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: Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Distributes Photos Of U.S. Soldiers In Saudi Arabia Base
On August 2, 2016, a Arab-language Telegram channel posts information about current events, shared photos of what it said are U.S. soldiers training in near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
On July 31, 2016, A'maq, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS), released a video that it claimed showed a commander in the New Syrian Army (NSA), a U.S.-funded military faction fighting against ISIS in Syria, explaining to a group of fighters how to communicate coordinates to U.S. aircraft.
On July 28, 2016, ansarollah.com, a website belonging to an official media wing affiliated with the Yemen-based Houthi militia, published photos of a U.S passport, a commercial driver's license issued by the state of Florida, and a birth certificate belonging to an American.
EXCLUSIVE: 24-Year Old Pennsylvania Convert Expresses Support For ISIS On Facebook
A Pennsylvania man using the name Abdul Aziz shares pro-ISIS content on his Facebook page, and openly expresses support for the Islamic State. He recently posted a photo of a certificate he earned from the ITT Technical Institute, a school in Pennsylvania where he is currently enrolled.
EXCLUSIVE: Russian-Speaking ISIS Fighter Threatens Putin With Attacks In Russia
In a video posted on the Internet on July 30, an ISIS fighter, speaking in Russian, said: "Oh Putin, we will come to Russia and kill you in your own homes, Allah willing." The translation is based on the Arabic subtitles.
JTTM subscribers click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
In an article published by Al-Wafa', a media company affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS), author Abu Marya Al-Aseef called on Muslims to target nightclubs, shopping centers, ships, and airplanes in Spain using explosives, machine guns, and trucks, to avenge the crimes committed by Spain against Muslims, past and present, from the Inquisition to its participation in the coalition forces fighting terrorism.
On July 27, 2016, U.S.-born media activist in Syria shared, via his Facebook and Twitter accounts, an installment in the series of video news reports called "Face the Truth," which is a production of On The Ground News. In this episode, he interviews a British physician who works in Idlib.
On August 1, 2016, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Sinai province released a video documenting a series of attacks on the Egyptian army, which included bombing vehicles, shooting soldiers and executing security officers. In the video, which is titled "Desert Flame," the group vowed to target Israel in the near future and to conquer Rome.
An Arabic-language WhatsApp chat group includes 256 Islamic State (ISIS) supporters from around the world. The chat group can be joined through a specific invitation link that was distributed on Telegram. Most of the group members, including the administrators, have phone numbers with the Syrian country code. Other group members are from the U.S., U.K., France, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The cross-platform mobile messaging app WhatsApp allows users to communicate with individuals or with multiple individuals; photos, videos, and audio files can be sent through it. Participants' phone numbers are visible to other participants. In April 2016, WhatsApp announced that it had added an end-to-end encryption feature to the app.
Pro-ISIS Hacking Group Release Kill List Featuring U.S. Air Force Personnel
On August 2, 2016 the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) hacking group, the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) released a kill list featuring the personal details of U.S. Air Force personnel. Those on the list are stationed in bases both in the U.S. and overseas. The list was posted on justpaste.it and was circulated on the group's Telegram channel.
On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released issue 15 of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The recent attacks in the West - the foreward article mentions the attacks in Orlando, Dhaka, Magnanville, Nice, and Normandy, Würzburg and Ansbac - serve as an introduction to the main theme that runs through the issue: war against Christianity and Western society. An article in the issue spells out the reasons for ISIS's enmity toward the West and explains why it is fighting it, stressing that these reasons are based on theology, not foreign policy. It features a theological polemic with Christianity and atheism, and with the West's leading values such as liberalism, secularism, and leading movements such as feminism, gay-rights and so on. The issue seeks to win over Christian converts as recruits for ISIS, by presenting the personal stories of converts who joined the group and by brining personal appeals from them.
On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released Issue 15 of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The issue featured a six-page interview with a sniper named Abu Sa'd at-Trinidadi. At-Trinidadi is a convert to Islam who travelled to the Islamic State with two friends. The article hails him as a pioneer, since he and his companions were the first three fighters to emigrate from Trinidad and Tobago to the Islamic State.
In an article in Issue 15 of its Dabiq magazine, the Islamic State (ISIS) explained the rationale for its enmity toward the West and for waging war against it. The article should be read in the general context of the issue - a polemic against the Christian West as ISIS sees it. The article is clearly aimed first and foremost at a Western audience; it forthrightly acknowledges that ISIS uses terrorism, saying that it is commanded to terrorize the enemies of Allah.
Feature Article In Issue 15 Of 'Dabiq': A Polemic Against Christianity And Judaism
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On July 31, ISIS released the 15th issue of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The magazine's 20-page feature article, titled "Breaking the Cross," is a classical Islamic polemic against Judaism and Christianity. The text presents detailed logical, historical, linguistic and theological arguments to prove that the Jewish and Christian scriptures are corrupted and that the only true message is that of Islam. The following is a summary of its main points.
In Issue 15 Of 'Dabiq', Finnish Woman Shares Story Of Her Conversion, Immigration To Islamic State
On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released Issue 15 of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The issue featured a three-page article titled "How I Came To Islam" by a Finnish woman, Umm Khalid al-Finlandiyyah, who converted to Islam and immigrated to the Islamic State. In her article, Al-Finlandiyyah describes her lifelong struggle accepting Christianity, and her journey to Islam.
Article In Issue 15 Of 'Dabiq' Details Story Of Late Canadian Convert Brothers In The Islamic State
On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released Issue 15 of its English-language magazine Dabiq. The issue featured a three-page article titled "Among The Believers Are Men", which is dedicated to the story of two Canadian brothers from Calgary who converted to Islam, fought for ISIS, and were killed in an airstrike in Ashraf, Syria. The article details their radicalization, and their journey from Canada to Syria via Egypt. The article also mentions that the brothers belonged to a group in Calgary that saw many members depart to wage jihad in the Islamic State.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On July 31, 2016, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released issue 15 of its English-language magazine, Dabiq. The issue featured an article by an unnamed American convert living in ISIS territory, in which he appeals to converts back home to carry out attacks against non-Muslims.
Jabhat Al-Nusra Leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani Establishes 'Jabhat Fath Al-Sham'
On July 28, 2016, a video recording of Jabhat Al-Nusra leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani was released on the Internet and aired on Al-Jazeera TV. In the video, Al-Joulani declared that his group has severed ties with Al-Qaeda and changed its name to Jabhat Fath Al-Sham (JFS). In the video, Al-Joulani who thanked Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri and expressed appreciation for Al-Qaeda's understanding of his decision, said: "We declare that we are no longer operating under the name Jabhat Al-Nusra, and announce the formation of a new group operating under the name Jabhat Fath Al-Sham."
JTTM subscribers click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
On August 1, 2016, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Global Islamic Media Group (GIMF) released Issue 3 of Al-Risalah, its English-language magazine. One article in it, "Dougma Self Sacrificial Operations," featured an interview with Ibn Huseyn, a member of the Uighur jihad group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), days before he carried out a suicide attack.
On Facebook, ISIS Supporters Debate Permissibility Of Church Attack In Normandy, France
Following the July 26, 2016 attack on a church in Normandy, France claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS), in which 84-year old Father Jacques Hamel was killed, there has been a flurry of debate among ISIS supporters over the Islamic permissibility of killing priests. Although the attack was justified by many ISIS supporters, particularly the Francophones, not all sympathizers shared that sentiment. Those who opposed the killing of the priest maintained that any killing in a house of worship was forbidden, while others justified the killing by arguing that Muslims are at war with the West and that this is a permissible retaliatory measure.
