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.
By: Steven Stalinsky, Ph.D., R. Sosnow, A. Smith, S. Ali, K. Choukry, Matt Schierer, N. Mozes, Y. Kerman, G. Pacchiani, And Y. Kulka
Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, jihadi leaders, groups, and supporters have been reacting to the war, discussing online how it should be viewed and what its ramifications for issues important to them might be.
EXCLUSIVE: Pro-ISIS Channel Calls On Supporters To Carry Out Lone Wolf Attacks In France Amid Unrest
On March 24, 203 a pro-ISIS Telegram channel published a post encouraging lone wolf attacks in France. The channel posting three videos of the ongoing protest movement in France over government efforts to raise the minimum retirement age, adding a message calling on Muslims living in France to avenge the Prophet Muhammad, likely in reference to the reprinting of cartoons depicting the Prophet in the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine.
On March 27, a user of the ISIS-operated server on Rocket.Chat posted identifying information of a man residing in Ontario, Canada, asking ISIS supporters to kidnap him, saying that he is part of a U.N. plot to promote Christianity.
Several Telegram channels linked to Iran-backed militias shared posts celebrating the ongoing protests in Israel, arguing that the domestic unrest in the country will spread into further chaos.
EXCLUSIVE: Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Calls To Exploit Israel Protests To Kill Jews
On March 27, 2023, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel posted a photo documenting the ongoing protests in Israel against proposed judicial reform.
EXCLUSIVE: Iran-Backed Group Claims Drone Attack On U.S. Base In Northeast Syria
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 March 25, 2023, an Iran-backed group calling itself Liwa Al-Ghaliboun (The Brigade of Those who Prevail) claimed responsibility for the March 23 attack on the Abu Hajar Airport, near the town of Rmelan in the northeast of Syria's Al-Hasakah governorate.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On March 26, 2023, Iran-backed militia Liwa' Al-Ghaliboun (The Brigade of the Triumphant) released a 37-second video documenting the launch of the March 23 drone attack that targeted a military base housing U.S. force in the northeast of Al-Hasakah, Syria.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On March 23, 2023, Amjad, the official media outlet of Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), reported that special forces fighters from its 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab Brigade carried out a "qualitative operation" against several positions of the "Assad militias" at the 46th Regiment area west of Aleppo.
On March 27, 2023, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed that one of its fighters, carried out a suicide attack on the Taliban Foreign Ministry headquarters in Kabul.
ISIS Weekly Calls On Muslims To Take Action Against 'Enemies Of Islam' During Ramadan
On March 23, 2023, the ISIS released issue 383 of Al-Naba', its weekly newsletter. The issue's feature article, titled "Ramadan Between Past and Present," called on supporters to make the holy month a time of action, marked by "work and implementation" rather than "slogans and waiting.
ISIS Weekly Publishes Eulogy For Slain Iraqi Cleric And Former Contributor To The Magazine
On March 23, 2023, ISIS released issue 383 of its weekly Al-Naba'. The issue included a two-page eulogy of an ISIS cleric described as "a mountain above the mountains of Iraq," and a regular writer for the magazine.
ISIS Supporter: West Africa, Sahel Provinces 'Easiest' Destinations For Migration
On March 22, 2023, an ISIS supporter in the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server suggested that West Africa and the Sahel are the easiest ISIS provinces for supporters to make hijra (migration) to.
Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Solicits Donations For Female Prisoners During Ramadan
On March 23, 2023, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel that advocates for imprisoned ISIS members published a post calling on supporters to remember female prisoners during the holy month of Ramadan. The post listed a Telegram bot and a WhatsApp phone number for donations.
On March 22, 2023, a user of the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server posted a link to a popular pro-ISIS website, alongside a congratulatory message on the advent of the Islamic month of Ramadan.
An initiative aimed at showing solidarity with Muslim prisoners worldwide, which has been endorsed by pro-ISIS figures and extends to those charged with terrorism, issued a series of Telegram posts urging Muslims to keep the incarcerated "monotheists" in their prayer during the month of Ramadan and to donate and help alleviate the financial burden on their families.
On March 24, 2023, a London-based pro-ISIS cleric marked the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan with a statement posted on Telegram, urging Muslims to extend support to women and children held in Syrian displacement camps which are administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
On March 21, 2023, a channel on Telegram associated with an American pro-ISIS preacher released a 110-page children's booklet for Ramadan titled "Ramadan Letters."
An anti-ISIS channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server commented on two recent Telegram posts by prominent ISIS supporters, which castigated supporters for deserting their social media activity in defense of the organization, or limiting themselves to publishing posts on trivial matters.
On March 21, Al-Qaeda's Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) released an obituary for senior Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) media official Hamad bin Hamoud Al-Tamimi, killed in a February 26 U.S. drone strike on his home in Yemen's Ma'rib Governorate.
On March 24, 2023, the official media outlet of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a five-minute 58-second audio, "Statement of Warning and Reminder to the Criminal Spies."
The media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), published on its website a summary of a 29-minute interview with the group's official spokesman.
On March 16, and 20, 2023, 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).
New Pro-Al-Qaeda Channel Boosts Content From Official Outlets On Rocket.Chat
In mid-March 2023, a new pro-Al-Qaeda media outlet emerged on Chirpwire, Rocket.Chat, and Telegram, focusing on reposting content produced by official Al-Qaeda media covering the group's global operations.
On March 25, 2023, a journalist based in Syria's northwestern rebel-controlled Idlib region reported that an Algerian member of a jihadi group died in while imprisoned by Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib.
On March 23, 2023, a brigade of Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) carried out a "qualitative operation" at the 46th Regiment area west of Aleppo.
On March 20, 2023, the media outlet of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), a Uyghur jihadi group active in Afghanistan and Syria, released photos from an award ceremony following what it said was a trivia contest held by its branch in Syria.
On March 25, 2023, a senior commander in Iraq's Hizbullah Brigades issued a statement denying any involvement in the drone attack targeting U.S. forces in Syria earlier that day that killed an American contractor.
On March 24, 2023, an Afghan Taliban writer tweeted a series of photos of U.S. military vehicles repaired by the Taliban government for use in Afghanistan.
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Mawlawi Neda Mohammad Nadeem – the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan's higher education minister, who has made international headlines for completely banning women from colleges and universities – has commanded the Taliban soldiers to fight the members of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISKP) and the anti-Taliban resistance groups in Afghanistan.
