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 May 31, 2023, Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq eulogized an Iraqi national killed on April 7 while fighting with the Russian Wagner Group in Bakhmut, Ukraine.
EXCLUSIVE: Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Ashab Al-Kahf Threatens Attack On U.S., U.S.-Based Researcher
On June 5, 2023, a Telegram channel which is affiliated with Ashab Al-Kahf, an Iran-backed militia in Iraq – threatened an attack against the U.S. as well as a U.S.-based researcher who monitors the group.
In recent days, several new Iraqi Shi'ite groups have appeared, declaring their readiness to carry out attacks on U.S. forces in the country.
On June 3, 2023, the military spokesman of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez, announced that a member of Egypt's forces securing the border with Israel was killed while chasing drug smugglers.
On May 29, 2023, a Taliban Twitter account identifying itself as Badri Group, referring to the Afghan Taliban army's special commando unit called Badri 313, posted a video in which the commander encourages the Taliban soldiers to "be ready to defend our land" in any situation.
At the beginning of May 2023, 33-year-old Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa of Springfield, Virginia, an American citizen born in India, was arrested on charges of providing support to a terrorist group, after he allegedly transferred over $188,000 in virtual currency to various accounts, with $18,000 going to wallets used by Islamic State (ISIS) women detained in camps controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in eastern Syria and $61,000 to cryptocurrency wallets in Turkey.
On June 4, 2023, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility for an SVBIED attack which took place on June 2, targeting the Nigerian army forces near the Lake Chad area in Nigeria's Borno State.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Claims Killing Red Cross Worker In Northeastern Nigeria
On June 1, 2023, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) reported: "With success granted by Allah, caliphate soldiers captured a member in the Red Cross Organization near Damasak, Borno, then they killed him with machine gun fire. Praise to Allah."
On June 1, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 393 of its weekly newspaper Al-Naba' which includes an article revealing the group's recent operations in Burkina Faso and Mali against the Malian army and Al-Qaeda operatives.
On June 6, 2023, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for a same-day VBIED attack in the city of Fayzabad, Badakhshan Province, northern Afghanistan, targeting the province's deputy governor.
On June 1, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 393 of its weekly Al-Naba' newsletter, which includes an editorial deeming jihad a compulsory duty upon all Muslims, against all parties or individuals who are opposed to the "supremacy of shari'a" and impede the achievement of absolute worship of Allah alone, and arguing that Muslims who preach that jihad is enacted only as a provisional means of deterrence against aggression are "farthest from victory."
An 86-minute Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) video criticizes the Afghan Taliban for both political and religious reasons and says that they are working as America's hired "militia" in Afghanistan.
An article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), rejects Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's statement that there is no "legitimate jihad now" in Afghanistan after the end of occupation, and argues instead that U.S. and intelligence agencies of several countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and China "lead you, and you are behind them, ensuring their security."
A lead article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), rejects media reports describing Ishtishhadi Amaliyyah ("martyrdom-seeking operations") as suicide attacks and says they are executed to inflict "severe losses on the enemies of Allah for the benefit of deen [religion]" and are permissible by shari'a.
Islamic State Supporters Discuss Groups On Rocket.Chat, Twitter For Spain-Based Supporters
On June 5, 2023, two Islamic State (ISIS) supporters discussed obtaining access to groups for apparent Spain-based ISIS supporters on the Rocket.Chat and Twitter platforms.
On June 3, 2023, the website of a London-based Egyptian Al-Qaeda ideologue featured a 43-minute lecture in which he argued that the U.S. and the President Biden administration is leading a "frenzied" campaign against Muslim communities by promoting dissolution and corruption.
On June 1, 2023, Shahada News Agency, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), released a statement announcing that an Al-Shabab shari'a court executed five spies who had been working for American and Somali intelligence services.
On June 5, 2023, Al-Kataib Media, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), released a 53-minute-long Somali-language video titled "And Soothe the Hearts of the Believers" (a quote from Quran 9:14).
On May 31, 2023, the Shahada News Agency, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), published an article and photos documenting a May 30 attack against a military base belonging to Somali special forces trained in Eritrea and pro-government militias in Galgudud region, central Somalia.
On June 5, 2023, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel, released a photoset documenting the outcome of its attacks carried out on June 2, which targeted four headquarters belonging to the Malian army in Segou Region.
Telegram channels covering the developments in the rebel-jihadi-controlled areas of Syria's Idlib and northern Aleppo reported ongoing protests in the northern Idlib town of Kafr Karmeen against Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), sharing video clips of women marching in protest against HTS's security campaign and demanding the release of Hizb ut-Tahrir members from HTS prisons.
The following report is a complimentary offering from the MEMRI Iran Threat Monitor Project (ITMP). For more information, write to memri@memri.org with "ITMP Subscription" in the subject line.
On June 6, 2023, "The Eye of Euphrates" a Syrian opposition website reported that military leadership of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria met recently with Russian high-ranking officers in Deir Al-Zour.
On June 5, 2023, Telegram channels linked to Iran-backed militias in Iraq shared posts claiming that according to unnamed sources, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Alina L Romanowski told Iraqi officials that Washington is planning to target the leaders of Iraqi resistance factions.
On June 2, 2023, a new Telegram channel was created, and on the same day posted a message in the name of "the Islamic resistance" declaring the group's readiness to carry out attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq.
On June 6, 2023, a media outlet affiliated with the Iran-backed militias in Iraq shared a copy of a statement by the official spokesman of a militia called claiming responsibility for a "jihadi operation against the Turkish occupation" Zlikan military base on the same day. The base is located near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
On June 1, 2023, Iran-backed Iraqi militia Al-Nujaba Movement released a video on Telegram condemning King Abdullah II of Jordan for allowing the former Iraqi ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party resume its activities in Jordan and threatening at the same to take punitive measures against his country.
In recent days, several Telegram channels affiliated with the Iran-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militia Ashab Al-Kahf ("People of the Cave") have released posters threatening U.S. forces in the country. Quoting Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) deputy leader Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, who was assassinated by the U.S. in 2020 together with Qasem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, the posters claim America is weaker than it appears and is the source of evil and destruction in the world.
On May 30, 2023, Muhammad 'Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis), tweeted a photo of Dutch salvage vessel Ndeavor in Yemeni water as part of a UN project to salvage the decaying FSO Safer supertanker.
On May 27, 2023, a pro-Taliban YouTube channel released a documentary, highlighting atrocities allegedly committed by U.S. and NATO troops as well as Afghan soldiers during the two decades of jihad waged by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban jihadi organization now in power in Kabul since August 2021.
In a May 4 article, an Afghan writer discussed the emerging differences and power struggles between the Kandahari and Haqqani groups of the ruling Afghan Taliban.
