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.
Jihadis have proven to be adept and web savvy and learn quickly from what other criminal groups and movements are doing online. Highlighting this is the U.S. authorities' recent bust of an ISIS facilitator's COVID-19 related fraud involving cryptocurrency and the sale of counterfeit personal protection equipment via a website, FaceMaskCenter.com – including to hospitals, nursing homes, and fire departments.
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A main goal of the Islamic Republic of Iran is exporting its Islamic Revolution to the rest of the world. One of the regime's main instruments for indoctrinating Shi'ite clerics outside of Iran is Al-Mustafa International University, in Qom, Iran, a major center of Shi'ite Islam.
EXCLUSIVE: Jihadis Threaten New Attacks On Charlie Hebdo Magazine For Republishing Muhammad Cartoons
Following the announcement by the French magazine Charlie Hebdo of its intention to republish the cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad which led to a series of attacks in which seventeen people were killed, twelve at the magazine's offices, when the cartoons were first published in 2015, supporters of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS) issued threats to attack the magazine again.
On August 28, 2020, the Islamic State (ISIS) released its weekly newspaper, which included an editorial acknowledging the group's defeat in Yemen, accusing local tribal leaders of betraying ISIS, and calling on ISIS fighters to reassess the situation and prepare to open new battlefronts.
On September 2, 2020, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media foundation released a five-minute video addressing supporters, saying that if they are unable to migrate to ISIS-controlled areas to take part in jihad, they should carry out lone wolf attacks in Western cities.
On August 31, 2020 a new jihadi group which describes itself as "independent," released a statement claiming that one of its fighters had carried out a martyrdom operation on a Turkish army position in Idlib, Syria, wounding and killing dozens of Turkish and Syrian soldiers.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Anas Haqqani, one of the key jihadi commanders freed at the request of the U.S. government from an Afghan prison and now based in the Qatari capital of Doha, recently paid tribute to his late father Jalaluddin Haqqani, who died in September 2018.
A jihadi preacher based in Maryland who was popular among a circle of English-speaking ISIS supporters and has expressed views which appear to support the Islamic State (ISIS), is now being disavowed by a growing number of ISIS supporters.
On August 27, 2020, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group released a video condemning Muslim scholars who endorsed the recently announced UAE-Israel normalization agreement.
On August 31, 2020, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a poster on Telegram celebrating the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and of natural disasters such as fires, floods, and storms in the U.S. and the U.K.
Pro-ISIS Channel Distributes Interview With British Woman Who Escaped Detention Camp In Syria
On August 31, 2020, a French-language Telegram channel dedicated to raising funds to help female detainees held in camps in Syria, published a short video interview conducted with a British woman who recently escaped from one such camp.
Pro-ISIS Outlet Releases Tutorial Explaining How To Avoid Google Services
On August 26, 2020, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) group dedicated to providing ISIS supporters with information about communications and cyber security issues published an article in English and Arabic about apps that are secure alternatives to Google Play.
A female Islamic State (ISIS) supporter is now living in Sydney, Australia.
A Facebook user based in the U.S. expresses pro-Islamic State (ISIS) views and shares jihadi content.
Several Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook pages dedicated to the teachings of an imprisoned Saudi sheikh have appeared in recent months.
On Facebook, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) woman shares jihadi content.
On August 28, 2020, the media arm of Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a video featuring its senior official and former Guantanamo Bay detainee condemning the UAE-Israel normalization agreement and calling on Muslims to assassinate both Muhammad bin Zayed (MBZ), Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and Muhammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Al-Qaeda Media Outlet: Al-Qaeda Affiliate GSIM Carried Out IED Attack On UN Armored Vehicle In Mali
On September 2, 2020, a pro-Al-Qaeda outlet reported that fighters of Al-Qaeda affiliate Group For The Support Of Islam And Muslims (GSIM) had attacked a UN military convoy in north Mali.
On August 29, 2020, an Al-Qaeda supporter published a post on Telegram praising Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for "reviving the Prophetic Sunnah of assassination" with its recent video, which called for the assassination Of Mohammed Bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince and the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On September 3, 2020, a pro-Al-Qaeda online women's magazine published an article discussing the peace deal between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, suggesting that both countries had normalized relations long before the recent declaration.
On September 2, 2020, Syrian jihadi cleric Abd Al-Razzaq Al-Mahdi published a post condemning the Chinese government for its treatment of the Uyghur population, saying that the Uyghurs' plight is graver than all the plights of Arabs and Muslims combined and that it is the gravest one in the last 100 years.
Military Group In Idlib Demonstrates Pistol Training Capabilities
On August 24, 2020, a military group which is affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and allied armed rebel factions, posted a new video on its website showing its pistol training capabilities.
Newly Regrouped Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Claims Multiple Attacks In Pakistani Regions
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (the Movement of Pakistani Taliban, TTP), which several TTP factions and other Pakistani jihadi groups joined in the third week of August 2020, has released reports of its latest terror attacks in Pakistan.
In the third week of August 2020, Pakistan's leading jihadi commanders announced the merger of their organizations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (The Movement of Pakistani Taliban, TTP).
