MESOP MIDEAST WATCH: Jihad &Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekly: July 16 – 23, 2022
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EXCLUSIVE: A Look Into Al-Qaeda’s Current Leaders By MEMRI JTTM 25-7-22 Al-Qaeda has seen significant changes in the past few years, primarily due to the targeting of many of its leaders by U.S. military and intelligence counterterrorism campaigns, as well as the decline of some of the group’s regional affiliates in the face of the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and other jihadi groups, like Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) in 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 July 13, 2022, a Lebanese journalist who is identified with Hizbullah, shared “exclusive” aerial photographs on Facebook and Twitter of the U.S. Al-Tanf military base, which is located inside territory controlled by the Syrian opposition in Homs Governorate, in southern Syria. EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Brags About Downing Russian Wagner Group Drone In Mali On July 18, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) shared a short video clip which shows “the downing of a patrol plane belonging to the Russian Wagner Group militia on July 16, 2022, by Islamic State fighters… in eastern Mali.” On July 17, 2022, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, published a post showing its support of Russia in its war in Ukraine.
On July 8, 2022, an Al-Qaeda-associated writer published an article on his website in which he claims that the fate of Islam in Africa and along the coasts of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea rests in the hands of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab). By Y. Kerman The Islamic State (ISIS) presence in the Philippines began after several local Salafi-jihadi groups pledged allegiance to ISIS and its founder, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, between May 2014 and July 2016.
ISIS Claims Responsibility For Dual Attack On Police In Salaheddin, Iraq On July 20, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a statement claiming responsibility for an attack on the Iraqi federal police in Salaheddin province, northern Iraq on July 18. Issue 347 of the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Naba’ weekly, published on July 15, 2022, provided an exclusive review of attacks carried out by ISIS’s Sahel Province between May 12 and June 26 against affiliates of the Nigerien army, Burkinabe police and gendarmerie forces, and informants allegedly affiliated with “Crusader forces” in Mali. ISIS Weekly: 11 Members Of Al-Qaeda Sahel Affiliate Defect And Join ISIS On July 15, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 347 of its weekly newsletter Al-Naba’, which featured a report about the activities of its Sahel province. ISIS Sahel Province Shares Photos Of 11 Al-Qaeda Defectors Pledging Allegiance To ISIS Issue 347 of the Islamic State (ISIS) Al-Naba’ weekly magazine, published on July 14, 2022, reports that on June 25, 2022, “11 members of the Al-Qaeda militia repented and pledged the bay’ah [pledge of allegiance] to the Caliph of Muslims – May Allah protect him – after they realized that their militia’s ideology is corrupt and closely witnessed the extent of the ideological deviation within its ranks.”
Issue Nine of “Voice of Khurasan,” a monthly English-language magazine released by the media arm of the Islamic State’s Khurasan Province (ISIS-K), includes an article titled “Abu Muhammad At-Tajiki – May Allah Accept Him,” that honors and eulogizes Abu Muhammad Al-Tajiki, the jihadi fighter who attacked the Kabul gurudwara, or Sikh temple. Recent ISIS Media Releases Contradict Reports That Spokesman Was Killed In Syria Two recent Islamic State (ISIS) media productions seemingly dispelled rumors that the group’s spokesman, Abu Omar Al-Muhajir, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in northwest Syria on July 12, 2022. Between July 15-18, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) released sets of photos documenting an escalation in attacks on various areas in the Sahel region as well as in East, Central, and West Africa. WARNING – GRAPHIC: ISIS Khorasan Claims Beheading Of Afghan Taliban Operative On July 12, 2022, The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for capturing and beheading a Taliban operative in Balkh Province, Afghanistan. ISWAP Releases Video In Hausa Language Vowing More Prison Breaks, Inciting Muslims In Chad On July 18, 2022, the Islamic State (ISIS) in West Africa Province (ISWAP) released a 12-minute, 38-second video in Hausa titled “And That You Extol Allah For Having Guided You Aright.” This is the second Hausa-language video released by ISWAP.
Following the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, which took place on July 16, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) British preacher posted a statement on his blog and on his Telegram channel, in which he condemns the “tyrant leaders of Muslim countries” who “cozy up to the U.S.” while “the Jewish Israeli occupiers today bombed Muslims in the Gaza Strip.” Between July 12 and 18, 2022, an anti-Islamic State (ISIS) channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server, shared what it said was correspondence between the ISIS Directorate of Remote Provinces and the wali (governor) of Yemen Province. On July 14, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel shared a poster by a pro-ISIS media outlet titled “Injustice Will Not Stop Our Lonely Wolves, God Willing.” On July 18, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel shared a two-page article by a pro-ISIS media outlet titled, “Considerations on the Harvest of Democracy in Tunisia.” On July 20, 2022, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel published an article criticizing Al-Qaeda supporters for praising attacks by the organization’s affiliate in Somalia, Al-Shabab Movement, while denouncing ISIS attacks on Christians in Africa. For the past five years, MEMRI JTTM has documented the Facebook profile and pro-ISIS ideology of a jihad supporter who claims to reside in a northwestern U.S. state. In a Facebook post on July 10, 2022, he announced that he intends to publish a book recounting the stories of “POW sisters” in Syria.
On July 14, 2022, Al-Qaeda’s official media outlet Al-Sahab released a video featuring an audio address by the organization’s leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The video is the sixth part in a series titled “Deal of the Century or Crusades Spanning Centuries,” whose first part was released on September 11, 2020. The fifth part was released on June 14. On July 18, 2022, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a 29-minute video titled “Sorrows and Hopes on the Anniversary of Independence,” commemorating the 60th anniversary of Algeria’s independence from France on July 5, 1962.Aerial Photographs Of U.S. Al-Tanf Base In Syria Shared On Facebook And Twitter By Lebanese Journalist Affiliated With Hizbullah; Base Described As New Target Of The Resistance On July 16, 2022, Al-Qaeda’s official media outlet published a 16-page essay reacting to a February 2022 episode of the weekly show Debatable, hosted by Egyptian TV personality Eissa on the U.S. government-funded Alhurra satellite network, and titled “Khalid Bin Al-Walid: Commander or Murderer?”
On July 20, 2022, a Syrian Al-Qaeda supporter shared a post on his Telegram channel that reported on an alleged coup plot against Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) leader Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani. Jihadi Ideologue: U.S. State Department Promotes Atheism In Its War On Islam On July 13, 2022, a Jordan-based jihadi ideologue tweeted about a report claiming that the U.S. State Department allocated a grant to support atheists in the Middle East. On July 12, 2022, a Jordan-based Salafi-jihadi ideologue published a statement containing warnings to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
On July 6-12, 2022, during the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha, the official media outlet of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and media accounts supporting the organization posted photos and videos documenting a series of visits made by the organization’s leader, Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, in various parts of the Idlib area.
On July 19, 2022, several Syrian pro-rebel Telegram channels posted a photo set showing Al-Joulani meeting with a group of local Christians.
Iran-Backed Group In Iraq Claims Second Attack In July 2022 On U.S. Logistics Support Convoy On July 19, 2022, an Iran-backed Shi’ite group in Iraq, claimed responsibility for an attack on a logistics support convoy of “the American occupation” in Salah Al-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad. On July 20, 2022, Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq vowed to retaliate against the Turkish artillery bombardment on a resort in Zakhu district in Dahuk Province, which took place on the same day and allegedly killed several civilians. In Another Response To Duhok Massacre: Iran-Backed Group Claims Attack On U.S. Convoy in Iraq On July 21, 2022, an Iran-backed Shi’ite group in Iraq, claimed responsibility for the detonation of “two double IEDS on a logistics support convoy of the American occupation,” on the same day in Salah Al-Din Governorate.
Pro-Iran Iraqi Media Outlet Claims Shi’ite Militia Behind Killing Of Turkish Officer In Kurdistan On July 18, 2022, a Telegram channel which supports Iran-backed militias in Iraq, reported that a Turkish officer was killed in an IED bombing in Kurdistan.
Iran-Backed Iraqi Militias: Al-Kadhimi Will Be Tried For Treason If He Attends The Saudi Summit On July 13, 2022, the office of Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced that he would be participating in the summit scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia on July 16, 2022, which is also expected to be attended by leaders of countries that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Egypt, Jordan and the U.S.
On July 13, 2022, a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias, published an animated video suggesting that the purpose of U.S. President Biden’s visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia is to pursue an anti-Iraq agenda. Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq reported on an alleged cyberattack targeting the website of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). In addition, they claimed responsibility for two cyberattacks targeting websites and servers in Israel and Romania. The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI’s Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here. Even several days after U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16, 2022, his trip is still reverberating among supporters of the resistance axis. This is primarily because, according to reports in the Arab press prior to the visit, one of the main issues on the agenda was the creation of a kind of regional NATO that would respond to local threats, first and foremost those posed by Iran.
A Palestinian actor and artist who lives in Gaza and supports Hamas whose tweets incite to perpetrate terrorist attacks against Israel and Jews, especially during periods of escalating tension between Israel and the Palestinian factions in Gaza. To view the full Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary, Full text JTTM Weekly – July 16-23, 2022 | MEMRI |