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 4, 2022, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the ruling Taliban jihadi organization) issued an official statement in which it said it had "no information" about the stay of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike on July 31 in Kabul city.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
In a statement on the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul city on July 31, 2022, the National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan has said that Afghanistan has once again become a sanctuary for Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups because the U.S. and other Western countries have legitimized the Afghan Taliban over the past few years, facilitating the Taliban's takeover of power in August 2021.
EXCLUSIVE: Source Close To Al-Qaeda Claims: Haqqani Arranged Al-Zawahiri's Presence In Kabul
On August 3, 2022, an anonymous journalist who claims to be independent and has sources close to Al-Qaeda's leadership, confirmed through jihadi sources in Afghanistan the death of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 31.
English-speaking jihadis on Facebook and Twitter who support ISIS, Al-Qaeda, or the Taliban reacted with glee, condemnation, and grief and speculated as to whether the Taliban provided the U.S. with Al-Zawahiri's location.
On August 2, 2022, jihadis online continued to react to U.S. President Joe Biden's announcement about the July 31 counterterrorism operation that killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in Kabul, Afghanistan.
On August 2, 2022, a Canada-based jihadi idealogue published a post on his website paying tribute to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 31. The tribute comes one day after U.S. President Joe Biden announced the success of the counterterrorism operation.
In a series of tweets and a statement posted on Justpaste.it, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the July 31, 2022 killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul city.
On August 3, 2020, a Somali jihadi figure who once led an Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization released a Somali-language audio message eulogizing Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a July 31 U.S drone strike in Kabul.
Salafi-jihadis of various affiliations, including supporters of Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS), and Syrian jihadis, commented on the news of Al-Zawahiri's death.
On August 1, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who led the global jihadi organization since the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan.
On Telegram, Twitter, and Facebook, senior jihadi figures paid tribute to his jihadi journey and lamented his loss, calling on jihadi groups to unite their efforts in the face of their opponents, including Israel, Iran, and the "Crusaders."
On August 1, 2022, supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda reacted online to the announcement by U.S. President Joe Biden that Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan.
In the aftermath of the death of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, killed on July 31 by a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Islamic State (ISIS) supporters continue publishing their reactions to the event.
On August 1, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who had led the global jihadi organization since the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, had been killed in a U.S. airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan, which has been controlled by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban) since August 2021.
A Russian-language media outlet that is affiliated with a Syria-based predominantly Chechen jihadi group eulogized slain Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
Contrary to the reactions of the supporters of the Sunni jihadi organizations, who rushed to respond to the reports of the killing of Ayman Al-Zawahiri, as of this writing, supporters of the Shi'ite axis of resistance did not give the reports much attention.
By: Y. Kerman
Following is the third part of a five-part report focusing on Islamic State East Asia Province (ISEAP) activity in the Philippines over the past year, since August 2021.
Issue 349 of the Islamic State (ISIS) weekly Al-Naba' newsletter, released on July 29, 2022, includes a rare interview with "the military commander of the mujahideen" in the Syrian Desert region.
On July 28, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 349 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue's feature article emphasized ISIS's activity as mirroring the conduct of the early Islamic Caliphate and reviewed its major achievements to mark the Islamic New Year, coinciding with July 29, 2022.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Claims Second Attack On Outskirts Of Nigerian Capital
In a claim dated July 30, 2022, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) reported an attack on Nigerian soldiers on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja.
Over the past three weeks, the Islamic State (ISIS) carried out a slate of new attacks against Christians in northeastern Mozambique, following a rising trend that began in early May 2022, when the group declared Mozambique an independent province within its organization.
Amharic-Language Video By ISIS Somalia Province Calls On Ethiopian Muslims To Join Group
On July 30, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) Somalia province released a 25-minute video in Amharic with Arabic subtitles seeking to recruit Ethiopian Muslims to join ISIS in Somalia.
An article in the latest issue of the "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by the Al-Azaim Foundation, which is the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K), explains the conditions in which the Islamic State's central leadership in Iraq and Syria decided to establish ISIS's "Khurasan Wilayah [Afghanistan Province]."
An article in the latest issue of the "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K), gives the details of the terror attack carried out by three ISIS jihadis on the three-day conference of Islamic clergy and tribal elders organized by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban jihadi organization) to legitimize its rule in the country.
The Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) has released a fatwa ordering and justifying attacks on the places of worships of Shi'ites, Hindus, Christians, Jews, as well as the Afghan Taliban and their leaders.
On August 1, a British pro-ISIS preacher issued a press release to denounce the perceived oppression of Sunni Muslims at the hands of Shi'ite Muslims in countries across the Middle East.
On August 1, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) British preacher published on his Telegram channel an audio recording of an English-language religious lesson, part of a new series which highlights the obligation of Muslims living in non-Muslims lands governed by "laws of unbelief" to preach Islam and make the religion "prevail" worldwide.
On July 31, the media arm of Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen ("Group for Support of Islam and Muslims," GSIM), Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, published an infographic in Arabic detailing the group's operations during the month of July 2022.
On July 28, 2022, the media arm of the Mali-based Al-Qaeda-affiliate Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), aka the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), posted on its official Chirpwire account an Arabic-language statement claiming responsibility for a July 27 attack on a Malian army barracks in the town of Kaloumba, Mali.
On August 2, 2022, the Shahada News Agency, the official news outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Al-Shabab, reported three new claims of attacks by Al-Shabab operatives in Somalia and Kenya.
Al-Shabab Claims Executions Of Six U.S., Somali Spies In Southwest Somalia
On July 30, 2022, the Shahada News Agency, the official news outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Al-Shabab, reported that the Al-Shabab movement shari'a court had carried out the death sentences handed down against four men described as spies, who were convicted of collaborating with U.S. intelligence.
On July 29, the Shahada News Agency, the official news outlet of Al-Qaeda's Somali-affiliate, Al-Shabab, published a series of claims of simultaneous attacks against three Ethiopian military bases on the border between Somalia and Ethiopia.
During late July and early August 2022, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) released two video clips in the Uyghur language that were produced by the group's media arm, to mark the Eid Al-Adha holiday.
Article In Taliban Magazine: U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan Was Defeat At Hands Of Taliban
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On July 27, 2022, the Taliban published Issue 198 of their official Arabic-language monthly magazine, Al-Somood. The issue featured an article, titled "Was America Indeed Defeated By The Taliban," which discussed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan almost a month before its one-year anniversary.
On July 28, 2022, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban) published issue 198 of their official Arabic-language Al-Somood monthly magazine.
On July 31, 2022, Lebanese Hizbullah (LH) released a one-minute video titled "[You Are] In The Crosshairs, Stalling Is Not Beneficial," which featured footage allegedly surveilling and identifying gas rigs and drilling ships moored near the disputed Karish offshore gas field in the Eastern Mediterranean.
On August 1, 2022, a Syrian opposition website reported that for the first time Hizbullah, with the assistance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is manufacturing a popular amphetamine known as Captagon at one of its bases in the city of Deir Al-Zour in northeast Syria.
Telegram Channels That Support Iran-Backed Militias: Pelosi Visit To Taiwan – Provocation
Telegram channels that support Iran-backed militias have expressed great interest in the historic visit by speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan on August 2 and 3, 2022.
On July 27, 2022, a Syrian opposition website reported that experts from Lebanese Hizbullah arrived in Palmyra, in Syria's Homs Governorate to provide drone operations training to an Iran-backed militia.
On August 1, 2022, an Iran-backed group operating in Iraq that often claims attacks on U.S. military targets such as logistic convoys, issued a statement about the escalating tension in Baghdad between Iran-backed political parties and Shi'ite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr over the formation of a new government.
On July 30, 2022, Telegram channels that support Iran-backed militias in Iraq published three posters alleging that Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was involved in orchestrating the recent protests by supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite populist cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr.