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 October 22, 2020, the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) released its landmark study Jihadis' Theological Perception Of The Coronavirus Pandemic: A Review of Terror Organizations' Responses To COVID-19 And The Resulting Security Implications. The report detailed jihadis' responses and reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the outbreak of the pandemic, MEMRI's JTTM and Cyber Jihad Lab (CJL) research teams worked together to monitor and track jihadi activity related to COVID-19 and jihadi reactions to government anti-COVID measures.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Rishi Sunak of the UK's Conservative Party, born in Southampton to parents of Indian descent, became the sole contender for prime minister on October 24, 2022, after the resignation of Liz Truss four days earlier. On October 25, King Charles III officially appointed him to the position, making Sunak Britain's first prime minister of color and the first Hindu to hold the office.
On October 19, 2022, Palestinian terrorist 'Uday Al-Tamimi perpetrated a shooting attack at the entrance to the Israeli town of Ma'ale Adumim near Jerusalem, during which he was killed by Israeli security forces. Ten days previously, he had carried out an attack at the Shu'afat checkpoint in northern Jerusalem, shooting to death a female Israeli soldier.
On October 20, 2022, a pro-Al-Qaeda media group published a poster on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server, depicting an image showing a group of people burning a piece of cloth with the design of the Israeli flag.
During October 2022, Syrian Telegram channels and other media reported several attacks against American forces in Syria.
On October 26, 2022, the Al-Tahrea Team, a hacker group affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, claimed on Telegram that it hacked and shut down the Ukrainian Stock Exchange and Ministry of Veteran Affairs.
In First Attack In Iran Since 2018, ISIS Claims Attack On Shi'ite Shrine In Shiraz
On October 26, 2022, Iranian media reported that an attack targeted a Shi'ite shrine in the southern city of Shiraz, Iran, killing at least 20 people
Following an October 26, 2022 ISIS attack on a Shi'ite shrine in Shiraz, Iran, in which at least 15 people were killed, Shi'ite elements in Iraq accused Saudi Arabia of being behind the attack. The Iran-backed Hizbullah Brigades militia even urged other peoples in the region "who have been harmed and burned by the flames of the criminal takfiri Saudi Arabia" to take action to overthrow the Saudi regime.
On October 26, 2022, the ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on a Shi'ite shrine in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran.
In Rare Operation in Northeastern Pakistan, ISIS Claims Death Of Police Officer In Lahore
On October 25, 2022, the Islamic State's Pakistan Province (ISPP) claimed responsibility for the pistol death of an officer of the "apostate Pakistan police" in the city of Lahore, capital of Pakistan's state of Punjab.
The "Harvest of the Soldiers" infographic poster featured in Issue 361 of Al-Naba', the official weekly magazine of the ISIS, published on October 20, 2022, details the attacks perpetrated by the organization over the previous week.
Issue 361 of Al-Naba', the official weekly newsletter of the ISIS, dated October 21, 2022, contained an editorial which criticized jihadi and rebel factions in Syria for fighting each other in service of the interests of their backers and for seeking recognition by the "international system of unbelief."
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In a video recently released online, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) has accused the Afghan Taliban rulers of working "tirelessly to protect infidels" and of being always willing to offer anything to protect the peace of the unbeliever world in keeping with the 2020 Doha agreement.
On October 19, a user of a channel on the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server published a post urging other users to "shake off the laziness" and move to Africa to wage jihad.
On October 25, 2022, a pro-ISIS media outlet shared a TikTok video of American-British social media influencer in which he described ISIS as "real Muslims."
A pro-ISIS media group levelled harsh criticism at the Saudi regime for its conduct in the controversy that erupted between it and the U.S. in the wake of the October 5, 2022 OPEC+ decision to cut oil output.
Over the past two weeks, the media outlet of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), claimed AQAP responsibility for five attacks against UAE-backed forces in the Shabwa and Abyan governorates of southern Yemen.
The official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has released the second part in a series titled "Illuminating the Minds to the Unbelief of the Rulers of Algeria."
On October 24, 2022, a group of Islamic clerics affiliated with Al-Shabab held the "Fifth Conference For the clerics of the Islamic Provinces, To Issue a Statement on Those Who Leave Shari'a and the Obligation To Fight Them in Preemptive Defense."
On October 24, 2022, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadi organization, issued a press release commenting its attack on the Tawakal Hotel in Kismayo, the largest city in Somalia's southernmost federal member state Jubaland, about 500 kilometers south of the capital Mogadishu.
On October 23, 2022, operatives from Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), the Somalia-based, Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadi organization, attacked the government-owned Hotel Tawakal, in Kesmayo, Jubaland State in southern Somalia.
Al-Shabab Attacks Government Hotel In Southern Somalia
On October 23, 2022, the news agency of Somali Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab released a claim of responsibility for an ongoing attack on the government-owned "Tawakal" hotel in Kismayo, the largest city in Somalia's southernmost federal member state Jubaland, about 500 kilometers south of the capital Mogadishu.
The media arm of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab) published an Arabic version of an English-language article.
On October 5, 2022, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Al-Shabab released a 15-minute video in Somali titled "Relief Campaign for Those Affected By Drought in The Islamic States – Part Thirteen."
On October 24, 2022, the media arm of the Al-Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel, the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), together with an affiliated media group issued a statement claiming responsibility for an October 21 assault by a detachment of GSIM on the Malian army in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali.
On September 13, 2022, the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), a jihadi Salafi group comprising Uyghur fighters based in Syria, released a video titled "Let Us Stand As One," highlighting China's crackdown on Muslims.
On October 22, 2022, a Jordan-based pro-Al-Qaeda ideologue tweeted that a pro-Al-Qaeda cleric was arrested following the release of his book "Now the Fight has Arrived: Messages of War to the Mujahideen in Sudan," published by a pro-Al-Qaeda outlet.
On October 19, 2022 an Egyptian-born cleric in the Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) published a brief article on his Telegram channel and on file-sharing website justpaste.it.
On October 23, 2022, an anti-Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Telegram channel reported that Abdul Hakim Al-Shishani, a Chechen fighter who once led the Syria-based Ajnad Al-Kavkas (AK) has arrived in Ukraine to take part in the war against Russia.
In an offensive that lasted between October 12-17, 2022, Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which is based in the country's Idlib Governorate, entered the Aleppo Governorate and captured large swaths of territory from the Third Legion of Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), in a conflict with the rival rebel confederation that saw HTS aided by some SNA factions.
Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) In Syria Releases Video Of Shooting Competition Held For Its Fighters
On October 24, 2022, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), an Uyghur jihadi group active in Syria, released a nearly seven-minute video on its website documenting a shooting competition held by TIP in Syria for its fighters and named in honor of the Prophet Muhammad's Companion Sa'd ibn Abu Waqqas, a famed archer.
On October 19, 2022, local media reported that 22-year-old Palestinian gunman Uday Al-Tamimi, who is suspected of killing an Israeli soldier in East Jerusalem on October 8, was shot dead while carrying out another attack near the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim in East Jerusalem.
On October 23, 2022, a Syrian opposition website reported that several days earlier the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) transported a large shipment of Iranian drones to its proxies in Syria.
On October 20, 2022, the website of a Syrian opposition organization, reported that the Iran-backed Afghan militia Fatemiyoun Brigade is exploiting the deteriorating living conditions across regime-controlled areas to recruit Syrians, noting the increasing influence of the militia and allied local formations.
On October 25, 2022, an Iraqi hacking group which is linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq claimed responsibility for a DDOS attack that allegedly disrupted the servers of the "Call of Duty" video game in retaliation for the fictionalized depiction in the game of the killing of the former IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassim Soleimani.
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On October 22, 2022, Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq reacted to remarks made on October 20 by the Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, Andriy Yermak, during a virtual meeting with leaders of Jewish organizations and prominent Russian-speaking Israelis.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On October 19-20, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq lauded the reputation of Iranian-made military drones which are being used by Russia in its war in Ukraine.
Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims Attack On Oil Tanker At Al-Dhabba Port, Threatens More Attacks
On October 21, 2022, the Houthi Ansar Allah movement claimed responsibility for the launch of attack drones at the Nissos-Key, which was anchored at Al-Dhabba Port near the Hadramout Governorate, and is under the control of the internationally recognized government of Yemen.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
During the last week of September 2022, it emerged that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) and Russia have signed a provisional agreement to import oil, gas, and wheat from Russia.
