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 December 3, 2021, a Canada-based pro-Al-Qaeda cleric published an essay titled "Views on Al-Baghdadi's Organization," in which he analyzed the development of an ideological dispute within the Islamic State (ISIS) which ultimately led to a power struggle that fragmented the organization.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
During November 2021, the Iran-backed militias in Iraq increased their threats against the American forces in the country and warned that they must leave by December 31, 2021, or else the attacks against them will escalate.
On December 3, 2021, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a poster which threatens the U.S. The poster was released in both Arabic and English-language versions and depicts a masked fighter brandishing a knife, against a background image of jihadis executing prisoners, while coffins draped in American flags are visible below the text on the poster.
A Saudi-funded daily newspaper reported on the December 7 allegations made by Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani of the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed Yemeni government, who claimed that there is cooperation between Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Iran-backed Ansar Allah, aka the Houthis, in carrying out many "terrorist acts" aimed at destabilizing Yemen, as well as regional and international security.
ISIS Video Shows Attack On Taliban Security Vehicle In Kabul
On December 5, 2021, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video documenting an attack it claimed responsibility for on December 4, which entailed the IED bombing of a Taliban police car in Kabul, Afghanistan.
On December 8, 2021, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for killing and wounding 18 Iraqi policemen and soldiers during a series of armed confrontations that took place on December 7 south and west of Kirkuk, Iraq.
ISIS Claims Responsibility For Deaths Of 13 Peshmerga Fighters In Iraq, In Third Attack In A Week
On December 4, 2021, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for a "quality attack" perpetrated by its operatives on December 2, 2021, against Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Erbil Governorate in Iraq.
On December 6, 2021, the Islamic State (ISIS) released six photographs documenting its claim that on December 1, it set up a temporary roadblock in Borno state, Nigeria.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On December 3, 2021, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 315 of its weekly Al-Naba' newspaper, which included an edition of "Story of a Martyr," a periodical section usually devoted to paying tribute to a slain senior commander.
ISIS Weekly Highlights 99 ISIS Assassinations Across The World, The Majority In Afghanistan
Issue 315 of the Islamic State (ISIS) weekly Al-Naba' magazine, released on December 3, 2021, includes an infographic highlighting the number of assassinations that ISIS claims to have perpetrated during the first four months of the current Islamic Hijri year (which corresponds to August-November 2021).
On December 2, 2021, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue number 315 of its weekly newspaper, Al-Naba', which includes an editorial describing the current political crisis in Sudan as a "Judeo-Crusader war" and an "indirect invasion of a Muslim country."
On December 3, 2021, a new pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group launched on Telegram, releasing four posters highlighting that ISIS's jihad will continue until the last day, urging ISIS fighters to stand firm in face of airstrikes launched by the U.S. and its allies, and advising Muslims in Sudan to wage jihad and establish the rule of Allah's shari'a.
Pro-ISIS Poster Incites Jihadis In Europe To Carry Out Attacks In Coalition Countries
On December 2, 2021, an Indonesian pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet, released a poster calling for attacks in France and other European members of the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
Pro-ISIS Posters Depict Arab Countries, Turkey As Supporters Of Israel And The Syrian Regime
Three pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media foundations released posters declaring that ISIS's position of opposing all "un-Islamic regimes" has proven to be justified, citing numerous alleged actions taken by Arab countries and Turkey to support Israel and resume relations with Syria's Bashar Al-Assad regime.
Pro-ISIS Poster Criticizes 'Pro-U.S.' Arab Rulers
On December 8, 2021, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlet released a poster titled "The Practice of the Taghouts [Tyrants]." The poster depicted U.S. President Joe Biden in flames, alongside Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Syrian regime President Bashar Al-Assad, Iraqi Prime Minster Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, and Sudanese General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
On December 5, 2021, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) British preacher published a press release on his Telegram channel announcing the launch of a Twitter campaign to call for the release of Jamaican pro-ISIS cleric Abdullah Al-Faisal, who was indicted on August 25, 2017 on charges of recruiting would-be terrorists.
On December 7, 2021, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) English-language Telegram channel reported that the majority of Muslim prisoners inside an Australian prison have rejected the teachings of an imprisoned ISIS supporter.
On the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server, several users recently discussed best security practices to safeguard sensitive communications and user information after an alleged spy was banned from a chat room.
Al-Qaeda Somali Affiliate Al-Shabab Attacks Soldiers In Neighboring Kenya
On December 4, 2021, the official media outlet of the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), reported that between December 3 and 4, Al-Shabab fighters carried out a series of attacks against Kenyan troops.
On December 7, 2021, the media wing of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab) published a video documenting a raid by Al-Shabab militants on a checkpoint manned by Somali government forces.
An article in the latest issue of Urdu-language Al-Qaeda magazine Nawa-i-Ghazwa-e-Hind ("The Voice Of The Battle Of India") calls upon Kashmiris, especially protesters who throw stones at members of Indian security forces, to join the jihad against the security forces.
On December 7, 2021, a Syrian jihadi Telegram channel run by a former Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) commander who was dismissed from the group published a post asserting that a withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East is counter to the interests of the Syrian revolution and of Sunni Muslims, since the alternatives to an American presence are worse.
Updated Survey Of Activity In Syria Of Jihadi Military Contractor
A jihadi group comprised mainly of Muslims from the Caucasus countries who arrived in Syria after the outbreak of the civil war in March 2011, was established around 2016 by an Uzbek Muslim, and apparently numbers about ten to 15 members.
Syrian Opposition News Outlet: IRGC, Iran-Backed Militias Using Hospitals For Military Activity
A news outlet affiliated with the Syrian opposition reported on December 2, 2021 that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iran-backed militias are using two hospitals in eastern Syria for military activity.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On December 2, 2021, the Zulfiqar Forces, a Shi'ite Iraqi militia, released the fourth issue of its Al-Fiqar magazine.
Iranian-Backed Militias: Basra Attack Part Of U.S. Strategy To Leave Forces In Iraq
On December 7, 2021, a motorcycle rigged with explosives was detonated opposite in the city of Basra in southern Iraq, causing the deaths of four people and injuring several others. Such attacks have been rare in this part of Iraq, which has enjoyed relative stability in recent years.
On December 2, 2021, a Shi'ite Iraqi militia, released the fourth issue of its magazine, which included an article questioning the Iraqi government's narrative about the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, claiming that it contains contradictions.
After a period in which the Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in Iraq repeatedly threatened to launch attacks on the U.S. forces in the country if they do not withdraw by the end of the year, one militia has announced it is postponing the confrontation until after the Christian holidays out of consideration for Christians in Iraq and worldwide.
Telegram channels affiliated with Iraqi Shi'ite militias are continuing to disseminate content threatening to take up arms against the U.S. military presence in Iraq if U.S. troops stay in the country past the end of 2021, the deadline set for the withdrawal of combat operations by President Biden.
Yemen's Ansar Allah Organizes Mass-Wedding, Grooms Chant 'Death to America!'
On December 2, 2021, the official website of the Yemen-based Ansar Allah (i.e., the Houthis) published an article highlighting that the group had held in Sanaa the largest mass wedding celebration ever in the Arab world.
