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 August 7, 2023, Al-Sahab, the media arm of Al-Qaeda Central released a book marking the 25th anniversary of the group's bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on August 7, 1998.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On August 2, 2023, the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar published an article titled, “Al-Tanf in exchange for Al-Bukamal – Practical Preparations for Confrontation with the Occupation.”
On August 9, 2023, a user of a server operated by the Islamic State (ISIS) who also frequently contributes articles to the magazine "The Voice of Khurasan," which is linked to the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP), posted an article that he said describes the damage inflicted on the Islamic nation because it abandoned the path of jihad.
On August 3, 2023, Al-Furqan, the media arm of the Islamic State's (ISIS) Central Command released an audio message by the group's new Spokesman, Abu Hudhayfa Al-Ansari, who announced the death of the group's fourth Caliph, Abu Al-Husayn Al-Husayni Al-Qurashi in a confrontation with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib.
On August 8, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a new photoset documenting a second group of ISIS fighters from the Sahel province pledging allegiance to Abu Hafs Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, who was announced as the organization's new leader by its new spokesman Abu Hudhayfa Al-Ansari on August 3.
On August 3, 2023, ISIS released an audio address, the first by its new spokesman Abu Hudhayfa Al-Ansari, in which he claimed that the organization's fourth caliph, Abu Al-Husayn Al-Husayni Al-Qurashi, had been killed in Syria's Idlib area by rival jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), and announced the appointment of a new leader identified as Abu Hafs Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi.
On August 8, 2023, Islamic State (ISIS) affiliates in Iraq and West Africa released additional photosets showing fighters pledging allegiance to the new caliph, Abu Hafs Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, who was announced as the group's new leader on August 3.
On August 3, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released an audio of the group's new spokesman, Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari, announcing the death of slain ISIS leader Abu Al-Husayn Al-Husayni Al-Qurashi and the appointment of a new leader, Abu Hafs Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi.
On August 3, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released an audio message by its new spokesman, Abu Hudhayfa Al-Ansari, in which he claimed that the organization's fourth leader, Abu Al-Husayn Al-Husayni Al-Qurashi, had been killed in Syria's Idlib area by rival jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), and announced the appointment of a new leader, whom he named as Abu Hafs Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi. He also disclosed that the former ISIS spokesman, Abu 'Umar Al-Muhajir, had been apprehended by HTS in the same operation which killed the caliph.
On August 3, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Furqan, the official media outlet released an audio address by the organization's new spokesman Abu Hudhaifah Al-Ansari, announcing the death of ISIS leader Abu Al-Husayn Al-Husayni Al-Qurashi during clashes with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in northeastern Syria's Jandaris area, and the appointment of a new leader, Abi Hafs Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi.
On August 9, 2023, On August 8, 2023, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) became the 11th affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS) to pledge allegiance to new caliph, Abu Hafs Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, who was announced to be the new leader of the jihadi group on August 3.
On August 8, 2023, the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) became the seventh affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS) to pledge allegiance to new caliph, Abu Hafs Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, who was announced to be the new leader of the jihadi group on August 3.
On August 3, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) published issue 402 of its weekly Al-Naba' newsletter, which included a report report about two "security operations" carried out by ISIS operatives in late July 2023, in Iraq's Diyala Governorate, north of the capital city of Baghdad.
On August 7, 2023, the official Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet A'maq News Agency released a statement on Telegram claiming that on August 3, Islamic State Sahel Province operatives ambushed a military convoy belonging to the Malian army near the village of Essailal in Mali's Menaka Region, near the border with Niger, as it was en route to Niger.
On August 3, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) published issue 402 of its weekly newsletter Al-Naba'. A page was devoted to the recent Islamic State Sahel Province operations in Mali, reporting several attacks for the first time.
Islamic State Supporter Calls For New Warfare To Inflict Massive Damage On U.S. Domestically
On August 2, 2023, a user of a server operated by the Islamic State (ISIS), posted an essay encouraging Muslims around the world to utilize the latest technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), to "destroy the U.S."
On August 8, 2023, a user on the Islamic State (ISIS)-operated Rocket.Chat server, who is a moderator of a channel, shared a link to the official site of the SimpleX messaging app, mentioning that the app is compatible only with Android and iOS.
On August 9, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) Sahel Province (ISSP) released a photoset documenting the capture and execution of two accused spies working for the Russian Wagner Group.
In a Pashtu-language booklet, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) accuses the Afghan Taliban rulers of hiding the "current occupation" of Afghanistan by U.S. and NATO by agreeing to deals with the U.S., Qatar, Russia, and China, among others, at the cost of Islamic values.
In a new Pashtu-language book, the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISKP) accuses the Afghan Taliban rulers of implementing democratic principles, digressing from Islamic shari'a rules, and supporting Shi'ites and unbelievers.
In a lead article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan" – the English-language magazine of the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) – the ISIS writer Abu Muhammad Al-Italy boasts of "terrific gains" in the Islamic State's Sahil Wilayah, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Article In ISKP Magazine Calls For Invasion Of Tel Aviv
The latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), has an article accusing Israel of seeking to create "Greater Israel" and calls for the turning over of jihad in Palestine "to those who can do the job."
A long article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), offers jihadis a range of operational security guidelines guidelines to guard their online activity against hackers and intelligence agencies.
Jihadi Social Media – Account Review: Jihadi Corresponds With Tarek Mehanna
A man on Facebook promotes jihad and extremist clerics.
On August 6, 2023, the Al-Andalus Foundation, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), shared an approximately 38-minute video featuring an audio message from senior AQIM operative Abu Yasir Al-Jaza'iri.
On August 4, 2023, a pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram channel shared a eulogy of a French jihadi who was killed in a 2015 U.S. airstrike near Aleppo, Syria, according to a statement by the Pentagon issued on Sept. 22, 2015.
On August 1, 2023 the Al-Nusra Media Foundation, a pro-Al-Qaeda outlet, published an article.
On August 3, 2023, Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari, the new Islamic State (ISIS) spokesman, announced that the group's fourth caliph, Abu Al-Husayn Al-Husayni Al-Qurashi, had been killed during a confrontation with Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in the Idlib region, and that HTS had handed his body over to Turkey.
On August 6, 2023, the Red Headbands elite unit of the Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) carried out a "high-quality operation" targeting regime forces at the Al-Nabi Younus mountaintop north of Latakia, deep inside regime territory.
On August 3, 2023, Syrian opposition news website Euphrates Post reported that approximately 900 Syrian fighters were flown to Russia, with the goal of sending them on to fight on behalf of Moscow in Ukraine or to secure Russian facilities in Africa.
Issue 51 of "Balagh" monthly magazine, published by a group of independent jihadi clerics based in Syria's rebel-controlled Idlib area, was released in late July.
During the first week of August 2023, Syrian opposition media reported on a state of increased readiness on the part of Iran, Lebanese Hizbullah, and the Iran-backed militias in northeast Syria, ahead of a possible military operation by the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) against the Iran-backed militias in this region.
On July 22, 2023, Al-Ahad News, a news website linked to Lebanese Hizbullah, published an article highlighting software used in this field.
On August 3, 2023, the Drone Administration of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) posted a video of an attack on Islamic State (ISIS) positions in the country's northern Kirkuk area.
On August 5, 2023, an English-language social media outlet which monitors and reports on global political developments and conflicts, shared an infographic comparing the relative military strength of West African nations in the event that a regional conflict breaks out over the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état.
On August 5, 2023, the Telegram messaging app was unexpectedly blocked across Iraq, and the following morning the Iraqi Ministry of Communications announced that it had blocked Telegram due to national security concerns and in order to preserve the integrity of users’ personal data, which it said the app had mishandled.
On August 2, 2023, Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr issued a statement on Twitter addressing popular speculations about why the Shi'ite twelfth imam has not returned in light of recent desecrations of the Quran in Sweden and Denmark.
