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 2, 2019, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a 33-minute video on Telegram.
EXCLUSIVE: Pro-Al-Qaeda Gaza Cleric Attacks UAE Leader Over Interfaith Iftar
On May 20, 2019, pro-Al-Qaeda Gaza cleric Na'el bin Gazi posted a message in Arabic on his Telegram account attacking UAE leader Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Aal Nahyan, against the backdrop of a May Ramadan interfaith iftar (break-fast meal) held at a Sikh temple in Dubai that he sponsored.
On May 18, 2019, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization) released Issue 86 of its Urdu-language magazine Shariat, which is published for its followers in Pakistan. The magazine focuses on the Taliban's launch of Operation Al-Fatah in April 2019. In January 2018, Majeed Qarar, cultural attaché at the Afghan Embassy in Washington, D.C., tweeted that Shariat magazine is distributed all over Pakistan.
On May 15, 2019, a Telegram channel shared an audio recording of an Urdu-language jihadi song.
Supporters of the Afghan Taliban and Al-Qaeda have released the latest issue of Nawa-i-Afghan Jihad ("the Voice of Afghan Jihad"), an Urdu-language monthly magazine aimed at these groups' followers in Pakistan. A PDF version of the May 2019 issue of the magazine was posted on U.S.-based website Archive.org and other social media platforms.
EXCLUSIVE: Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Eulogizes British Fighter
On May 19, 2019, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Muhajireen Foundation media outlet published a eulogy on Telegram for a British ISIS special ops fighter, identified as Abu Tawheed Al-Britani.
On May 22, 2019, Al-Sahab, the media arm of Al-Qaeda released a video featuring the group's leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri accusing the West of trying to turn Muslims into secularists and atheists and calling on Muslims to adhere to the creed of Islam, support shari'a, and take part in jihad for the sake of Allah.
On May 17, 2019, the Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) official Telegram channel released a 13-minute video titled Excerpts from Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani's Meeting with Journalists of the Syrian Revolution, which shows the HTS leader speaking to a group of about fifty journalists affiliated with the rebels in northern Syria.
(To view this clip 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.)
Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani: The Hmeimim base is not a peace base. It is used to kill people. So if there is a retaliation against it… The rebels have the right to shell this base, which is used to kill the Syrian people, and to perpetrate massacres against women and children. So [attacking the base] is normal. The equation is clear. If the Russian leaders want the shelling of Hmeimim to stop, they must stop their support of the regime and stop killing the Syrian people.
On May 21, 2019, a media group, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda In the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released a video featuring a former member of the Islamic State (ISIS)...
Al-Shabab Video Shows A Quran Memorization Competition For Children From Its Religious Schools
On May 22, 2019, the Al-Kataib Foundation, the media outlet of the Somali Al-Qaeda affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (HSM), released a video on Al-Qaeda's Global Islamic Media Foundation (GIMF) Telegram channel titled "Holy Qur'an Competition For The Recitation Schools In The Islamic Provinces," showing Quran memorization competitions for children educated in Al-Shabab's religious schools.
On May 20, 2019, Somali Al-Qaeda affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (HSM) released the fifth installment in its video series "And Be Harsh Against Them."
Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Video Nasheed Glorifies Jihad During Ramadan
On May 22, 2019, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), an Uyghur jihadi group active in Syria, released a video nasheed (Islamic religious chant, popular among jihadis) titled "The Blessed Month," in honor of the current month of Ramadan.
Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Launches Arabic-Language Section Of Its Official Website
On May 19, 2019, the Uyghur jihad group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) announced the launch of the Arabic-language section of its official website.
ISIS Editorial Accuses Al-Qaeda Branches Of Allying With Apostates, Justifies Killing Of Muslims
On May 16, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) published Issue 182 of its weekly newspaper Al-Naba', which included an editorial criticizing Al-Qaeda's leadership and accusing Al-Qaeda's branches in several countries of allying with apostates to fight ISIS fighters. In the editorial, ISIS rejected Al-Qaeda's accusation that it kills Muslims, saying that, in killing certain groups of Muslims, it carries out Allah's ruling on them.
On May 16, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 182 of its weekly Al-Naba', which included a report on its military operations in Fezzan Province, in southern Libya.
On May 22, 2019, the Islamic State (ISIS) in West Africa released a 21-minute video documenting the group's military operations in Nigeria, predominantly near Lake Chad in Borno State.
On May 20, 2019, pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media operative Tarjuman Al-Asawirti released posters on Telegram promising retribution for the alleged destruction of mosques in Syria and Iraq, by the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
ISIS Supporters Urge Muslims To Take Up Arms In Sri Lanka
On May 19, 2019, a post on a pro-ISIS Telegram channel urged Muslims in Sri Lanka to take up arms in response to recent anti-Muslim riots.
Pro-ISIS Outlet Offers Training On Hacking Facebook And Twitter Accounts
On May 22, 2019, the Hadm Al-Aswar Foundation, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group, posted on Telegram a notice offering supporters training on hacking Facebook and Twitter accounts.
A Twitter account, is managed from inside Syria, started tweeting in 2015, and has nearly 7,000 followers, whom it updates regarding the actions of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and other rebel factions in the Idlib governorate.
Hurras Al-Din Cleric Relates Virtues Of Syria And Praises Jihadi Fighters
As Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei spoke to students on May 22, 2019, one of the students waved aloft a portrait of a martyr, and said that he wanted to give it as a gift to Khamenei even though it was customary for Khamenei to be the one giving gifts to others.