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.
Commenting on the recent downing of a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean by the U.S. miliary, a prominent pro-Al-Qaeda author and a jihadi ideologue published social media posts, saying that the spy balloon was a Russian-Chinese ploy to distract the U.S. military from backing Ukraine, and criticizing Muslims who theorize about aliens and UFOs for being scientifically and religiously ignorant.
On February 10, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's central command released Issue No. 8 of its Arabic-language magazine, which includes an editorial titled "The Ignoble Prince and the Arrogant English Mentality."
On February 10, 2023, Al-Qaeda's official central media outlet released Issue Eight of its Arabic-language magazine. The editorial argues that following the Quran-burning protest by Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan on January 21 in Stockholm, the Islamic world should not limit itself to mere condemnations, denunciations and demands for apologies.
On February 10, 2023, the ISIS released Issue 377 of its weekly Al-Naba' newsletter, featuring an editorial whose title is taken from a Quran verse discussing the "divine signs" manifested through the February 6 earthquake that hit large swathes of Turkey and northwest Syria.
On February 12, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda Central Command, released an approximately eight-minute video featuring a speech by the organization's slain leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul on July 31, 2022.
On February 9, 2023, the ISIS released issue 377 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue notably included an article highlighting attacks against Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) while Pope Francis was visiting the country.
In a recent video, the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) accused the Afghan Taliban of surrendering "to all the infidels of the world" by signing the 2020 Doha agreement and warns that "not only China, rather all the infidels will be ousted from the Muslim lands, with the permission of Allah."
The latest issue of the Pashtu-language magazine published by the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) warns the United States, Russia, and neighboring countries of Afghanistan, including Iran, that the Afghan Taliban government will not be able to protect them from the attacks of ISIS-K fighters.
Pro-ISIS-K Entities Increase Translation Into English Of Videos Discrediting Afghan Taliban
As part of its attempts to showcase their ability to produce videos in multiple languages, two entities supporting the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISKP) are rapidly increasing and coordinating the translation of their content into English and other languages.
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The third issue of the magazine released by a pro-ISIS media group linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) contains a two-page biography of a deceased ISKP fighter.
On February 11, 2023, a media outlet which supports the Islamic State's Khurasan Province released Issue Four of its Arabic-language magazine. The 62-page issue notably features an article accusing Saudi Arabia of unbelief for cooperating with the United Nations.
Syrian Opposition Website: ISIS Kidnapped Dozens Of Civilians In Syrian Desert, Executed Several
On February 12, 2023, a Syrian opposition website based in the UK whose aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria reported that 11 people, among them one woman and a Syrian regime operative, were murdered by members of the ISIS in the desert area in Palmyra, in the eastern Homs Governorate.
On February 10, 2023, a pro-ISIS media outlet linked to the Islamic State East Asia Province (ISEAP) released a 25-second video purportedly documenting clashes between ISEAP fighters and Filipino soldiers in Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines, "resulting in many casualties."
On February 11, 2023, a user of the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server published posts suggesting that the leader of the Islamic State East Asia Province (ISEAP), previously reported to have been killed, is still alive.
On February 8, 2023, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel posted what appear to be two recent photos showing a commander in the Islamic State Sahel Province, also known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
On February 14, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda Central Command, released a 14-minute video detailing the methods used by "traitors and hypocrites" in the Islamic world in order to promote normalization with Israel and claims that this is done with the support of the enemies of Islam in the West, and is intended to "reshape the Islamic brain and strip it of its Islamic beliefs."
On February 10, 2023, Al-Qaeda's official central media outlet released issue No. 8 of its Arabic-language magazine. The 38-page magazine contains the article "Taking the Pulse of America," which discusses the "unenviable situation" and the "declining status" of the United States.
On February 14, 2023, the media arm of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) posted an 11-minute video which includes a speech delivered by an AQAP commander in the Shabwah Governorate in Yemen.
The December 2022 issue of an Urdu-language magazine published by Al-Qaeda In The Indian Subcontinent (AQIS, features on its cover the demolition of the Babri Mosque, which was destroyed by Hindu extremists on December 6, 1992. The mosque site, claimed by Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu god Lord Rama, was handed over to Hindus by the Supreme Court in a case involving a title dispute.
Al-Qaeda Affiliate In Sahel GSIM Claims Attacks On Gendarmerie Checkpoints In Mali's Macina Region
On February 8, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), claimed responsibility for two attacks against Malian army checkpoints in the Macina region.
On February 11, 2023, the official media outlet of the Somalia-based Al-Shabab group reported that Al-Shabab had launched three attacks that day in Somalia against Somali Special Forces, Republican Guard forces and pro-government militias. According to the report, 122 people were killed or injured and large quantities of weapons and ammunition seized.
On February 15, 2023, the official media outlet of the Somali-Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab group published on its website an article containing an Arabic translation of a press conference delivered in Somali by Al-Shabab spokesman 'Abd Al-'Aziz Abu Mus'ab, discussing the group's eight operations in various parts of Somalia and in eastern Kenya over the past 48 hours.
On February 4, 2023, A Bahraini group claimed that it has hacked Israeli and Bahraini websites. The alleged cyber attack coincided with the 12th anniversary of the Shi'ite uprising in Bahrain, known by protesters as the "Day of Rage," which took place on February 14, 2011.
A Bahraini group hacked the website of a state-run media outlet, on February 13, a day before the 12th anniversary of the Shi'ite uprising in Bahrain, known by protesters as the "Day of Rage," which took place on February 14, 2011.
The Urdu-language website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) has sought to justify the December 5, 2022, government order banning Afghan women from working in non-NGOs in the country.
A pro-Afghan Taliban media entity that emerged in recent months has released another video showing suicide attacks by the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) fighters on mosques and religious places belonging to Shi'ites and other communities in Kandahar, Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, and other places in Afghanistan.
On February 7, 2023, the official media arm of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) published a statement vowing to continue its jihad against the Pakistani armed forces and reiterated that its jihad in Pakistan has no agenda outside of Pakistan.
The media arm of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released a statement on General Pervez Musharraf, the former President and military ruler of Pakistan who passed away on February 5, 2023, in Dubai.
