memri
March 10, 2018 Special Announcements No. 600

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

March 10, 2018
Special Announcements No. 600

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: Jihadi Social Media – Account Review (JSM-AR): Michigan Man Is Friends On Facebook With Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Fundraiser, Many Jihadi Sympathizers

Platform: Facebook

Additional Information: His Facebook profile lists his hometown as Lansing, Michigan.

 

EXCLUSIVE: On Telegram, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham Supporters From The West Share Messages Of Solidarity

In recent days, members of pro-Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Telegram channels have been posting messages of support for HTS from Western countries such as France, Germany, Canada, and Russia.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Pro-ISIS Telegram Channels Recommend Methods Of Lone Wolf Attacks: Arson, Poisoning Food, Derailing Trains

On March 4, 2018, several pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channels published advice in Arabic and English for lone-wolf attackers.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Iraqi Official: ISIS Commanders Hiding In Tunnels West Of Mosul

The London based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reports, citing a member of the Nineveh Governorate Council, that ISIS commanders are hiding in tunnels in the area west of Mosul, where the terrain makes it difficult to flush them out, and are also hiding in caves, ditches, and woods along the banks of the Tigris river.

 

In Video, Al-Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Urges Muslims In Islamic Maghreb To Rise Up Against French, Other 'Invaders'

On March 6, 2018, Al-Qaeda media wing Al-Sahab released a video recording by the group's leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in which he calls upon Muslims in the "Islamic Maghreb" to rise up against the foreign forces, especially French forces, that are operating in their countries.

 

Al-Qaeda-Affiliated GSIM Claims Responsibility For Attacks In Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso, In Retaliation For French Strikes In Mali

On March 4, 2018, the official media agency of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimin (The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), Al-Zalaqa news, released a communique on its Telegram channel claiming responsibility for the attacks that occurred in Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso, on March 2, 2018.

 

Al-Qaeda In Mali (GSIM) Releases Video Of French Hostage Pétronin

On March 1, 2018, the Mali-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimin (The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), released a one minute video on its Telegram channel showing the French aid worker Sophie Pétronin, who has been held hostage since December 2016.

 

On Facebook, Sri Lankan ISIS Supporter Reports On Violence Against Muslims In Sri Lanka: 'Maybe Tonight I Will Get The Martyrdom'

On March 6, 2018, Sri Lankan authorities declared a state of emergency following Buddhist-led attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses. A Facebook user and a vocal Islamic State (ISIS) supporter living in Sri Lanka has been updating his Facebook friends on the clashes.

 

ISIS Poster Calls On Supporters To Carry Out Terror Attacks In Spain

On March 1, 2018, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel shared a poster in English, Arabic, and Spanish bearing the caption: "Soon in Spain..." The poster called on ISIS supporters to carry out terror attacks in Spain even if they do not have a weapon.

 

Pro-ISIS Poster: 'We Want Paris Before Rome'

On March 5, 2018, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group shared a poster in French on pro-ISIS Telegram channels repeating the words of the late ISIS spokesman Mohammed Al-Adnani: "We want Paris before Rome."

 

Jordanian Security Officials 'Deeply Concerned' About Presence Of 2,000 ISIS Fighters At Al-Rukban Refugee Camp

On March 7, 2018, the London-based news website Raialyoum reported that security officials in Jordan are deeply concerned about the presence of at least 2,000 Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Al-Rukban refugee camp, which is located near the Jordan-Syria border.

 

ISIS In Damascus Amputates Hand Of Man Accused Of Stealing

On March 8, 2018, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Damascus Province in Syria published a pictorial report showing the amputation of the hand of a man accused of stealing.

 

ISIS Khorasan Province In Afghanistan Releases Photos Showing Dozens Of Orphan Children Receiving Presents

On March 7, 2018, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Khorasan Province in Afghanistan released three photos showing officials from its Department Of Care For The Vulnerable Population handing out presents to dozens of orphan boys and girls.

 

Islamic State In Iraq Posts Photos On Telegram Of Downed U.S. Military Blimp Near Tikrit

On March 2, 2018, Telegram channels of the Islamic State (ISIS)-affiliated Nasher News released several photos reportedly taken by the Islamic State's Salah Al-Din province showing a U.S. surveillance blimp that the group said it had downed east of Tikrit, Iraq.

 

Syrian Rebel Faction: We Brought Down A Russian Drone In Northern Hama

On March 6, 2018, Jaysh Al-Izza, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, reported that its anti-aircraft company downed a Russian-manufactured drone "with an anti-aircraft [weapon]."

 

Photographs Of Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Fighters In Afghanistan

On March 6, 2018, a media outlet of the Uyghur jihadi organization the Turkestani Islamic Party (TIP) published a video called "Album of Rare Photographs No. 12."

 

Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Warns Its Followers Of Fake Telegram Channel Impersonating Its Media Company

On March 1, 2018, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) posted a statement warning its followers of a fake Telegram channel claiming to be the Arabic version of TIP's media arm Sawt Al-Islam.

 

Taliban Website: Protests In Ghazni And Khost Province Against Killings Of Civilians

One of the websites of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) reported that "fierce protests have taken place against injustice and atrocities by the enemy [i.e. security] forces in Afghanistan's Khost and Ghazni provinces."

 

Ansar Ghazwatul Hind On Telegram Rejects Posters Falsely Claiming Kashmir Attacks In Its Name

The media outlet of Al-Qaeda affiliate Ansar Ghazwatul Hind ("Supporters Of The Battle Of India") posted a message on Telegram warning against fake claims made in the name of the group in the form of posters pasted on walls in the Kashmir valley.

 

Roundup Of Activities Of Pakistan's Leading Jihadi Charity Al-Rehmat Trust

Given below is a roundup of the activities carried out in different districts of Pakistan by jihadi charity Al-Rehmat Trust, an arm of the leading Pakistani jihadi organization Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) headed by Maulana Masood Azhar.

 

Pakistani Jihadi Group Jaish-e-Muhammad Distributes Aid To Rohingya Refugees In Bangladesh

Pakistani jihadi organization Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) is engaged in delivering aid to Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh, according to an Urdu weekly magazine.

 

Chief Of Lashkar-e-Taiba In Kashmir Valley Warns 'Indian Agents' Not To Collect Funds In The Name Of Jihadi Organizations

According to the Pakistan-based Urdu daily Roznama Domel, Mahmud Shah, the chief of jihadi organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for Jammu and Kashmir state of India, has warned Indian agents not to pose as jihadis to collect funds.

 

Urdu Daily: Afghan Taliban Planning To Establish Base Camp In Northern Afghanistan

After the Taliban gained control of the areas surrounding the Afghan province of Farah, half of the members of the Shura ("Governing Council") of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) have shifted to Farah, according to the Pakistani Urdu daily Roznama Ummat.

 

Key Points In Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's Offer Of Peace With The Taliban

About 25 countries participated in a peace and security conference held in Kabul on February 28, 2018. At the conference, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made the following offers to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization that ruled the country from 1996 to 2001) if the group agreed to a ceasefire and recognized the Afghan Constitution.

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