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 February 17, 2023, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement announcing that on February 16, the U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a joint helicopter raid in northeastern Syria targeting Hamza Al-Homsi, a senior leader in the ISIS.
Between February 23 and 25, 2023, an Iran-backed Iraqi group claimed responsibility for two attacks on American logistics convoys in Iraq.
On February 28, 2023, a Telegram channel linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq published a post arguing that the Iraqi government should ask the U.S. to replace its ambassador to Iraq, Alina L. Romanowski, because she is overstepping her diplomatic role.
The January 2023 issue of Nawa-i-Ghazwa-e-Hind ("The Voice of The Battle of India"), a monthly Urdu-language magazine published by Al-Qaeda In The Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), calls for the killing of blasphemers in Sweden and elsewhere for burning the Quran.
On February 25, 2023, following the February 6 earthquake which rocked Turkey and northwestern Syria, the Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) official Amjad Media outlet released a four-minute video clip titled, "How the Leadership of the Liberated [Territories] Handled the Earthquake Crisis."
A one-page poster in the latest issue of the "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which defines itself as a supporting entity for the ISIS, calls upon supporters of ISIS to attack shopping malls, music concerts, stadiums, football fıelds, and so on.
On February 24, 2023, the Islamic State's Sahel Province claimed responsibility for the February 17 ambush attack on a Burkina Faso army convoy near the town of Deou in the country's northern Oudalan province.
ISIS Iraq Province Claims Deaths Of Four Tribal Mobilization Units Members In Western Iraq
On February 26, 2023, ISIS Iraq Province claimed responsibility for an attack on a military base belonging to the Tribal Mobilization Units (TMU) in Al-Muhammadi, in the eastern part of Al-Anbar Governorate, Iraq.
WARNING – GRAPHIC: ISIS Photos Document Ambush Against Military Forces In Northern Burkina Faso
On February 24, 2023, the Islamic State's Sahel Province claimed responsibility for a February 17 ambush on a Burkinabe army convoy near the town of Deou in Burkina Faso's northern Oudalan province, during which ISIS fighters reportedly killed 70 soldiers, wounded dozens more, and took five captives.
On February 24, 2023, the ISIS released Issue 379 of its weekly Al-Naba' newsletter, which includes an editorial saying that the mujahideen and the believers are ever perseverant and unyielding in their servitude to Allah, with the ultimate goal of fulfilling the divine promise.
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The cover article in the latest issue of the "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which defines itself as a supporting entity for the ISIS, criticizes Western colonialism for plundering and dividing the Islamic world, and accuses the United Kingdom of being the frontrunner in enmity against Islam.
The cover article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which defines itself as a supporting entity for ISIS, says the Afghan Taliban rulers are outside the fold of Islam because they are not adhering to or shari'a criminal punishments, including to those applied to adulterers, homosexuals, and others.
An article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which defines itself as a supporting entity for ISIS, questions Indian Muslims' trust in democracy and tells them that their plight caused by extremist Hindus results from their lack of belief in shari'a.
A key article in the "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which defines itself as a supporting entity for the ISIS, traces the origins of Islam in Xinjiang and emergence of Islamic ideology in the region and criticizes China's crackdown on Uyghur Muslims in recent decades, saying Uyghurs have been arrested for using WhatsApp and owning religious books, among other things.
An article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which defines itself as a supporting entity for the ISIS, marks the death of Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf in Dubai on February 5, 2023, vowing revenge for the 2007 military operation that he ordered against the radical clerics of the Red Mosque in Islamabad.
The latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which defines itself as a supporting entity for ISIS, accuses Jews and Christians of promoting LGBT rights among Muslims, castigates British colonialism for dividing the Islamic world, and criticizes Bangladesh for not sheltering Rohingya Muslims.
On February 28, 2023, the media arm of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (Group for Support of Islam and Muslims — GSIM), released a statement claiming responsibility for an attack on a Malian army checkpoint in Mali's south-central Segou region.
On February 25, the media arm of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), claimed responsibility for two attacks against Malian and UN forces in Mali.
On February 27, 2023, the official media outlet of the Somali Al-Qaeda-affiliate Al-Shabab group, published an article on its website about recent Al-Shabab operations against drug networks, prostitution, "immoral people," and bandits who operate freely in Mogadishu.
On February 24, 2023, an independent media outlet run by a Syria-based U.S.-born jihadi journalist reported that a commander of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, Hurras Al-Din, was targeted and killed by a Coalition airstrike on the northern outskirts of Idlib, Syria.
IRGC-Linked Outlet: Iran To Provide Syrian Regime With Surface-To-Air Missile System
On February 24, 2023, a Telegram channel linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that Iran plans to provide the Syrian regime with an Iranian surface-to-air missile system unveiled to the public in June 2019.
On February 27, 2023 a Telegram channel linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq reported that Turkish drones targeted a vehicle in Iraq's Nineveh Province, killing a militia commander. Confirming the news, an Iraqi militia which often claims attacks against Turkish troops stationed in Iraq threatened to carry out a retaliation attack.
On February 27, 2023, a Syrian opposition website published an "exclusive" report about "an urgent secret meeting" convened by senior officials from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on February 26, in the city of Al-Bukamal in northeastern Syria.
On February 23, 2023, a Syrian opposition website reported that militias backed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have been secretly digging new tunnels along the Syria-Iraq border.
Pro-ISIS Outlet Laments Operative Killed In Taliban Raid, Condemns Taliban For Killing 'Monotheists'
On February 27, 2023, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan released a statement on Twitter announcing that two ISIS operatives were killed in an overnight raid in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Pro-ISIS Media Outlets Release Posters Against Elections, Condemn Democracy As Polytheism
Over the past few days, a number of pro-ISIS media outlets released posters urging Muslims not to participate in elections, claiming that voting constitutes an act of polytheism, since democracy recognizes the primacy of man-made laws over Allah's shari'a.
On February 24, 2023, a pro-ISIS media outlet released a 12-minute video titled, "Global Religious War. Not Individual Actions." The video urges Muslims to avenge the desecrations of Islam in Western countries.
On February 28, 2023, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State in Khorasan (ISIS-K), which defines itself as a supporting entity for ISIS, released Issue Five of its Arabic-language magazine "Voice of Khorasan."
On February 26, 2023, Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yehia Rasool announced on Twitter that the anti-terrorism force of the Iraqi army clashed with ISIS in Akashat, Al-Anbar province, on the morning of the same day, killing 17 ISIS members, including "one very prominent leader, and other leadership figures."
On February 24, 2023, jihadi outlets reported that a commander in Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, Hurras Al-Din, was targeted and killed by a Coalition airstrike on the northern outskirts of Idlib, Syria.
On February 15, 2023, the Urdu-language website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) published a statement marking the 34th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
The Pakistani jihadi organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or the Movement of Pakistani Taliban) has rejected a UN report saying that terror groups, including TTP, have freedom of movement in Afghanistan.
