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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It has been reported that Malik Faisal Akram, who on January 15, 2022, took hostages in a Texas synagogue, had purchased a handgun in the U.S. in a private sale, according to federal investigators. In a Sky News interview, Akram's brother questioned why his brother was able to enter the U.S. and purchase a firearm, even though he had a criminal record.
Reacting to the hostage incident at a Texas synagogue, jihadi Telegram channels have circulated reports suggesting a brother of Aafia Siddiqui is involved.
Jihadi clerics expressed support for the perpetrator of the Texas synagogue hostage-taking and said that the continued imprisonment of Siddiqui and of other Muslim women justified further operations of this sort.
Al-Qaeda supporters on Telegram praised Siddiqui's "brother" and wished him success, describing him as a "lone lion."
On January 17, 2022, a pro-Al-Qaeda media outlet released a poster featuring a "statement of commendation" for Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old from Blackburn, England, who entered a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, on January 15 while armed and held four worshippers hostage for several hours before he was killed by an FBI Hostage Rescue Team.
Users of the pro-ISIS Rocket.Chat server expressed support for the Texas synagogue hostage-taker, whom they refer to as "brother" and as a "martyr," expressing support for his cause.
On August 7, 2021, a pro-jihad media outlet run by a U.S.-born journalist posted a 36-minute video on YouTube featuring an interview with the director of operations for a Maryland-based nonprofit organization that advocates for the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
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On January 16, 2022, a British pro-ISIS preacher published a "press release" on his blog calling for a second Twitter storm to demand the release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.
ISIS Claims Its First Attack In Libya In Four Months
On January 18, 2022, ISIS claimed responsibility for an IED detonation on the Libya National Army (LNA), General Khalifa Haftar's militias, on January 17.
Issue 321 of the Islamic State’s weekly Al-Naba' magazine, published on January 14, 2022, reports that on January 11, ISIS operatives killed two men accused of spying for the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria.
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On January 18, 2022, ISIS released a video documenting the indoctrination and training of young fighters, including child soldiers.
In a video titled "Inspire Believers" that was posted on the Rocket.Chat server of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab) on January 19, 2022, an English-speaking jihadi called upon Western youth to join Al-Shabab, wage jihad, and seek martyrdom.
ISIS Infographic Details 22 Days Of Attacks Against Christians In Central Africa And Southeast Asia
The recent issue of ISIS weekly Al-Naba' magazine (Issue 321), published on January 13, 2022, included an infographic detailing attacks carried out against Christian targets in Southeast Asia and Africa between December 21, 2021, and January 10, 2022.
ISIS In Mozambique Continues To Attack Christian Villages, Burn Down Homes
During the first half of January 2022, ISIS continued its attacks against Christian villages in the Cabo Delgado Province of northern Mozambique. In an emerging pattern, the attacks are often followed by the torching of houses and property in the villages.
ISIS Editorial Praises Fighters For Enduring Hardship, Condemns Muslims For Abandoning Mujahideen
On January 13, 2022, ISIS released issue 312 of its weekly newspaper Al-Naba', which included an editorial praising ISIS fighters for remaining steadfast despite the hardship that they are experiencing and condemned Muslims for abandoning the mujahideen.
The most-recent issue of Al-Naba' (Issue 321), the official weekly magazine published by ISIS released on January 13, 2022, includes the second infographic in a series titled, "Continue Your Incitement."
On January 11, 2022, a 20-minute video by the official media outlet of ISIS, titled "Lions of the Tribes," was distributed on the Internet.
On January 14, 2022, a pro-ISIS media outlet, released a video reiterating ISIS's claims that the group was not defeated after the loss of the village of Baghuz, its last stronghold in Syria, and arguing that ISIS merely changed its tactics to guerrilla warfare.
On January 17, 2022, a Syrian jihadi opposed to Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), tweeted that several "French jihadis" in HTS prisons had rejected a deal offered to them, according to which they would be released if they agreed to be deported from Syria to "one of the countries in West Africa."
On January 12, 2022, an English-language Telegram channel believed to be operated by a British jihadi preacher published a poster discussing alleged attempts to censor another pro-ISIS preacher.
On January 13, 2022, Al-Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula (AQAP) claimed a January 11 IED attack on a pick-up truck carrying members of Ansar Allah, the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.
The official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, (AQAP), published a death notice for a "martyred" operative who was killed in Yemen.
On January 14, 2022, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's Nigerian affiliate Ansar Al-Muslimeen fi Bilad Al-Sudan, also known as Ansaru, released a statement in Arabic and English versions on a new channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server.
On January 18, 2022, the official media arm of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), issued a statement claiming responsibility for a suicide attack perpetrated the same day against Somali Special Forces.
Mali-Based Al-Qaeda Affiliate Claims Seven Operations In Last Two Weeks That Killed 60 People
On January 14, 2022, the media outlet of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a Mali-based affiliate of Al-Qaeda, posted an announcement, in Arabic, claiming responsibility for seven operations carried out between December 22, 2021 and January 3, 2022 in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.
On January 16, 2022, the military recruitment division of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) released a video highlighting the enlisting process of new recruits and the different stages that they are required to pass before becoming fighters, including a religious course and physical and weapons training.
On January 18, 2022, a Syrian rebel group issued a statement claiming responsibility for the detonation of an IED on a Syrian Military Security (The Military Intelligence) Force vehicle in the city of Aleppo.
Syria-Based Uzbek Jihadi Group, Last Active In 2019, Claims New Attack
On January 17, 2022, a Syria-based Uzbek jihadi group released four photos showing its fighters firing recoilless rifles at Syrian regime positions.
A Kuwaiti YouTuber raised more than $11 million during a twelve-day period between January 7-18, 2022, which he spent enclosed in a glass box in downtown Dubai while livestreaming.
On January 17, 2022, a military spokesman for the Yemen-based Ansar Allah (i.e., the Houthis) claimed responsibility for an attack on the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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Following the January 17, 2022 attack carried out by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia, also known as Ansar Allah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), some Iran-aligned Shi'ite militias and leaders in Iraq praised the attack.
On January 13, 2022, several prominent Iraqi Shi'ite figures issued statements condemning a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad which took place the same day.
This report will review attacks claimed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (The Movement of Pakistani Taliban, TTP) during the week ending January 9, 2022.
