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January 14, 2022 Special Announcements No. 1161

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekly: January 8 – 15, 2022

January 14, 2022
Special Announcements No. 1161

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: Syrian Jihadi Magazine To Leaders Of Syria Revolution: Exploit Russia's Involvement In Kazakhstan; Prioritize The Revolution

On January 11, 2022, the Telegram channel of a monthly magazine published by independent anti-Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) jihadi clerics in Syria's Idlib region, released Issue 32 of the magazine.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Supporters Of Iran-Backed Militias In Iraq Continue To Threaten U.S. CENTCOM Commander McKenzie

On January 10, 2022, a Telegram channel which supports Iran-backed militias in Iraq, published a poster with yet another threat to target U.S. CENTCOM Commander General Kenneth Franklin McKenzie.

 

EXCLUSIVE: On Telegram, Iran-Backed Militias Report Rocket Attack On U.S. Embassy In Baghdad, Blames U.S. Counter-Rocket System For Wounded Civilians

On January 13, 2022, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq reported a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, adding that the embassy's counter rocket system (C-RAM) was activated to intercept the attack.

 

Residents Near U.S. Embassy In Lebanon Report Threatening SMS Messages, Likely Issued By Lebanese Hizbullah

Over the past two weeks, several Lebanese media outlets have reported that some residents of Aaoukar, Lebanon, where the U.S. Embassy is located, have received an anonymous SMS message warning them to vacate the area.

 

Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Claims Attack, Casualties At Nigerian Army Military College In Borno State, Accuses Government Of Minimizing Scale Of Attack

On January 11, 2022, Islamic State (ISIS) official media reported that operatives from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) had attacked a "military college of the apostate Nigerian Army" in Buratai, Borno State, on the previous day.

 

Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Releases Part III Of Video Series Eulogizing Sinai Province Operatives, Highlighting Biography Of Young Fighter, Vowing To 'Liberate' Cairo

On January 13, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlet released the third part of a video series that eulogized the Sinai Province operatives executed or killed by the Egyptian government.

 

Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Warns Supporters: Don't Trust Or Share News Reports From Unofficial Telegram Channels

On January 11, 2022, the editor of a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet, published a post warning ISIS supporters against consuming, sharing, or trusting unverified news reports from sources other than ISIS's official media outlets.

 

Pro-ISIS Media Group Lashes Out At Iraqi And Syrian Sunnis Who Refrain From Jihad, Urges Them To Avenge 'Massacres' By Supporting ISIS

On January 10, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet published a brief article on its Telegram channel titled, "A New Massacre, O Sunnis; Will You Take Revenge?"

 

ISIS Supporters Celebrate Reported Death Of Senior Commander In Al-Qaeda Affiliate, Group For Support Of Islam And Muslims (GSIM), Who Is Blamed For Leading Hostilities Against ISIS

On January 10, 2022, several pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channels referred to unconfirmed reports that a senior cleric and commander in Al-Qaeda affiliates Al-Qaeda In The Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM) had died of an illness.

 

Pro-ISIS Female Author Warns Sunni Supporters From The Spreading Of Shi'ite Ideology In Yemen

On January 9, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlet released a two-page article by a prominent ISIS supporter that warned Sunnis against Shi'ite ideology, saying it is spreading in Yemen, claiming it is being spread by Shi'ite teachers who are promoting children's textbooks that insult Prophet Muhammad's wife and his companions.

 

Pro-ISIS Military Education Group Urges Muslims To Prepare For Jihad By Becoming Physically Strong, Provides Guides For Making Explosives, Poison, Combat Training

On January 12, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group published a post highlighting what it described as the divine command for Muslims to be prepared to fight against their enemies and "the enemies of Allah."

 

Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Video Challenges U.S. Claim That It Defeated ISIS, Asserts U.S. Is In Decline While ISIS Is Expanding

On January 12, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) released a 14-minute video clip titled "And Indeed, Our Soldiers Will Be the Victors."

 

Al-Qaeda's Somali Affiliate Al-Shabab Claims Suicide Attack On Western Security Officers In Mogadishu Amid Political Standoff Over Elections

On January 12, 2022, Shahada News Agency, the official media arm of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), reported that Al-Shabab carried out a car bomb attack that killed and wounded several "Western security officers" in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

 

Al-Qaeda's Somali Affiliate Al-Shabab Releases Video Documenting Attacks In Somalia And Kenya

On January 12, 2022, the media arm of the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadi organization Al-Shabab released a four-minute video clip documenting attacks against "crusaders and apostates," in both Somalia and Kenya.

 

Al-Shabab Media Wing Releases Part 13 Of 'Inspire The Believers' Recruitment Series, Urging Muslims To Join Mujahideen In Somalia To Defend Islam

On January 10, 2022, the media wing of the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab) released part 13 of its "Inspire the Believer" video series, featuring a Swahili-speaking fighter urging Muslims to join the mujahideen in Somalia to defend Islam.

 

Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Claims First Two Attacks In 2022 Targeting Houthis In Yemen

On January 10, 2022, Al-Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula (AQAP), aka Ansar Al-Shari'ah, released two statements by their correspondent claiming responsibility for two attacks on the Iran-backed Ansar Allah (Houthis) in Yemen.

 

Channel On Al-Qaeda-Operated Server Slams ISIS For Denying The Presence Of Recruiters On Social Media, Claims: ISIS Attempting To Distance Itself From Its 'Systematic Failure' In Securing Platforms, Groups

On January 10, 2022, a channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server that usually publishes posts attacking the Islamic State (ISIS), posted a message refuting ISIS's "false claims" that its recruiters are not active on social media.

 

Amid Escalating Attacks On U.S. Bases In Syria, Syrian Press Calls To Expand Popular Resistance Until Americans Withdraw

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

Once every few months, there is an escalation in the threats and actions of the Assad regime and its allies against the U.S. military presence in Syria.

 

Syrian Opposition Websites: Hizbullah And Iran Increase Their Presence Near Damascus

On January 2, 2022, the website of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Hizbullah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are increasing their presence on the bases they control near the Syrian capital of Damascus.

 

California-Based Pro-Taliban Muslim Convert Holds Jihad Discussions On Twitter 'Space' Audio Feature

The user lives in California, converted to Islam several years ago, and has expressed his support for the Taliban on Twitter since 2020.

 

'Caged Believers' Project Calls On Muslims To Pray For Pro-ISIS Preacher Imprisoned In U.S. As His Court Date Approaches

On January 11, 2022, a project that releases a newsletter that is sent to Muslim prisoners, published a post on its Instagram account announcing that pro-Islamic State (ISIS) preacher Abdullah Faisal, who was extradited from his home country in Jamaica and is currently incarcerated in the U.S. on terrorism charges, has a court date scheduled for January 13, 2022.

 

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Allegedly Active In Drug Smuggling From Syria To Iraq

According to an article published on the Syrian opposition website Syria.tv, the Iraqi Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi (Popular Mobilization Units, PMU) is actively involved in the illegal Captagon trade between Syria and Iraq.

 

Telegram Outlet Affiliated With Iran-Backed Militias Reports: Multiple IED Attacks Target U.S. Logistic Convoys In Iraq

On January 11, 2022, a Telegram channel which supports Iran-backed militias in Iraq published "breaking news" reports on multiple IED attacks on U.S. logistic convoys in different parts of Iraq.

 

Media Outlet Affiliated With Iran-Backed Militias In Iraq Threatens To Attack UAE

On January 12, 2022, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq published a post threatening that attacks will soon target the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

Gaza-Based Jihadi Cleric Defends Taliban's Diplomatic Contact With Iran

On January 12, 2022, a Gaza-based jihadi cleric published a post on Telegram in defense of the Afghani Taliban, who have recently been criticized by jihadis for maintaining diplomatic contact with Iran.

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