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.
Over the past few days, pro-Islamic State (ISIS), pro-Al-Qaeda, and Iran-backed militias in Iraq marked the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq with posts accusing the U.S. of launching a barbaric war to further its agenda in the region.
A Telegram channel linked to Iran-backed militia that often produces pro-Russian content in Arabic recently published a post detailing the recent encounter between a U.S. drone and a Russian fighter jet over the Black Sea, resulting in loss of the drone.
The Iran-backed Iraqi militia Al-Nujaba Movement has released multiple statements in March 2023 calling the unannounced visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Iraq a "breach" of diplomatic norms.
On March 16, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 382 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue's editorial, titled "Harvest of the Pentagon," mocks the U.S. Department of Defense's monthly release of casualty figures to publicize its successes in fighting the jihadi group.
WARNING – Graphic Images: ISIS Weekly Claims ISIS Kills 35 Nigerian Army 'Spies'
On March 16, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 382 of its weekly Al-Naba' magazine, which includes an "exclusive" report about a "pre-emptive security operation" carried out by ISIS.
On March 19, 2023, the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) claimed that on March 18, its fighters attacked Christians using various weapons, in the village of Ngule, in the Lubero region of the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province.
On March 20, 2023, Islamic State Sahel Province released a 16-minute and 30-seconds video documenting its attacks on Nigerien and Malian troops and allied forces.
On March 16, 2023, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) reported that on March 14, its fighters attacked a barracks of the "unbelieving Cameroonian army" in the town of Gasama, in the country's Maroua region.
Iraqi General: ISIS Has 400-500 Fighters In Iraq
Iraq's Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, which coordinates activity between the country's security forces and the U.S.-led Coalition to Defeat ISIS, stated recently that "according to all intelligence agencies and based on detailed information," the Islamic State (ISIS) is believed to have 400-500 fighters in Iraq, active in three or four of the country's governorates. He added that the group "has lost the ability to gain new members."
Anti-ISIS Outlet: After Losing Its Leaders, ISIS Struggling To Find Replacements
On March 15, 2023, an anti-Islamic State (ISIS) channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server published a post questioning the leadership decisions made by ISIS following a string of high-profile losses, and arguing that the group is struggling to find replacements for its slain leaders.
Poster By Pro-ISIS Media Group Legitimizes Attacks On Journalists
On March 17, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released a poster.
The latest issue of an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), says that the U.S. and Pakistan have prepared a military unit in Pakistan to be sent to support the Afghan Taliban against ISKP.
An article in the latest issue 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), advances the idea that mujahideen promoting jihadi ideology are spokesmen of Islam and Muslims.
The latest issue of a pro-ISIS magazine focused on India, targets an Indian Muslim leader for allying with non-Muslim religious leaders to promote harmony and urges Indian Muslims to wage jihad.
On March 21, 2023, an initiative to express solidarity with Muslim prisoners which has been endorsed by pro-Islamic State (ISIS) outlets released on its Telegram channel the fourth issue of its English-language magazine, a Ramadan "special edition," asking followers to share it with family and friends.
On March 16, 2023, an unofficial media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) released the sixth issue of its Arabic-language magazine Sawt Khorasan (Voice of Khorasan).
On March 21, Al-Qaeda's Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) released an obituary for a senior Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) media official killed in a U.S. drone strike on his home in Yemen's Ma'rib Governorate.
On March 14, 2023, the Shahada News Agency, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), published an Arabic translation of an article written in English by Al-Shabab operative Hassan Jarso Kotola, from Negele Borana, Ethiopia.
On March 17, 2023, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released a 20-minute video featuring a message by an AQAP senior official commenting on Qatar's hosting of the FIFA World Cup.
On March 19, 2023, the Az-Zallaqa Foundation, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel published two statements claiming four recent attacks on Malian forces in the south of the country.
On March 16, and 20 respectively, 2023, Al-Kata'ib Foundation, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Al-Shabab, released a two-part video series in the Somali language titled, "So Leave Them and Their Lies." (Quran 6:112)
On March 21, 2023, the Shahada News agency, the official media outlet of the Somalia-based Al-Shabab group, published an Arabic translation of the will of an Al-Shabab fighter named Dayziba Ishaq Khalid (aka Shoukani), who carried out a suicide bombing on March 7, in the Somali special forces base in Jana Cabdalle, near Kismayo, killing 89 people
On March 6, 2023, it was reported that on the previous day four jihadi prisoners had escaped from a prison in Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital, following a shootout with prison guards, in which two were killed and another two injured
On March 21, 2023, Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthi) claimed responsibility for downing a Chinese-made drone with a locally made surface-to-air missile in Al-Jawf province, in the north of the country.
On March 21, 2023, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in Iraq announced in a tweet the launch of a project to plant one million palm trees in an Iraqi desert bordering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
