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.
On May 25, 2022, a London-based pro-Islamic State (ISIS) preacher issued a press release commenting on the May 24 mass shooting in Texas. Titled "Texas Shooting Should Not Come As A Surprise," the statement argued that mass shootings are the normal outcome of American culture, education, and laws.
EXCLUSIVE: Jihadis Celebrate Monkeypox Outbreak As 'Divine Punishment' Of Gays, Atheist World
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Over the past few days, jihadis online have been responding to the outbreak and spread of monkeypox, an infectious virus which according to some studies may be sexually transmitted.
EXCLUSIVE: Analysis: Recent ISIS Furat Media Video Likely Authentic, Despite Counterclaim
M. Schierer*
MEMRI JTTM assesses that the May 13 video released by Furat Media, an official Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet, is likely authentic, despite a May 18 statement attributed to the media outlet claiming otherwise.
On May 25, a pro-Hizbullah and pro-Iran Telegram channel shared a post promoting a BDS training event scheduled to take place that day in Paris.
EXCLUSIVE: The Evolution Of ISIS Views On Attacking The State Of Israel – Part I: Background
By: Y. Kerman
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On March 22, 2022, Muhammad Abu Al-Qi'an, a Bedouin citizen of Israel from the Negev region, carried out a car-ramming and stabbing attack in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, killing four Israeli civilians. Abu Al-Qi'an had served a four-year sentence in an Israeli prison after attempting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS) and was released in 2019.
Between May 8-17, 2022, a user of the Islamic State (ISIS)-operated Rocket Chat server posted several images which appear to be pages from an ISIS textbook for pre-school children, teaching them about Islamic rituals and values, including jihad.
On May 19, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 339 of Al-Naba', the group's weekly newsletter. Its feature article, an editorial titled "What if Jihad were Abandoned," proscribed waging jihad as a means to remedy the ailments of today's Islamic community.
On May 19, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 339 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. Page 11 of the issue included excerpts from an archival audio message by newly appointed ISIS spokesman, Abu Omar Al-Muhajir, titled "Fight them, Allah will torture them at your hands."
Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) Claims Suicide Attack Against Senior Taliban Members 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.
On May 22, 2022, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at a conference attended by senior members of the Taliban in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
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Islamic State (ISIS) In Nigeria Claims Killing Of 24 "Nigerian Army Spies" In Northeast Of Country
On May 24, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for a "security operation" during which 24 Nigerian Army "spies" were captured and executed.
On May 24, 2022, an unofficial pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet claiming to represent the organization's operatives in East Asia, published a claim in English stating that on the previous day, "soldiers of Allah" clashed with "Philippine crusaders."
An article in the latest issue of the "Voice of Khurasan," which is published by the Islamic State (ISIS), attacks democracies for promoting corruption in all spheres of life and for occupying foreign lands.
On May 19, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel used a video of former President George W. Bush to incite its followers against the U.S..
Article On Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Warns Iraqi Tribal Forces: We Will Pursue You To Your Bedrooms
On May 24, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed that the previous day, its fighters opened fire on pro-Iraqi-government tribal forces in Diayala province, wounding and killing several of them.
On May 22, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a video titled "Democracy Of The Cross, The Mother of Nazism." The video claimed that for centuries, "Western Crusaders" have been waging an "intellectual war" against Islam, employing ideological warfare aimed at replacing the core Islamic principle of jihad with Western ideals like democracy, human rights, women's rights, and so on, all in order to subjugate Muslims and keep them under the control of Western nations.
On May 23, 2022, a British pro-Islamic State (ISIS) preacher posted a statement on his blog calling for a "Twitter storm" on May 27 to demand the release of women and children, mostly family members of ISIS operatives, who are detained in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-run Al-Hol and Roj camps in eastern Syria.
On May 4, 2022, the Sydney-based Al-Madina Dawah Center (AMDC), which is affiliated with an Australian pro-ISIS preacher published an open letter addressing the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) saying it should renege on its call for Australian Muslims to participate in the federal elections, which are set to take place on May 21, 2022.
On May 20, 2022, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), shared a 20-minute video released in response to a confession by an AQIM official and a member of its shari'a council which was released by Algerian security forces on April 6, 2022, during which he calls on the members of the organization, and specifically the emir of the group's Western Algeria region, and urges them to abandon jihad.
On May 24, 2022, the media arm of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released Part 46 of its video series "From the Archive of the Mujahideen of the Arabian Peninsula." The video featured an influential slain AQAP religious figure who was widely admired by different jihadi groups, delivering a speech to a group of tribal men and rallying them to defend Islam and embrace shari'a.
On May 22, 2022, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released a 12-minute video titled "Harvest of Spies 6." The video, one of many released by AQAP which threatens spies who collaborate with the U.S. and local government forces to facilitate the targeting of the group's commanders, aims to show AQAP's resolve and ability to avenge the deaths of slain commanders long after they have been killed.
Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP): Indonesian Operative Dies On 'Land Of Jihad'
On May 23, 2022, the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released statements in which it announces the "martyrdom" of one of its operatives, who died of leukemia, and eulogizes him.
Syrian Jihadis Praise Al-Qaeda-Aligned Perpetrator Of Raid Behind Enemy Lines
On the afternoon of May 20, 2022, several Syrian jihadi Telegram channels reported that an inghimasi attack (commando-style raid behind enemy lines) had just been carried in the Al-Sahel area northeast of Latakia, in which a Syrian Army first lieutenant was killed.
Pro-Al-Qaeda Media Outlet Urges Muslims In The West To Emigrate To Lands Of Islam And Wage Jihad
On May 10, 2022, a French-language pro-Al-Qaeda Media outlet published a 16-page article, titled "What is Behind the Persecution of Muslims in the West?" The article appeared in its entirety in English, French, and Arabic on a pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram channel.
A Canadian woman expresses her support for slain Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Anwar Al-'Awlaki on Twitter. She wrote that she is considering converting to Islam, and that she suffers from mental illness.
Syrian Opposition Websites: In Central Syria, Hizbullah Tests New Rockets It Developed
On May 19, 2022, apro-Syrian opposition website reported that Hizbullah Lebanon and the Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades were testing new Hizbullah-Lebanon-produced rockets, launching them in the Hama and Homs countryside in central Syria.
On May 23, 2022, a pro-Syrian opposition website reported that Iran-backed militias in Syria have recently established a training base for new recruits in the Aleppo Governorate in northwest Syria.
On May 25, 2022, a Syrian opposition website reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had recently transferred "military reinforcements," including drones and advanced sniper rifles, from Iraq to Syria, under military guard, hidden inside two refrigerator trucks.
On May 22, 2022, Jordanian security forces reported that four drug smugglers were killed and others were wounded in an ambush they set for a smugglers' cell that attempted to infiltrate from Syria. According to the report more than 600,000 Captagon pills and about 180,000 packets of hashish were confiscated in the operation, in addition to Kalashnikov rifles.
According to a May 18, 2022 report by an opposition-affiliated Syrian website, Iran-backed militias have deployed dozens of rocket launchers in the Aleppo area in preparation for an attack on the Syrian rebel forces there.
Iran-Backed Iraqi Group Claims Drone Attack On Turkish Base In Iraq
An Iraqi group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a military base near Mosul that houses Turkish forces. Issued by the group's spokesman on May 21, 2022, and posted on the group's Telegram channel and on other Telegram channel that support the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, the announcement states that this was the group's first attack using "two high-quality drones."
Iran-Backed Militias Threaten To Take Action Against The Iraqi Kurdistan Region
On May 23, 2022, the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee (IRCC), an umbrella organization of the Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in Iraq, released a statement in which it warns the government of the Iraqi Kurdistan region that it possesses information which reveals that armed groups are engaging in training exercises there under the auspices of Prime Minister Masrour Barazani in collaboration with Israel.
