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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The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
According to a Pashtu-language Afghan media report, Osama Bin Laden's elder son is living in the Afghan Taliban's spiritual capital, Kandahar, and occasionally holds consultative meetings with the Taliban supreme leader Sheikh Hibbatullah Akhundzada. Taliban leader Sheikh Hebatullah Akhundzada is currently based in Kandahar.
Islamic State (ISIS) Claims Responsibility For Suicide Attack In Pakistan
On March 6, 2023, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Pakistan Province claimed responsibility for a same-day suicide attack that targeted a group of policemen in Pakistan's Balochistan Province.
On March 8, 2023, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for the assassination of "a senior administrative official in the apostate Taliban militia" in the city of Herat in western Afghanistan.
On March 3, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 380 of its weekly newsletter Al-Naba'. The issue's feature article, titled "Observance Of Frontline Duty Is Obedience To Allah," discusses the significance of operational discipline for the mujahideen in maintaining the unity of ranks and safeguarding jihad as only way to achieve its reward.
On March 2, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 380 of its weekly magazine Al-Naba' which contains an article about recent Islamic State Sahel province operations in Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Mali. Several of the operations were reported in Al-Naba' for the first time.
On March 4, 2023, a Saudi-owned TV channel aired a news clip featuring an interview with a captured senior Islamic State (ISIS) operative.
In a Pashtu-language booklet, the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) accuses the Taliban of betraying the Uyghur Muslims of Xinjiang province while supporting China, U.S., and other unbeliever nations of the world. It highlights China's atrocities in Xinjiang province and urges Uyghur Muslims to launch martyrdom attacks in China.
On March 5, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a five-page official statement in which it confirmed the death of the head of AQAP Information Committee and claimed that he was killed in an American drone attack on his home in Yemen's Ma'rib Governorate.
On March 4, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), released a 37-minute audio interview in Arabic with AQIM leader Abu 'Ubaydah Yousuf Al-'Annabi, conducted by France 24 correspondent Wassim Nasr.
On March 7, 2023, the official media outlet of the Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), published an article on its website reporting 89 members of Somali Special Forces and government militias killed in a "massive assault" by Al-Shabab.
Somalia-Based Al-Qaeda Affiliate Al-Shabab Movement Eulogizes AQAP Senior Leader Killed In Yemen
On March 5, 2023, the media arm of Al-Shabab Movement, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, released a statement eulogizing the head of the Information Committee of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
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On March 8, 2023, a Syrian opposition website reported that Iranian militias are continuing to expand Iran's influence in Syria's Deir Al-Zour region by excavating a new tunnel connecting Iraqi territory and a house purchased in a village near the Syrian city of Albu Kamal.
Hizbullah Mourns Death Of Senior Security Official
On March 3, 2023, Hizbullah released a statement mourning the death of one its commanders from the town of Al Khara'ib in South Lebanon, following an illness.
On March 5, 2023, a Telegram channel which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) published posts claiming Israel is responsible for the recent suspected poisonings at Iranian girls' schools, and threatening to retaliate with Iran's "biological capabilities."
On March 8, 2023, Iraq's Hizbullah Brigades released a statement marking the anniversary of birth of Imam al-Mahdi, saying that while awaiting the reappearance of its "savior," the Islamic ummah must engage in laying the groundwork for the success of Al-Mahdi's project by countering the attacks led by the "forces of global arrogance" and defending its sanctities, values, and rights.
On March 7, 2023, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made a surprise visit to Iraq, during which he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani. The visit sparked severe criticism among the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, which view it as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, and assert that they are not bound by any agreement that was reached during the visit between the Secretary of Defense and the political powers in the country.
On March 3, 2023, an Iran-backed group released a three-minute video clip which includes the veiled threat of attacks against American military targets in Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait.
Two Iran-Backed Iraqi TV Networks Continue To Defy U.S. Domains Seizure
Despite the seizure of their web domains by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), two television networks affiliated with the Iran-backed Iraqi groups continue to operate online using alternative domains.
On March 4, 2023, a Houthi-owned outlet published an article on its website criticizing a March 3 visit by the Commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, to Al-Ghayda, Yemen, during which he met senior Yemeni coast guard and government representatives to discuss regional maritime security efforts and opportunities to deepen cooperation.
On March 7, 2023, the official outlet of Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) released a series of photos documenting a ceremony in which HTS leadership honored members of the group's elite Red Headbands forces.
On February 27, 2023, a group of independent jihadi clerics in Syria's Idlib region published issue No. 46 of their monthly magazine.
On March 5, 2023, a pro-Al-Qaeda outlet released an issue of its women's magazine. The 107-page magazine consisted of dozens of articles discussing religious, jihadi, and housekeeping topics, including the preparations for the Islamic month of Ramadan.
On March 4, 2023, a pro-Al-Qaeda outlet released a new issue of its women's magazine. The issue contained a one-and-a-half-page article titled "Either Islam Or Infidelity – There Is No Third Option."
On February 24, 2023, a drone strike believed to be carried out by the U.S.-led coalition killed two men on motorcycles in Mashhad Rouheen village, on the road between Qah and Deir Hassan, near the Turkish border north of Idlib, Syria.
On March 7, 2023, an anti-Islamic State (ISIS) channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server claimed that sources from inside ISIS confirmed that the group is blaming operatives who do not abide by the organization safety instructions for the recent losses among its leadership ranks in Iraq and Syria.
On March 2, 2023, a user of the Islamic State (ISIS)-operated Rocket.Chat server published an announcement in Arabic- and Spanish-language versions proclaiming the establishment of a new umbrella media group dedicated to translating official ISIS media materials.
Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Media Outlet Encourages Waging Jihad Year-Round, Especially During Ramadan
On March 3, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlet published a poster titled "Jihad: Open Season!" which includes text from the February 23 article "Seasons of Obedience, Precious Opportunities," from issue 379 of ISIS' Al-Naba weekly.
On March 6, the Voice Of America website reported that four jihadi prisoners had escaped from a prison in Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital, the day before, following a shootout with prison guards, in which two were killed and another two injured.
On March 5, 2023, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya Net published an article on its website reporting that the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has begun restructuring the organization around a new cadre of leaders based in the West.
The Afghan Taliban's Interior Ministry, which is headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI's Most Wanted List, recently released a series of three videos in which jihadi fighters, who are now part of the Taliban government security forces, speak about the significance of qital ("fighting to kill") and the need for "ideological warfare."
The Afghan Taliban government's Interior Ministry, which is headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, recently released a video promoting martyrdom. The video was prepared by the General Command of Police Special Units (GCPSU), a police department within the Taliban government's Interior Ministry, and posted on its official YouTube channel.
On March 1, 2023, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) officially celebrated the third anniversary of the Doha Agreement signed in the Qatari capital between the Taliban and the U.S. on February 29, 2020, which made it possible for the jihadi organization to take control of power in Kabul.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
A recent article, titled "Principles, Importance, And Necessity Of Ideological War," published on the official Urdu-language website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban), accused the West, especially the United States, Europe, and the United Nations, of waging an ongoing ideological war against Islam and Muslims. The article's encourages Muslims to wage "ideological war" through various outlets.
February 2023 had the highest number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in a single month since June 2015, according to a report in the Pakistani English-language daily Dawn, which also noted that despite the surge, the number of deaths in the month was less than it was in January 2023.
The Pakistani jihadi organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has released a video saying the United States had sent a drone in support of the Pakistani military operation during the December 18, 2022, takeover of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) by the Taliban inmates in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
