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.)
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By: S. Ali*
Over the past month, major jihadi outlets affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS) released content focusing on Ethiopia as a new battlefield for jihad, urging the Muslim community to revolt against the country's Christian government or join the ranks of jihad.
EXCLUSIVE: Jihadi Elements Join Threads, Meta’s New Social Media Platform
On July 5, 2023, the American Meta technology company officially launched the social media app Threads, which is currently available in about 100 countries, and tens of millions of users have already signed up. The app is very similar to the Twitter platform, and users can post and share text, photographs, and video and can respond to, repost, or indicate that they "like" others' content. Threads is available on iOS and Android, and also via a browser with limited user ability, although it will apparently be expanded in the future.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Weekly Calls For Jihad, Boycott Of Democracy After Quran Burning In Sweden
On July 6, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 398 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue's feature article addressed a Quran burning that took place in Sweden a week earlier on June 28. The demonstration – which coincided with Eid Al-Adha, a Muslim holy day – provoked global condemnation and counterdemonstrations, as well as calls for violence by terrorist groups.
On June 28, 2023, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden, tore and burned a copy of the Quran outside Stockholm's central mosque on the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha. The incident drew widespread criticism throughout the Islamic world, and calls for condemning the Swedish government and deterrence to prevent the recurrence of such acts.
On June 28, 2023, during the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden, burned a copy of the Quran in front of Stockholm's central mosque. His act was condemned by figures throughout the Islamic world ranging from governments to Salafi jihadi groups and clerics.
On July 12, a pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram channel shared a poster produced by a pro-Al-Qaeda outlet. The poster incites Muslims to kill Salwan Momika, the Iraqi refugee in Sweden who recently burned the Quran in a protest outside a Stockholm mosque, and contains personal information pertaining to him.
On May 23, 2023, the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine posted a recruiting announcement on its Instagram page, calling for qualified individuals to apply online to join the force in backing the Ukrainian government.
Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Media Outlet Releases Poster Calling On Muslims To Declare War On Europe
On July 12, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlet released a poster, in both English and Arabic, titled "O Muwahid [monotheist], Declare War on the Crusaders in Europe," calling on Muslims to "turn their security into horror and their prosperity into chaos, tear apart their bodies, grill their skin, and take revenge on those who insulted Allah and his Messenger."
On July 7, 2023, a user on the Islamic State (ISIS) administered Rocket.Chat server, shared posts in English calling for lone wolf attacks in the West, specifically the U.S.. Titled, "Why Not the West?" the poster, which bore no markings of any pro-ISIS media outlets, enjoined would-be fighters coming to ISIS-held areas to consider attacking targets in the U.S. before making any travel plans.
On July 6, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue No. 398 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba' which included a report highlighting the details of an attack claimed by Islamic State Mozambique Province on July 2.
Over the past week, the Islamic State (ISIS) continued its attack against the army in Mozambique. On July 8, 2023, the Islamic State Mozambique Province released a statement claiming that its operatives captured a soldier belonging to the "Crusader" Mozambican army in the village of Cobre, in the Macomia district of Cabo Delgado province, and slit his throat.
The latest issue, No. 26, of Voice of Khurasan – the English-language magazine of the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) – includes several major articles. Inter alia, the articles refute Sufism and argue that the Afghan Taliban's support for Sufis is against shari'a.
In a 20-page Pashtu-language book, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) criticizes the Afghan Taliban for helping the U.S. kill Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, and criticizes their silence on China's persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
On July 11, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet published an article by a poet and writer which encouraged jihadis to remain steadfast in the face of despair.
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On July 11, 2023, a user of the Islamic State (ISIS)-operated Rocket.Chat server shared a one-page English-language document which advises the group's members to use the Session chat platform.
On June 6, 2023, Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office issued a press release announcing that authorities arrested seven members of an alleged Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist cell in the country's Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia that stands accused of planning attacks against targets in Germany.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
In late May and early July 2023, the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (SVR RF) published two reports in which it claimed that the U.S. is operating Islamic State (ISIS) members in Syria to perpetrate terrorist attacks, and is even supplying them with unconventional weapons.
On July 11, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) " Telegram channel posted commentary accusing Al-Qaeda supporters of distorting the truth about a 2015 pro-ISIS video. Al-Qaeda supporters claimed that the pro-ISIS video used original footage from a video produced by the media wing of the Somalia based Al-Qaeda-affiliate, Al-Shabab, in what they said was a propaganda stunt aimed at recruiting Somali fighters to join the then-nascent ISIS.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On July 6, 2023, the Shahada News Agency, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), published an Arabic translation of an article titled "Somalia, A Repeat of Afghanistan?"
On July 6, 2023, Shahada News Agency, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), reported that the group's fighters detonated an armored personnel carrier (APC) on the outskirts of Kismayo, Juba province, southern Somalia.
On July 11, 2023, the Shahada News Agency, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), published an article in Arabic titled "81 U.S.-trained Somali Special Forces' Soldiers Killed and Wounded in Al-Shabab Attack in Southern Somalia, Including 10 Senior Officers (Photos)."
Between July 1 and 2, 2023, Al-Kataib Media, the official outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), released the first and second parts of the fourth episode in the video series, "They are not welcome, [for] they [too] will burn in the Fire" (Quran 38:59), "as a gift" for the Muslim holiday, which this year fell between June 28 and July 2.
On July 6, 2023, Al-Zallaqa, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), issued two statements claiming separate attacks on Burkinabe forces in late June.
On July 11, 2023, Al-Zallaqa, 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), issued two statements, claiming responsibility for three separate attacks on Burkinabe forces on July 7-8.
Al-Qaeda In Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Claims Series Of Attacks Against UAE-Backed Forces In Yemen
Between June 30 and July 5, 2023, the Al-Malahem Media Foundation, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released claims of responsibility for a series of attacks against UAE-backed forces in Yemen.
On July 5, 2023, Al-Sahab, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's central command, released issue No. 10 of its flagship "Ummah Wahidah" (One Nation) magazine.
On June 25, the Al-Andalus Foundation, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), published a 22-minute video, the fifth installment in a series featuring an audio message from a senior AQIM operative.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On July 5, 2023, Al-Qaeda supporter Sandar Al-Ghafiqi published a one-page essay titled "The Aggression of the Jews on the Steadfast Camp of Jenin." The essay begins by noting that every Muslim is familiar with the events from the Jenin refugee camp, claiming that Israel "kills, wreaks corruption and destruction and scares them [the Muslims in the West Bank] off, under the pretext of eliminating terror and extinguishing the flame of jihad."
On June 30, 2023, a pro-Al-Qaeda anonymous journalist posted a series of tweets contesting reports that an Al-Qaeda veteran operative is now dead, as revealed in the second edition of a book released the same day, titled "Selected Excerpts from the History of Al-Qaeda," and authored by a senior Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) official.
Pro-Al-Qaeda Media Republishes Series Of Articles By Leader Of Al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras Al-Din
On July 6, 2023, a pro-Al-Qaeda outlet published a short article in Arabic, French, and English versions written by the leader of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, Hurras Al-Din. Titled "Political Markets and Slave Markets," the article criticizes jihadi groups which are involved in political activity "that lack shari'a foundations," in an allusion to the Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).
On July 7, 2023, an anti-ISIS channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server criticized the hypocrisy of ISIS which, it claims, pretends to defend the sanctity of the Quran while in itself it is directly responsible for desecrating it, much more than the secular people and the proponents of free speech in the West. The channel is referring to what it calls "the ugly and terrible" suicide operations that ISIS perpetrates in mosques all over the world.
Iran-Backed Militia Threatens Attack On U.S. Targets In Iraq
On July 5, 2023, a Telegram channel which is affiliated with an Iran-backed Iraqi militia published three posts threatening U.S. targets in Iraq.
On July 6, 2023, Abu Ali Al-Askari, the chief security commander in Iran-backed Hizbullah Brigades in Iraq issued a statement discussing in part the fate of Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli researcher who is believed to have been abducted by Hizbullah Brigades in Baghdad on March 21.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
During the night of July 3, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a military operation against members of Palestinian terrorist organizations, primarily the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), in the Jenin refugee camp in the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank.
Recruits Graduate From Lebanese Hizbullah Training Course In Deir Al-Zour, Syria
On July 10, 2023, a Syrian news website reported that a new class of Lebanese Hizbullah recruits completed a two-month training course in Deir Al-Zour, eastern Syria. The contents of the course was reportedly consistent with Hizbullah's pro-Iran, anti-American and anti-Israeli ideology.
On July 11, 2023, the Houthi Ansar Allah movement in Yemen reported that a Yemeni man was killed in a gang shooting in New York City, claiming the incident is one of a series of crimes targeting and killing Yemeni expatriates in various U.S. states during the past months.
Iran-Based Jihadi Group Jaysh Al-'Adl Claims Attack On Police Station In Zhadan
On July 9, 2023, the official outlet of Jaysh Al-'Adl, a Salafi jihadi group based in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan Province, published a statement claiming responsibility for an attack the previous day on a police station in Zahedan, Iran. According to local reports, two police officers were killed in the attack.
On July 9, 2023, a Telegram channel which is linked to the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Zulfiqar Forces, made several posts threatening to annihilate U.S. forces and Israelis in Iraq as well as "collaborators" who work to advance U.S. forces' interests in Iraq.
In mid-July 2023, several Syrian opposition websites reported on a state of heightened alert and a bolstering of the Syrian Armed Forces and its affiliated militias which are supported by Iran and by Russia in the Deir Al-Zour region in northeastern Syria.
The latest issue of the Urdu-language jihadi magazine "Taliban," which is published by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), warns that it will have revenge against the Pakistani military for the latter's killing of jihadi fighters in staged encounters and abduction of activists in Baluchistan province.
In a recent article, a well-known Pakistani security analyst examined the growing strength of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or the Movement of Pakistani Taliban), which has been regularly executing major attacks across Pakistan, but especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces.
On July 4, 2023, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, or the Afghan Taliban, released issue 209 of its Arabic-language magazine, Al-Somood, which included several articles highlighting what it claimed are improvements to Afghanistan's economy now that it is under Islamic rule, and dismissing the recent UN report warning the country's economy is close to collapse.
