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: Matt Schierer
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Following this weekend's coup attempt in Russia by the Wagner Group, we are republishing our extensive JTTM study from August 31, 2022 on Wagner activity in Mali, where it has been working for the country's military junta since December 2021. After it was announced that Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin would be relocating to Belarus, in a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on June 26, 2023 that the group will continue its operations in Mali and that the events of the past few days would not affect Russia's ties with "partners and friends."
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On the evening of June 23, 2023, a column of armored vehicles carrying fighters from the Russian Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) left Ukraine, where they were fighting on the Russian side, and entered the city of Rostov-on-Don, which they took over with no resistance.
On June 24, 2023, Telegram channels affiliated with jihadi groups covered extensively the escalating tension in Russia after Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian oligarch and chief of the Wagner Group private military company, rebelled against the Russian military leadership and ordered his mercenaries to march on Moscow before abruptly reversing course. Prigozhin will reportedly move to neighboring Belarus and not face prosecution.
The latest issue of "Khurasan Ghag [Voice of Khurasan]," the Pashtu-language magazine published by Al-Azaim Foundation, which is the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISKP), vows to free Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year jail term in a U.S. prison for trying to kill American military personnel in Afghanistan.
A Telegram channel linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq, published a post threatening a missile attack against U.S. targets in Iraq. The threat comes only few days after the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee (IRCC), which comprises several Iran-backed militias in Iraq, announced a temporary cessation of military operations against American forces in the country.
On Twitter, several accounts operated by entities affiliated with Lebanese Hizbullah are active despite their U.S. designated terrorist status. Hizbullah was designated by the U.S. as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on October 31, 2001.
On June 23, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue No.396 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue included a report highlighting an attack claimed by the Islamic State East Asia Province (ISEAP) on June 17.
Issue 396 of Al-Naba', the official weekly newsletter of the Islamic State (ISIS), dated June 22, 2023, contained an editorial titled "Hajj and Monotheism." Released during the Muslim holy month of pilgrimage, Dhul Hijjah, the editorial discussed the state of the holy site in Mecca in light of Saudi rulers' accommodation of "polytheistic" practices and alliances with non-Muslims.
Islamic State (ISIS) Weekly Runs Eulogy For Commander Who Fought Against Nigerian Army
On June 22, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 396 of its weekly Al-Naba' newsletter, which included a two-page eulogy for a "martyred" Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) "military and security commander."
On June 25, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) Syria Province released the seventh episode of the "Makers of Epic Battles" video series. The approximately 17-minute video includes extensive, undated archival footage that depicts numerous operations carried out by ISIS.
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On June 5, 2023, a website that releases Islamic State (ISIS) material published a 382-page Dari-language book titled "The Obvious Misguidance In Secular Schools, A Review Of Misguidance In Afghanistan's Educational Curriculum" discussing the curriculum of Afghanistan's schools, and by referring to parts from some Dari and Pashtu books, it accused the Afghan Taliban rulers of permitting anti-Islamic teachings in the educational curriculum of Afghanistan.
In a new Dari-language book, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) rejects jihadi ideologue Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi's support in a book for the Afghan Taliban government. The ISKP book argues that Al-Maqdisi defends non-Islamic figures.
Issue 26 of "Voice of Khurasan," the English-language magazine published by the Al-Azaim Foundation, the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISKP), contains two articles by an Islamic State (ISIS) supporter whose name suggests he is from Canada.
Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Social Media Campaign Calling For 'Media Jihad' Expands To TikTok
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) are sharing content on the China-based TikTok platform promoting the group's ideology and activities, including videos related to "Support [for ISIS] is Ribat [Guarding at the Frontline] and Jihad," an ongoing social media campaign launched by pro-ISIS media entities encouraging supporters to remain committed to their online activities spreading ISIS propaganda and defending its ideology.
On June 22, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlet released on Telegram two posters announcing a social media campaign in support of ISIS families who are held in Syria-based detention camps.
Between June 10-23, 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 and pro-government forces in Yemen.
On June 21, 2023, Al-Zallaqa, the official media outlet 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 three statements in Arabic, English and French, claiming attacks on government troops and pro-government militia members in central Burkina Faso and Mali's capital region.
On June 26, 2023, Al-Zallaqa, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), released two statements claiming attacks on security forces in Burkina Faso and Mali.
On June 25, 2023, the Shahada News Agency, the official media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), claimed that Al-Shabab fighters bombed the Halane Training Camp in Mogadishu, the largest military base of foreign forces in Somalia, as well as the Mogadishu International Airport, resulting in casualties.
On June 27, 2023, Al-Kata'ib Media Foundation, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), released a 50-minute video documenting the closing ceremony of a training camp for new fighters, including trained suicide bombers.
On June 26, 2023, a pro-Al-Qaeda cleric published a fatwa on his Telegram channel discussing the shari'a status of Muslims living in the West.
In recent days, several websites and Telegram channels supporting Syrian rebels have reported a wide-scale campaign of arrests allegedly carried out by Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) against its own members, on charges of collaborating with the Assad regime, Russia, and the U.S.-led Global Coalition against ISIS, which operates in Syria against the Islamic State (ISIS) and other jihadi groups.
On June 24, 2023, the General Security Service (GSS), a body linked to the Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), claimed that its operatives captured a "security cell" belonging to the Lebanese Hizbullah which was active in the "liberated areas."
On June 28, 2023, what appears to be a new jihadi group claimed responsibility for a June 26, 2023 RPG attack on a base of the Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)-linked General Security Service (GSS) in Hizrah, west of Aleppo.
On June 28, 2023, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), a Uyghur jihadi group active in Afghanistan and Syria, uploaded to its website photos titled "The Joy and Blessings of Eid Al-Adha, and of Syria," documenting fighters on the fronts and the group's community in Syria celebrating Eid Al-Adha.
On June 28, 2023, the official outlet of Jaish Al-Adl, a Salafi jihadi group based in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province, released a statement on its website and Telegram channel marking the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha.
On June 24, 2023, the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee (IRCC), which comprises several Iran-backed militias in Iraq, declared a temporary cessation of military operations against the American forces in the country.
On June 12, 2023, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the creation of an international watchdog to monitor artificial intelligence, warning that it poses a potential threat to democracy and human rights.
On June 21, 2023, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali-Khamenei tweeted, "All the Muslims must go to the [battle]field to liberate Palestine. This is a religious obligation." Khamenei’s tweet followed his meeting on the same day in Teheran with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, at a time of security escalation between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank territories. Iran-backed militias in Iraq responded enthusiastically to the call by publishing posters of Khamenei on their Telegram channels alongside declarations stating that they are rallying to his call and awaiting his order.
On June 25, 2023, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the political council of Yemen's Houthi Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement, posted a call on his Twitter account for Muslim youth to carry out "global" cyber-attacks against pornographic websites.
The latest issue of the Urdu-language magazine "Shariat" – which is published by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the ruling Afghan Taliban organization) – has major articles on the water dispute between Iran and Afghanistan on the sharing of Helmand river water.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
In a June 25, 2023 statement, Mullah Hibbatullah Akhundzada, the emir of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban), greeted the people of Afghanistan and Muslims on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, the three-day feast of sacrifice that in 2023 will begin on June 29.
Issue 15 of the Urdu-language magazine "Taliban," which is published by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), blames Pakistani generals and politicians for the political deadlock and economic uncertainty in Pakistan and says that the Pakistani army will not be able to keep the TTP mujahideen from establishing an Islamic system in Pakistan.
