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 September 5, 2023, two users of encrypted server Rocket.Chat operated by the Islamic State (ISIS) discussed ways to travel into Mexico and Canada.
On August 7, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's central command released a book titled The Road to Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. The release of the 152-page book coincided with the 25th anniversary of the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic facilities.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On August 25, 2023, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea caused a stir during her performance at the Gamers8 Esports tournament in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. After she sang a song which included the lyrics "preaching about prophets, it ain't no one man can stop us, bow down to a goddess" and then ripping her trousers onstage, Saudi authorities prevented her from finishing her performance.
On August 31, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 406 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue's feature article, titled "The Global System is Tottering," recounted recent global developments which, it argued, signal the collapse of the existing order.
On September 2, 2023, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for three operations perpetrated on the previous day in Borno State in northeast Nigeria. The operations comprised attacks on three different military targets belonging to the Nigerian Army and its affiliated militias.
On September 5, 2023, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed that on September 2 its fighters detonated an IED on a patrol of the "unbelieving Cameroonian army" near the town of Ladari, on the Cameroonian border in northeastern Nigeria's Borno State.
On August 31, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media foundation released a seven-minute video titled "Burning Qurans." Coming after several public burnings of the Quran in Sweden and Denmark, the video compares such actions to bombings of ISIS-controlled territories, claiming they are all part of a global war against Islam. The video calls for "revenge" by killing those who insult Islam.
On September 5, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel reacted to recent U.S. statements regarding the military escalation between the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Arab tribes in Deir Al-Zour, Syria.
On September 3, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group released an approximately 17-minute video titled "The Ultimate Triumph." The central message of the video is that ISIS, in its various incarnations, will continue to exist, despite the efforts to eliminate the organization and those who lead it.
On September 2, 2023, a user of the Islamic State (ISIS)-operated Rocket.Chat server published a post containing a three-page article he wrote titled "The Swine Reveal Their Plan," in which he accuses the "Zionists" of seeking to take over the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to dominate Muslim countries, and calls for jihad against "the Jews" and the destruction of Tel Aviv.
On September 3, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel boasted about a news report published in the U.S. government-funded Arabic-language website which discussed the recent killing of French military personnel in Iraq.
On September 5, 2023, the Shahada News Agency, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), reported that Al-Shabab carried out a suicide attack against a "high-ranking" delegation that included President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during his visit to Maxaas, in the Hiran region of central Somalia.
Al-Shabab Releases Video Of Hostage Ugandan Soldier Urging Government To Free Him
On September 5, 2023, Al-Kata'ib Media, a media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), released a four-minute video featuring a Ugandan POW who was captured during the group's May 26 raid on the Bulo Marer base in Somalia. Speaking in English, the captive addressed the Ugandan government, asking it to intercede with Al-Shabab and secure his release.
Al-Qaeda Affiliate Al-Shabab Claims Five Children Killed In American Air Strike In Central Somalia
On September 7, 2023, the Shahada News Agency, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), reported that "American planes committed a new massacre," claiming that on September 6 American forces bombed innocent villagers in Somalia's Galguduud province.
On August 30, 2023, Shahada News Agency, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), issued three statements claiming responsibility for attacks across Somalia and in northeastern Kenya.
On September 1, 2023, Shahada News Agency, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), reported that Al-Shabab fighters raided the city of Qoryoley, in southern Somalia's Lower Shabelle province, leading to violent clashes with pro- Somalian government militias in the city.
In the past two days, between September 6-7, 2023, Al-Zallaqa, 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), reported about an attack in Mali against the Russian Wagner Group and two additional attacks in Burkina Faso against Burkinabe soldiers, in which over 50 were killed and a large quantity of spoils including a drone seized.
On August 30, 2023, Al-Zallaqa, 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), reported a same-day, "precise" attack in which GSIM fighters, fired mortars against the Timbuktu military airport, in Mali.
On August 30, 2023, Al-Zallaqa, the official media outlet 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), issued a statement claiming three GSIM attacks in Brukina Faso and released two photos documenting the spoils captured in both attacks.
On September 2, 2023, according to reports from pro-Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Telegram channels, units belonging to the Al-Fath Al-Mubin operations room, which comprises HTS and other rebel and jihadi factions, launched an extensive military operation to retake several positions that were recently conquered by the Syrian Armed Forces near Kafr Ta'al, west of Aleppo.
In late August 2023, clashes erupted between Kurdish and Arab elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after the SDF leadership reportedly arrested the head of the Arab-majority Deir Al-Zour Military Council (DZMC) – part of the Kurdish-led SDF, which controls large parts of eastern Syria.
On August 29, 2023, a Canada-based Egyptian-born pro-Al-Qaeda jihadi cleric, posted a commentary on his Telegram channel, arguing that the world is being governed by two kinds of dictatorships: military and liberal.
On August 28, 2023, a pro-Al-Qaeda platform released Issue 30 of its women's magazine. The issue includes a three-page article titled "The Martyrs – Gratitude and Thanks."
On September 4, 2023, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, based in the West Bank, issued a "military" statement claiming responsibility for an attack on an Israeli settlement near Hebron. "With Allah's grace and blessings, one of our military cells operating in the area of the town of Beit Ummar was able to target on Monday evening the occupied Bait Ayin [settlement] with a heavy barrage of bullets. Our fighters returned safely under Allah's care," said the statement, which was posted on a Telegram channel affiliated with the group.
On September 5, 2023, a Telegram channel which covers events in northeastern Syria's Deir Al-Zour governorate published a short video titled "The Reasons for the Weakness of ISIS's Propaganda Efforts."
On August 28, 2023, the anti-Islamic State (ISIS) channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server published a two-page letter allegedly sent by an ISIS "Education official" in the Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps—internment camps run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in eastern Syria which house the families of ISIS members—to ISIS' Syria Province commanders on July 18, 2022.
On September 5, 2023, Lebanese Hizbullah issued a statement commenting on the inauguration of the Israeli Embassy in Manama, Bahrain, accusing the Bahraini government of betraying the Palestinian people. Israel officially opened its embassy in Bahrain on September 4, three years after the two countries signed an agreement to normalize ties.
According to an August 31, 2023 "exclusive" report on a Syrian opposition website, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Hizbullah plan to train Russian soldiers and officers in Syria to operate Iran-manufactured attack drones.
On August 30, 2023, local media outlets in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region reported that the Khor Mor gas field in the Chamchamal district of Al-Sulaymaniyah Governorate came under rocket attack the same day. The major gas field, developed and operated by the UAE-based Dana Gas, was hit with two rockets, the attack first in months.
On September 3, 2023, the London-based Saudi-funded Al-Sharq Al-Awsat daily reported that the Houthi Ansar Allah movement has been expropriating sanitation and lighting equipment, worth approximately one million dollars, that was provided by the United Nations to the Ibb Governorate in southern Yemen.
During late August and early September 2023, senior officials of the Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) renewed their threats against foreign forces, principally the American and British forces in the Red Sea and in southern Yemen.
On September 3, 2023, the Houthi Ansar Allah Movement's website published an article reporting on an alleged U.S. military recruitment drive targeting Yemeni youth on social media.
