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January 11, 2020 Special Announcements No. 860

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary: Week of January 4-11, 2020

January 11, 2020
Special Announcements No. 860

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: Urdu Daily Says Soleimani's Death Could Be Avenged In Afghanistan: 'Thousands Of Volunteers… Trained By General Qassem Soleimani Are Present In Afghanistan'

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

An Urdu-language daily in Pakistan reports that the assassination of Iran's General Qassem Soleimani could be avenged in Afghanistan. The Urdu daily, Roznama Ummat, which is said to be close to the Afghan Taliban and other jihadi organizations, reported: "Thousands of volunteers of the Fatemiyoun Brigade trained by General Qassem Soleimani are present in Afghanistan who can undertake retaliatory action against American forces."

 

EXCLUSIVE: Shi'ite Militias In Bahrain And Saudi Arabia Threaten To Avenge Soleimani And Al-Muhandis By Targeting U.S. Interests

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

Following the U.S. assassination of IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani and PMF deputy-commander 'Abd Al-Mahdi Al-Muhandis, several Shi'ite factions in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia threatened to avenge their deaths by targeting U.S. interests.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Commanders Of Shi'ite Militias In Iraq Respond To Iranian Attack On U.S. Bases In The Country: The Iraqi Response Will Be No Less Extreme

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

Commenting on Iran's January 8, 2020 rocket attack on the U.S. bases in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and PMF deputy-commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the heads of Shi'ite militias in Iraq thanked Iran for helping to restore Iraq's sovereignty and threatened that their own response will be even harsher.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Masked Fighters Announce Creation Of 'Imam Hussein Martyrdom Brigades', Vow To Attack U.S. 'In Near Future' To Avenge Killings Of Soleimani And Al-Muhandis

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

On January 6, 2020, several YouTube channels posted a video featuring a group of masked fighters armed with rifles and RPGs, identifying themselves as members of the Imam Al-Hussein Martyrdom Brigades, and vowing to attack the U.S. in the near future to avenge the deaths of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF) commander Qassem Soleimani and Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) deputy-commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis.

 

EXCLUSIVE: In Statement On Manda Bay Raid, Al-Qaeda Affiliate Al-Shabab Urges Muslims To Make U.S. Interests In Kenya 'Primary Targets,' Threatens Tourists, Says U.S. To Abandon African Forces Like Syrian Kurds

On January 8, 2020, the official news agency of the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab) published a statement released by the group's media arm, commenting on the group's January 5 attack on a U.S. military base in Lamu County, Kenya, at Camp Simba.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Salafi-Jihadi Clerics Denounce Al-Shabab Bombing In Mogadishu For Killing Bystanders

Following the December 28, 2019, bombing attack in Mogadishu perpetrated by Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen, a Somalia-based Al-Qaeda-affiliate, in which dozens of Somali civilians were killed alongside Turkish and government officials, prominent Salafi-jihadi clerics issued statements denouncing the attack and criticizing Al-Shabab, without explicitly naming it, for failing to heed the prohibition on spilling the blood of Muslims.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR) Truck Driver In Connecticut Posts Hatred For U.S., Jews On Facebook Before His Arrest For Attempting To Join ISIS

Platform: Facebook

 

Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): American ISIS Supporter Sends Jihadi Sermons To ISIS Widows In Syrian Camp – And Weds One Of Them

The following information is based on a general overview of a social media account demonstrating an affinity for the ideology of the Islamic State.

Platform(s): Facebook

 

Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): On Facebook, Canadian Man Shares Content Daily From Michigan-Based Jihadi Cleric Ahmad Musa, Along With Personal Views On West's Degeneracy

Platform: Facebook

 

Al-Shabab Claims Raid On U.S. Base In Kenya; Ongoing Combat With U.S. Forces

On January 5, 2020, the news outlet of Somalia-based Al-Qaeda-affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen released a statement in English and Arabic reporting on an ongoing raid on the joint American-Kenyan army base, Camp Simba, in Lamu County, Kenya.

 

ISIS Touts Its Recent 'Revenge' Campaign, Claims It Has Exposed Failure Of 'Unbeliever' Intelligence Agencies, Promises 'Perilous' Future Raids

The January 2, 2020 issue of the Islamic State (ISIS) weekly newspaper included an editorial claiming that the ISIS raid campaign avenging the deaths of its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and its spokesman Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir had achieved its goals and exposed intelligence agencies' inability to stop attacks, and that there would be perilous and large-scale attacks in the future.

 

ISIS Weekly Editorial: The Arab Countries Have Apostate Armies Serving Tyrannical Regimes And They Must Be Overthrown In A First Step Toward Toppling The Regimes

On December 19, 2019, an editorial titled "I Will Not Request Assistance from a Polytheist," was published in issue 213 of the official Islamic State (ISIS) newspaper.

 

Segments Of Syrian National Army Vehemently Oppose Sending Syrian Rebels To Fight In Libya

On December 29, 2019, the Shari'ah Committee of the National Liberation Front (NLF) issued a statement urging rebels to refrain from traveling to Libya to fight for the country's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).

 

Report: Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Carries Out Attacks On Syrian Army Locations, Russian Forces

On January 5 and 7, 2020, the Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) news agency Ebaa' reported that fighters from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) jihadi group had carried out attacks on Syrian army locations and Russian forces in Idlib, Syria.

 

Active Recruitment Campaign On Facebook And Twitter Urges Syrians To Join Jihad Against Assad Regime And Its Allies

On January 2, 2020, a body which is part of the Salvation Government which administers Syria's rebel-held Idlib region, launched a campaign aims to encourage the population of Idlib to join rebel and jihadi factions, to defend themselves against "the Russian occupier, the Iranian militias, and the criminal regime."

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