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 June 19, 2014, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released part two in a video series commemorating Sa'id Al-Shihri, AQAP's deputy commander who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2013.The video includes footage of Al-Shihri along with a contingency of past and present AQAP commanders and members, including AQAP leader Nasser Al-Wuhaishi, AQAP military commander Qasim Al-Rimi, and a number of former Guantanamo detainees. The video also includes footage of Omar Farouq Abdulmutallab, the "Christmas Day bomber" who attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear while on board a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit on December 25, 2009, who is seen in the video saying farewell to Al-Wuhaishi prior to leaving for his mission.
The video, which is 39:18 minutes in duration, was released on Al-Fida' forum, and shortly thereafter was disseminated on YouTube and Twitter. The video is accompanied by English subtitles and is dated April 2014.
Europeans Participate In Pro-ISIS Twitter Campaign
Online supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) called for a worldwide show of support for the organization to be held on Friday, June 20, 2014. The campaign was announced on the Twitter account of Turjman Al-Asawirti, one of ISIS's leading online propagandists.
On June 14, 2014, Al-Asawiriti announced an international day of support for ISIS. He tweeted a new hashtag "Friday of support for ISIS", an allusion to the custom of Arab Spring protesters in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere holding, simultaneous protests on Friday under a different title every week. He wrote: "We want demonstrations of support in every country where there are supporters of ISIS" and instructed supporters to hold protests, raise the flags of ISIS, film the protests and distribute the videos on YouTube. He also told supporters to distribute the productions of ISIS media companies Al-Furqan and Al-I'tisam on the trending hashtags. It should be noted that online ISIS supporters often make use of hashtags to spread their message.
Rare Picture Of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi Posted On Jihadi Forums
Online jihadis are distributing a rare photo of the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. The photo first appeared on social media and blogs on April 26, 2014. It allegedly depicts Al-Baghdadi prostrating as a token of piety following a successful battle in Iraq.
Nicolas (right) and his younger brother in ISIS's video
On June 5, 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released the second edition of its English-language bulletin, The Islamic State News (ISN). ISIS's first edition of ISN was released on June 1. Similar to the first edition, the current edition also delivers various news reports, which are accompanied by images and headlines from the Islamic state's "provinces."
The current edition features two Western suicide bombers that executed attacks in Homs: a German named Uthman Al-Almani, who executed an attack in Al-Kaafaat village; and a French national named Abdur-Raheem Al-Faransi, who executed an attack in Umm Al-'Amad village. Abdur-Raheem, aka Nicolas Bons, had previously appeared in an ISIS propaganda video under the name Abu Abd Al-Rahman. In that video, Bons was accompanied by his younger brother who joined the jihad in Syria as well. Bons' brother was reportedly killed in Syria in 2013.
ISIS Releases Video With Song In German: 'Let Us Wage Jihad'
On June 17, 2014, the Al-Hayat Media Center, an outlet which produces and distributes propaganda for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), released a new video featuring a song in German titled "Let's Wage Jihad."
Gaza Salafi-Jihadis Urge Iraqis To Rally Behind ISIS
In another sign that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is continuing to gain influence in jihadi circles worldwide, particularly following its recent advances in Iraq, the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center, a media outlet for the Gaza Salafi-jihadi movement, issued a statement urging Sunnis in Iraq to rally behind ISIS and to pledge loyalty to its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.
In a new video, Sudanese cleric Sheikh Mohammad Al-Jazouli, who is a known supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), called on Muslim men to attack American embassies and interests if the U.S. attacks ISIS in light of the situation in Iraq. Al-Jazouli also urged Muslim men, who have thus far acted as spectators to the events, to join the ranks of suicide bombers and the fighters for the sake of Allah. Muslims, he noted, are currently at a decisive moment in history.
Jordanian Salafi-Jihadi Cleric Urges Jabhat Al-Nusra To Unite With ISIS
Abu Muhammad Al-Tahawi, a prominent figure in the Jordanian Salafi-jihadi movement, who is currently in prison, issued a statement congratulating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on its advances in Iraq and urging Jabhat Al-Nusra to join forces with it. The two jihadi groups have been engaged in bitter rivalry in the past year, including violent clashes.
Khaled Al-Shaeb
A June 18, 2014 report in the London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi cited 'Ali Zawi, a Tunisan counterterrorism expert, who warned that terrorists were planning to target the Jewish community on the Island of Jerba during the month of Ramadan. The expert, whose claims were first published on June 17 in the Tunisian weekly Akhar Khabar, said that the terrorist organization Ansar Al-Sharia in Tunisia (AST) was planning large-scale attacks against Jerba Jews during Ramadan, and noted that last Ramadan, the organization perpetrated an attack in the Al-Sha'anabi region in which eight Tunisian soldiers were killed.
Video Released By Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Shows Uyghur Jihadis Fighting In Syria
The Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), a jihad organization of Uyghur Muslims from East Turkestan (Xinjiang) in Western China, recently released a video showing some of its members who are fighting alongside the rebels in Syria. The 52-minute video, posted on the group’s website and circulated via jihadi forums, provides a first extensive look at the TIP unit in Syria. The main speaker in it, identified as Abu Al-Rida Al-Turkestani, is a Syrian instructor responsible for the fighters’ religious and ideological indoctrination. (Abu Al-Rida is a Syrian; his nickname, Al-Turkestani, does not reflect his ethnicity but rather his affiliation with the TIP).
Abu Al-Rida, speaking in Arabic, decries the plight of Muslims in East Turkestan and also in Syria, and lauds the role of the Turkestani fighters, saying that other Muslims should emulate them by coming to Syria and making it a springboard for global jihad.
Abu Al-Rida Al-Turkestani
The video shows the TIP fighters – most of whom are presumably Uyghurs, with a possible smattering of other Asian ethnicities – in their training camp and also assaulting and taking over a Syrian army outpost. Several of them address the Muslims, urging them to take up arms and join the jihad.
The video clearly seeks to promote global Muslim awareness to the Muslims' cause in Xinjiang, and also to encourage Muslims to follow the example the Uyghur fighters and join the fighting in Syria and elsewhere.
Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi Released From Prison
Prominent Salafi-jihadi figure Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi was released today from Jordanian prison. Al-Maqdisi was arrested in 2010, and in 2011 was sentenced to five years on terrorism charges.
Warning: Extremely Graphic - ISIS Terrorists In Syria Play With Decapitated Head
Following are excerpts from a video posted on the Internet by ISIS terrorists on June 15, 2014, showing ISIS members playing with a decapitated head. According to the Internet posting, the victim was a member of the Free Syrian Army. Viewer discretion is advised.
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
Man filming the video: "The video has already started."
Another ISIS member: "Okay? Can we start?"
ISIS member (picks up decapitated head): "Yeah.
"Hello, my name is John."
Laughter
On June 12, 2014, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) published a communique claiming responsibility for the attack against Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou last month. The attack, which targeted Ben Jeddou's family home in Kasserine in western Tunisia, killed four of his guards and injured several others.
AQIM said that although the "criminal" Ben Jeddou escaped the attack that aimed at "harvesting" his head, he "will not escape – Allah's willing – the next time." AQIM further threatened anyone in the Tunisian Interior Ministry, namely its heads, from engaging in an "open war against Islam and Muslims [as a means] to satisfy America, France, and Algeria," while noting that doing so would result in "hefty costs."
Al-Fajr Technical Committee Releases Android App For Secure Communication, Announces New Website
On June 7, 2014, the Al-Fajr Technical Committee (FTC) released an Android version of its 'Amn Al-Mujahid ("The Mujahid's Security") encryption program. The FTC also announced the launching of its new website - alfajrtaqni.net.
Snapshot from FTC's new website
The FTC was established in September 2012. It is comprised of an unknown number of individuals with various technical backgrounds. In December 2013, the FTC launched the first version of its encryption program 'Amn Al-Mujahid.'
Ansar Al-Shari'a In Libya Says It Managed To Repel Third Military Offensive Attempt Against Benghazi
In the last few days, Ansar Al-Shari'a in Libya (ASL) began posting images of its "martyrs," whom, the group says, were killed defending the city of Benghazi against the military offensive being waged against it. In several related tweets that appeared on ASL's Twitter account, ASL said that in the last few days it managed to repel the third consecutive military attack against the city. The military offensive has been led by General Khalifa Haftar.
Eight days before the June 9 terror attack at Jinnah International Airport of Karachi in Pakistan, Mujahid Usman Ghazi, the Emir of the Pakistan-based jihadi organization Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), called for the unity of all the jihadi organizations based in the Pakistan-Afghanistan tribal region known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs).
The statement came amid weeks of fighting between various factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), resulting in a split which led to the Hakimullah Mehsud faction of the TTP forming its own group. After the killing of TTP emir Hakimullah Mehsud on November 1, 2013 in a U.S. drone strike, for the first time a non-Mehsud, Maulana Fazlullah, took over as the emir of the TTP. Fazlullah is known for launching targeted attacks on Pakistani soldiers. Initial Pakistani media reports and a claim of responsibility indicate that the TTP carried out the June 9 attack at the Karachi airport.
In his June 1 statement, IMU chief Mujahid Usman Ghazi lamented the tribalism in the jihadi ranks, and accused the Pakistani government of killing numerous mujahideen and also of handing many mujahideen over to the United States during the years after the 9/11 attacks. Usmani Ghazi's statement is also notable for the fact that he reiterates his allegiance to Mullah Mohammad Omar, who is considered the Emir-ul-Momineen (Leader of the Faithful) by all major jihadi groups.
The following is the text of the IMU chief's statement:
"We Have Conducted Jihad In Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Chechnya, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, And In The Land Of Sham [Syria]"; "Why Are The Doors Of Futuhat … [Victory] Still Closed, While We Have More Facilities And Potential Than Those Of [Emir-Ul-Momineen] Mullah Muhammad Omar When He Began His Pursuit?"
"Message from the emir of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Mujahid Usman Ghazi, to the emirs of muhajireen [immigrants], ansars [locals who aid], and mujahids in Khorasan."
Shahidullah Shahid (middle)
In a statement issued on jihadi forums, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has threatened to burn landmarks in Islamabad and Lahore in revenge for the Pakistani military operation launched in North Waziristan on June 15.
The statement, issued by TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, also asked foreign investors, airlines, and multinational companies to suspend operations in Pakistan and leave the country.
A copy of the statement downloaded from Facebook
In a statement issued on Facebook, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP or the Movement of Pakistani Taliban) has claimed that the June 9 terror attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi was carried out in revenge for the killing of TTP emir Hakimullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike on November 1, 2013 in the Pakistani tribal region.
At least 28 people were killed in the five-hour battle that ensued in the early hours of June 9 when Taliban attackers invaded the airport's runway. Umar Media, the broadcasting arm of the TTP, issued an Urdu-language statement on its Facebook page within hours after the standoff ended. The following is the text of the TTP statement:
"In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful."
