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.
Several senior officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) have threatened suicide bombings in Europe to avenge the desecrations of the Quran in Sweden and the Netherlands. Addressing a protest rally against the desecration of Quran in European nations, the Taliban officials in Afghanistan's Ghor province warned Europe that Afghans are ready to carry out martyrdom-seeking attacks in the West, according to Afghan media reports and tweets of the Taliban government officials who addressed protesters.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On January 21, 2023, Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish politician and leader of the Danish Stram Kurs party, burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. On January 27, he burned another two copies of the Quran in front of a Danish mosque in Copenhagen. His act drew harsh criticism by governments along with Salafi jihadi groups and their supporters, who published posters inciting violence against Westerners and urging Muslims to launch lone-wolf attacks in retaliation.
On January 31, 2023, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, Huras Al-Din, issued a two-page statement condemning the burning of copies of the Quran in Sweden, Denmark and other European countries, and announcing that it is religiously permitted to kill those who deface the Quran.
On January 26, 2023, pro-ISIS media outlets continued to release posters inciting attacks in retaliation for the January 21 Quran burning protest in Stockholm by Danish-Swedish right-wing politician Rasmus Paludan. The posters included the hashtag "Religious War Not Individual Actions," in reference to the media campaign launched by ISIS's supporting media entities following the incident, which aims to depict the burning of the Quran as part of a "Crusader" war against Islam.
On January 31, 2023, a pro-ISIS outlet released on Telegram a two-minute video inciting attacks in retaliation for the burning of the Quran by far-right politicians in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
MEMRI JTTM has released several reports compiling reactions by Salafi-jihadis and the Iran-backed militias to Swedish politician Paludan burning the Quran. These reactions include publication of media materials threatening violent reprisals in the West.
On January 31, 2023, a pro-ISIS media outlet released on Telegram a five-minute 35-second video inciting attacks in retaliation for the burning of the Quran by Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan in Stockholm, Sweden.
Poster On Pro-ISIS Rocket.Chat Server Incites Attacks Against Indonesian Police
On January 26, 2023 a channel on the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server which "shares news and posts from Indonesia" – released a poster inciting attacks against the country's police.
On January 27, 2023, ISIS released Issue 375 of its weekly Al-Naba' newsletter, which featured an editorial titled "Allah Will Certainly Aid Those Who Aid His Cause," arguing that ISIS's mujahideen's rush to pledge allegiance to new leaders after the death of predecessors is common practice, a practical application of shari'a guidelines, and an assertion that jihad for the sake of establishing shari'a as the law of the land is the "only way" to prevail and conquer "Mecca, Rome, and Jerusalem."
A lead article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K), accuses the Indian government, which is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), generally considered to be right-wing and aligned with Hindu nationalist politics, of acting out of anti-Muslim animosity in its crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), a radical Islamist organization that has built up an international network in recent years.
The cover article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K), traces the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict and argues that the current emergence of far-right Jewish leaders in Israeli politics are part of a larger "blueprint for driving out the Palestinian Muslims."
The latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which defines itself as a supporting entity for ISIS, eulogizes jihadi fighter Abu Muhammad, founder of Islam, who was radicalized in South Korea and migrated to Pakistan via Russia and Iran, and has articles discussing the 2004 Battle of Fallujah, the rise of far-right politicians in Israeli elections, and ISIS operations in Afghanistan and different parts of the world.
Issue 14 of "Khurasan Ghag [Voice of Khurasan]," the Pashtu-language magazine published by the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) says the U.S. and its allies gave $6 billion a year to the "apostate national army" in the Ashraf Ghani government, besides giving unlimited funds to other departments of the then government, but that did not serve their interests as effectively as the Taliban does today.
On January 26, 2023, The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced in a press release the arrest of Atallah Al-Maythan, whom it identified as the ISIS Wali (governor) of Raqqa, Syria.
On January 29, 2023, several pro-ISIS Telegram channels shared the "corrected version" of a one-hour video released by a pro-ISIS outlet, titled "The End and the Beginning II: War hasn't Begun Yet."
On January 29, 2023, a pro-ISIS media outlet released a 60-minute propaganda film titled "The End and the Beginning – War Has Not Begun Yet," discussing jihadi activity in Sinai before and after the advent of ISIS.
A recent infographic released by an ISIS media arm tallied the operations carried out worldwide by ISIS in 2022.
On January 29, 2023, users of the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server warned that foreign intelligence agencies are tracking online supporters who show interests in performing hijra ("migration") to wage jihad in ISIS-controlled territories.
On January 28, 2023, a user on the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server published a post encouraging Muslims traveling to Europe to make hijra [journey to wage jihad] for the sake of Allah.
On January 25, 2023, the U.S. military conducted an assault operation in northern Somalia that resulted in the death of several ISIS operatives, including Bilal Al-Sudani, described by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III as "an ISIS leader in Somalia and a key facilitator for ISIS's global network." According to Austin, Al-Sudani "was responsible for fostering the growing presence of ISIS in Africa and for funding the group's operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan."
On January 31, 2023, the official media outlet of the Somalia-based Al-Shabab group, published the will of an Al-Shabab fighter who had participated in a January 22 inghimasi commando-style operation against government headquarters in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing 34 people, including officials, officers, government employees, and pro-government militias members.
On January 28, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), published an Arabic translation of a speech delivered recently by Al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh 'Ali Mahmoud Rage titled, "Rescuing Muslim Money in Somalia."
On January 28, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), published a statement titled: "The Harvest of Mujahideen Operations in January Refutes the Recent Announcement by the Malian Government." The poster was released in English, Arabic and French.
Following the two attacks against Israelis were carried out by Palestinian terrorists in Jerusalem over the past weekend, an Al-Qaeda supporter celebrated "the escalation of blessed operations in beloved Palestine," calling on Muslims worldwide to wage jihad and attack "Jews, crusaders, apostates, and taghouts [literally "false deities," a reference to rulers who govern by manmade law rather than shari'a]" in order to "liberate" Palestine from Jewish control.
Telegram Outlet Linked To Iran-Backed Militias In Iraq Threatens To Launch Drone Attack On Israel
On January 29, 2023 a Telegram channel linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq published a post citing the Wall Street Journal as quoting U.S. officials saying that Israel was behind a drone attack that targeted Isfahan, Iran on January 28.
Report: Iran-Backed Militias Prepare To Attack U.S. Forces In Syria
On January 28, 2023, the London-based Qatari Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily reported that according to "sources close to the Iran-backed militia," the Al-Khorasani Companies, which operates in the city of Al-Hasakah in northeast Syria, senior officials among the Iranian "pilgrims" informed local operatives who are members of that militia and of another militia known as The Mission Forces which is commanded by Hajj Mahdi, that they should prepare for the start of "the second stage of the operation: the stage of attack on the American forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces in Al-Hasakah Governorate."
On February 1, 2023, an Iran-backed group claimed responsibility for the launch of 20 Grad rockets at the Zlikan military base in the city of Mosul, in northern Iraq, where Turkish forces are stationed.
On January 29, 2023, a media outlet ran by a U.S.-born jihadi journalist released a video report on YouTube criticizing an online charity platform for its perceived connections to the U.S. drone industry.
Syrian Opposition Media Outlet Reveals Details Of Iranian Intelligence Base In Northeast Syria
On February 1, 2023, a Syrian opposition website published an "exclusive" report about an Iranian militias' "intelligence and espionage base" near the city of Al-Mayadin in northeast Syria.
On January 29, 2023, a group of independent jihadi clerics in Syria's Idlib region published issue No. 45 of their monthly magazine.
Two attacks against Israelis were carried out by Palestinian terrorists in Jerusalem over the past weekend: the Friday January 27 Neve Yaakov synagogue massacre in which Khayri 'Alqam shot and killed seven Israelis, and the Saturday January 28 shooting attack near Jerusalem's Old City in which two Israelis were wounded.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or the Movement of Pakistani Taliban) recently released a video that is the second in a series featuring the military training of its Special Istishhadi ("martyrdom-seeking") Force. TTP propaganda arm Umar Media produced the six-minute Urdu-language video, which has English subtitles and is titled "We Are Ready – 2," and disseminated it online.
In a statement published on the website of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) has condemned "in strongest terms" the Israeli army's "barbaric" strike in the Jenin refugee camp in northern West Bank of Palestine.
