memri
August 7, 2020 Special Announcements No. 944

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekly: August 1-8, 2020

August 7, 2020
Special Announcements No. 944

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: Network Of Jihad Supporters In Sydney, Australia Region With Ties To ISIS And Al-Qaeda Continues Preaching And Recruitment – Online And On The Ground

In 2013, MEMRI reported on the activity at an Islamic bookstore in Sydney, Australia, which also served as a community center for local Muslims. The report showed that the bookstore was a hub from which radical Islamists spread extremist and militant Islamic views.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Jihadi Use Of Bots On The Encrypted Messaging Platform Telegram

Every day, bots are being used by jihadis, especially on Telegram, for a wide variety of purposes. Highlighting these uses just recently was the pro-Al-Qaeda Jaysh Al-Malahim Al-Electroni Telegram channel that announced, on July 20, 2020, that it was recruiting supporters with expertise in programming, "media raids," film montage, hacking, translation, and graphic design. Those interested, it added, should make contact using its bots.

 

EXCLUSIVE: In Eid Al-Adha Audio Speech, Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Official Celebrates Impact Of Coronavirus On U.S. And Its Allies, Says Jihad Is Best Way For Muslims To Change Their Situation

On August 3, 2020 the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released an audio speech by a who is a member of the group's Shura council and a former Guantanamo prisoner.

EXCLUSIVE: Syrian Opposition Website: ISIS Intensifies Activity In Southern Syria In Coordination With Syrian Regime, Releases Names And Photos Of Senior ISIS Officials In The Region

On August 5, 2020, a Syrian opposition website reported on the upsurge in Islamic State (ISIS) activity over the past few months in the area of Daraa in southern Syria.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Ansar Al-Islam Releases Video Of Attacks On Syrian Military Forces, Fighters Operating Drones

On August 2, 2020 a media outlet of the Syria and Iraq-based Kurdish group Ansar Al-Islam,  released a six-minute video documenting its fighters targeting Assad regime military positions with heavy artillery. The video also shows the group's fighters operating a drone.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Urdu Book On Suicide Bombings Shared Via U.S.-Based Website Archive.org Argues In Favor Of Suicide Attacks By Jihadi Groups

An Urdu-language book shared on the U.S. website Archive.org argues in favor of suicide bombings by jihadi groups. The book, translated from Arabic, is a fatwa titled "Clear Arguments Regarding Suicide Bombings."

 

Kidnap Non-Muslims In The West And Steal Their Possessions, Urges Pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram Channel In Syria

A July 31, 2020 post on a pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram channel urges Muslims in non-Muslim countries to kidnap non-Muslims and hold them for ransom, steal their possessions, and slaughter them.

 

ISIS Claims Responsibility For Attack On Mozambican Army Barracks, Killing And Wounding Dozens

On August 6, 2020, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for an attack on two military barracks belonging to the Mozambican Army saying it killed and wounded dozens of soldiers.

 

HTS Releases Video Highlighting Group's Operations Over Past 11 Months, Showing Al-Joulani Acknowledging 'Setback,' Vowing To Defend Sunnis, Continue Jihad Until Defeat Of Assad Regime

On August 3, 2020 a media foundation associated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) released a video documenting the group's operations against the Syrian military forces of the Assad regime over the past 11 months.

 

HTS-Linked Syrian Salvation Government Blames Beirut Explosion On Hizbullah And Iran

On August 5, 2020, the Syrian Salvation Government, which is linked to jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), issued a statement eulogizing "the victims of the Beirut port explosion in the state of Lebanon."

 

HTS Releases Photos Of Leader Visiting Fighters, Meeting Locals, Distributing Gifts To Children

In honor of the Islamic holiday Eid Al-Adha, media connected to the Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) released several sets of photographs and video clips showing the group's leader visiting fighters on the front, meeting with residents of Idlib city and visiting an IDP camp, and distributing gifts to local children.

 

Video By Syria-Based Jihadi Group Documents Attack On Russian-Turkish Patrol In Idlib, Includes Archival Audio Messages By Osama Bin Laden

On August 5, 2020, a Syria-based jihadi group released a 12-minute video showing their July 14, 2020 SVBIED attack on a Russian military vehicle that was part of a joint Russian-Turkish patrol south of Idlib.

 

Syria-Based Al-Qaeda-Affiliated Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Releases Two Sermon Videos, Photos Marking Eid Al-Adha

On August 3, 2020  the media arm of the Syria-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), released two Uyghur-language videos on Telegram.

 

Al-Shabab, ISIS, Publish Photos Of Eid Al-Adha Celebrations In Somalia

On August 1, 2020, Somali Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen and its rival, the Somali branch of the Islamic State (ISIS), published photographs of their celebrations for Eid Al-Adha in Somalia.

 

ISIS Claims Prison Break In Jalalabad, Afghanistan

On August 3, 2020, the Islamic State (ISIS) Khurasan Province (Afghanistan) orchestrated a large prison break in the city of Jalalabad.

 

ISIS Releases Video Featuring Perpetrators Of Jalalabad Prison Attack

On August 5, 2020, the Islamic State (ISIS) news agency released a short clip featuring a message from the perpetrators of the large scale attack on the main jail in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, which took place two days before, and enabled hundreds of prisoners to escape.

 

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Pays Tribute To The Killer Of An American Citizen Accused Of Blasphemy In Pakistan

In a statement, the Pakistani jihadi organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (The Movement of Pakistani Taliban, TTP) has paid tribute to a man who killed an American citizen in a courtroom in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

 

Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (AGH) Spokesman In Eid Al-Adha Message: 'Kashmir Should Be Liberated... And Shari'a Should Be Imposed On This Land'

In a statement issued on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (AGH), an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in Kashmir, greeted the Muslims of Kashmir and India and has vowed to tread the path of sacrifice established by Prophet Ibrahim (i.e., Abraham) to free Kashmir.

 

Pro-ISIS Rocket.Chat User Posts Video Showing Molotov Cocktail, Urges Others To Carry Out Arson Attacks

On August 5, 2020, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Rocket.Chat user posted a slow-motion video showing a Molotov cocktail being thrown on at an external wall of a house, setting it on fire.

Share this Report: