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 May 9, 2019, Ansar Al-Islam, a Syria-based jihadi group, released a video featuring a masked man reminding Muslims about the virtue of waging jihad during the month of Ramadan, saying that it has become a "mandatory religious duty."
Pakistani jihadi organization Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) gave courses in seven towns in Pakistan aimed at interpreting the verses of the Koran that discuss jihad, according to an Urdu weekly newspaper published by JeM.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Claims Killing Of Ten 'Spies' Working For Doctors Without Borders In West Africa
Issue 180 of Al-Naba', the weekly newspaper of the Islamic State (ISIS), which was released on the organization's Telegram channel on May 3, 2019, contained an "exclusive" article reporting that on Friday, April 26, 2019, ISIS in West Africa had killed ten "spies" working in southeastern Niger for Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) humanitarian NGO.
EXCLUSIVE: Jihadi Cleric Urges Muslims To Boycott Chinese Products, Specifically Huawei
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On May 4, 2019, Syria-based jihadi cleric Abd Al-Razzaq Al-Mahdi released a two-minute video urging Muslims to boycott Chinese goods due to the country's persecution of the ethnic Uyghur Muslims in East Turkestan (Western China). In the Arabic video released on his Telegram channel, Al-Mahdi says that "Communist China has declared war on Allah and Islam and closed down thousands of mosques in East Turkestan and other countries. They demolished thousands of [other] mosques and turned them into cafes and restaurants in which wine and pork are sold. [These actions] ridicule and mock Islam and Muslims."
On Telegram, Hizbul Ahrar, a Taliban group that emerged from the now-defunct Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a few years ago, released on May 7, 2019, the third issue of its occasional online magazine Ghazwa-e-Hind ("The Battle Of India").
On May 3, 2019, the Incite The Believers operation room, which includes several Syrian rebel factions, published aerial photos showing bombs being dropped on a Syrian military position.
Al-Qaeda Releases Part Eight Of Video Series Featuring Al-Zawahiri Reminiscing About Bin Laden
On May 5, 2019, Al-Qaeda's media wing, Al-Sahab, released Part Eight of the "Days With The Imam" video series, in which the organization's leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, reminisces about Osama bin Laden.
On May 3, 2019, the French-language jihadi media outlet Assira Studio posted a second interview on Telegram with the French fighter in Idlib identified as Abu Anuar, a member of Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, Hurras Al-Din.
ISIS Weekly Reveals Objectives Of The Organization's Guerilla Warfare Tactics
Issue 180 of Al-Naba', the official Islamic State (ISIS) weekly newspaper, published on May 3, 2019, contains the second installment in a series titled The Temporary Capture of Cities as a Modus Operandi of the Mujahideen, which reveals more of the organization's guerilla warfare tactics.
Syria-Based Fighters, YouTubers Publish Video Recounting Jihadi 'Liberation' Of Idlib
On May 6, 2019, fighters based in Idlib, Syria, and the owners of a YouTube channel documenting the daily activities of the mujahideen in Syria, posted a video recounting their experiences during the battles leading to the "liberation" of the city of Idlib.
ISIS Publishes Photos From Its Central Africa Province
On May 5, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) Central Africa Province published photographs of rifles, ammunition, communication devices, clothing, and uniforms which the group's fighters captured in an attack on the Congolese army in a village named as Kaliangoki.
On May 4, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) reported that its fighters had launched a successful assault on Libyan National Army (LNA) military headquarters in the southwest Libyan town of Sabha.
ISIS In Central Africa Claims Its Fighters Attacked Congolese Army In DRC Near Border With Uganda
On May 8, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) in Central Africa claimed that its soldiers attacked a Congolese army barracks in the town of Bundibugyo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) near the border with Uganda and fought with Congolese soldiers using light weapons.
ISIS Weekly Newsletter Reviews Operations In Central Africa
Issue 181 of Islamic State (ISIS) newsletter Al-Naba' features a short article boasting of attacks carried out against the Congolese army over the past week.
Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Releases Violent, Threatening Video
On May 2, 2019, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlet released a one-minute video on Telegram titled A Short Message | 2. The second such clip distributed by pro-ISIS media, it is characterized by its unusual vertical format, suitable for smartphones.
Pro-ISIS Group Launches Telegram Bot To Help Supporters Use Instagram
On May 3, 2019, the Caliphate Supporters Electronic Army (CSEA), a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) cyber and hacker group, launched a Telegram bot to instruct and assist supporters in the use of Instagram.
Pro-ISIS Group Promotes Activity On Instagram
The pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group, Caliphate Supporters Electronic Army (CSEA), has stepped up its efforts to promote the dissemination of ISIS propaganda on the popular social media website Instagram.
ISIS Supporter On Telegram Requests Hacked Facebook Account
On May 6, 2019, an Islamic State (ISIS) supporter on Telegram requested a hacked Facebook account that had been verified with an ID and phone number, supposedly to use in support of ISIS.
A Twitter account began tweeting on April 21, 2019, and had 151 followers before the account was suspended on May 1.
ISIS Supporters Promote New Website To Host ISIS Al-Bayan Radio Content
On May 1, 2019, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel promoted a new website that hosts archival and up-to-date content released by ISIS Al-Bayan radio.
On May 8, 2019, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group Al-Muhajireen Foundation, on its Telegram channel, warned ISIS members in the Al-Hawl refugee camp in northeast Syria not to use mobile phones given to them by Kurdish forces.
On May 2, 2019, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) hacking group released a video showing its hacking of websites belonging to companies in New Zealand as part of its ongoing campaign to avenge those killed in the March 15, 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
On May 7, 2019, the media arm of the Gaza-based Salafi group Jaish Al-Ummah, relaunched its annual "Equip A Fighter" fundraising campaign calling on Muslims to donate using the Bitcoin cryptocurrency during the month of Ramadan.
Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Blog
Platforms: Facebook, Telegram, Instagram
A two-minute Urdu-language video in which a Kashmiri jihadi rejects an appeal by his parents to abandon the jihad and return home has been shared on Telegram and other social media platforms.
In an article, the Urdu-language weekly newspaper Haftroza Al-Qalam, which is published by Pakistani jihadi organization Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), has urged people in Pakistan to donate ushr, an Islamic tax of one-tenth of farm produce, to Al-Rehmat Trust, which is the charity arm of JeM.
In recent years, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) has routinely met with diplomats in meetings organized by the Islamic Emirate's Political Office, which is based in Doha, Qatar. Through these meetings, the Taliban aim to achieve international diplomatic legitimacy and present themselves as the only representative of Afghanistan, thereby undermining the elected Afghan government.
It appears that the U.S. and the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban organization) have run into a major disagreement over the demand that, for the peace process to progress in Afghanistan, the Taliban agree to a ceasefire and surrender their weapons. The sixth round of direct talks between the U.S. and the Taliban began on May 1, 2019, in Doha, Qatar.
Missing Kashmiri Teenager Suspected Of Having Joined Jihadi Group
A young Kashmiri is suspected of having joined one of the jihadi groups active in Jammu & Kashmir, according to a Kashmiri website. Danish Bhat, son of Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, was a resident of Iablipora Bijbehra in the Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir.
