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.
Several supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) who are active in pro-ISIS channels on Rocket.Chat celebrated the two mass shootings that took place in the United States on May 14 and 15, 2022. Such a reaction is not atypical in the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server; ISIS supporters on Rocket.Chat typically celebrate U.S.-based shootings, whether carried out by Muslims or otherwise.
The coverpage article in the latest issue of the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) English-language monthly magazine Sawt Al-Hind ("The Voice of India") describes anti-Muslim riots and massacres in India and urges Indian Muslims to join the jihad.
On May 15-16, 2022, a channel on the Rocket.Chat server operated by the Islamic State (ISIS), published an Arabic- and English-language post claiming that a Russia-based organized cyber crime group has resumed activity on the dark web. Both posts explained that Russian authorities have authorized the group's return to activity in response to recent sanctions imposed by the West following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On May 17, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a video that argues that the U.S. and its Western allies succeeded in manipulating the Afghan Taliban politically, intellectually, and economically, just as it did with other jihadi groups except ISIS. The video is the first released by the media outlet since August 2021.
A Syrian opposition website reported on May 12, 2022 that, due to the war in Ukraine, Russia is allowing Iran-backed militias to boost their presence in eastern Syria.
ISIS Claims First Attack In Eight Months In Damascus Area
On May 16, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the detonation of two IEDS on two vehicles in two different places in the western rural area of Damascus.
On May 14, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) released two official statements in which it claims responsibility for operations perpetrated against the Egyptian Army and the tribal members who cooperate with it in northern Sinai.
The May 13, 2022, issue 338 of the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Naba' weekly newsletter included extensive coverage of the ongoing escalation between ISIS operatives in Sinai and Egyptian military forces.
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The latest issue of the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) English-language monthly magazine Sawt Al-Hind ("The Voice of India") included an English translation of a message from ISIS spokesman Shaykh Abu Umar Al-Muhajir calling on jihadi fighters to "bring back the killings, the stabbings, and the running over" of the unbelievers, and warns that Jerusalem "will only be freed by the hands of the muwahideen [Islamic monotheists] and the worshipers of Allah, the mujahideen, not by the hands of the Tawagheet [tyrants]."
An article in the latest issue of the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) English-language monthly magazine Sawt Al-Hind ("The Voice of India") calls on Muslims in Kashmir not to wait to join the ISIS and instead launch lone-wolf attacks on Hindus in Kashmir and elsewhere in India.
A short poem in the latest issue of the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) English-language monthly magazine Sawt Al-Hind ("The Voice of India") criticizes the principles of maslaha ("expedience"), brotherhood, and democracy upheld by Indian Muslims and urges them to move on the path of jihad.
On May 12, 2022 pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channels reported that Iran sent a delegation to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban about the increasing attacks carried by ISIS in Khurasan (ISK) near the two countries' shared border, implying that the meeting reflects Tehran's growing concerns about the threat to its stability posed by ISIS.
On May 13, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel published a post celebrating an official ISIS media outlet specialized in non-Arabic language content, which recently released a video titled "A Message to the Infidel West" following a hiatus.
On May 18, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group published a statement in English on its WhatsApp group, announcing that it has merged with an outlet which covers ISIS activities in Thailand.
On May 16, 2022, a Facebook account believed to be affiliated with a UK-based pro-ISIS preacher posted a statement demanding the release of Mullah Krekar, an Iraqi Kurdish jihadi cleric who founded the jihadi group Ansar Al-Islam, active in northern Iraq, while he had refugee status in Norway.
Australian Pro-ISIS Cleric Launches Anti-Vote Campaign Ahead Of Federal Election
An Australian Salafi-jihadi cleric who is a supporter of the Islamic State (ISIS) has launched a campaign to discourage Muslims from voting in the country's upcoming federal election, set for May 21, 2022.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On May 12, 2022, Christian Nigerian student Deborah Samuel Yakubu was stoned to death and her body was burned in the Shehu Shagari College of Education compound where she studied in Sokoto, Nigeria. Yakubu was murdered by Muslim students who reacted in fury to a comment she posted on WhatsApp in which she criticized the Prophet Muhammad.
On May 10, 2022, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) issued a statement denying the group's involvement in a May 7 attack on government-affiliated and UAE-backed "Giants Brigade" troops in southern Yemen.
Al-Shabab Claims Series Of Simultaneous Attacks In Southern Somalia
During the month of May 2022, Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen Movement (Al-Shabab) reported that its operatives carried out several simultaneous attacks against a series of targets in southern Somalia, in the Lower Shabelle and Juba regions and in the capital city of Mogadishu.
On May 11, 2022, Shahada News Agency, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen Movement (Al-Shabab) claimed that the group conducted a "martyrdom operation" targeting a convoy of Somali government officials near the international airport in Mogadishu.
On May 15, 2022, the day Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected as Somalia's tenth president, Shahada News Agency, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen Movement (Al-Shabab), claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in the south of the country, and at the international airport in the capital, Mogadishu.
On May 13, 2022, on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server, an anti-Islamic State (ISIS) channel posted what it claimed was an ISIS circular, dated November 9, 2014, listing the compensation sums given laborers and vendors injured or killed during "Crusader bombardment" of ISIS-operated oil fields.
On May 11, 2022 on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server, an anti-Islamic State (ISIS) channel published several posts related to ISIS's recent activities, including the announcement of a new ISIS branch in Mozambique, as well as an alleged internal circular of group's affiliates in the Syria-based Al-Hol refugee camp.
Iran-Backed Group Claims Series Of Attacks Against U.S. Forces In Southern Iraq
On May 15, 2022, an Iran-backed group claimed responsibility for several attacks against a U.S. Army logistics support convoy in southern Iraq, all of which were carried out on that day.
On May 16-17, 2022, jihadis on social media, including supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, reacted to statements issued by the Afghan Taliban congratulating Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on his election as President of the United Arab Emirates and eulogizing the passing of his predecessor and brother Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Two Jihadi Organizations Join Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) In North Waziristan
Two more jihadi organizations have joined the resurgent Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (the Movement of Pakistani Taliban, TTP), a conglomerate of several terrorist organizations that have increased their attacks against Pakistani security forces since the Afghan Taliban came to power in neighboring Afghanistan in mid-August 2021.
