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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On November 27, 2024, an outlet supporting Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), quoted a "military source" who claimed that over the past month, forces of the "criminal [Assad] regime" carried out more than 77 airstrikes and over 4,600 rocket and artillery attacks on the rebel-controlled Idlib area of northwest Syria.
On December 5, 2024, a Telegram channel affiliated with the military operation room of the General Command of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), published two video messages delivered by HTS leader Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani.
On December 4, 2024, the official Telegram channel affiliated with the General Command of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)-led campaign against the Syrian regime forces published photos showing HTS leader Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani visiting the city of Aleppo, which was recently seized by his fighters, alongside with other rebel and jihadi factions.
On November 27, 2024, Idlib-based jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), along with rebels and jihadi groups, launched a military operation "Repelling The Aggression," against the Syrian regime forces that involved executing an incursion into a dozen towns and villages in the northern province of Syria's Aleppo.
On November 27, 2024, an operations room that includes Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and other jihadi and rebel factions, announced a new offensive called "Operation Repelling the Aggression," under the auspices of a new body, the "Military Operations Command."
A Syrian Opposition media outlet based in Istanbul, Turkey, reported that Iran has attempted to mobilize Iraqi and Afghan fighters to Syria to counter the rebel offensive in Aleppo.
On November 27, 2024, an operations room that includes Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and other jihadi and rebel factions, announced a new offensive, Operation Repelling the Aggression, under the auspices of a new body, the Military Operations Command.
A jihadi account on X (formerly Twitter) has been documenting the participation of Syria-based foreign jihadi groups in the Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)-led military operation codenamed "Repelling the Aggression" against the Syrian regime's forces in Aleppo.
On December 3, 2024, the Syrian opposition-affiliated North Press Agency (NPA) reported that hundreds of operatives from the Iran-backed Iraqi Al-Nujaba Movement and Lebanese Hizbullah, along with Egyptian military equipment, had arrived in Syria to support Bashar Al-Assad's government in its counteroffensive against rebel forces in Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama.
On December 3, 2024, the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), a leading armed opposition faction in the military campaign in Aleppo against the Syrian regime forces, and a rival to Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), issued a statement accusing HTS of capturing fighters affiliated with its SNA-led operation room.
On November 27, 2024, a coalition of Syrian rebel groups, led by the jihadi Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched an offensive against the Assad regime in northwestern Syria, named Operation Repelling the Aggression.
On December 3, 2024, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel published a joint statement celebrating Syria's jihadi and rebel advances in Syria, and condemning ongoing "crimes" in the Gaza Strip and Sudan.
On December 3, 2024, the Syrian opposition media outlet, reported that Iran, through its proxy militias, had begun recruiting "hundreds" of young men in the Syrian province of Latakia, promising monthly salaries in Syrian liras.
On November 30, 2024, the Military Operations Command of the armed opposition factions in Syria, which is led by Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), said that its fighters had seized Aleppo Airport a day after they claimed to have "liberated" the city, which was under the Syrian regime's control.
One week into the military offensive dubbed "Operation Repelling the Aggression," launched by Syrian jihadi and groups affiliated with the Syrian National Army (SNA), the groups swept through areas held by Syrian government forces and Iran-backed militias.
On November 27, 2024, an operations room that includes Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and other jihadi and anti-regime militant factions, announced a new offensive, Operation Repelling the Aggression, under the auspices of a new body, the Military Operations Command.
On November 27, 2024, an operations room that includes Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and other jihadi and rebel factions, announced a new offensive, "Operation Repelling the Aggression," under a new body – the Military Operations Command.
On December 3, a cell phone carrier affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) announced that it had begun installing towers in Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city.
On December 1, 2024, the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)-linked Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) issued a statement addressing the Iraqi government and people, reaffirming the historic ties between the two countries, and emphasizing their common values of freedom, dignity, and cooperation.
The Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), which is affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), issued several letters on Telegram assuring Syrians that the future of the country will respect the ethnic and sectarian diversity of the Syrian people.
On December 4, 2024, the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), which is linked to Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), published a statement detailing several points that the group has stressed in its communication with international parties, including "several regional and global countries" and "non-governmental organizations," with the purpose of explaining "the reality of what is happening.
On December 4, 2024, the Syrian opposition-affiliated Euphrates Post media outlet reported, quoting "exclusive sources," that "first-tier" Islamic State (ISIS) commanders held an emergency meeting in the Syrian desert to plan a response to recent developments in the country.
On November 27, 2024, an operations room that includes Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and other jihadi and rebel factions, announced a new offensive, Operation Repelling the Aggression, under the auspices of a new body, the Military Operations Command
One week into the military offensive "Operation Repelling the Aggression," launched by Syrian jihadi and rebel groups sweeping through areas held by the Syrian government forces and Iran-backed militias, the newly-established Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham-led Military Operations Command launched new orders addressing soldiers and officers serving in the Syrian government forces.
On November 28, 2024, several Telegram channels affiliated with Syria's largest jihadi group, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), as well as other jihadi and rebel groups in Syria, began circulating posts encouraging Syrians to make cash donations to support the new offensive and "be part of the liberation" of Syria.
On November 30, 2024, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) in Syria published on its website a photoset showing its Uyghur jihadi fighters taking part in the ongoing Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)-led military operation in Aleppo.
On November 26, 2024, a pro-Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Telegram channel published a two-page essay by a senior Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) religious official.
On December 4, 2024, a Telegram channel linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq published a video showing what it claimed to be evidence that there are Ukrainian advisors in Syria who are training "terrorists" in the use of drones.
On November 27, 2024, the jihadi group Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), together with other rebel groups, launched a military offensive against the Syrian regime in its northern Aleppo Governorate.
On November 27, 2024, the jihadi group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), together with other rebel groups, launched a military offensive against the Syrian regime in the northern Aleppo province.
On November 27, 2024 at 4 am local time, an American-brokered ceasefire went into effect between Israel and Lebanon. U.S. President Joe Biden announced the ceasefire and praised the leaders of both sides for their ''courageous decision to end the violence.''
On November 26, 2024, a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hizbullah has been achieved in a deal brokered by the U.S., putting an end to 13 months of fighting and paving the way for a permanent cessation of hostilities.
On December 1, 2024, the military spokesman of Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) published a statement claiming that the group's "missile force" attacked a "vital target in the occupied area of Jaffa" using a hypersonic "Palestine 2" missile, which "successfully hit its target."
Yemen's Ansar Allah Houthi Movement launched an anti-U.S. malign influence campaign on X after the U.S. vetoed a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council in late November 2024.
On December 3, 2024, the military spokesman for Iran-backed Yemen's Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis) claimed that the group, together with the Islamic Resistance In Iraq, had carried out three operations against Israeli targets in northern and southern Israel.
On November 29, 2024, after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hizbullah in Lebanon went into effect, the Secretary-General of Lebanese Hizbullah, sheikh Na'im Qassem, delivered a televised speech in which he declared that Hizbullah had achieved ''a great victory that surpassed even that which was attained in July 2006 [during the Second Lebanon War].''
On December 4, 2024, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) released a poster responding to President-elect Donald Trump's statement in which he issued an apparent warning to Hamas, threatening "all hell to pay" if the Israeli hostages held in Gaza are not released by the time he returns to the White House on January 20, 2025.
On December 3, 2024, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel posted commentary severely criticizing Muslims for supporting the rebels and jihadi groups in Syria, following the groups' offensive across areas controlled by the Syrian regime forces and allied Iran-led militias.
Issue 471 of Al-Naba', the official weekly magazine of the Islamic State (ISIS), which was dated November 29, 2024, includes an editorial which stresses the importance of ''education in faith'' in the life of a mujahid.
Between November 18-26, 2024, fighters from the Islamic State’s (ISIS) Mozambique, West Africa and Central Africa Provinces carried out six attacks against Christian targets in their respective areas of operation.
User Of Islamic State (ISIS)-Linked Encrypted Platform Requests Assistance With Hijrah To Somalia
On November 29, 2024, a user of an Islamic State (ISIS)-operated server whose username may indicate that he is from Chechnya or of Chechen origin, posted that he is on his way to Somalia and asked for help.
Issue 471 of Islamic State (ISIS) weekly Al-Naba', dated November 28, contained an "exclusive" two-page article detailing operations by the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since late October.
On December 2, 2024, supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) reported a crackdown on Telegram on jihadi channels, including a few that disseminate ISIS's official material in a timely manner.
On December 2, 2024, Islamic State (ISIS) supporters reported a major crackdown on jihadi channels on Telegram.
On November 29, 2024, a user of a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) server published a post.
On November 12, 2024, the Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), released a 241-page Pashtu-language book answering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) criticism against the Islamic State (ISIS) and its caliphate.
In a Pashtu-language video, Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) argues that the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan are violating shari'a in various spheres of life and governance, and says, in a response to a Taliban article, that "We do not want to give up on Jerusalem as a policy of non-interference in others' affairs, nor do we want to welcome the invaders of Islamic lands."
A Dari-language booklet published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) argues that according to shari'a, burning of apostates and enemies is justified when such a punishment is qisas (retaliation in kind, i.e., an eye for an eye) for a similar act.
On November 26, 2024, the Al-Zallaqa Media Foundation, 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), published a statement claiming that on November 24, GSIM operatives assaulted three "strongholds" of the Burkinabe army and "its militias" in the villages of Bani, Forgui, and Pissila, in Burkina Faso's Seno and Sanmatenga provinces.
On November 27, 2024, the Shahada News Agency, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), published a statement claiming that Al-Shabab operatives repelled assaults by Somali government militias in areas on the outskirts of Hawadley, north of Mogadishu.
Al-Qaeda Affiliate Al-Shabab Launches Account On Bluesky Platform
On November 27, 2024, the Shahada News Agency, an official Arabic-language media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), announced that it has opened a new account on the Bluesky social media platform, "to provide independent news coverage of the Islamic world and the East Africa and Somalia region."
On December 2, 2024, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed an officer of The Southern Transitional Council (STC), a United Arab Emirates-backed secessionist political organization based in Yemen's southern governorates of Abyan and Shabwah, was wounded by sniper fire in a new attack, part of the group's "Arrows of Truth" campaign.
On December 2, 2024, the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released Issue 19 of its periodical magazine, which, in September 2023, resumed publishing online with Issue 17 after a 12-year hiatus.
On December 2, 2024, an official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published issue 19 of its periodical.
On December 2, 2024, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released Issue 19 of a periodical magazine that resumed publication in September 2023 after a 12-year hiatus.
On December 4, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) released a statement in English congratulating the jihadis in Syria for their "conquests" and great victory against the Syrian regime forces following the jihadi's capture of the city of Aleppo.
A poster by a pro-Al-Qaeda media outlet glorified the November 27 Hamas attack on an Israeli civilian bus in the West Bank.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) Urdu-language video podcast featured TTP commanders blaming the Pakistani military and political leadership for the general crisis facing Pakistan and argue that the situation cannot be improved without removing the "slave army" of Pakistan that is serving American interests.
A recent Dari-language report in Afghan press examined the strength of Jamaat Ansarullah, which is also known as the Tajikistan Taliban and has been calling for jihad against the government Of Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon.
A website linked to Afghan Taliban's intelligence directorate has cautioned China against taking a pro-Pakistan stance on Afghanistan, saying that the Pakistani government is seeking to entangle Beijing in its proxy war in the region.
