Countries - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Spotlight on Iran (May 27, 2021 – June 10, 2021)

Two senior officers, IRGC advisers to the Syrian army, were ambushed by ISIS and killed in Syria on their way from Deir ez-Zor to Palmyra. The Iranian media avoided referring to them as senior officers. On June 9, the commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force arrived for talks in Baghdad with senior Iraqi politicians and commanders of Shia militias. The New York Times reported that Iran is behind several attacks carried out in recent months against American targets in Iraq using advanced armed drones. The Iranian minister of energy announced that Iraq agreed to release 125 million dollars of the Iranian funds frozen in Iraqi banks to allow Iran to purchase vaccines against COVID-19. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (May 13, 2021 – May 27, 2021)

During the Israeli military operation in Gaza (“Guardian of the Walls”), senior Iranian officials maintained constant contact with the senior leaderships of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. On May 22, following the visit of the Iranian minister of foreign affairs to Damascus, Iran opened a consulate in the city of Aleppo. The Iranian minister of defense met with deputies of the ministers of trade and industry in Syria and discussed with them the participation of conglomerates linked to the Iranian ministry of defense in Syria’s reconstruction. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (May 2, 2021 – May 13, 2021)

Sources in Syria reported that the Afghan militia, the Fatemiyoun Brigade, which operates in Syria under the guidance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has begun recruiting local Syrians into its ranks. Iran’s newly appointed Ambassador to Damascus, Mehdi Sobhani, assumed him position after it was confirmed by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Iraqi protesters in the city of Karbala in southern Iraq torched the wall of the Iranian consulate in the city. The Head of Hamas’ Politburo, Ismail Hanniyeh, sent a message to the supreme leader of Iran, updating him about the latest developments in Jerusalem, and calling on the Muslim world to stand by the Palestinians in the struggle against Israel’s policies in the city, and to support to the Palestinian “resistance.” 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 27 – June 2, 2021)

This week, the downtrend in ISIS’s activity in the various provinces continued. Syria: In the desert area (Al-Badia), several Syrian soldiers were wounded when a mine exploded in the Palmyra region. Russian planes carried out over 100 airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region. Iraq: The main event was a car bomb explosion against the Tribal Mobilization forces in Haditha, in western Iraq. The Sinai Peninsula: The commander of the Egyptian army's Counterterrorism Unit was killed by sniper fire during an Egyptian army operation against terrorist elements in Sheikh Zuweid, in northern Sinai. The battle for hearts and minds: This week, ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly published a poster detailing the goals of ISIS’s propaganda activity, to which the organization attaches great importance. 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...

Hezbollah’s response to the economic crisis in Lebanon

For over a year, there has been a severe economic and political crisis in Lebanon, whose end is not in sight. Underlying the crisis are fundamental problems, mainly firmly-rooted corruption and a chronic state of political instability. Additional difficulties have been added to the fundamental problems: the COVID-19 crisis; the negative effects of US sanctions on the Lebanese economy and banking system; the explosion at the Port of Beirut; difficulties stemming from the Syrian civil war (the problem of Syrian refugees who fled to Lebanon); and the lack of external assistance due to Lebanon’s failure to carry out the reforms required by the international community Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 19-26, 2021)

Syria: ISIS continued its attacks against the SDF in the Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region. In the Al-Raqqah region, two oil tankers of the Al-Qaterji company (which serves the Syrian regime) were targeted by gunfire. In the Aleppo region, a Syrian army camp near the Syrian-Turkish border was targeted by gunfire. Iraq: This week there was a decrease in the number of attacks carried out by the ISIS operatives in the various provinces in the country. Asia: There was a decrease in activity in Afghanistan as well. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (May 13-20, 2021)

This week, at the end of the month of Ramadan, there was a decrease in ISIS’s activity in the various arenas around the globe. Syria: In the desert region (Al-Badia), ISIS operatives ambushed a Syrian army convoy. Two vehicles and a motorcycle were destroyed and those on board were killed or wounded. This week, there was a significant decrease in the scope of ISIS’s activity in Iraq. Operation Guardian of the Walls in the Gaza Strip and the issue of Jerusalem elicited a variety of statements by jihadist organizations around the globe. 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...

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...

Germany outlaws Hezbollah, joining other countries which designated it as a terrorist organization

On April 30, 2020, Germany banned Hezbollah from operating on German soil and designated it as a terrorist organization. Immediately after doing so, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer instructed the security forces to conduct searches in mosques, in gathering places of Hezbollah followers and in a number of suspects’ homes in several cities (including Berlin, Bremen, Münster and Dortmund). 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...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (April 30 – May 5, 2021)

The third week of Ramadan was marked by a further increase in the number of ISIS attacks, mainly in Iraq and Africa. Syria: In the Daraa region, the terrorist attacks against the Syrian army continued this week. Iraq: This week as well, there has been an increase in ISIS’s terrorist activity. Sinai: After a period of relative calm, ISIS operatives attacked local residents in the village of Al-Amal, south of Al-Arish, on suspicion of collaborating with the Egyptian army. Three members of their families were killed. Africa: ISIS-affiliated elements continue their terrorist activity, mainly against military targets. Read more...