The West

The main event this week was the killing of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, in an operation carried out by US Special Forces on the night of February 2-3, 2022, in the village of Atmeh in the Idlib Province in northwestern Syria. Syria: The Syrian army's artillery fire continues in the Idlib region, with Russian air support. HTS detained three senior figures of Hurras al-Din, Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, and several operatives and commanders of the Sham al-Islam organization. Iraq: This week, the downtrend in ISIS’s activity continued. Sinai: The Sinai Tribal Union, which supports the Egyptian army, operated against ISIS. In one operation, ISIS’s commander in central Sinai was killed. The battle for hearts and minds: The lead article in ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly was devoted to an analysis of the term “tabshir," which means spreading the good news of the imminent victory of Islam. According to the author, spreading the good news embodies a large number of meanings. The weekly also published a poster encouraging jihad, entitled "The Jihad of the Believers Continues." Read more...

Afghanistan: ISIS operatives continue to carry out attacks against Taliban forces and Shiite civilians. Syria: The downtrend in ISIS’s activity continues. Russian Air Force planes carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region. In Iraq, ISIS’s activity was also limited. The Sinai Peninsula: Three fighters from the Tarabin tribe, which is part of the tribal union supporting the Egyptian army against ISIS, were killed in the explosion of a mine apparently planted by ISIS operatives. Africa: ISIS continued to attack military forces and Christian civilians, mainly in Nigeria, Mozambique and the Congo. The battle for hearts and minds: with the approach of Christmas and New Year’s Day, ISIS-affiliated accounts on TikTok have begun posting content encouraging ISIS operatives and supporters to carry out terrorist attacks in Western countries. Read more...

Afghanistan: An IED exploded at a mosque in the town of Traili in Nangarhar Province. At least 15 people were wounded, and at least three of them died. Syria: This week there was an increase in the volume of ISIS’s activity in Syria. Africa: This week there was an increase in the volume of ISIS’s activity in Africa. Iraq: There has been a decrease in ISIS’s activity this week. Britain: A man was killed in an explosion in a taxi in the city of Liverpool. Read more...

Afghanistan: ISIS operatives once again carried out an attack on a Shiite mosque in the Kandahar Province during Friday prayers. More than 60 people were killed in the attack and a similar number were wounded. In Syria, relatively low ISIS activity was recorded this week. In Iraq as well, the number of attacks continued to drop. Britain: A British MP was stabbed to death during an election rally at a church. British security officials determined that this was a terrorist attack. The battle for hearts and minds: This week’s lead article in ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly was devoted to an argument with those who oppose the war against the Shiites (implicitly the Taliban). Read more...

Afghanistan: ISIS’s Khorasan Province significantly increased its activity against the Taliban in Afghanistan over the past three weeks. During the period under review, there was a relative decrease in ISIS’s activity in most of the provinces, apart from Iraq: Syria: ISIS’s activity focused on the Syrian Desert region, mainly against the Syrian army and the forces supporting it. Iraq: ISIS’s activity continued, mainly against the Iraqi security forces and the forces supporting them. Most of the activity focused on the Diyala Province. The Sinai Peninsula: The head of ISIS’s Sharia activity in the Sinai Peninsula and his family turned themselves in to the tribal militias in Sinai, which support the Egyptian army. Read more...

Afghanistan: On August 26, 2021, five days before the end of the evacuation of the American and Western forces from Afghanistan, there was an explosion near the eastern wing of the Kabul international airport. In American assessment, ISIS would attempt to attack its forces before they leave the country. Syria: ISIS's activities continue to decline. Iraq: ISIS's attacks continue to decline in Iraq as well. The battle for hearts and minds: The lead article in al-Nabā’, ISIS's weekly magazine, was devoted to the need for Muslim scholars to lead the armies fighting their enemies, and not serve as tools in the hands of various regimes and the West. Read more...