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.
It seems that everyone in Iraq has an opinion about U.S. Ambassador Alina L. Romanowski, especially in light of her extensive activity. Romanowksi started her career as a CIA analyst and served in a variety of American intelligence and government agencies.
EXCLUSIVE: Why Are Iran-Backed Militias Escalating Rhetoric Against U.S. Ambassador To Iraq?
In a recent interview with the UAE-based Sky News Arabia, U.S. ambassador to Iraq Alina L. Romanowski stated that the U.S. has no intention of leaving the region, explaining that the Iraqi people do not want a country controlled by militias which, she said, should be disarmed.
The Sabereen News Telegram channel, which supports Iran-backed militias in Iraq, reported on May 31, 2023 that the Russia-backed Wagner PMC group had posthumously awarded a Russian medal and Black Cross ribbon to an Iraqi fighter reportedly living in Russia.
On May 31, a Telegram channel that supports Iran-backed militias in Iraq, reported the arrival of additional U.S. troops to the Ain Al-Assad base in Iraq's Al-Anbar Governorate.
On May 31, 2023, a Telegram channel posted information on the prison visitation granted to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who is imprisoned in the U.S., with her sister, Fawzia. Aafia Siddiqui is an Al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani neuroscientist who is held in a Texas prison for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
On May 23, 2023, the British royal family announced that Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was "visiting Iraq at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in support of the [United Nations] Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS), and to continue Her Royal Highness's work to champion the survivors of conflict related sexual violence."
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), has several articles criticizing the media for glorifying Western icons like Elon Musk, Harry Styles, and Brad Pitt to promote "unrighteous behavior," calling on readers to fund jihad, and arguing that Al-Qaeda should disband itself or join ISIS instead of engaging in opportunism and seeking power in Africa.
After Turkish President Erdoğan's election victory, a body linked to Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and a senior HTS cleric congratulated him and the Turkish people on his win.
Issue 49 of the Balagh monthly magazine, published by a group of independent jihadi clerics based in Syria's rebel-controlled Idlib area on May 29, 2023, focuses on the previous day's reelection of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of the right-wing Justice and Development (Adalet ve Kalkınma – AK) Party.
On May 28, 2023, four people drowned after a boat capsized on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy.
On May 29, the Al-Fursan Media channel, which is affiliated with the Islamic State's East Asia Province (ISEAP), released a statement in Filipino titled "Message to the Infidel Government."
Issue 392 of Al-Naba', the official weekly newsletter of the Islamic State (ISIS), dated May 25, 2023, contained an editorial titled "Return To Normalcy," which criticizes people who believe that the Arab League's decision to reinstate Syria represents a significant new development for Syria, arguing that ISIS repeatedly warned against intelligence-run projects aimed at domesticating movements and serving the "Crusader aspirations."
On May 25, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 392 of its official Al-Naba' magazine. The magazine contained two articles describing previously acknowledged attacks on Iraqi security forces
The latest issue of "Khurasan Ghag [Voice of Khurasan]," the Pashtu-language magazine published by Al-Azaim Foundation, which is the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISKP), describes the Afghan Taliban as America's "proxy warriors" in Afghanistan who were "enslaved" through the Doha agreement, while the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) mujahideen are exposing them.
An article titled "To Them, Practicing Islam Is Extremism," 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), criticizes Chinese authorities for the mass surveillance and detention of Uyghur Muslims in "East Turkestan", i.e., China's Xinjiang province, for possessing ordinary Islamic texts such as the Quran and accuses the West of doing similar surveillance in their countries, especially of Muslims.
On May 30, 2023, a Telegram channel supportive of Islamic State (ISIS) family members held in the Al-Roj and Al-Hol detainee camps in Syria published a letter updating supporters on worsening conditions in the Al-Roj camp, located in far northeastern Syria, and calling on supporters to increase their aid to these women.
On May 24, 2023, Turkish media reported that the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Branches of the Istanbul Security Directorate had arrested 12 suspected members of the reportedly Islamic State (ISIS)-affiliated "Takva Group" in simultaneous raids in the Turkish provinces of Istanbul, Konya, and Antalya.
Over the past few days, supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS) on the ISIS-operated Rocket.Chat server have shared links to new channels disseminating the group's official materials on other communication platforms.
Pro-ISIS Media Outlet Celebrates Jihadi Propaganda From The Month Of Shawwal
On May 28, 2023, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet published two posters featuring what it deemed the five best graphics produced by pro-ISIS media foundations during the Islamic month of Shawwal 1444 (April 21 – May 20, 2023).
On May 29, 2023, a user of a Rocket.Chat server operated by Islamic State (ISIS) supporters, posted a message warning ISIS-linked female prisoners detained in Al-Hol camp, a facility run by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to avoid online contact with ISIS adherents overseas for security concerns.
On May 30, 2023 the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), claimed a same-day attack against a military base belonging to Somali special forces trained in Eritrea and pro-government militias, in Masagaway, Galgudud region, central Somalia.
Al-Qaeda Affiliate GSIM Claims Killing 39 Soldiers In Two Attacks In Burkina Faso
On May 31, 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 a claim of responsibility for two attacks targeting Burkinabe forces on May 27. The group also released photos showing the spoils taken in those attacks.
On May 30, 2023, the Shahada News Agency, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), claimed a same-day attack against a military base belonging to Somali special forces trained in Eritrea and pro-government militias, in Masagaway, Galgudud region, central Somalia.
On May 26, 2023, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab) claimed, through its official media outlets, a massive attack on military base belonging to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and operated by the Ugandan forces in the town of Buula Mareer in Lower Shebelle, southern Somalia.
On May 25, 2023 a Somali-language online news portal that supports the Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadi group Al-Shabab, published a report highlighting the remarks of Al-Shabab's emir during the closing of Al-Shabab's Second Consultative Meeting to discuss jihadi issues in east Africa.
On May 25, 2023, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, Hurras Al-Din, issued a three-page statement entitled: "The summit of traitors – the descendants of Abu Raghal."
On May 30, 2023, a pro-Al-Qaeda media group posted archival commentary by a Sudanese pro-Al-Qaeda cleric in response to what it described as a photo showing a Muslim soldier serving in the army of a taghout (tyranny) reading the Quran. The post, however, did not include the photo.
Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham's (HTS) General Security Service (GSS) issued on May 31, 2023, a statement claiming that its units arrested drug dealers in western Aleppo, seizing "narcotic pills and hashish."
Syrian Opposition Sources: Russian Colonel Killed By Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) In Northwest Syria
On May 26, 2023, pro-Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) Telegram channels reported that HTS operatives fired rockets and mortars at the “operations command center” of the Syrian Armed Forces in the village of Al-Jubb Al-Ahmar, north of Latakia.
On May 25, 2023, several pro-rebel Syrian Telegram channels reported that a French member of an Al-Qaeda-aligned group had been apprehended by rival Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in a "new campaign" of arrests.
On May 27, 2023, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which supports Syrian rebels, reported that Iran-backed militias had deployed a new Iranian missile system in the area between Buqrus and Al-Mayadin, east of Deir Al-Zour, across from bases belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the U.S.-led Global Coalition Against ISIS, along with several photos allegedly showing the system.
On May 21, 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani met in his Baghdad office with a delegation from NATO Mission Iraq (NMI), which included its new commander, Lieutenant General José Antonio Aguëro Martinez, as well as his predecessor Lieutenant General Giovanni M. Iannucci.
On May 14, 2023, Jordan's Independent Election Commission renewed the license of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party which was revoked when the political party was outlawed in Iraq with the collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein.
