Ad Hoc Studies

ISIS’s attack on a Shiite shrine in Shiraz, Iran: analysis and possible implications

On October 26, 2022, an armed ISIS operative carried out a shooting attack in the Shiite Shah Cheragh shrine in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran. The attack took place during the protests sweeping Iran,. The Iranian president claimed that the riots had paved the road to the attack, and the IRGC commander declared that the Iranian regime would act strongly against ISIS and even escalate its activity against the protesters. Read more...

“Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades” – a generic name for the armed squads of Palestinian terrorists currently active in Judea and Samaria.

During the last few months an increasing number of "brigades" have appeared in Judea and Samaria, military-terrorist networks calling themselves al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (AAMB). Although the AAMB are usually affiliated with Fatah, today it is the generic name for armed squads of Palestinian terrorists, most of which operate independently and have neither a central leadership nor an established structural hierarchy. Fatah and the PA are ambivalent, publicly claiming to promote the so-called "unarmed popular resistance," while the AAMB publicly promote armed "resistance" [terrorist attacks] and a "military option”. Read more...

Al-Shabaab, the Branch of al-Qaeda in Somalia and the Horn of Africa

The al-Qaeda leadership devoted the seventh issue of its magazine to Somalia. It predicted the al-Shabaab, its branch in Somalia, would soon be victorious, overthrow the government, take control of Mogadishu and expel the foreign forces.Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud formulated a three-pronged strategy to weaken al-Shabaab and repel its forces from Mogadishu and the surrounding regions.In ITIC assessment, in the wake of its going increase in strength, al-Shabaab can be expected to continue its efforts to overthrow the Somali government. Read more...

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and his impact on the dissemination of radical Islam

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, considered for many years one of the senior scholars in Sunni Islam, died on September 26, 2022, at 96. Qaradawi, born in Egypt, arrived in the early 1960s from Egypt to Qatar, which became the center of his activity. Among other things, he established a network of global Islamic organizations. Until 2018, he headed the radical Islamic organization World Association of Muslim Scholars. Through this organization, he concentrated and coordinated the activity of radical Islamic scholars around the world, many of them members of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there were also members of other streams, shaping together the current radical Islamic discourse. Qaradawi was mainly known as a key figure in shaping the concept of violent jihad and the one who allowed carrying out terror attacks, including suicide bombing attacks, against Israeli citizens, the US forces in Iraq, and some of the Arab regimes. Notwithstanding his contribution to the development of jihad movements, Qaradawi opposed Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Read more...

Palestinian Reactions to the Prevention of a Terrorist Attack at the Jalameh Crossing (September 14, 2022)

On the night of September 13, 2022, a terrorist attack was prevented at the Jalameh Crossing, north of Jenin. Two Palestinians, who were initially identified by IDF surveillance as unarmed, opened fire at IDF soldiers who carried out protocol for detaining suspects. An IDF major and the two terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire. Fatah's military-terrorist wing, issued a mourning notice stating that the two terrorists belonged to its ranks. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) welcomed the attack and noted they would continue their "military struggle" against Israel. Read more...

ISIS spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir calls on Muslims around the world to join the organization’s ranks and criticizes other Islamist organizations

ISIS’s Al-Furqan Media Foundation released an audiotape by ISIS spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir entitled In the audiotape, the spokesman calls on ISIS operatives to liberate ISIS prisoners from prisons around the world. He also calls on Muslims around the world – especially in Syria, Iraq, Africa, Yemen, and East Asia – and non-Muslims to join the ranks of ISIS Read more...

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