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.
In 2013, MEMRI reported on the activity at an Islamic bookstore in Sydney, Australia, which also served as a community center for local Muslims. The report showed that the bookstore was a hub from which radical Islamists spread extremist and militant Islamic views.
EXCLUSIVE: Jihadi Use Of Bots On The Encrypted Messaging Platform Telegram
Every day, bots are being used by jihadis, especially on Telegram, for a wide variety of purposes. Highlighting these uses just recently was the pro-Al-Qaeda Jaysh Al-Malahim Al-Electroni Telegram channel that announced, on July 20, 2020, that it was recruiting supporters with expertise in programming, "media raids," film montage, hacking, translation, and graphic design. Those interested, it added, should make contact using its bots.
On August 5, 2020, a Syrian opposition website reported on the upsurge in Islamic State (ISIS) activity over the past few months in the area of Daraa in southern Syria.
On August 2, 2020 a media outlet of the Syria and Iraq-based Kurdish group Ansar Al-Islam, released a six-minute video documenting its fighters targeting Assad regime military positions with heavy artillery. The video also shows the group's fighters operating a drone.
An Urdu-language book shared on the U.S. website Archive.org argues in favor of suicide bombings by jihadi groups. The book, translated from Arabic, is a fatwa titled "Clear Arguments Regarding Suicide Bombings."
A July 31, 2020 post on a pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram channel urges Muslims in non-Muslim countries to kidnap non-Muslims and hold them for ransom, steal their possessions, and slaughter them.
ISIS Claims Responsibility For Attack On Mozambican Army Barracks, Killing And Wounding Dozens
On August 6, 2020, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for an attack on two military barracks belonging to the Mozambican Army saying it killed and wounded dozens of soldiers.
On August 3, 2020 a media foundation associated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) released a video documenting the group's operations against the Syrian military forces of the Assad regime over the past 11 months.
HTS-Linked Syrian Salvation Government Blames Beirut Explosion On Hizbullah And Iran
On August 5, 2020, the Syrian Salvation Government, which is linked to jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), issued a statement eulogizing "the victims of the Beirut port explosion in the state of Lebanon."
HTS Releases Photos Of Leader Visiting Fighters, Meeting Locals, Distributing Gifts To Children
In honor of the Islamic holiday Eid Al-Adha, media connected to the Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) released several sets of photographs and video clips showing the group's leader visiting fighters on the front, meeting with residents of Idlib city and visiting an IDP camp, and distributing gifts to local children.
On August 5, 2020, a Syria-based jihadi group released a 12-minute video showing their July 14, 2020 SVBIED attack on a Russian military vehicle that was part of a joint Russian-Turkish patrol south of Idlib.
On August 3, 2020 the media arm of the Syria-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), released two Uyghur-language videos on Telegram.
Al-Shabab, ISIS, Publish Photos Of Eid Al-Adha Celebrations In Somalia
On August 1, 2020, Somali Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen and its rival, the Somali branch of the Islamic State (ISIS), published photographs of their celebrations for Eid Al-Adha in Somalia.
ISIS Claims Prison Break In Jalalabad, Afghanistan
On August 3, 2020, the Islamic State (ISIS) Khurasan Province (Afghanistan) orchestrated a large prison break in the city of Jalalabad.
ISIS Releases Video Featuring Perpetrators Of Jalalabad Prison Attack
On August 5, 2020, the Islamic State (ISIS) news agency released a short clip featuring a message from the perpetrators of the large scale attack on the main jail in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, which took place two days before, and enabled hundreds of prisoners to escape.
In a statement, the Pakistani jihadi organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (The Movement of Pakistani Taliban, TTP) has paid tribute to a man who killed an American citizen in a courtroom in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.
In a statement issued on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (AGH), an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in Kashmir, greeted the Muslims of Kashmir and India and has vowed to tread the path of sacrifice established by Prophet Ibrahim (i.e., Abraham) to free Kashmir.
On August 5, 2020, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Rocket.Chat user posted a slow-motion video showing a Molotov cocktail being thrown on at an external wall of a house, setting it on fire.
