Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 29, 2022 – January 4, 2023)

Main events of the past week

• This week, the moderate increase in ISIS activity around the world continued. The centers of activity were Egypt and Afghanistan.
• Egypt: ISIS operatives fired at an Egyptian police checkpoint in the city of Ismailia, on the western side of the Suez Canal. Four people were killed and 14 were wounded. This was the third attack carried out by ISIS in the canal area in 2022.
• Syria: A total of 15 Syrian officers and soldiers as well as fighters of forces supporting them were killed in ISIS attacks in the desert area. ISIS operatives activated an IED and fired at buses transporting workers southwest of Deir ez-Zor. Twelve workers were killed and several others were wounded.
• Afghanistan: At least 10 people were killed in a suicide attack near the entrance to the military compound at Kabul International Airport.
• The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that in 313 operations carried out in collaboration with local authorities in 2022, about 600 ISIS operatives had been killed and more than 300 had been detained in Syria and Iraq.

The Sinai Peninsula

• On December 30, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked an Egyptian police checkpoint near the Al-Saleheen Mosque, in the Al-Salam neighborhood in the north of the city of Ismailia, situated on the western side of the Suez Canal (about 100 km northeast of the capital Cairo). Two vehicles approached the checkpoint and armed men who got out of them opened fire at the policemen manning the checkpoint. Four people were killed: two policemen, a police officer, and an Egyptian citizen, and 14 other policemen were wounded, including an officer. According to additional reports, one of the attackers was killed and two attackers took over police vehicles and drove away. One of the attackers was caught and one of the vehicles was abandoned after a chase by police (Al-Jazeera, December 31, 2022; Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, January 1, 2023; Mada Misr, January 1, 2023; Sinaa Mubasher Facebook page, December 31, 2022).^[1]

     
Right: Ismailia, Egypt. Left: Al-Salam neighborhood in Ismailiya (Google Maps)

• ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. According to its announcement, the organization’s operatives attacked a police checkpoint with machine guns. At least three policemen were killed and 12 were wounded, including an officer (Telegram, December 31, 2022).
• It should be noted that the Suez Canal is a strategic region representing an international traffic artery of importance for world trade in general and the Egyptian economy in particular. In the past year, ISIS carried out three terrorist attacks in the vicinity of the canal. The continued operation of ISIS in this region is liable to cause damage to the Egyptian economy and also to international trade.

The Syrian arena

Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region

• On January 2, 2023, an ISIS operative was killed in an exchange of fire with SDF fighters in the village of Al-Zir, about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, January 2, 2023).
• On December 30, 2022, ISIS operatives activated an IED and fired at buses transporting workers in the Al-Tim oil field, about 12 km southwest of Deir ez-Zor. Twelve workers were killed and several others were wounded (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, December 30, 2022). It should be noted that attacking oil industry workers is part of the “economic war” that ISIS is waging against its enemies.
• On December 30, 2022, an SDF checkpoint was targeted by gunfire about 40 km northeast of Al-Mayadeen. Several SDF fighters were wounded (Telegram, December 31, 2022).

The desert region

• On December 31, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked Syrian army positions northwest of Al-Sukhnah, about 60 km northeast of Palmyra. Six Syrian army officers, all of them with the rank of second lieutenant, were killed (Al-Mayadeen, December 31, 2022).
• On December 30, 2022, an ISIS mine was activated against fighters of the Homeland Defense Forces, supporting the Syrian regime, who were conducting searches for ISIS operatives in the Al-Rasafah Desert, about 40 km southwest of Al-Raqqah. Four fighters were killed (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, December 31, 2022).
• On December 29, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked a Syrian army position in the Palmyra desert region. Five Syrian soldiers and a Homeland Defense Force fighter were killed (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, December 30, 2022).

Al-Hasakah region

• On December 30, 2022, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle on the road between Al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor. The passengers on board the vehicle were killed or wounded. The vehicle was destroyed (Telegram, December 31, 2022).

Counterterrorism activity

Al-Hasakah region

• On December 29, 2022, the Kurdish SDF forces and forces of the US-led Global Coalition launched Operation Al-Jazeera Thunderbolt (“Saiqat al-Jazeera”) against ISIS in the area of the Al-Hawl camp and the area of Tel Hamis, east of Al-Hasakah (SDF Press, December 29, 2022):
  • On December 31, 2022, a total of 32 ISIS operatives were arrested in the countryside west of Tel Hamis. Three of them were wanted terrorist operatives (SDF Press, December 31, 2022).

  
SDF fighters during Operation Al-Jazeera Thunderbolt (SDF Press, December 31, 2022)

• • On December 30, 2022, a total of 52 ISIS operatives were arrested in and around Tel Hamis (SDF Press, December 30, 2022).

The Iraqi arena

Counterterrorism activity

Diyala Province

• On December 28-29, 2022, Iraqi army fighter jets carried out several airstrikes and destroyed ISIS terrorist targets east of Lake Hamrin, about 60 km northeast of Baqubah. At least 10 ISIS operatives were killed (SecMedCell Facebook page, December 29, 2022).
• On December 30, 2022, an Iraqi army force killed an ISIS operative wearing an explosive belt (Al-Sumaria, December 30, 2022).

Al-Anbar Province

• On January 2, 2023, an Iraqi army force arrested a wanted ISIS operative near Al-Rutba, in western Iraq (SecMedCell Facebook page, January 2, 2023).
• On January 2, 2023, Iraqi military intelligence teams located two explosive belts and several dozen different types of IEDs in various areas of the Al-Anbar province. All IEDs were neutralized (SecMedCell Facebook page, January 2, 2023).

Anti-ISIS activity in Syria and Iraq in 2022

• The US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that throughout 2022, its forces, operating in collaboration with local entities (the Kurdish SDF forces, the Iraqi army, and the Kurdish forces in Iraq), carried out 313 operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, in which senior ISIS leaders and hundreds of operatives were killed (CENTCOM, December 29, 2022):
  • Syria: A total of 108 operations were carried out in collaboration with local authorities and 14 exclusive operations by the US Army. In these operations, 466 ISIS operatives were killed and 215 were arrested.
  • Iraq: A total of 191 operations were carried out in collaboration with local authorities, in which at least 220 ISIS operatives were killed and 159 were arrested.
• CENTCOM Commander General Michael Kurilla said that in Syria, over 10,000 ISIS operatives, including commanders, are held in detention facilities. In Iraq, over 20,000 operatives, including commanders, are held. He said that in the Al-Hawl camp, about 35 km east of Al-Hasakah, over 25,000 children of ISIS operatives are held, who are a target for indoctrination by the organization.

Summary of ISIS’s activity in the various provinces

• An infographic published by ISIS, summing up its activity around the world on December 22-28, 2022, indicates that the organization carried out 17 attacks in its various provinces around the globe (compared to 19 in the previous week). The largest number of attacks was carried out by ISIS’s Central Africa Province (5). Attacks carried out in the other provinces: Syria (4); Iraq (4); West Africa (3); and Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (1). A total of 59 people were killed and wounded in the attacks, compared to 68 in the previous week. The largest number of casualties was in the Syria Province (21). The other casualties were in the following provinces: Central Africa (14); Iraq (10); West Africa (8); and Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (6) (Al-Naba weekly, Telegram, December 29, 2022). ISIS seems to continue its relatively low-scale activity around the world.

ISIS attacks by week (according to ISIS data)

Africa

Nigeria

• An explosion occurred on December 29, 2022, in the area of the Kogi State governor’s palace in the city of Okene, about 190 km southwest of the capital, Abuja. Three people were killed (Solakuti Blog, December 29, 2022). ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, announcing that its operatives planted a car bomb and activated it, targeting the governor of Kogi State. According to ISIS, three security guards were killed and others were wounded (Telegram, January 2, 2023).

Counterterrorism activity

• On January 1, 2023, Nigerian army fighter jets carried out airstrikes against Boko Haram terror hotspots in the Bama region, about 60 km southeast of Maiduguri, in northeastern Nigeria. A total of 30 Boko Haram operatives, including three commanders, were killed (Zagazola, January 3, 2023). Dozens of operatives were reportedly killed in airstrikes carried out for four days (December 25-29, 2022) (Sahara Reporters, December 30, 2022).

Clashes between ISIS and Boko Haram continue

• This week, clashes continued between ISIS and Boko Haram about 200 km north of Maiduguri, near the Nigeria-Niger border:
  • On January 2, 2023, a Boko Haram convoy was attacked. A total of 30 Boko Haram operatives were killed (Sahara Reporters, January 2, 2023).
  • On December 30, 2022, a large force of Boko Haram operatives attacked several camps of ISIS’s West Africa Province in northeast Abadam. In the exchanges of fire between the sides, which lasted about 14 hours, dozens of operatives from both sides were killed (Eons Intelligence, December 31, 2022).

Mozambique

• On December 30, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked several Christian villages in the province of Cabo Delgado, in the northeast of the country:
  • Nampanha. There was an exchange of fire with local militia fighters, and a local militia fighter was killed (Telegram, December 31, 2022).
  • Namakiol. A Christian resident was abducted and beheaded (Telegram, December 31, 2022).
  • Namandi. There was an exchange of fire with local militia fighters. A Christian resident was abducted and beheaded. Several houses were set on fire (Telegram, December 31, 2022).

Cameroon

• On December 29, 2022, Boko Haram or ISIS operatives attacked a Cameroonian army patrol in northern Cameroon, near the border with Nigeria. One soldier was killed and another was wounded (VOA, December 30, 2022).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo

• On January 1, 2023, a convoy of Christian residents’ vehicles was targeted by gunfire on the Beni-Kasindi highway, in the northeast of Congo. One resident was killed (Telegram, January 2, 2023).

Kenya

• On December 28, 2022, ten operatives of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab organization, dressed in Kenyan army uniforms, set up a roadblock in the Witu area, in southeastern Kenya, and stopped four vehicles for inspection. A truck driver and his assistant were shot dead. When policemen arrived at the scene, Al-Shabaab operatives exchanged fire with them and then fled toward the Boni Forest (The Star, December 29, 2022).

Burkina Faso

• On December 30, 2022, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin announced that the organization had activated a mine the day before (December 29, 2022) against a vehicle of the Burkina Faso army in Bam district, in the north of the country, about 70 km south of the Burkina Faso-Mali border (Telegram, January 2, 2023).

Somalia

Internal clashes in Al-Shabaab

• On January 1, 2023, the Somali authorities announced that 10 operatives of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab were killed in internal clashes due to a split in the organization in the Galmudug area, in central Somalia (Asharq al-Awsat, January 2, 2023).

Asia

Afghanistan

Suicide bombing at the entrance to the Kabul military airport

• On January 1, 2023, an explosion occurred near the entrance to the military compound at Kabul International Airport. It was reported that ten people were killed and others were wounded in the attack. Abdul Nafi Takor, the Taliban’s Interior Ministry spokesman, said that several civilians were killed or wounded but did not provide details regarding the source of the explosion and the number of victims (Bakhtar News Agency’s Twitter account, January 2, 2023).
• ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. According to its statement, a suicide bomber known as Abdul Jabbar arrived on the morning of January 1, 2022, at the entrance of the Kabul military airport, which is adjacent to the international airport of the Afghan capital. He activated his explosive belt among the Taliban who gathered at the entrance to the airport in preparation for their entry. According to ISIS, 20 Taliban members were killed in the explosion and another 30 were wounded. It was noted that the suicide bomber was one of the ISIS operatives who took part in the attack on a hotel in the city on December 12, 2022, and managed to escape (Amaq, Telegram, January 2, 2023). An examination of a photo of two ISIS operatives who carried out the attack on the hotel did reveal that it was one of them.^[2]

  
Right: The suicide bomber who carried out the suicide bombing attack at the entrance to the Kabul military airport on January 1, 2023 (Telegram, January 2, 2023). Left: The same ISIS operative (in yellow), who together with another operative carried out the attack in the hotel in Kabul on December 12, 2022 (Telegram, December 13, 2022)

• It should be noted that this is not the first time that the airport in Kabul has been the target of an ISIS attack. On August 26, 2021, five days before the end of the withdrawal of American and Western forces from Afghanistan, a powerful explosion occurred near the eastern wing of the Kabul International Airport complex. According to officials at the Pentagon and the US Central Command (CENTCOM), the attack was carried out by a terrorist. According to reports, 13 American soldiers and 169 Afghans were killed in the attack (Reuters, August 27, 2021; France 24, August 28, 2021). ISIS’s Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack.^[3]

Pakistan

• Two assassinations were carried out against Pakistani intelligence “spies” east of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. On December 30, 2022, in the Khar region, about 25 km east of the border. The “spy” was killed (Telegram, December 30 2022). On December 29, 2022, in the Pirbala area, in Peshawar, about 50 km east of the border. The “spy” was killed (Telegram, December 30, 2022).

Counterterrorism activity

• On January 1, 2023, forces of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), which operates within the framework of the Pakistan Police, arrested in different districts of the country five terrorist operatives who were part of a terrorist network in Punjab, in eastern Pakistan. One of the detainees was an Al-Qaeda commander from the city of Lahore, in northeastern Pakistan. Materials used to manufacture explosive vests, explosives, weapons, and propaganda materials were found in the detainees’ possession. It was noted that the detainees had completed their preparations to carry out terrorist attacks (Pakistan Observer, January 1, 2023).

Yemen

• On January 2, 2023, the Yemeni army (the Security Belt Forces) reportedly began to send hundreds of soldiers, APCs, armored cars, and aid trucks from the city of Aden towards the southern province of Abyan, in southern Yemen, in preparation for an operation against Al-Qaeda operatives in the Al-Mahfad mountainous region (Arab News, 2 January 2023).

Turkey

• On December 29, 2022, teams of Turkey’s counterterrorism unit arrested Layth Raad Zaid al- Refeat, AKA Abu Shuayb, an Iraqi ISIS operative. He was arrested in the house where he lived in the Afyonkarahisar Province, about 200 km southwest of Ankara. He is suspected of having planned to carry out an attack after being trained to carry out a suicide bombing attack on behalf of ISIS. Among the targets of the attack were Jewish and Christian places of worship and holiday events, foreign missions and delegations, shopping centers, and entertainment complexes (Hurriyet, December 30, 2022).
• On December 28, 2022, Turkish security forces arrested 26 suspected ISIS operatives in four districts across Turkey: six Iraqis in possession of digital materials were arrested in Cankırı district, northeast of Ankara; Nine foreign citizens (their countries of origin were not specified) were arrested in the Kayseri district, in central Turkey; Eleven suspects, two of whom Iraqis, were arrested in the districts of Sanlıurfa, in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria, and Manisa, east of Izmir, in western Turkey (Anatolia News Agency, December 28, 2022).

The battle for hearts and minds

• Etidal (The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology), a Saudi organization monitoring the activity of extremist elements on social media, reported that as part of a collaboration between the organization and Telegram in 2022, a total of 6,824 channels affiliated with terrorist activity were removed. According to the organization, 4,359 of the removed channels were affiliated with ISIS, 1,676 were affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which operates in the Idlib region in Syria, and 789 were affiliated with Al-Qaeda (etidal.org, January 3, 2023). It should be noted that despite the massive removal, many new channels are opened on social media by extremist elements, replacing those that were removed.

^[1] For further details, see the ITIC’s Information Bulletin from January 2, 2023, “Third ISIS attack in 2022 in the vicinity of the Suez Canal” ↑
^[2] For details about the attack on December 15, 2022, see the ITIC’s “Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 8-14, 2022)” ↑
^[3] For further details, see the ITIC’s Information Bulletin from September 2, 2021, “Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 26-September 1, 2021)” ↑

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