Countries - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Spotlight on Global Jihad (September 2-13, 2021)

Afghanistan: The US and European countries are dealing with the lessons of the departure from Afghanistan and attempting to anticipate the consequences of future events and terrorist threats, after the takeover of the country by the Taliban. Syria: In Idlib, artillery exchanges continued between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it and the rebel forces. Iraq: There has been an increase in the number of attacks. Most of them were carried out against the Iraqi security forces and the forces supporting them. The Sinai Peninsula: ISIS operatives carried out several attacks against the Egyptian security forces. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (September 2, 2021 – September 14, 2021)

Iran stressed once again its willingness to expand the assistance to Lebanon due to the severe economic crisis experienced by the country. The Iranian minister of foreign affairs said in a phone call with his Lebanese colleague that Iran is willing to supply fuel to the Lebanese government (and not merely Hezbollah), and the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon declared that his government offered to assist Lebanon in establishing electric power stations. Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah made it clear (September 13, 2021) that, contrary to the original plan, the Iranian tankers would not run out of fuel in Lebanon but in Syria, from where it would be transferred to Lebanon. This is to prevent Lebanon from being exposed to sanctions. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (August 19, 2021 – September 2, 2021)

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has assumed his new position as Iran’s minister of foreign affairs. In the first days of his tenure, he paid visits to Syria and Iraq. The Syrian news website, Euphrates Post, reported that in recent days, the IRGC transferred a large number of rockets to pro-Iranian militias operating in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria. The spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the claim made by the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, concerning the transfer of fuel shipments from Iran to Lebanon. Iranian activities in the economic sphere in Syria and Iraq: The chairman of the Joint Iranian-Syrian Chamber of Commerce announced that Iran intends to participate in a trade fair that will be held in the coming months in Damascus, during which Iranian products will be put on display. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 26 – September 1, 2021)

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...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 19-25, 2021)

Afghanistan: While ISIS displays a criticizing approach towards the events in Afghanistan in an article published in its weekly, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated HTS congratulated the Taliban on the takeover of Afghanistan. Syria: There was a significant decrease in ISIS’s activity. Iraq: There was also a decrease in ISIS’s activity in Iraq. The Sinai Peninsula: Most of the attacks consisted of sniper fire at the Egyptian security forces and were carried out in the New Rafah region. Africa: There was also a significant decrease in the number of attacks in Africa. Asia: There was an increase in the volume of activity of ISIS’s East Asia Province in the Philippines. Read more...

Tension on Israel’s Northern Border – Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel for the first time since the Second Lebanon War (2006)

On two separate occasions this past week rockets were fired from south Lebanon at Israel. On August 4, 2021, three rockets were fired at the region of Qiryat Shemonah, Israel's northernmost city. In response Israel fired artillery at the launch sites. The rocket fire this past week was the outcome of the increasing tension along the Israel-Lebanon border. Read more...

Escalation in the Gaza Strip – Operation Guardian of the Walls (Updated to 12:00 noon, May 20, 2021)

Operation Guardian of the Walls entered its eleventh day. With reports of an upcoming ceasefire rocket and mortar fire continues, although slightly smaller in number. During the 24 hours between 0700, May 19 and May 20, 2021, 270 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. So far, since the beginning of Operation Guardian of the Walls, 3,153 rockets have been fired at Israel. About 90% of those attacking populated areas were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system. Most of the rockets fired during the past 24 hours had ranges of about 40 kilometers (25 miles) and targeted the southern Israeli coastal cities of Ashqelon and Ashdod, and the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip border. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 12-18, 2021)

Afghanistan: The Taliban forces have taken over the entire country, including the capital Kabul, which fell into their hands without a battle. Syria: The downtrend in ISIS’s activity in the various provinces continued. In a counterterrorism operation by the SDF and Global Coalition forces, ISIS operatives were detained, including a senior operative who was in charge of ISIS’s activity in northern and eastern Syria and on the Syria-Iraq border. According to ISIS, its operatives shot down a Russian UAV in the Homs Desert. Iraq: ISIS activity continues in the various provinces, albeit on a relatively small scale. The epicenter of ISIS’s activity this week was the Salah al-Din Province, where most of its attacks were carried out, with the main target being the security forces and the militias supporting them. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 5-11, 2021)

Syria: This week, the downtrend in ISIS’s activity in the various provinces in Syria continued. Iraq: ISIS’s activity continued in the various provinces, albeit on a relatively small scale. Sinai: This week, ISIS's activity was concentrated in the Rafah region. Africa: ISIS's activity in Africa continues. The main event was ISIS's takeover of two villages in the Congo, on the Congo-Uganda border, after prolonged clashes with the Congolese army. Afghanistan: Taliban forces took control of the city of Kunduz, near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, and other regions in the country. At present, it is unclear how this will affect ISIS's activity in the region. The battle for hearts and minds: This week, the main article in ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly dealt with the international coalitions against ISIS that are being formed in Mozambique and the Congo. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (March 5-11, 2020)

On March 5, 2020, an agreement was signed in Moscow between Russia and Turkey, which is intended to end the fighting in the Idlib region. In the ITIC’s assessment, this is a shaky ceasefire (like its predecessors). In the Euphrates Valley, ISIS’s intensive attacks continued, mainly in the form of activating IEDs. In Iraq, ISIS’s activity consisted mainly of activating IEDs, sniper fire and targeted killings. With regard to noteworthy ISIS activity abroad, the Khorasan Province recently resumed its activity and carried out two showcase attacks in the capital Kabul Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 4 – 10, 2020)

This past week the Gaza Strip was relatively quiet. A stabbing attack was attempted at the Nablus Gate in the Old City in Jerusalem. A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority (PA) government announced that so far 26 people infected with the coronavirus have been identified, most of them in Bethlehem. In Judea and Samaria Palestinians continue throwing stones at Israel vehicles driving on the roads Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (February 6-12, 2020)

This week, the Syrian army, with Russian air support, continued its attack on the Idlib region and managed to take over the city of Saraqib The Syrian army is now preparing to take over the city of Idlib. Violent friction continues between the Syrian army and Turkish forces in the area where the Syrian forces operate. The Syrian General Staff announced that the Turkish attacks would not prevent the Syrian army from continuing its military operation in the Idlib area and Aleppo. This week saw decrease in its activity in the Iraqi arena. Outside of these two “core countries,” ISIS’s Sinai Province carried out intensive activity. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (January 30 – February 5, 2020)

The Syrian army, with Russian air support, continued to advance towards Idlib. The Syrian army’s operation in an area where there are Turkish observation posts, and hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled from the battle zones (some towards the border with Turkey), have created friction on the ground and diplomatic tension between Turkey and Syria (which enjoys Russian support). On February 2, 2020, a Muslim terrorist, a released prisoner with a jihadist ideology, carried out a stabbing attack in south London Read more...

Wave of orchestrated ISIS terrorist retaliation attacks around the globe: overview and assessment

During four days, between April 8 and 11, 2019, the various ISIS provinces in Syria, Iraq and around the globe carried out a wave attacks in retaliation for the blow ISIS suffered in Syria. ISIS reported that eight of its provinces carried out more than 92 attacks in more than 80 areas. The attacks were accompanied by a media campaign and claims of responsibility entitled "Battle of vengeance for blessed [Province of] Sham" [Syria]. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (19-27 September 2017)

The Islamic State is disintegrating in Syria and Iraq. Its territorial areas of control Iraq are falling to the two anti-ISIS coalition forces one after another, although in some important strongholds ISIS operatives continue stubborn fighting. Read more...

ISIS spokesman releases an audiotape calling on the operatives to intensify their attacks, lashing out against Iran, Turkey and the leaders of the Arab states, and expressing support for the Palestinians but not for Hamas

ISIS Spokesman Abu Hamza al-Qurashi. The tape, which lasts about 38 minutes, is entitled “You are the sublime ones if you believe.” It mainly contains words of encouragement to ISIS’s fighters around the world, calls on them to intensify their activity and asks them to choose more substantial targets for their attacks (Telegram, June 22, 2021). Read more...

Analysis of the new statement of ISIS spokesman following the normalization agreements between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain

On October 18, 2020, ISIS’s Al-Furqan Media Foundation released an audiotape of the organization’s spokesman Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi. The title of the tape is a verse from the Quran – “So narrate to them stories of the past, so perhaps they will reflect ”. In the 32-minute tape, the spokesman calls for the overthrow of the “tyrannical” rulers in Arab countries, following the normalization agreements between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (June 2-9, 2021)

This week, ISIS’s activity in the various provinces continued at a "routine" level: Syria: The main event this week was an attack, apparently carried out by ISIS operatives, against a convoy of the Syrian army and members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the Al-Sukhnah Desert, on the Palmyra-Deir ez-Zor highway. Iraq: ISIS claimed responsibility for detonating an IED near the tomb of Imam Musa al-Kadhim in the Shiite Kadhimiya neighborhood in northern Baghdad. The Sinai Peninsula: ISIS operatives carried out a combined attack on an Egyptian army camp south of Sheikh Zuweid. There has been a downtrend in ISIS’s activity in Africa. Libya: After a long period with no ISIS attacks in the country, this week ISIS carried out a suicide bombing attack at a roadblock set up by General Haftar’s army about 670 km south of Tripoli. At least four military personnel were killed, including an officer. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 6-12, 2021)

The fourth week of Ramadan was also marked by a relatively high number of attacks, mainly in Iraq and Africa. Syria: An IED was activated against a Syrian army ATV in the desert region (Al-Badia). The vehicle was destroyed and the passengers were killed or wounded. Iraq: The week, ISIS concentrated its activity mainly in the Kirkuk Province, where its operatives carried out several attacks against camps of the Iraqi security forces. Africa: There appears to have been a slight decrease in ISIS’s activity this week. Afghanistan: This week, for the first time, ISIS carried out activity against infrastructure in the country, as part of what it calls its economic war. Germany has outlawed several Islamic organizations affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Somalia and Syria. Read more...