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 March 14, 2024, an English-language Salafi-jihadi Telegram channel shared posts in which it offered ideas for Muslims living in western countries on how to extend support effectively to the Palestinians. Among these suggestions were boycotting elections as well as pro-Israeli companies and businesses.
EXCLUSIVE: Gaza-Based Organization Linked To Palestinian Jihadis Solicits Cryptocurrency Donations
On March 18, 2024, a Gaza-based organization, which is linked to the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, published QR codes to Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether accounts which are accepting donations allegedly aimed at helping Gazans during the holy month of Ramadan.
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In a Pashtu-language video of his speech delivered at the graduation ceremony of a girls' madrassa in Kabul, Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai says that it was the fidayan ("martyrdom-seeking") bombers and Afghans who won the jihad against U.S. and NATO forces, and that the Palestinians and the oppressed Muslims of the world are looking to the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Afghan media outlet Zawia News shared the clip on March 15, 2024.
On March 15 and 16, 2024, Palestinian and Lebanese media outlets published two "exclusive" articles about a rare meeting held recently in Lebanon, between representatives of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement and senior officials from three Palestinian factions – Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestinian (DFLP).
On March 18, 2024, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) organization published a press release on its Telegram channel in which it harshly condemned an Israeli raid, on the same day, on the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, which took place about four months after the first Israeli raid on the complex.
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On March 19, 2024, Ismael Haniyeh, Head of Hamas's Political Bureau, sent a cable to the President of the Russian Federation Russian, Vladimir Putin, congratulating him on winning the Russian presidential elections.
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On March 18, 2024, Sabereen News, a Telegram channel, which serves as the primary propaganda arm of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, shared posts in Russian congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on his "great victory" in Russia's presidential elections, alluding to his reelection as a win for the Iran-led "axis of resistance" supporting Gaza.
Head Of Houthi Supreme Council: Putin's Win In Elections Is Defeat For America
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On March 19, 2024, Mahdi Al-Mushat, Head of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah (Houthis) sent a cable to President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, congratulating him on winning the presidential elections.
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On March 19, 2024, the armed forces of the Yemeni Houthi Ansar Allah movement claimed responsibility for an anti-ship missile attack on the "American ship," the Mado, in the Red Sea, and for the launch of several "winged-missiles" at Israeli targets in the Umm Al-Rashrash (Eilat) area, in southern Israel.
On March 14, 2024, Houthi leader 'Abd Al-Malik Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi announced that Yemen had begun to prevent the passage of ships "linked to the Israeli enemy" in the Indian Ocean en route to the Cape of Good Hope. He also claimed that his forces had already carried out "three attacks in the Indian Ocean."
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On March 14, 2024, Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, the Head of Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah (Houthi) Supreme Revolutionary Committee published a post on his account on X (formerly Twitter) calling on China and Russia to partner militarily with Houthi security forces, arguing they all share one mutual enemy – the U.S..
On March 15, Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah (Houthis) released photos, through its official media, documenting a military exercise dubbed "The Promised Day."
On March 16, 2024, a member of the political bureau of Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) published a post on X praising the group's role in the struggle against the "hegemony" of the U.S., Britain, and the West.
On March 17, 2024 a Telegram channel affiliated with Yemen's Ansar Allah Movement, a.k.a. the Houthis, announced a fundraising campaign dubbed "Besiege Israel," calling on supporters to donate money to the Navy and Coastal Defense Forces of Yemen's Armed Forces.
On March 20, 2024, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iran-backed joint operations group of Iraqi militias, published a statement on Telegram claiming a March 20 drone attack against Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main civilian airport. The following day, the organization published another announcement, claiming to have launched a drone towards a power plant in Tel Aviv.
Iran-Backed Islamic Resistance In Iraq Claims Drone Attack On Israeli Airbase In Golan Heights
On March 18, 2024, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iran-backed joint operations group of Iraqi militias, published a statement on Telegram claiming a drone attack on an Israeli airbase in the Golan Heights.
On March 19, 2024, Iraq's Hizbullah Brigades issued a brief statement reporting that the group's leader met in the Iranian capital, Tehran, with leaders of other Iran-backed groups, where he emphasized his group's commitment to defending Gaza and declared that the current suspension of attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria does not mean the end of the "long-term battle" against them.
In recent weeks, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), has claimed several counterattacks on U.S. forces, accompanied by Somali special forces, in various parts of Somalia. According to the claims, the operations killed and wounded several special forces, but no American casualties were reported.
On March 15, 2024, Al-Shabab's media arm, the Shahada News Agency, released an article detailing the group's hours-long siege of the SYL hotel in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab had previously claimed responsibility for the attack in a series of live statements, which were summarized in the article.
On March 19, 2024, Al-Qaeda's Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) media outlet published a two-page condolence statement in Arabic and English following the death of Khalid Batarfi, leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Batarfi's death was announced in a March 10 official AQAP video, without specifying its circumstances. This report reviews the statement.
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In recent days, a prolific Al-Qaeda supporter published two posters inciting Muslims around the world to jihad. This report reviews the posters. On March 8, he posted a poster in Arabic on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server, titled "Who [Will Come] to [Support] the Wounds of Islam?", calling on Muslims to support Islam with jihad in light of the difficult situation of Muslims in various places around the world.
On March 7-18, 2024, African Islamic State (ISIS) affiliates - the Islamic State Mozambique Province, the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP), and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) - have claimed responsibility for continued attacks on Christian civilians in Mozambique, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), killing them, taken others hostage, and burning homes, churches, and schools.
On March 18, 2024, Islamic State Sahel Province released two photosets documenting attacks on Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM). One set documented "the results" of an exchange of fire between ISIS and GSIM close to Gorgadji village, in the Séno province of northeastern Burkina Faso.
Issue 434 of the Islamic State's (ISIS) weekly Al-Naba', published on March 15, 2024, contains a two-page article detailing previously unreported attacks by the Islamic State Sahel Province. This report reviews the attacks.
On March 15, 2024, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 434 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba', which featured an editorial celebrating the fasting month of Ramadan as an opportunity for Muslims to advance their commitment for jihad - physically and spiritually.
In a 12-minute Pashtu-language video, the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) criticizes the Afghan Taliban's policy of prohibiting Taliban members from waging jihad outside Afghanistan, arguing that such a policy is against Islam.
On March 13, 2024, a user of the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server posted a 595-page PDF in English of a book titled "The Lives of the Prophets," attributed to Yemeni-American jihadi preacher Anwar Al-Awlaki, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011.
On March 19, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel shared an image of a letter written in Arabic. The letter is allegedly from a woman affiliated with ISIS; she is currently held in Al-Hol camp in Syria, which is under the supervision of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
On March 20, 2024, the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), an Idlib-based rebel governing body linked to Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), issued a resolution creating a new General Security Administration under the auspices of the SSG Interior Ministry, to replace the current HTS-linked General Security Service (GSS).
On March 19, 2024, the General Security Apparatus in the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)-backed Salvation Government released a photoset documenting the release of dozens of prisoners. According to local reports, among them was a senior member of the Islamic State (ISIS).
Syrian Jihadi Cleric Calls On Jihadi Migrants In Idlib To Abandon Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)
On March 18, 2024, Syrian independent jihadi cleric republished a 2023 article in which he urged the Muhajireen (jihadi migrants), who are aligned with Idlib-based Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), to abandon HTS.
On March 18, 2024, Moroccan jihadi fighters who are based in Syria issued a statement expressing their support for the growing anti-Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) protests in Idlib and the surrounding areas, and demanding that HTS release imprisoned foreign fighters.
Beginning March 2024, a U.S.-born jihadi reporter returned to his activity on Telegram, after several months' absence. His return coincided with rising protests in the rebel-held Idlib region demanding the removal of the leader of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani and other "bad actors" for poor governance, including reports of torture and prolonged imprisonment of detainees in HTS prisons.
On March 14, 2024, a Michigan-based pro-ISIS cleric released a 10-minute video, along with an English-language transcript, of a lecture titled "Neglected Sunan in Ramadan: Du'a Against the Kuffar."
On March 11, 2024, the Telegram channel of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement forwarded a poster urging Muslims to donate to a Ramadan fundraising campaign.
In a Dari-language article, Hizbut Tahrir Afghanistan criticizes the rulers of Islamic lands for not intervening in Gaza against Israel and calls upon them to move their militaries to fight the Jews in Palestine and to establish the institution of Islamic caliphate.
On March 6, 2024, Afghan daily Hasht-e-Subh Daily published a Dari-language article analyzing the visit of Afghan Taliban's Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid and Chief of the Taliban Army Staff Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat to Doha, apparently to attend a military equipment exhibition. It discusses Qatar's close ties with the Taliban and suggests that Qatar may be acting at the request of the U.S. to maintain leverage over the Taliban.
Former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan disappeared for a few years before reappearing in Turkey in February 2020. Pakistani analysts speculated at the time that Ehsanullah Ehsan could not have travelled without a Pakistani passport and a Turkish visa. Ehsan kept a low profile in Turkey, only occasionally talking to journalists.
The differences between Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and one of its major factions, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), have been resolved through the efforts of senior members of both groups, the Urdu-language website Khyber Chronicles reported.
