Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 15-21, 2022)

Main events of the past week

• This week, there was a moderate increase in the scope of ISIS’s activity. The hotspots of activity were Iraq and Syria.
• Iraq: Two officers and 10 soldiers and policemen were killed in two separate incidents of IED detonations by ISIS north of Baghdad and southwest of Kirkuk. Eight civilians were killed and three were wounded in an ISIS attack northwest of Baqubah.
• Syria: The US army arrested six ISIS operatives, including a senior leader, in eastern Syria. The Syrian security forces found a large cache of ISIS weapons in the Deir ez-Zor region. Two officers and six fighters of the Syrian army and the forces supporting it were killed in two incidents, southeast of Al-Mayadeen and in the Homs Desert.
• Africa: In Nigeria, Nigerian army forces rescued seven Chinese hostages held by Boko Haram. In Somalia, Somali army and local forces killed 50 Al-Shabaab operatives north of Mogadishu. A total of 15 Al-Shabaab operatives were killed in an airstrike northeast of Mogadishu. In Mali, over 100 Al-Qaeda operatives were killed and dozens wounded in an exchange of fire between ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the Mali-Niger border area. In Uganda, 11 ISIS operatives were killed and eight were captured in Ugandan army activity in the southwest of the country.
• The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office declared that in spite of the continuing attacks against ISIS and Al-Qaeda leaders, terrorist elements exploit unstable regions such as Africa and Afghanistan to expand their influence.
• The battle for hearts and minds: ISIS supporters distributed a poster encouraging the organization’s operatives and its supporters to carry out attacks on the occasion of Christmas.

The Syrian arena

Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region

• On December 20, 2022, militants, apparently, ISIS operatives, shot and wounded an SDF fighter at the entrance to Al-Shahil, about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, December 20, 2022).
• On December 18, 2022, ISIS operatives shot and killed two Iranian Revolutionary Guards fighters riding a motorcycle about 45 km south of Al-Mayadeen (Deir ez-Zor24, December 19, 2022).
• On December 19, 2022, mines were detonated, apparently by ISIS operatives, against a force of the Syrian army and the forces supporting it about 30 km southeast of Al-Mayadeen. Six fighters were killed (@ALBADIA24 Twitter account, December 19, 2022).
• On December 19, 2022, an IED was activated, apparently by ISIS operatives, against a vehicle carrying fighters of the Homeland Defense Forces (supporting the Syrian regime) about 70 km west of Albukamal. Two fighters were killed (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, December 20, 2022).
• The day before, eight ISIS operatives riding motorcycles shot and fired an RPG rocket at a position of the Homeland Defense Forces about 30 km southeast of Al-Mayadeen. One Homeland Defense Forces fighter was killed and at least one civilian was wounded (Deir ez-Zor24, December 18, 2022).

The desert region

• On December 20, 2022, a Syrian army vehicle was shot at, apparently by ISIS operatives, in the Homs Desert region. An officer with the rank of captain and another with the rank of second lieutenant were killed (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, December 20, 2022).

Counterterrorism measures

Detention of ISIS operatives in the Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region

• The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on December 20, 2022, that on December 18-20, 2022, there had been three helicopter raids in eastern Syria, resulting in the detention of six ISIS operatives, including a senior official in ISIS’s Syria Province by the name of Al-Zubaydi, who was involved in the planning and facilitation of ISIS attacks in Syria (CENTCOM Twitter account, December 20, 2022).

On December 16, 2022, Kurdish SDF and Global Coalition forces detained an ISIS local commander who had been in charge of ISIS squads and their activity in the region. He was detained in the Kisra region, about 30 km northwest of Deir ez-Zor. The forces seized documents, SIM cards, a handgun, magazines, and additional equipment found in his possession (SDF Press, December 19, 2022).

 
Detained local ISIS commander and the equipment seized (SDF Press, December 19, 2022)

ISIS weapons and equipment cache found

• On December 15, 2022, the Syrian security forces found an ISIS cache of weapons and equipment hidden in a tunnel in the Deir ez-Zor countryside. The cache contained assault rifles, machine guns, hand grenades, RPG launchers and rockets, mortar shells, IEDs, drones, medications, and ISIS propaganda material (SANA, December 15, 2022).

   
Mortar shells and ISIS propaganda material found in the Deir ez-Zor countryside
(SANA, December 15, 2022)

The Iraqi arena

ISIS attacks by province^[1]

Salah al-Din Province

• Lieutenant colonel Mustafa Diya al-Mashhadani, a commander of a fawj (a force whose size is between a regiment and a brigade), and two soldiers were killed in the explosion of an IED on December 14, 2022, near Tarmiyah, about 30 km north of Baghdad. Another officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel and six soldiers were wounded (Telegram, December 14, 2022).

Kirkuk Province

• On December 18, 2022, an IED was activated against two Iraqi police armored vehicles in the Riyad region, about 40 km southwest of Kirkuk. A police superintendent and eight policemen were killed. Another policeman was wounded (Al-Sumaria, December 18, 2022). ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, noting that its operatives activated an IED against an Iraqi police patrol in the area and then fired and threw hand grenades. An RPG rocket was fired at another patrol arriving on the scene (Telegram, December 18, 2022).

Diyala Province

• On December 19, 2022, several ISIS operatives riding motorcycles attacked the village of Albu Bali about 12 km northwest of Baqubah. Eight civilians were killed and three were wounded. The Iraqi security forces are searching for the attackers (Iraqi News Agency, December 20, 2022).
• On December 15, 2022, an Iraqi army compound was targeted by gunfire south of the Bahraz region, about 5 km south of Baqubah. One soldier was killed (Telegram, December 16, 2022).

Al-Anbar Province

• On December 17, 2022, Iraqi army forces were targeted by light and medium arms fire in three incidents (Telegram, December 17, 2022):
• At a compound on the outskirts of Al-Rutba, in western Al-Anbar Province. One soldier was killed.
• At two vehicles about 40 km east of Al-Rutba. Several soldiers were killed or wounded.
• At two vehicles about 80 km east of Al-Rutba. Several soldiers were killed or wounded.

Nineveh Province

• On December 16, 2022, an old IED, apparently planted by ISIS, was accidentally activated near a cemetery about 15 km northeast of Mosul. Three children were killed and three others were wounded (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, December 17, 2022).

Counterterrorism measures

Nineveh Province

• On December 19, 2022, Iraqi army forces and intelligence personnel found a large cache of ISIS weapons and ammunition about 40 km southwest of Mosul. It contained over 200 thousand bullets of various calibers, about 50 mortar shells, two RPG launchers, and explosives (Iraqi News Agency, December 19, 2022).

Summary of ISIS’s activity in the various provinces

• An infographic published by ISIS, summing up its activity around the world on December 8-14, 2022, indicates that the organization carried out 19 attacks in its various provinces around the globe (compared to 17 in the previous week). The largest number of attacks was carried out by ISIS’s Syria Province (5). Attacks carried out in the other provinces: Central Africa (4); Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (3); Mozambique (3); Iraq (2); the Sahel (1); and West Africa (1). A total of 170 people were killed and wounded in the attacks, compared to 39 in the previous week. The largest number of casualties was in the Sahel Province (100). The other casualties were in the following provinces: Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (33); Central Africa (15); Iraq (11); Syria (6); and Mozambique (5) (Al-Naba weekly, Telegram, December 15, 2022). ISIS seems to continue its relatively moderate activity around the world although this week, there has been a significant increase in the number of casualties mainly due to ISIS’s activity against Al-Qaeda operatives in Mali.

Africa

Nigeria

ISIS activity

• On December 13, 2022, ISIS fired at a Nigerian army checkpoint near the town of Buratai, about 150 km southwest of Maiduguri, in Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria. Two soldiers were killed and others were wounded and fled (Telegram, December 15, 2022).

Counterterrorism measures

• On December 17, 2022, Nigerian army Special Forces carried out a hostage rescue operation in Kaduna State, in central Nigeria, in which they freed seven Chinese hostages. The Chinese, who worked as miners in a mine in the Ajata-Aboki region, in Niger State, in western Nigeria, were abducted in June 2022, and had since been held by Boko Haram. The abductors escaped (medium.com, December 17, 2022; Zagazola, December 17, 2022).

On December 16, 2022, a Nigerian army force laid an ambush for Boko Haram operatives west of the town of Bama, about 60 km southeast of Maiduguri, in Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria. At least four Boko Haram operatives were killed (Zagazola, December 16, 2022).

• On December 12, 2022, four Boko Haram commanders surrendered without a fight to Nigerian army forces that surprised them on the edge of the Sambisa Forest, about 100 km southeast of Maiduguri (The Guardian, December 18, 2022).

Mozambique

• On December 12, 2022, an attack was carried out against a Mozambican army compound in the village of Nakoi, in the Macomia region, in the eastern part of Cabo Delgado province, in the northeast of the country. The soldiers fled, some of them wounded. ISIS operatives seized a variety of ammunition and set the compound on fire (Telegram, December 13, 2022).

Uganda

• On December 12, 2022, the Ugandan army, acting on intelligence, operated against a group of 20-30 ISIS operatives who had crossed the Semliki River in southwestern Uganda. A total of 11 ISIS operatives were killed and eight captured. A Ugandan army soldier was killed and three civilians were wounded (Asharq al-Awsat, December 14, 2022).

Somalia

Somali and US army activity against Al-Shabaab

• The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) carried out two airstrikes against the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab about 200 km north of Mogadishu. Eight Al-Shabaab operatives were killed in an airstrike carried out on December 17, 2022. Seven operatives were killed in an airstrike carried out on December 14 (AFRICOM Twitter account, December 18, 2022).
• A Somali army force, operating on December 17, 2022, with the support of local forces against Al-Shabaab operatives in the area of the town of Adan Yabal, about 200 km north of Mogadishu, killed 50 Al-Shabaab operatives (All Africa, December 17, 2022). In this context, it should be noted that military sources in Somalia reported that between December 11-15, 2022, Somali army forces with the support of local forces had killed 88 Al-Shabaab operatives in the center of the country (VOA, December 16, 2022).

Senior Al-Shabaab leader killed

• Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) announced that a senior Al-Shabaab leader had been killed in an operation conducted by it on December 15, 2022, in the village of Juhay, north of Mogadishu. The senior leader, Yusuf Mohamed Jingab, who had been in charge of the organization’s recruitment and radicalization, was under surveillance for several months (Garowe Online, December 18, 2022).

Mali

• On December 7, 2022, there was an exchange of fire between ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the Ménaka region, about 60 km north of the Mali-Niger border, after Al-Qaeda operatives tried to attack positions of ISIS and its supporters. According to ISIS, over 100 Al-Qaeda operatives were killed and dozens wounded. Six Al-Qaeda operatives were captured. During the exchange of fire, Malian army aircraft carried out airstrikes against ISIS. Several operatives were killed (Telegram, December 14, 2022).

Libya

• On December 19, 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office in Libya announced that a Libyan court had convicted 17 people of belonging to ISIS and sentenced them to death. Two other convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment and 14 others were sentenced to various prison terms. The convicts, who operated in and around the city of Sabratah, about 60 km west of the capital Tripoli, were accused of killing dozens of people (LBC International, December 19, 2022).

Tunisia

• On December 13, 2022, a Tunisian court sentenced a citizen of the country to four years in prison. The citizen operated as part of ISIS’s propaganda arm in Tunisia. As part of his activity, he set up websites and video channels that praised ISIS, commended its terrorist activity, and called for recruitment into its ranks (Babnet, December 15, 2022).

Turkey

• On December 19, 2022, Turkey’s Ministry of Defense announced that an ISIS operative wanted by Interpol had been arrested by Turkish security forces in Hatay province, in the south of the country, while trying to illegally cross the border from northwest Syria into Turkish territory. The wanted operative’s name was mentioned only by its initials, M. M. (Anatolia News Agency, December 19, 2022).
• On December 14, 2022, the Turkish security forces arrested eight suspected ISIS operatives in the province of Mersin, in the south of the country. The detainees had provided financial and logistical assistance to ISIS operatives and fought in the ranks of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Searches were reportedly underway for two more suspects (Anatolia News Agency, December 14, 2022).

Denmark

• On December 20, 2022, a Copenhagen suburb court sentenced Ali al-Masri, 35, born in Syria, to 16 years in prison on charges of planning an attack using an explosive device in Denmark and financing and promoting terrorist activity. Al-Masri was arrested in February 2021 in a joint operation by Denmark and Germany along with his wife, 31, and his brother, 37. The two were accused of providing financial assistance to Al-Masri. His wife was sentenced to nine months in prison and his brother to six months. Al-Masri and his brother will be deported from Denmark after they finish serving their sentences (Al-Arabiya, December 20, 2022).

United States

• According to the US Department of Justice, four people had been arrested on December 14, 2022, in Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Canada on charges of collecting and transferring approximately $35,000 in cryptocurrencies and accounts believed to be owned by ISIS. Three of the four were arrested in the United States. The three are Mohammad David Hashimi, Abdullah At Taqi, and Seema Rahman. The fourth detainee, Khalilullah Yousuf, was arrested in Canada at the request of the US (US Department of Justice, December 14, 2022).

The United Nations

• Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov said during the Security Council meeting on December 15, 2022, that the threat posed by terrorism to the world requires continued attention and a renewed approach on the part of the Security Council. According to him, despite the ongoing attacks against Al-Qaeda and ISIS leaders, terrorism in the world is spreading while exploiting unstable regions where there are conflicts such as West Africa and the Sahel to expand its influence. He also noted that the terrorist organizations operating in Afghanistan pose a regional and global threat (UN News, December 15, 2022)^[2].

The battle for hearts and minds

Threats ahead of the Christian Christmas

• As in previous years, ISIS-affiliated elements began to spread threats ahead of Christmas. The Quraysh media arm, affiliated with ISIS supporters, published a poster in English: “New Year – gatherings [of Christians] – take the chance – mess, noise, crowding” (Telegram, November 18, 2022).

Al-Naba editorial threatens continued revenge on the Chinese

•  This week’s editorial of ISIS’s Al-Naba weekly, entitled “Why are you hypocrites?”, deals with the organization’s commitment to avenge the Muslims around the world while defying Islamic organizations and Muslim leaders who content themselves with empty words of support. The article focuses on the Uyghur Muslim minority in western China^[3], describing it as one of the most persecuted Muslim groups in the world. The author points out that China’s “tyrannical rulers” oppress the Uyghurs while Muslims around the world content themselves with uttering meaningless words of support and do not act on their behalf. According to the author, ISIS, compared to other Muslims, remains committed to all Muslims, wherever they are in the world, and in this context, it attacked the hotel in Kabul on December 12, 2022^[4], which was the “first act of revenge against Chinese targets [implying that there will be others in the future].” The author appeals to Muslims around the world, calling on them to realize that only ISIS avenges the oppressed Muslims (Telegram, December 15, 2022).

• It should be noted that since May 2012, it has been known that Muslim Uyghurs have been arriving in Syria to join the ranks of global jihad elements. According to experts, fighters from the Muslim minority in China have already taken part in the fighting in Chechnya and Afghanistan (www.chinapost.com, October 30, 2012). On February 27, 2017, ISIS’s Euphrates Province released a video documenting the activity of Uyghur children and adults in an ISIS training camp. In the video, one can also hear a direct ISIS threat against China, saying that they will spill Chinese blood and avenge the oppressed.

More pledges of allegiance to ISIS’s new leader

• Following the announcement of the appointment of Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi as ISIS’s new leader about three weeks ago, additional ISIS operatives around the world published their pledges of allegiance to the new leader. The pledge of allegiance of the Sinai Province and that of the Philippines were published considerably late, probably due to communication difficulties with the central organization in Syria and Iraq.

The Philippines

   
(Telegram, December 18, 2022)

The Sinai Peninsula

  
(Telegram, December 15, 2022)

Libya

 
(Telegram, December 19, 2022)

^[1] According to ISIS statements and the local media. ↑
^[2] https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/12/1131752 ↑
^[3] The Uyghurs are a Chinese Sunni Muslim minority numbering about 10 million, mainly living in the Xinjiang province, in northwestern China. They are subject to religious and cultural discrimination and persecutions in China. ↑
^[4] See the ITIC’s Information Bulletin from December 15, 2022, “Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 8-14, 2022)” ↑

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