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.
EXCLUSIVE: A Year After Mosul's Fall, Local Activists Show Glimpses Of Life Under ISIS Rule
By. A. Agron*
Introduction
More than a year after the Islamic State's (ISIS's) sweeping takeover Mosul and northern Iraq, information about life in the city that does not emanate from the organization's official channels has been scant. One intriguing source of information in English for outsiders is the Mosul Eye Facebook page, which is allegedly run by a local independent historian. The author, apparently along with a team of fellow activists, has chronicled and analyzed information pertaining to daily life under ISIS rule, and provided insight into the organization's methods and tactics. This includes accounts of ISIS punishments, rules and regulations enforced on the population, coalition airstrikes, and security measures. Some of what is recorded by the page's administrators has not broadcast in the mainstream media.
In an audio statement, Hafiz Saeed Khan, the chief of the Islamic State for Khorasan (a region that includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and India) has urged Muslims to offer their bai'yah (oath of allegiance) to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. Khan, who was an influential and feared commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the Pakistani tribal district of Orakzai Agency, says: "Allah the Almighty got the Muslims united after hundreds of years and gave them Khalifat-ul-Muslimeen [caliph of Muslims] Abu Bakr al-Baghdad Al-Qurayshi. He fulfils all the conditions [qualities] of being a caliph. It is mandatory for all Muslims to declare allegiance to him."
EXCLUSIVE: New Fundraising Campaign On Twitter To Arm Mujahideen in Gaza
On July 9, 2015, the Ibn Taymiyya Center, a media foundation associated with Salafi-jihadi groups in Gaza, launched an online fundraising campaign on Twitter calling on Muslims to donate to buy weapons and ammunition for the mujahideen in Gaza.
The campaign, called "Prepare Us," tweeted a graphic image of a list of different weapons with their prices - for example, an RPG was listed for $3,000, a Kalashnikov for $2,500, and medium-size machine guns and sniper rifles were for $5,500.
During the month of Ramadan, which ended on July 18, Pakistan's leading jihadi organization Jamaatud Dawa distributed aid to Muslims in Indonesia and in Gaza, as well as in the Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan.
Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) is the new name for the outlawed terror organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is accused of carrying out the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. LeT founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is currently the Emir of JuD, which also operates under the name of Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF).
On July 31, 2015, Jabhat Al-Nusra's (JN) media company Al-Manara Al-Bayda released a communiqu├® titled "Division 30 and the Assistance It Received from Coalition Planes that Bombed JN." The communiqu├®, posted on the jihadi forum Al-Fida' and elsewhere, was released following JN's abduction of the commander of Division 30 (a unit of the Free Syrian Army) and several of his men. In it, the JN leadership declares its determination to fight Division 30, which it claims was trained by the Americans and forms part of the recently established "National Army," which is an American proxy. It claims further that Division 30 entered Syria to preserve American interests there, and pledges not to let Americans set foot on Syrian soil.
On August 1, 2015, Al-Manara Al-Baydaa' published a short video that allegedly proves the National Army's collaboration with the Americans and Coalition forces. The video claims that Syrian fighters are being trained by the Americans in Turkey and then sent back to Syria to fight JN.
On August 4, 2015, Al-Malahim, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released a video in which Adil Batarfi, one of the group's senior commanders, expressed satisfaction over the decision of the French satirical weekly magazine, Charlie Hebdo, to stop publishing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
In the video, which is titled "But If You Return [The Aggression], We Will Return [The Punishment]," Batarfi praised Chattanooga shooter Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, the Garland, Texas attack, and the killings of people accused of blasphemy in the Indian subcontinent. He also called on all jihadi groups and lone wolves to attack the U.S., which he described as "the head of kufr and the caretaker of all corruption."
JTTM subscribers can view the clip here.
Footage: Al-Qaeda Affiliated Group Flogs People Accused Of Drinking Alcohol In Al-Mukalla, Yemen
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
ISIS Continues Its Attempt To Rally Sunnis In Saudi Arabia Against Local Shi'ite Population
On August 6, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) Homs province released a video message featuring a group of Saudi fighters who direct various messages to Sunnis in Saudi Arabia. This is the second time in less than a month where ISIS attempts to rally Sunnis in the country against the local Shi'ite population. ISIS is also using the opportunity to present itself as the guardian of Sunnis against the so-called Shi'ite danger.
ISIS's narrative in that regard is based on a number of arguments and calls for action: It portrays Shi'ites, in particular those in Saudi Arabia, as apostates who must be fought and killed, or at the very least be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula. ISIS relies on prophetic hadiths in support of the latter call. It also portrays the Shi'ites in Saudi Arabia as members of the collective Shi'ite presence in the region, thus tying them directly (or by mere association) to the crimes committed by Shi'ites against Sunnis in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria. ISIS is also very aware of calls directed against it by Saudi scholars, especially regarding its treatment of Shi'ites, and is countering those calls by attempting to discredit the clerics and expose their association with the Saudi monarchy and regime. ISIS is also attempting to garner support among Saudis, urging them to join the jihad against both Shi'ites and against the Al-Saud family and its security apparatuses.
Abu Talut Al-Khorasani, presumably an assumed name, is a former Taliban militant now affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS). In a series of tweets from his Twitter account, Abu Talut Al-Khorasani has questioned the legitimacy of the new Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, as well as the Taliban leadership's decision to withhold the announcement of the death of Mullah Mohammad Omar.
The office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani recently announced that Mullah Omar had died in April 2013 in Pakistan, but the Taliban issued a statement saying that Omar had never gone outside Afghanistan - an attempt by the Taliban to shield Pakistan. In a series of tweets dated August 2 and 3, Abu Talut Al-Khorasani accused the Taliban leadership of playing into the hands of the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and of withholding the announcement of Mullah Omar's death for several years, thereby deceiving his followers in the Taliban and outside it.
ISIS' New Province Al-Hijaz Claims Responsibility For Suicide Attack On Saudi Security Forces
On August 6, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibly for the suicide attack which targeted Saudi security forces inside a mosque in the city of Abha in the southwestern Asir region and resulted in the deaths of at least 15 people. The announcement, which was posted on ISIS affiliate online forum Shumoukh Al-Islam as well as on multiple Twitter accounts of ISIS supporters, was issued by Al-Hijaz province, making it the latest addition to the group's list of provinces.
ISIS Boy Executes 'Spy' In Iraq Warning: Graphic
Following are excerpts from an ISIS video of a boy executing a "spy" in Iraq, which was posted on the Internet on August 3, 2015:
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
"In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate."
A boy in ISIS uniform member prepares to execute the "Spy", along with an adult ISIS member
"Spy": "My name is Hakam Taleb Al-Hamoud."
ISIS Publicly Executes A Homosexual By Throwing Him Off A Silo (Warning - Graphic)
On August 4, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) media office in the Al-Jazeera province of Iraq published a new series of photos showing the execution of a man convicted of homosexuality in the city of Tal Afar. This is the latest of a long series of documented execution of homosexuals by ISIS.
The first pictures show an ISIS official giving a speech to a crowd of men, explaining the religious basis for the punishment that is about to be carried out. The convicted man is then thrown off alive from the top of a tall grain silo. The photo album was published and distributed via Twitter, and hosted on Justpaste.it.
Islamic State In Hama Province Executes Three Men Convicted Of Engaging In Homosexual Relations
A video released August 2, 2015 by the information bureau of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Hama, Syria, documents the execution of three men convicted of engaging in homosexual relations. The video, titled "Meting Out Punishment to Those Who Spread Abomination In The Land," which was posted on the jihadi forum Al-Shumoukh (Shamikh1.info) and elsewhere, begins with a quotation from a Hadith: "Proscribed punishment established upon the earth is better for the people in this land than 30 [sic., should be 40] days of rain."
ISIS In Sinai Threatens To Execute Croatian Hostage In 48 Hours, Offers Swap With Female Prisoners
On August 5, 2015, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Sinai released a video in which it threatened to kill a Croatian hostage in 48 hours. In the video, which is titled "A Message to the Egyptian Government," the group offered to exchange the hostage, who identified himself as Tomislav Salopek, for female prisoners held in Egyptian prisons.
JTTM subscribers can view the clip here.
ISIS Supporters Threaten Reprisal Attacks Against Turkey
Following recent developments concerning Turkey's role in the war against ISIS, the country has become an object for threats and propaganda assaults by ISIS operatives and online supporters, who now openly call for attacks on Turkey and for the establishment of an ISIS presence there. They are also speaking of Turkey as a future target for ISIS's expansion.
This trend marks a stark change in the rhetoric from the pro-ISIS camp, which has generally ignored Turkey. There are several reasons for this change: First, Turkey has escalated its involvement in the conflict against ISIS. On July 23, 2015, it was announced that Turkey had allowed the U.S. to launch airstrikes from Turkish soil, and on July 24, 2015, Turkish warplanes bombed ISIS positions in Syria for the first time. Turkey has also announced its intention to form a "safe zone" on its border with Syria.
Jihadis Announce New ISIS App For Android
On August 2, 2015, Islamic State (ISIS) supporters announced the release of Nasher - an Android app that publishes ISIS news and releases.
The news about the app was first released on the Twitter account Juhaiman. "Nasher App (Islamic State news - pictorial reports - video releases) reach you directly to your device," Juhaiman tweeted.
Members of IS West Africa Province, a group previously known as Boko Haram, document their attack on the Nigerian Army, behead a Nigerian soldier, and show off the spoils of the battle.
Following are subtitles and excerpts:
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
"Soldiers of the Caliphate storm barracks of the apostate army in Borno State"
"Soldiers of the Caliphate advance towards the barracks of the apostate army"
"The apostates flee from the mujahideen"
The following are two reports from Indian media: the first from the website of the Manorama newspaper about a journalist from India's Kerala state who joined the Islamic State (ISIS), and the second from the Times of India website that notes that seven Indian nationals are still allegedly fighting alongside ISIS and that six have died there.
On July 31, 2015, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), a Uyghur jihadi organization, released a statement praising the deadly attack by Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen on the Jazeera Palace Hotel in which more than a dozen people, including a Chinese embassy worker, were killed.
Foreign diplomats usually stay at the Jazeera Palace Hotel, which also accommodates several embassies, including those of China, Qatar, and Egypt.
In a statement following the attack, Al-Shahab Al-Mujahideen said that the attack was a response to the Somali government and AMISOM forces targeting of its members. In its statement, however, TIP said that the attack was a response from Al-Shabab "to the calls of the imprisoned scholars, brothers, and sisters in the prisons of the atheist China," while noting that the attack was also a "practical response to the Communist Chinese government's aggression against Muslims in East Turkestan"
Following are excerpts from the speech delivered by Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor after he was appointed the new leader of the Taliban and given the title of Emir-ul-Momineen (the leader of the faithful Muslims). He succeeds Mullah Mohammad Omar, whose death has been withheld since April 2013. Practically, Mansoor serves as the head of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban shadow government). His speech in Pashtu was translated into English and posted on justpaste.it.
Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor
"We Want Islam, No Compromises, And We Will Continue Until Shari'a Is Established; There Is No Place For Any Other Ideologies"
"May Allah have mercy on Mullah Omar, the way he did things, we won't be able to do; his manners, his Taqwa [piety] and his sincerity was exemplary; amongst us we can't find another Omar.
"But what he did or how he was, it was learned from the Koran and Sunna; so if we struggle hard, we'll learn what he learned and how he served Islam.
"Ask Allah for help, work with sincerity; our unity will cause the failure of our enemies."
In an Urdu-language statement published on its website, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) paid tribute to Malik Mohammad Ishaq, the chief of the anti-Shi'ite Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, who was killed in a police raid on July 28 in Pakistan.
Malik Muhammad Ishaq, the slain chief of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
In its statement, issued by TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani, the TTP described the killing of Ishaq as "martyrdom" saying: "Congratulations to the Muslim Ummah on the martyrdom of Islam's great son and brave general Malik Mohammad Ishaq, the Emir of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi." The statement urged jihadists to target "the world's worst and despicable infidel Shi'ite Rafidhis [i.e. Shi'ite Muslims]" as a tribute to Ishaq. "The Shi'ites only understand the language of bullets, and only this is their diagnosis," it said.
On August 1, 2015, the official website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban shadow government) published a statement claiming that thousands of jihadi commanders have offered their bai'yah (oath of allegiance) to Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, the new Emir-ul-Momineen (the leader of the faithful Muslims).
Mansoor was appointed last week to the post after it was revealed that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had died several years previously. The Taliban statement did not identify the leading commanders who offered bai'yah to the new emir.
Following are excerpts from the statement:
"[On] Thursday 30th July 2015, in the afternoon, several members of the high commissions of the Islamic Emirate, governors, district chiefs, heads and members of the provincial commissions, numerous group leaders from various parts of the country, teachers from several madrassas, and other venerable people took an oath of allegiance to Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, the new Emir (leader) of the Islamic Emirate."
Taliban militants at Kandahar tarmac in 1999
Below are excerpts from an Indian media report saying that new Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor played a key role in the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 from Kathmandu to Kandahar:
"Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor, the newly-appointed chief of the Afghan Taliban, may have played a key role in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 Mansoor, as the Taliban civil aviation minister, handled the hijacking along with its foreign minister, Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, and Kandahar corps commander Akhtar Muhammad Usmani. The new Taliban chief  holds information on the role of the ISI station in Kandahar in supplying explosives and assault rifles which the hijackers received while the aircraft was parked on the tarmac."
On July 29-30, 2015, it emerged that Mullah Mohammad Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban who was touted as Emir-ul-Momineen (Leader of the Faithful Muslims), was dead. The Afghan government issued a statement confirming that Mullah Mohammad Omar had died sometime in April 2013 in Pakistan. Mullah Omar ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when the U.S. forces dislodged him from power in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
Over the past decade, Mullah Omar has issued two statements per year, one for Eid-ul-Fitr and one for Eid-ul-Adha. It has been believed by security analysts that his statements were authored by someone inside Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of the Pakistani military, and that the ISI has nurtured and protected the Taliban to do its bidding in Afghanistan. In fact, U.S. Admiral Mullen has said: "The Haqqani Network acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency."
AQIM, AQAP, JN Issue Eulogy For Mullah Omar
On August 5, 2015, Al-Qaeda's three major affiliates- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) - issued a joint official eulogy for Mullah Muhammad Omar, following the Taliban announcement that had died. The eulogy was posted inter alia on the jihadi forum Al-Shumoukh, on AQAP's and JN's official Twitter pages, and on the hashtag page of AQIM's media company, Al-Andalus. The eulogy praised Omar's activity, emphasizing his struggle against the Americans in Afghanistan, the sponsorship he extended to Osama bin Laden, and his acting to destroy "idolatry" Buddha statues. Published a week after the official announcement of Mullah Omar's death, the eulogy does not include an oath of allegiance to another leader Mullah Omar's place. The jihadi forum Al-Shumoukh notes this, writing: "The communiqu├® by Al-Qaeda's branches in Yemen, the Islamic Maghreb and Syria includes a eulogy for Mullah Omar. [It was published] only after a week [after the announcement of his death] without any mention of a new oath of allegiance [to another leader] - [reflecting a state of] uncertainty." It should be noted that JN signed the eulogy despite the recent rumors that it may break away from Al-Qaeda.
The official website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban shadow government) has denied media reports that veteran jihadi leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, father of the Taliban's deputy emir Sirajuddin Haqqani, has died.
Sirajuddin Haqqani is one of the two deputy emirs under Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, who has been appointed as Emir-ul-Momineen (leader of the faithful Muslims), or the caliph. His father Jalaluddin Haqqani has been a leading jihadi commander since the 1980s.
The Taliban website issued a statement dated August 1 stating that Jalaluddin Haqqani is alive: "Some media outlets spread reports yesterday [July 31] about the death of a distinguished jihadi figure of our country, the esteemed Al-Haj Mawlawi Sahib Jalaluddin Haqqani, may Allah safeguard him. This claim has no basis. Haqqani Sahib, may Allah safeguard him, was ill before but, all praise is due to Allah, he has been blessed with good health for a prolonged period now and has no troubles currently."
Pakistani Terrorist Captured By India: 'I Came To Kill Hindus'; 'It's Fun Doing This'
On August 5, two Pakistani terrorists who had recently infiltrated into India's Jammu & Kashmir state attacked a convoy of the Border Security Force (BSF). One of them, Momin Khan, was killed; the second, Naved Usman, was captured alive after he took some villagers hostage.
Naved Usman (center) was captured alive
According to a media report, Usman told the Indian investigators that he is from Faisalabad city in Pakistan. He is the first Pakistani terrorist captured alive after Ajmal Kasab, who was captured during the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai and later executed by India. Usman said that he had come to the Jammu region 12 days previously, along with fellow terrorist Momin Khan.
In Article, Police Officer Explains The Issue Of Radicalization In Pakistani Police Forces
The following are excerpts from an article in which Pakistani police officer Faisal Ali Raja examines the issue of radicalization within the Pakistani police forces, especially in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, and advises on how to counter it:
Malik Mumtaz Qadri, an elite police commando, assassinated Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and was lauded by Pakistani lawyers
"In The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Department, Which Has A Total Strength Of About 75,000, A Scanning Program [To Detect Signs Of Radicalization Among Police] Has Been Designed, Which Has So Far Tested 35,000 Police Personnel"
"In regimented organizations [such as the police and armed forces], individuals are usually subjected to disciplined lives. However, as lawlessness increases and the state loses its legitimacy of monopoly of control over violence, the chances of radicalization among members of regimented organizations increase manifold. Secondly, internal organizational dysfunctionality engenders opportunities for the radicalized members to exhibit their expressions forcefully. Such action was observed when Mumtaz Qadri, an elite qualified Punjab police employee, officially deputed on the security duty of the governor of Punjab [Salman Taseer], attacked and killed his benefactor in January 2011 in Islamabad despite his radicalized behavior having been reported to his superiors before the incident. Similarly, investigation reports on a number of terror attacks on law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) reveal that terrorists were abetted by insiders in carrying out such deadly acts."
