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.
According to a November 28, 2017, post on the official Facebook page of the Russian forces at Khmeimim airfield near Latakia, Syria, China will soon be deploying special forces to fight the Uyghur jihad group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) in Syria.
On November 22, 2017, a review board of the Lahore High Court ordered the release from detention of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the founder of the Pakistani jihadi organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and chairman of its charity arm, Jamaatud Dawa (JuD). Saeed is accused by India of masterminding the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He was arrested in January 2017 by Pakistan, under pressure from the U.S.
On November 24, 2017 Al-Qaeda's Al-Sahab media company released on behalf of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) the first part of an interview with the group's spokesman Ustadh Usama Mahmood.
A Facebook user, who is friends with Islamic State (ISIS) supporters on Facebook, is currently living in Washington D.C., according to his Facebook profile.
On November 29, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Hayat Media Center released a new video release titled "Flames of War II – Until the Final Hour." The opening segment to the 58-minute video, which documents attacks in Syria, the Sinai and Iraq, features a compilation of archival footage of scenes from ISIS attacks in the US and Europe.
ISIS Video "Flames Of War II" Presents The New Narrative: Through Death We Remain Forever Victorious
On November 29, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet Al-Hayat Media Center released a new video titled "Flames of War II – Until the Final Hour." The scenario of the video is similar to that of the first volume titled "Flames of War – Fighting Has Just Begun," which was released in 2014 and provided an overview of the battles that ISIS was fighting at the time.
On November 24, 2017, armed terrorists attacked the mosque in the village of Al-Rawdah, near Bir Al-'Abed in northern Sinai, killing over 300 people. The mosque belongs to the Jariri Sufi order and is one of the most popular Sufi centers of worship in northern Sinai. Although no organization has claimed the terror attack, which was the most deadly in Egypt's history, the Islamic State (ISIS) can be assumed to be behind it, despite vehement denials by its online supporters. This, in light of the fact that ISIS has been waging an all-out war against the Sufis in Sinai in recent years. Its fighters have bombed Sufi buildings and places of worship, disrupted rituals and prayers, and abducted members of Sufi orders in order to force them to renounce their faith, among other actions. These anti-Sufi measures came after ISIS proclaimed all Sufis to be infidels, as part of its campaign to purge Sinai of what it calls paganism and polytheism. The head of ISIS's hisba (religious police) in Sinai declared that his organization would not tolerate the existence of Sufi centers in Sinai or in Egypt at large. It should be noted that in an interview with ISIS's official news bulletin Al-Naba several months ago, the head of the hisba specifically mentioned the Al-Rawdah mosque as one of the Sufi centers in Sinai.
Click here to read the full report
This report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
ISIS Supporter Distributes Poster Threatening Christmas Attacks In New York, Paris, Rome and London
On November 27, 2017, a poster was shared across several pro-ISIS channels showing Times Square lit up at night, with a pile of dynamite next to a Santa Claus figure in the forefront.
HTS Arrest Of Senior Al-Qaeda Figures Stirs Discontent In Its Ranks
On November 27, 2017, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) arrested several prominent Al-Qaeda operatives – former Jabhat Al-Nusra and Fath Al-Sham Front commanders who did not join the HTS after its establishment. According to reports, among those arrested were Sami Al-‘Uraydi, former head of Jabhat Al-Nusra's Shar’ia Council, and Abu Julaybib Al-Urduni the former commander of Dar’a on behalf of Jabhat Al-Nusra.
Al-Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Calls Jihadi Groups In Syria To Unite In Audio Statement
On November 28, 2017, Al-Sahab, the media arm of Al-Qaeda, released a new audio statement in which the group's leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri called on jihadi groups in Syria to unite.
On November 23, 2017, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) Khorasan Province released a video showing the beheading and amputation of both hands of one of the group's fighters, who had been accused of spying for the U.S. and the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Releases New Pictures And A Video Of The Battle In Hama Province
On November 22, 2017, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) in Syria released a new series of pictures and two short video clips documenting the ongoing battle against the Syrian army in eastern Hama province.
ISIS Cell In Somalia Releases Video Of An Assassination Near Mogadishu
On November 29, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) news agency Amaq published a communique in which it took responsibility for the assassination of a Somali soldier in the streets of Afgooye, near Mogadishu, Somalia.
On November 27, 2017, a 20-year-old man, was arrested in Werribee, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. He was reportedly arrested because he had been planning a terror attack with an automatic rifle in Federation Square in Melbourne during New Year's.
Austrian Teenager Posts Video On Instagram Of Himself Singing ISIS Nasheed
On November 28, a teenage Islamic State (ISIS) supporter, whose Instagram uploaded a video of himself singing an ISIS nasheed. The video appears to have been intentionally filmed in such a way as to not show the individual's face. The individual also posts photos including some of himself with friends who seem to share his extremist views, and some of himself holding a pistol.
Given below is the text of an agreement between the Pakistani government and the Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLY), an Islamist group that had besieged the Pakistani capital of Islamabad beginning November 6, 2017, over the issue of Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (the finality of Muhammad's prophethood). The agreement, mediated by the Pakistani military, was signed on November 27.
In a November 22, 2017 post on a closed French-language pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram channel, an Al-Qaeda operative in Syria called for Muslims in France to immediately leave the country and make hijra (migrate) to Syria to join the jihad there.
French-Speaking Woman Shares Jihadi Poetry Online
On November 21, 2017, a jihadi Telegram channel shared a poem in French which expresses the author's deep hatred of France.
A Look At A Media Group's Efforts To Facilitate The Posting Of Pro-ISIS Content On Facebook
A Media group is a known pro-Islamic State (ISIS) entity that operates online. The group operates predominantly on Telegram, where it disseminates pro-ISIS content, coordinates media campaigns, and recruits individuals to join its ranks, among other things.
Pro-ISIS Hacking Group Reports On The Success Of Its Latest Cyber Attacks
On November 25, 2017, the group of hackers calling itself United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) released a four-minute video reporting on its hacking activity. The video, which was distributed on pro-ISIS Telegram channels, consists entirely of infographics and archive footage on ISIS cyber activity, mostly from western media sources.
Pro-ISIS Hackers Deface Tunisian Website
On November 21, 2017, a group of hackers who call themselves "Islamic State Hacker" claimed responsibility on its Telegram channel for hacking and defacing a Tunisian government website.
Anti-ISIS Hackers Release Lists Of ISIS Emails And IP Addresses
On November 20-21, 2017, the anti-ISIS hacking group "ShadowSec" published on their Twitter and Telegram channels lists of e-mails and IP addresses allegedly belonging to ISIS supporters.
On November 28-29, 2017, an Islamic State (ISIS) supporter shared, in two separate posts on a Telegram channel his idea of hacking banks, military bases, and large companies and giving the stolen funds to the Islamic State.
