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.)
Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@memri.org. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Supporters Celebrate Russia's Dagestan Attacks On Church, Synagogue, Eagerly Await Official Claim Of Responsibility By ISIS
On June 24, 2024, news agencies reported that a synagogue, Orthodox church, and police checkpoints were targeted by gunmen in a coordinated series of attacks in Russia's southernmost Dagestan province.
In recent days, jihadi channels and media outlets have continued to publish posts celebrating the June 23 attacks in Russia's southern Republic of Dagestan, for which no group has yet to claim responsibility. This report reviews a selection from these posts.
On June 22, 2024, the son of the slain Palestinian jihadi theologian and leader Shiekh Abdullah Azzam shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) claiming the Afghan Taliban was planning to participate in the war against Israel, and has already taken steps in this direction.
On June 24, 2024, the official Telegram channel of the Hamas 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades military wing posted a short videoclip showing the first time it has used the Chinese Red Arrow anti-tank missile, when it fired it at an IDF Ofek Armored Personnel Carrier (APC).
On June 21, 2024, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 448 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue featured an editorial titled "Jihad in Congo," praising ISIS's "military operations" targeting and killing Christians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and presenting the locals of region with an ultimatum: "Either convert to Islam, give Jizyah, or did."
On June 18, 2024, Lebanese Hizbullah released a nine-minute video featuring footage gathered from its surveillance aircraft showing locations in northern Israel.
During the third week of June 2024, Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah movement (the Houthis) claimed responsibility for four missile and drone attacks, two of which were in collaboration with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – an Iran-backed group of Iraqi militias.
On June 22, 2024, U.S. Central Command stated that the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier would be replacing the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in its area of responsibility.
On June 19, 2024, the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee (IRCC) which comprises several Iran-backed militias in Iraq, published a statement on Telegram summarizing the outcome of an "exceptional meeting" it held on the same day to address events "in the region in general, and Iraq in particular."
On June 24-25, 2024, against the backdrop of the growing tension between Israel and Hizbullah and the media speculation about the possibility of significant escalation on the Lebanese front, senior members of Iran-backed militias in Iraq expressed willingness to assist Hizbullah and even to fight alongside it on Lebanese territory, in the event of a wide-ranging Israeli attack.
In the midst of heated tensions and the possibility of a significant military escalation between Israel and Lebanese Hizbullah, Iran-backed Iraqi militia Ashab Al-Kahf expressed its readiness to assist Hizbullah in the event of an Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon.
On June 26, 2024, Shafaq News, an anti-Iran Iraqi news website, reported that Faleh Al-Fayyad, the government-appointed chairman of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) had deposed Lieutenant General Husayn Falih Aziz Al-Lami, widely known as Abu Zaynab Al-Lami, from his position as head of the PMU's Security and Discipline Directorate.
On June 21, 2024, several Telegram channels identified with Iran-backed militias in Iraq reported a "Zionist-American" aerial attack in the Hamdan and Sukari areas on the outskirts of the city of Al-Bukamal in eastern Syria, near the border with Iraq.
On June 23, 2024, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq shared a list of geographic coordinates of targets within the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, including the Ambassador's residence.
On June 11, 2024, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed Kata'ib Al-Imam Ali (Imam Ali Battalions) posted photos show some of the group representatives attending what it said was the inauguration of Hamas' political office in Iraq.
The Islamic Resistance Launches Four Attacks Against Israel During Week Of June 16-23, 2024
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group formed in 2003 of Iran-backed militias in Iraq, has emerged as one of Iran's most active and lethal proxies during the Israel-Hamas war, having claimed hundreds of attacks on U.S. and Israeli forces since October 7, 2023.
On June 21, 2024, the Syrian pro-opposition outlet Euphrates Post reported that a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who had been in charge of the eastern Syrian town of Al-Bukamal, on the Iraqi border, had been transferred across the border to the Iraqi town of Al-Qa'em by Hajj Mahdi, the IRGC head in Damascus.
On June 16, 2024, the Telegram channel of the anti-Iran Sunni armed group Jaish Al-Adl released a Farsi-language message from the leader of the organization, Salahuddin Farooqi, on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.
Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), continues its assaults against Malian armed forces and operatives of Russia's Wagner private military company (PMC). This report reviews some of the claims of attacks.
On June 19, 2024, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Muhammad said that his administration is ready for negotiations with Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab).
Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Releases Photos Of Fighters Celebrating Eid Al-Adha
On June 19, 2024, Al-Malahem, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released rare photos of its fighters celebrating Eid Al-Adha in Yemen's Abyan Governorate.
On June 22, 2024, the Al-Zallaqa Media Foundation, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), published a statement in Arabic accusing the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – a mutual defense pact formed in September 2023 among Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso – of continuing its "massacres" against "innocent, defenseless" Muslim civilians. This report reviews the statement.
On June 25, 2024, the Al-Zallaqa, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen ("the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims" – GSIM), released two statements on the group's account on Chirpwire.
In honor of the Eid Al-Adha holiday, which began on June 16, 2024 and extended until the 19 according to the reckoning of the Islamic State (ISIS), multiple official and unofficial media groups issued congratulations.
On June 20, 2024, Islamic State (ISIS) provinces continued to release photosets documenting their operatives celebrating the Eid Al-Adha holiday.
Over the recent week, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) published statements claiming assaults on Nigerian security forces in the country's northeast. This report reviews the statements.
On June 17, 2024, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel affiliated with a prominent female ISIS supporter published the text of a post from the channel of Gaza-based ISIS supporter Abu 'Umar Al-Maqdisi, adding a link to the post.
In a 506-page Pashtu-language book, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) argues that the Afghan Taliban government is not implementing shari'a, questions its relations with non-Muslim governments, and accuses the Taliban of taking help from unbelievers to suppress ISKP.
Issue 448 of Islamic State (ISIS) weekly Al-Naba', published on June 21, 2024, contained an infographic tallying operations by the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the 70-day span between April 10 and June 19, 2024.
Issue 448 of the Islamic State (ISIS) weekly Al-Naba' magazine, released on June 20, 2024, contains two articles reporting activity by ISIS' Sahel and West Africa Provinces.
Poster By Pro-ISIS Outlet Glorifies Suicide Attacks: 'Nearing Death Is The Way Of Life'
On June 20, 2024, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a poster glorifying suicide bombing.
On June 19, 2024, the owner of a channel on a ISIS-operated server which is devoted to teaching supporters how to create chemical weapons and manufacture explosives, published the second issue of the series "Modern Warfare".
On June 24, 2024, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet criticized the Pakistani Taliban for releasing a Shi'ite doctor it had kidnapped, instead of killing him.
In the past few weeks, an unofficial pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media group linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), continued to publish posters in English on the pro-ISIS Rocket Chat server, rallying lone wolves to continue to adhere to ISIS's agenda of violence and encouraging attacks in the West against Christians and Jews.
On June 25, 2024, the Syrian pro-opposition Eye of Euphrates media outlet reported that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dispatched an aircraft transporting a shipment of missiles and logistical equipment to the Mezze Airfield in Damascus, Syria, which was later delivered to the Iran-backed Lebanese Hizbullah.
On June 25, 2024, jihadi Telegram channels including some that support of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) reported that the group's leader Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani will be directly in charge of the group's military wing, replacing HTS top commander Abu Al-Hassan Al-Humawi. No reasons were provided about this sudden change in the group's leadership ranks.
Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Releases Photos Of Fighters Celebrating Eid Al-Adha In Syria
On June 17, 2024, the Syrian branch of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), a Uyghur jihadi group active in Afghanistan and northwestern Syria, released 19 photos, showing fighters in Syria celebrating Eid Al-Adha.
On June 25, 2024, a Syria-based Egyptian jihadi cleric who is also the Sharia official in Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) published a post on his Telegram channel, urging HTS leadership to release a Gaza-born cleric who migrated to Syria for jihad.
Syria-Based Jihadi Group From Caucasus Documents Leaders Visiting Fighters At The Front
On June 24, 2024, a group of mujahideen from the Caucasus affiliated with Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) released images of its leadership visiting fighting positions at the front on the previous day.
Head Of Syrian Jihadi Group Calls Rebel Factions To Join Forces To Eliminate Lebanese Hizbullah
On June 22, 2024, commander of Syrian jihadi group Jaysh Al-'Izzah, commented on a report by the British daily The Guardian, translated into Arabic by Qatar's Al-Jazeera, that an escalation of the war between Israel and Lebanese Hizbullah "looms."
In its message greeting Muslims on Eid Al-Adha, Hizb-ut-Tahrir Afghanistan criticized the Afghan Taliban rulers for believing in territory-based nationalism, which, it argues, is the reason that the Taliban government is silent on major Islamic issues such as Gaza and Kashmir. It goes on to say that Muslims fail to unite globally due to their belief in nationalism.
In his message on Eid Al-Adha, former mujahideen commander and Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar criticized the Afghan Taliban rulers for celebrating the day a day later than Saudi Arabia and took the opportunity to accuse America of fomenting wars across the world in the 21st century.
Recently, Afghan Taliban Minister of Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem, who banned women from colleges and universities in Afghanistan, spoke at Nangarhar University in Nangarhar province, where he described the Islamic State (ISIS) as Khawarij.
On June 11, 2024, Hizb-ut-Tahrir Afghanistan published a Pashtu-language article about the Taliban-Russia relations, accusing Russia of creating links with the Taliban for its own benefits and blaming the Taliban rulers for prioritizing economic relations over Dawah ("preaching, invitation") and jihad.
In a recent report, a media outlet focused on the rights of Afghan women, noted that Afghan Taliban rulers have established radio stations that broadcast programs that promote jihadi thinking and suppression of women in the home.
