The execution of the abducted civilian (Telegram, October 19, 2021)

Main events of the past week

• Afghanistan: This week there was a relative decrease in the scope of ISIS’s terrorist activity. Official sources in the Taliban administration say that they have arrested at least 250 ISIS operatives operating in the country during the past month. In his speech in the International Islamic Unity Conference held in Tehran, Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei accused ISIS of harming Shiites (in view of the attacks on mosques in Afghanistan), claiming that ISIS was formed by the US with the aim of bringing about a split in Islam between Sunnis and Shiites.
• Syria: The decrease in ISIS attacks continues. In the desert region, Russian fighter jets continued to attack ISIS targets. In the Idlib region: Many civilians were killed in two attacks carried out by Syrian army forces against two villages in the rebel enclave. One of the attacks was carried out in response to an explosion in a military bus in the Damascus area, in which soldiers were killed.
• Iraq: This week, the downtrend in ISIS’s activity continued. At the same time, the Iraqi security forces’ activity against ISIS continued. According to an announcement by the Ministry of Defense’s Military Intelligence Directorate, the Iraqi army killed Osama al-Mullah, an assistant ISIS security official who was also in charge of funds in Iraq.
• Africa: ISIS’s activity continued, mainly against military targets in African countries (Nigeria, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda). The adviser to the President of Nigeria on National Security announced the killing of Malam Bako, the new leader of ISIS’s West Africa Province.
• Financing terrorism: According to a report published by The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), since 2020 ISIS and Al-Qaeda have stepped up their online activity aimed at recruiting operatives and fundraising. It is also evident that in the past two years, these two organizations have increased their use of state-of-the-art online payment technologies for transferring funds.
• The battle for hearts and minds: This week’s lead article in Al-Naba’ weekly was devoted to the importance of jihad in the sense of fighting against the infidels. According to the article, the commandment of jihad is of paramount importance, since it is a divine command mentioned in the Quran, based on the fact that infidels will always be hostile to Islam.

Afghanistan

Counterterrorism measures

• Official sources in the Taliban government noted that last month, at least 250 ISIS operatives had been detained in Afghanistan, as part of the new government’s efforts to thwart ISIS’s activity in the country (www.tolonews.com, October 20, 2021). ISIS, on its part, is attempting to recruit the local population to its ranks. According to the Afghan media, ISIS operatives hoisted their flag in a village in Uruzgan Province, in the center of the country. Furthermore, according to reports, in two other villages in the region, ISIS operatives in mosques called on residents to join ISIS and distributed information leaflets (Russia Al-Youm, according to Ettela’at-e Ruz, October 24, 2021).

ISIS activity

• At the same time, ISIS activity against the Taliban forces continued. Following are prominent attacks carried out this week by ISIS in Afghanistan (mostly according to ISIS’s claims of responsibility on Telegram):
  • On October 25, 2021, IEDs were activated against two Taliban patrols in Jalalabad. About 10 Taliban members were killed or wounded.
  • On October 25, 2021, a fighter of a militia loyal to the previous regime was shot and killed in Jalalabad.
  • On October 23, 2021, an IED was activated against a vehicle of Taliban operatives in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan (no specific location was mentioned). Two civilians, one of them a boy, were killed, and four others were wounded (AP, October 23, 2021).
  • On October 22, 2021, at least two incidents were reported in which Taliban members were targeted by gunfire in Jalalabad.
  • On October 21, 2021, an IED was activated against a high-voltage pylon in Kabul. It was damaged and the power supply was interrupted.
  • On October 20, 2021, an IED was activated against a Taliban vehicle in Kabul. The four passengers on board were either killed or wounded.

Iran accuses ISIS of harming the Shiites

• During the International Islamic Unity Conference taking place in Tehran, Iranian leader Ali Khamenei addressed the terrorist attacks carried out by ISIS in two Shiite mosques in Afghanistan. According to Khamenei, ISIS, that claimed responsibility for the attacks, was formed by the United States. He further noted that the US was spreading disunity in Islam between Sunnis and Shiites, and the attack was the result of this (Al-Alam, October 24, 2021).

The Syrian arena

• CENTCOM announced that on October 22, 2021, senior Al-Qaeda leader Abdul Hamid al-Matar had been eliminated in a targeted killing from a UAV in the Suluk region in northwestern Syria. According to the statement, his killing will disrupt Al-Qaeda’s ability to carry out attacks against US citizens, their partners, and innocent civilians (CENTCOM Spokesperson, October 22, 2021). The targeted killing has been carried out as part of the US campaign against Al-Qaeda in the region, further to other targeted killings carried out in the last months and due to concerns about a rise in Al-Qaeda’s power following the US forces’ pullout from Afghanistan.

The Idlib region

• Exchanges of artillery fire continued between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it, and the rebel forces in the rebel enclave in Idlib. This week, Russian fighter jets carried out several airstrikes against rebel targets in the western and southern regions of the enclave (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 24, 2021).
• Over 20 people, many of them civilians, were killed in a Syrian army attack in the Sarmada region, in the northern part of the rebel enclave (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 16, 2021). A total of 13 civilians were killed and 24 were wounded by artillery fire by Syrian army forces targeting Ariha, about 10 km of Idlib. Fatalities reportedly included four children and a woman. In response, the rebels fired rockets at Syrian army positions (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 20-23, 2021). The attack was carried out in response to the activation of two IEDs near a bus carrying soldiers in Damascus. A total of 14 soldiers were killed. A rebel organization called the Qasiyoun Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. The organization also threatened to continue its attacks against the Syrian regime as long as “the Syrian army and its militias continue to perpetrate daily massacres in the liberated north” (i.e., the rebel enclave in Idlib) (Telegram, October 20, 2021; Russia Al-Youm, October 20, 2021).
• As part of internal struggles between the rebel organizations over domination of the enclave, Al-Qaeda-affiliated HTS attacked operatives of jihadi organizations, including Jund al-Sham and Jund Allah, in the western part of the enclave. A total of 11 operatives were reportedly killed in the attack, and several others were wounded (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 25, 2021).

The desert region (Al-Badia)

• During the week, Russian fighter jets continued to carry airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 19-26, 2021).

Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region

• ISIS operatives warned local smugglers not to smuggle wheat to areas controlled by the Syrian regime (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 25, 2021).

 The Iraqi arena

Attacks by province^[1]

Al-Anbar Province

• On October 21, 2021, two Iraqi army command posts east of Al-Rutba, in western Iraq, were targeted by gunfire and rockets. Seven soldiers were killed or wounded. ISIS operatives broke into one of the command posts and set it on fire. A force arriving on the scene to provide help was targeted by gunfire. One of its vehicles was destroyed and two others were put out of commission. The passengers were killed or wounded.

• On October 19, 2021, a civilian who had “abandoned Islam” and was earning his living repairing Iraqi army cars in the Ramadi area was abducted and later executed.

Diyala Province

• On October 25, 2021, an Iraqi army position east of Al-Saadiya, about 60 km northeast of Baqubah, was targeted by gunfire. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded.
• On October 17, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army bulldozer in western Al-Azim, about 60 km north of Baqubah. Several people were wounded.

Salah al-Din Province

• On October 25, 2021, an Iraqi army headquarters was targeted by gunfire east of Tuz Khormato, about 100 km northeast of Samarra. One soldier was killed.
• On October 21, 2021, an IED was activated against a Popular Mobilization vehicle on the Haditha-Baiji road. The vehicle was destroyed and the passengers were killed or wounded.

Nineveh Province

• On October 25, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle south of Mosul. Five soldiers were killed or wounded.

Counterterrorism measures in Iraq

• The Ministry of Defense’s Military Intelligence Directorate announced that the Iraqi army, operating in Al-Rutba, in western Iraq, had killed Osama al-Mulla, ISIS’s deputy chief in charge of security, who was in charge of distributing the funds to the families of ISIS’s fatalities (kafalat) and ISIS’s money transfer in Iraq (Sada al-Balad, October 22, 2021). It should be noted that two weeks ago, the Iraqi security forces arrested Sami Jassem, ISIS’s official in charge of finances, who had been the deputy of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
• In northwestern Iraq, the Iraqi army arrested an ISIS operative who was in charge of smuggling ISIS families from the Al-Hawl camp in Syria to Iraq, inter alia, by forged documents (Al-Furat News, October 21, 2021).