaiti news website alraimedia.com reported that the Syrian government has announced a monetary reward of 500,000 Syrian pounds ($3,500) to anyone who hands over any "non-Syrian terrorist" (i.e. foreign fighter).
The Saudi daily Al-Sharq reported today (January 15, 2014), citing Jamal Ma'rouf, commander of the Syrian Rebel Front, that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has expelled the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from the Hamah and Idlib governorates, that all roads in these regions are now secure, and that the FSA is determined to rout ISIS out of the rest of Syria as well. Ma'rouf added that his organization is holding some 370 ISIS fighters hostage, including four who are officers of the Syrian regime and others who are Arab and other foreign nationals. He said that ISIS's losses amount to more than 1,200.
'Jabhat Al-Nusra In Lebanon' Claims Responsibility For Suicide Attack Against Hezbollah In Hermel
On January 16, 2014, Jabhat Al-Nusra in Lebanon released a communique claiming responsibility for the suicide attack against Hizbullah stronghold in the town of Hermel near the Syrian border, which occurred the same day.
On December 29, 2013, echoroukonline.com, the official website of an Algerian daily, reported that the U.S. troops are present in several locations across Tunisia, and that U.S. Marines, backed by AFRICOM forces, have set foot in the troubled Jebel Chaambi mountainous region in northwestern Tunisia near the Algerian border. The report published what it claimed were exclusive images of a joint U.S.-Tunisian military base that showed drones and other modern equipment being set up.
In a new video, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri addresses the current spate of bloodshed in Bangladesh and argues that the purpose of creating Bangladesh out of Pakistan in 1971 was not for the freedom of the Bengali people but rather to rip apart the Muslim Ummah in the Indian subcontinent. He calls upon Islamic clerics in Bangladesh to teach martyrdom to the youth and lead the current anti-government protesters on the path of intifada.
In response to the still unfolding rift and subsequent bloody battles between the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) and other opposition groups in Syria, the Ansar Al-Shari'a in Tunisia (AST) group published an audio-recorded message of its leader Abu 'Iyadh Al-Tunisi, who commented on the events there.
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Unprecedented Criticism Of ISIS By Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi
Prominent Salafi-jihadi cleric Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi wrote a letter containing severe and unprecedented criticism of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), portions of which were published by Al-Jazeera.
Al-Maqdisi, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Jordan, rebuked ISIS for igniting the fighting that has been raging among Islamist rebel groups in Syria in recent weeks, and criticized fatwas issued to justify bombings against fellow jihad fighters.
Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi
Senior Jabhat Al-Nusra Leader Maysar Al-Jubouri In Rare Video Appearance
Still photo of Maysar Al-Jubouri (center), standing alongside Sayfullah Al-Shishani (left) and Abu Muhammad Al-Adheri
A YouTube account associated with one of the Chechen groups fighting in Syria posted a video featuring senior Jabhat Al-Nusra leader Maysar Al-Jubouri appearing alongside the Chechen commander Sayfullah Al-Shishani. Their joint appearance in the video symbolized and celebrated the cooptation of Sayfullah’s group, Jaish Al-Khilafa, into Jabhat Al-Nusra.
Jabhat Al-Nusra Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani Visits Front Lines
On January 1, 2014, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) published a communiqué reviewing its past weeks' operations in the Aleppo theater. The communiqué also reported that the JN leader, Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, had recently visited the front lines in Aleppo. The communiqué was accompanied by several photos that purportedly show Al-Joulani, although he was photographed from the side or from the rear to hide his face.
JN fighters during meeting with Al-Joulani
On January 6, 2014, the Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) media company Al-Manara Al-Bayda released an audio message by JN commander Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, titled "[Fear] Allah [with regard to] the Arena of Al-Sham [Syria]." In it, Al-Joulani spoke out against the internal civil war that has been underway in recent days among a number of jihadi groups in Syria, stating that some groups had gone overboard in their reactions and also that the "mistaken policy" of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had "played a prominent role in igniting the dispute."
Jabhat Al-Nusra Announces New Twitter Account
On December 31, 2013, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) announced that it has opened a new Twitter account replacing the previous account that was shut down.
Chechen Jihad Commander Sayfullah Al-Shishani Announces His Group Has Joined Jabhat Al-Nusra
In a video posted to YouTube on December 29, 2013, Chechen jihad commander Sayfullah Al-Shishani and a commander from Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) announce that Sayfullah's group, Jaysh Al-Khilafat Al-Islamiyya, has joined JN and no longer exists as an independent organization.
A video posted to YouTube on December 24, 2013 features Salahudin Shishani, who is identified as the emir of Jaish Al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, a jihad group consisting mostly of Caucasian mujahideen that is fighting in Syria. The previous leader of this group, 'Omar Al-Shishani, recently joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) along with most of the group members. In the video, titled "An Appeal by Emir Salahudin Shishani following a Meeting of the Commanders of Jaish Al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar," Salahudin, speaking in Russian, presents his two deputies, and then discusses why he and his men did not pledge allegiance to ISIS.
ISIS Spokesman Threatens Syrian Opposition, Lashes Out At Iraqi Awakening Movement
Responding to recent events in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' (ISIS) official spokesman, Abu Muhammad Al-‘Adnani, released an audio message castigating the organization’s rivals in both countries, and threatening them with total war.
The Islamic State In Iraq And Syria (ISIS) Takes Responsibility For The South Beirut Car Bombing
On January 5 a communiqué was published in the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam where the ISIS took responsibility for the January 2, 2014 car bombing in Beirut. It should be noted that the communiqué, in its vast majority, is devoted to the topic of the current fighting in Aleppo between the various insurgent factions and ISIS. In the communiqué, the organization assails the propaganda attack being waged against the organization and its fighters, and particularly ISIS' foreign fighters.
'Abdallah 'Azam Brigades Issues Communiqué Following Death Of Its Commander Majed Al-Majed
In a January 12, 2014 communiqué released via the Al-Fajr media company, the 'Abdallah 'Azzam Brigades refers to the death of its commander, Majed Al-Majed, who died January 3, 2014 in a Lebanese prison, and conveys its condolences to all the mujahideen and to Al-Majed's family: his wife, his brother and his little son.
On January 9, 2014, the Al-Shahada Agency [a news agency affiliated with Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen] posted a communiqué on its Facebook page on behalf of Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen warning against the use of mobile Internet services as well as fiber optic service in Somalia.
