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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The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda have mainly reacted by celebrating the violence and hoping for both sides to destroy each other, viewing both Russia and Ukraine as nations of "unbelievers" and "crusaders."
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
A Jordanian jihadi ideologue and Al-Qaeda supporter shared several tweets commenting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In his tweets, the jihadi cleric highlighted social media reports that Chechen soldiers are fighting alongside the Russian forces in Ukraine, deeming that as deviant Muslims whose prayers will not be accepted.
On Twitter and on Facebook Western jihadis have been reacting to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some are cheering for the destruction of both Russia and Ukraine, while others express a purported double standard that exists for wars involving Muslim nations versus non-Muslim nations.
On February 28, 2022 a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, published a post in English discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
EXCLUSIVE: Syria-Based Jihadi Clerics Side With Ukraine Against Russia, Pray For Russia's Defeat
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Jihadi clerics in Syria, particularly those affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), have expressed support for Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. Syrian rebels consider Russia an enemy, as they have been fighting against Russian air and ground forces since Putin intervened in the Syrian civil war on the side of President Bashar Al-Assad in September 2015.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On February 23, 2022, an Al-Qaeda-associated writer \published an article arguing that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is part of an Israeli scheme to manipulate energy resources. He further claimed that with U.S. support, Israel plans to use NATO to secure the Middle East, suggesting that Iran is the only regional power who could foil such a scheme.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On February 26, 2022, a website affiliated with Lebanese Hizbullah published an article proposing that the Axis of Resistance employ tactics similar to those used by Russia's forces in invading Ukraine, specifically rocket attacks and ground operations, in an "upcoming war" against Israel, which was described as a "temporary entity."
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On February 27, 2022, in a post on his Telegram channel, a Tunisian-born Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) cleric commented on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's call to foreigners to come to Ukraine to join its fight against the Russian Armed Forces in a special new unit, dubbed the "International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine."
On February 23, 2022, the day before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a website owned by Lebanese Hizbullah (LH) published an article accusing the U.S. of engineering the Ukrainian crisis to serve its strategic objectives of weakening Russia and fomenting tension between Russia and Iran.
Every day, researchers from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) and Domestic Terrorism Threat Monitor (DTTM) projects see jihadis as well as neo-Nazis and white supremacists freely uploading their content directly to the Internet Archive (archive.org). Once it is uploaded, they circulate the Internet Archive links to it via their own social media accounts to their own networks of followers on a range of platforms, to all interested parties.
Islamic State (ISIS) Supporter On Social Media Publishes Photos Of Pro-ISIS Messages In Rome
On February 27, 2022, a user of the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Rocket.Chat platform published a post titled, "From Rome the Black Banner of ISIS Will Be Raised," with five photographs allegedly taken in Rome, each of which shows a hand holding a piece of paper that bears a pro-ISIS message.
Prominent Al-Qaeda Supporter Publishes Poster Depicting Attack On Vatican
On March 1, 2022, a Telegram bot operated by a prominent Al-Qaeda supporter shared a poster titled, "We Are Coming, Oh Romans." In the poster, an image of the Pope is superimposed on a dark, smoky sky, above a representation of the Vatican which is in flames and under aerial attack.
On February 24, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 327 of its weekly newspaper Al-Naba', which includes an editorial highlighting the contributing factors in the determination of ISIS fighters to remain committed to waging jihad despite hardships and setbacks.
On February 24, 2022, a British pro-Islamic State (ISIS) preacher published on Telegram an article in the form of a press release titled "The Pot Calling the Kettle Black?" In the article, he condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and proposed Islam as the solution.
In a press release issued on February 26, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) British preacher criticized the Western response to Russia's attack on Ukraine, accusing the West of having double standards in supporting Ukrainian resistance to Russia yet opposing anti-colonial and anti-imperial movements in Muslim countries.
On March 1, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlet released a poster calling on Egyptian Muslims to kill an Egyptian journalist, describing him as an "atheist heretic."
On March 1, 2022, a user of the Islamic State (ISIS)-operated Rocket.Chat server posted a link to a low-quality YouTube video clip featuring a jihadi nasheed (Islamic religious chant) and footage of mujahideen in Bosnia during the Bosnian War of the 1990s.
On February 28, 2022, 39-year-old David Mora Rojas shot his three daughters, aged nine, ten, and 13, and a chaperone, Nathaniel Kong, at a church in Sacramento, California, before killing himself as well. Users of the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server responded to the shooting.
A pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Australian preacher has expanded his online presence, sharing content on platforms such as Telegram, Instagram, SoundCloud, and YouTube, in addition to his website.
In the past few days, the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has released statements announcing the "martyrdom" of three of its fighters who were killed in U.S. airstrikes and eulogizing them.
On February 19, 2022, Al-Qaeda Central's official media arm, released the sixth issue of its magazine Ummah Wahidah, or "One Nation" in Arabic. The issue included an editorial which congratulated the Afghan Taliban on the departure of all "Crusader" forces from Afghanistan.
On March 1, 2022, Al-Qaeda's central media arm released a video based on an article published in the first issue of the group's magazine "One Ummah," which emphasizes the responsibility of jihadis to secure their communication devices.
On February 19, 2022, the official media arm of the Al-Qaeda Central Command released the sixth issue of its magazine Ummah Wahidah, meaning "One Nation." The magazine included a six-page article by a pro-Al-Qaeda cleric titled "the Pope's Visit To Iraq: Its Significance, Timing, and Dimensions."
Sudanese Pro-Al-Qaeda Cleric: Women Seeking Education Is Imitation Of West, Blow To Modesty
On February 28, 2022, a Sudanese pro-Al-Qaeda ideologue posted a message on his Telegram channel opposing women leaving their homes to acquire an education, declaring that it is an imitation of the West and a blow to their purity and modesty.
On February 28, 2022, a new Telegram channel which appears to be pro-Al-Qaeda published photos of two recent memos allegedly written by the wali (governor) of "Timbuktu province" for Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (Group for Support of Islam and Muslims - GSIM).
On February 28, 2022, the website of a pro-Syrian opposition media outlet published an article claiming that prominent Al-Qaeda ideologue Abu Mus'ab Al-Suri was executed in November 2011 in Syria, after being convicted of being a member of the military wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
The Russian war against Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022, and the tenacity exhibited by the latter as it faces the Russian Armed Forces have provided opponents of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) with more fodder for criticism of the organization and its conduct.
On February 26, 2022, a pro-Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Telegram channel, posted a video showing a man who was identified as a Syrian-born Ukrainian businessman announcing the formation of an armed group to defend Ukraine.
On February 23, 2022, Telegram channels that oppose Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) reported that the group's leader, Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani, is planning to open a church in Idlib and is inviting Syrian Christians to move to Idlib as part of his efforts to appeal to the international community and present himself as a moderate leader.
On February 28, 2022, a pro-Al-Qaeda outlet shared an infographic depicting operations perpetrated over the past several months by the Kurdish jihadi group Ansar Al-Islam. According to the information on the poster, during the past few months the organization has perpetrated 40 attacks.
Australian Jihadi Preacher: For Islam To Dominate, We Must Establish The Islamic Caliphate
On February 25, 2022, a central figure in the Salafi and jihadi community in Australia and among English-speaking jihadis on social media, posted a brief video on his Telegram channel in which he stated that "our aim" is for Islam to dominate all ways of life, institutions, and societies.
On March 1, 2022, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), the jihadi organization that took over the country in August 2021 celebrated the second anniversary of the Doha Agreement between the Taliban and the United States.
Inspired by the Afghan Taliban, the resurgent Pakistani jihadi organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (the Movement of Pakistani Taliban, TTP) has, for the first time, announced appointments in their organizational structure, virtually creating a parallel system of government.
This report will review attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (the Movement of the Pakistani Taliban, TTP) during the week ending February 27, 2022.
Taking a page out of the Afghan Taliban playbook, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (the Movement of Pakistani Taliban, TTP) has urged America not to support Pakistan against the TTP, saying the TTP's sole target is Pakistan, and it has nothing to do with other countries, according to a TTP statement released in Urdu, English, and Pashtu.
Syria and the Houthi Ansar Allah movement, both of which are members of the resistance axis led by Iran, hurried to declare their support for Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, as did the Telegram channels which support the Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
On February 28, 2022, an Iraqi media outlet reported that the trial of a man charged with the murder of Iraqi security analyst Hisham Al-Hashimi was postponed after he was smuggled out of prison by the Hizbullah Brigades, an Iran-backed militia.
Overview Of Hizb Ut-Tahrir Ideology And Its Media Activity In America
Hizb ut-Tahrir, full name Hizb ut-Tahrir Al-Islami, or "The Party of Islamic Liberation," is a global Islamist network that was founded by Palestinian Islamic scholar Taqi Al-Din Al-Nabhani in Jordanian-ruled Jerusalem in 1953 with the aim of reestablishing an Islamic caliphate that will rule all Muslim countries.
Profile Of Hizb Ut-Tahrir In Kenya Based On Its Online Activities
Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), full name Hizb ut-Tahrir Al-Islami or "The Party of Islamic Liberation," is a global Islamist network which seeks to create an Islamic Caliphate to rule all Muslim countries. Founded in 1953 in Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem by Palestinian Islamic scholar Taqi Al-Din Al-Nabhani, the organization has spread to 50 countries and currently operates in 40 of them.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban jihadi organization, which seized power in Kabul on August 15, 2021) has issued a statement on the war in Ukraine, urging "restraint by both parties" and to resolve it through "dialogue and peaceful means."
