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.
A Bosnian Islamic State (ISIS) supporter on TikTok posts pro-ISIS and jihadi propaganda on the platform.
On October 1, 2022, the official media outlet of Jaish Al-Adl ("Army of Justice"), a Sunni Salafi jihadi group that operates mainly in southeastern Iran, where there is a substantial concentration of Sunni Baluchis and a porous border with Pakistan, released a statement on its website denying its involvement in popular protests in Iran and accusing the Iranian government of fabricating the story of the jihadi group's involvement to justify cracking down on demonstrations in Zehedan, the capital of the country's Sistan and Baluchistan Province.
On September 21, 2022, the official media outlet of Jaish Al-Adl ("Army of Justice"), a Sunni Salafi jihadi group that operates mainly in southeastern Iran, where there is a substantial concentration of Sunni Baluchis and a porous border with Pakistan, published on its website a video documenting the group's fighters in a training exercise.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban), which has been under pressure not to allow Al-Qaeda and other terror groups to use Afghan soil to launch attacks against the U.S., has moved foreign jihadi terrorists for deployment in the country's northeast, possibly to counter the anti-Taliban resistance and as part of a larger strategy for Central Asia.
ISIS Claims Attack On Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Personnel In Karachi
On October 4, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed that its fighters in Pakistan attacked a counter terrorism unit in Karachi on October 1.
Issue 358 of Al-Naba', the official weekly magazine of the Islamic State (ISIS), dated September 29, 2022, contains an editorial titled "His [i.e. Allah's] Rightful Jihad," a reference to Quran 22:78: "And wage jihad for the sake of Allah as is due to Him."
A lead article in the latest issue of "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) castigates the government of Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, for his policies against Muslims and discourages Indian Muslims from following the Indian constitution.
On October 5, 2022, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), claimed responsibility for approximately 140 casualties among Ethiopian soldiers during an exchange of fire on October 4 in a suburb of the Ethiopian city of Washaaqo which is adjacent to the Somalia-Ethiopia border.
On October 6, 2022, a website linked to Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia Al-Shabab published several photos showing locals from a tribe in central Somalia who decided to join the fight alongside the group.
On October 3, 2022, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), claimed responsibility for a double suicide attack perpetrated on the same day in a heavily-guarded security compound in the city of Beledweyne in Hiran Province in central Somalia.
On October 1, 2022, Al-Kata'ib Foundation, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Al-Shabab, released a 16-minute video in Somali.
On September 15, 2022, Al-Kata'ib Foundation, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate Al-Shabab, released a 13-minute video in Somali.
On October 3, 2022, the media arm of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel, issued a statement claiming responsibility for a large-scale ambush on Burkinabe forces, which it claimed precipitated the country's September 30 military coup.
Al-Qaeda Affiliate In Mali Claims Three Attacks On Malian Army
On October 3, 2022, the media arm of the Mali-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), together with an affiliated media group, released two statements claiming responsibility for three attacks in Massina region, Mali.
On October 5, 2022, Syria-based U.S.-born jihadi reporter Bilal Abdul Kareem posted a YouTube video on his blog and Telegram channel, advocating for the release of Safwan Al-Kanadi, a Canadian fighter in Syria who has reportedly been detained by Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) for the past two years.
On October 2, 2022, Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy to Yemen on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, announced the expiration of the extension to the April 2022 ceasefire agreement signed between the Houthi Ansar Allah movement, and the Saudi- and UAE-led Arab Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen and the government recognized by the international community.
On October 1, 2022, a day before the expiry of the August extension of the UN-brokered April 2022 ceasefire between the Houthi Ansar Allah movement, and the Saudi- and UAE-led Arab Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen and the government recognized by the international community, the Houthis announced that the negotiations for an additional extension to the ceasefire had reached a deadlock and deemed Saudi Arabia and the UAE responsible.
On October 3, 2022, a media outlet affiliated with the Iran-backed militias in Iraq published a Telegram post stating that the U.S. is pivoting from Saudi Arabia to Qatar for regional mediation, especially in Afghanistan.
On October 1, 2022, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq shared a post arguing that U.S. diplomacy should show more respect for the so-called resistance factions in Iraq, claiming it does so in Lebanon.
On September 30, 2022, a suicide bomber detonated a powerful charge at the Kaaj Higher Education Center in Kabul, targeting Shi'ite students from the Hazara minority. According to the Taliban, 19 people were killed and 27 were wounded in the attack, responsibility for which has yet to be claimed.
In recent years, the Indian radical Islamist organization, the People's Front of India (PFI), has built up a strong network in Turkey, Qatar, and some other countries in the Middle East, according to revelations in the Indian media. In late September 2022, Indian authorities carried out a countrywide crackdown, arresting more than 150 PFI leaders for their links with global terror organizations such as the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, among others.
Asserting responsibility for the September 5, 2022 suicide attack on the Russian Embassy in Kabul that killed six people, including two Russian staff members, the latest issue of the Pashtu-language magazine published by the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K) warns the Afghan Taliban that the bloodiest phase of their conflict is coming.
