Spotlight on Global Jihad (January 14-20, 2021)

Main events of the past week

• Routine attacks continued in ISIS’s various provinces in Syria, Iraq and throughout Africa and Europe. Noteworthy examples:
  • Syria: The desert region continues to be a hotbed of ISIS attacks concurrently with counterterrorism activity by the Syrian army and the forces supporting it. This week, Russian fighter jets reportedly carried out dozens of airstrikes against ISIS positions in the desert region. ISIS’s attacks in the Euphrates Valley continued, in the form of targeted killings and the activation of IEDs against vehicles.
  • Iraq: This week, ISIS’s attacks continued in the Salah al-Din Province (north of Baghdad) and in several other provinces. Most of the attacks took the form of activating IEDs and shooting attacks. An Iraqi army officer with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel was killed in the activation of an IED against a vehicle. He served as the commander of a foj (a military framework similar to a regiment). Another noteworthy attack was the activation of an IED (or IEDs) against a high-voltage electricity pylon southwest of Baghdad, as part of the so-called economic war waged by ISIS against the Iraqi regime.
  • The Sinai Peninsula: ISIS’s intensive activity in northern Sinai continues, mainly in the form of detonating IEDs against vehicles. A noteworthy attack this week was a bombing of a gas pipeline, about 30 km west of Al-Arish. The bombing was carried out near the scene of three other bombings carried out in recent months. The attacks on the gas pipeline indicate the importance that ISIS attaches to this modus operandi and, at the same time, illustrate the difficulty of the Egyptian security forces in providing an effective response to this.
  • Nigeria: Intensive activity against the Nigerian army continues in the northeast of the country. A particularly noteworthy attack was the activation of IEDs against Nigerian army convoys and troops. According to ISIS, dozens of soldiers were killed or wounded in these attacks. This week, ISIS took over a town in northeastern Nigeria for several days. Relentless fighting ensued, during which Nigerian air force combat helicopters attacked ISIS targets. According to ISIS, more than 20 soldiers were killed.
  • Afghanistan: This week, several targeted killings were carried out in the city of Jalalabad (shooting at Afghan security forces at checkpoints; elimination of two Afghan government employees). Afghan media reported attempts on the lives of the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Afghanistan and senior Afghan officials.
• ISIS continues to call on its operatives to work for the release of prisoners, especially in Iraq.

The Syrian arena

The Idlib region

Ground activity

In the Idlib region, exchanges of fire and local incidents continued between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it, and the rebel organizations, mainly HTS. The incidents occurred mainly in the region south and southwest of Idlib. There were no unusual incidents.

ISIS’s activity in Syria^[1]

The region of Deir ez-Zor and Al-Mayadeen

• On January 19, 2021, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle in Hawi al-Hissan, about 5 km north of Deir ez-Zor. The passengers were killed or wounded.
• On January 18, 2021, an SDF fighter was targeted by gunfire about 20 km north of Al-Mayadeen. He was severely wounded.
• On January 18, 2021, ISIS operatives activated IEDs inside the house of an SDF fighter about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. The house was destroyed.
• On January 16, 2021, an IED was activated against an SDF vehicle about 10 km northeast of Deir ez-Zor. The passengers were wounded.
• On January 13, 2021, ISIS operatives captured an SDF fighter about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. He was interrogated and then executed.
• On January 13, 2021, an SDF commander was targeted by machine gun fire in the Basira area, about 10 km north of Al-Mayadeen. He was killed and his weapon was seized.

The desert region (Al-Badia)

• On January 16, 2021, a vehicle carrying four fighters of the Iranian-handled Fatemiyoun Brigade^[2] was patrolling in the desert region about 60 km southeast of Al-Raqqah. Contact with the patrol was lost and the fate of the fighters is unknown (Eye of Euphrates, January 16, 2021). The patrol was apparently attacked by ISIS, although the latter has not claimed responsibility.
• On January 16, 2021, Russian fighter jets carried out dozens of airstrikes against ISIS positions in the desert region east of Hama and Aleppo. In addition, UAVs were operated in the desert region to monitor ISIS (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, January 16, 2021). On January 15, 2021, Russian fighter jets carried out several airstrikes against ISIS positions in the desert region in Al-Shoula, about 30 km southwest of Deir ez-Zor (DeirEzzor24@24 Twitter account, January 15, 2021).

 The Iraqi arena

ISIS attacks in the various provinces^[3]

Diyala Province

• On January 15, 2021, ISIS operatives killed a “collaborator” with the Iraqi authorities in the Jaloula region, about 80 km northeast of Baqubah. In addition, a Tribal Mobilization commander was captured and executed. Subsequently, there were exchanges of fire with a rescue force that arrived at the scene. An officer and a soldier were killed, and two other soldiers were wounded.

Salah al-Din Province

• On January 17, 2021, an Iraqi policeman was targeted by machine gun fire about 60 km north of Baghdad. He was killed.
• On January 17, 2021, two Tribal Mobilization fighters were targeted by machine gun fire about 60 km north of Baghdad. They were both wounded.
• On January 14, 2021, an IED was activated against a Popular Mobilization commander in central Tikrit. He was wounded.
• On January 13, 2021, a Tribal Mobilization commander was targeted by machine gun fire about 30 km north of Baghdad. He was wounded.

Al-Anbar Province

• On January 15, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle about 30 km from the Iraqi-Syrian border. One soldier was killed and seven others were wounded.
• On January 13, 2021, ISIS operatives fired at an Iraqi army compound west of Al-Rutba. Two soldiers were killed and several others were wounded.

Nineveh Province

• On January 17, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle in a village north of Tal Afar, about 60 km west of Mosul. Lieutenant Colonel Haidar Adel Mohammad, an Iraqi army foj commander, was killed. In addition, eight soldiers were killed, as well as the mukhtar of one of the nearby villages. According to ISIS, he was an Iraqi army collaborator.

Babel Province

• On January 18, 2021, a squad of operatives (implicitly, ISIS operatives) activated an IED or IEDs against a high-voltage pylon about 40 km southwest of Baghdad. There were no casualties. Several high-voltage pylons were damaged (Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, January 19, 2021).

 
Iraqi army officers near a high-voltage pylon that fell
(Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, January 19, 2021)

• This is not the first time that ISIS operatives have sabotaged high-voltage pylons as part of what they call the “ongoing economic war” against the Iraqi regime (Al-Naba’, Telegram, December 10, 2020). On December 6, 2020, electricity to Al-Qaim, near the Iraqi-Syrian border, was cut off when IEDs were detonated against eight high-voltage pylons in the area (Akhbar al-Iraq, December 7, 2020). Before that, on November 24, 2020, ISIS operatives detonated IEDs against several high-voltage pylons about 60 km south of Mosul. The power line which was hit had served the army and various oil and water facilities.
• On January 12, 2021, a Popular Mobilization fighter was targeted by machine gun fire south of Jarf al-Sakhr, about 50 km southwest of Baghdad. He was wounded.

Baghdad Province

• On January 15, 2021, Iraqi soldiers were targeted by machine gun fire about 30 km north of Baghdad. One soldier was killed and three others were wounded.

Counterterrorism activities by the Iraqi security forces

Nineveh Province

• On January 18, 2021, the Iraqi security forces captured nine ISIS operatives in the city of Mosul and in the central Nineveh Province (Al-Sumaria, January 18, 2021).

Baghdad Province

• On January 17, 2021, an Iraqi Counterterrorism Apparatus force captured an ISIS commander who headed a squad in central Baghdad (Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, January 17, 2021).
• On January 16, 2021, an Iraqi Counterterrorism Apparatus force captured an ISIS operative in the central Baghdad Province (Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, January 16, 2021).

Kirkuk Province

• On January 17, 2021, an Iraqi police force ambushed and captured a wanted ISIS operative about 40 km southwest of Kirkuk (Al-Sumaria, January 17, 2021).
• On January 16, 2021, an Iraqi Counterterrorism Apparatus force captured two ISIS operatives about 50 km southwest of Kirkuk (Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, January 16, 2021).

Salah al-Din Province

• On January 16, 2021, an Iraqi Counterterrorism Apparatus force captured an ISIS operative in the Shirqat District, about 100 km west of Kirkuk (Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, January 16, 2021).
• On January 16, 2021, an Iraqi Counterterrorism Apparatus force captured an ISIS operative in the Taji region, about 20 km north of Baghdad (Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, January 16, 2021).

Al-Anbar Province

• On January 16, 2021, an Iraqi Counterterrorism Apparatus force captured an ISIS operative about 30 km northwest of Baghdad (Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, January 16, 2021).

The Sinai Peninsula

ISIS’s activity in northern Sinai^[4]

• On January 17, 2021, an IED was activated against a vehicle of “collaborators” with the Egyptian army near a roadblock in east Sheikh Zuweid. The passengers were killed.
• On January 17, 2021, a gas pipeline was blown up in the Sabika area, about 30 km west of central Al-Arish (Shahed Sinaa – al-Rasmia Facebook page, January 17, 2021). So far, no organization has claimed responsibility, but it was probably ISIS. It should be recalled that in 2020, ISIS carried out four bombings of gas pipelines, three of them around the end of 2020. ISIS’s recurring attempts to bomb the pipeline in the same area indicate the importance attached by ISIS to this modus operandi and demonstrate the difficulty of the Egyptian security forces to effectively address this kind of attack.
• On January 16, 2021, several IEDs were activated against Egyptian army vehicles in the village of Tafaha, south of Bir al-Abd (west of Al-Arish). The passengers were killed or wounded. A tank, bulldozer and another vehicle were destroyed.

ISIS’s activity around the globe^[5]

Summary of ISIS’s activity in the various provinces

• ISIS published an infographic summing up its activity on January 7-13, 2021. During this time, ISIS operatives carried out 64 attacks in the various provinces in Asia and Africa, compared to 48 in the previous week. The largest number of attacks were carried out in Iraq (19). Attacks carried out in ISIS’s other provinces: West Africa (16); Syria (12); Sinai Peninsula (8); Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (7); Central Africa (1) and Pakistan (1) (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, January 14, 2021).
• According to the infographic, 181 people were killed and wounded in those attacks, compared to 164 in the previous week. The largest number of casualties was in West Africa (70). The other casualties were in the following provinces: Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (28); Syria (25); Iraq (24); Central Africa (20); and the Sinai Peninsula (14) (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, January 14, 2021).

Africa

Nigeria

• On January 18, 2021, ISIS operatives exchanged fire and activated several IEDs against Nigerian soldiers in Matari, about 50 km west of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. At least 20 soldiers were killed. Two ATVs were destroyed. In addition, two ATVs, an APC, weapons and ammunition were seized.
• On January 18, 2021, an IED was activated against an armored vehicle of the Nigerian army between Gorgi and Kafa, about 100 km southwest of Maiduguri. The passengers were killed.
• On January 17, 2021, seven IEDs were activated against a Nigerian army convoy of APCs and other vehicles, escorted by a foot patrol in Gorgi, Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria. Over 30 soldiers were killed. Three vehicles were destroyed, and an armored vehicle, weapons and ammunition were seized.

• On January 15, 2021, ISIS operatives took over the town of Marte, about 90 km northeast of Maiduguri. Nigerian soldiers and hundreds of local residents were forced to flee. The Nigerian army announced that it had resorted to a “tactical withdrawal” from the village and an unknown number of attackers had been killed (Reuters, January 17, 2021). On the morning of January 17, 2021, the Nigerian army regained control of the town, after relentless fighting against operatives of ISIS’s West Africa Province (Africa News, January 18, 2021). On January 18, 2021, ISIS operatives halted a Nigerian army attempt to advance towards ISIS positions in Marte. The two sides exchanged fire for several hours. In addition, several IEDs were activated against Nigerian soldiers. According to ISIS, over 20 soldiers were killed and many others were wounded (Telegram, January 18, 2021).

 
Right: Four ISIS vehicles moments before being destroyed in an airstrike by Nigerian Air Force combat helicopters on the outskirts of Marte. Left: ISIS vehicles on fire after being hit in the airstrike (Nigerian Air Force@NIgAirForce official Twitter account of the Nigerian Air Force, January 17, 2021)

• On January 16, 2021, three IEDs were activated against a Nigerian army convoy in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. Twenty soldiers were killed or wounded. In addition, one APC was destroyed and another was damaged.

• On January 16, 2021, mortar shells were fired at Nigerian army forces about 90 km southwest of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. According to ISIS, accurate hits of the target were observed.
• On January 15, 2021, ISIS operatives attacked Nigerian police and a headquarters of forces supporting the Nigerian police in Borno State. Two policemen and/or fighters were killed and others were wounded. In addition, weapons and ammunition were seized.
• On January 15, 2021, ISIS operatives attacked a Nigerian army compound about 90 km northeast of Maiduguri. Seven soldiers were killed and another was taken prisoner. In addition, weapons, ammunition, and vehicles were seized. The compound was set on fire. According to Nigerian sources, ISIS operatives indeed took control of the camp, but two days later, the Nigerian army mounted a counterattack and regained control of the compound (AFP; AP, January 18, 2021).
• On January 15, 2021, in two separate incidents, an IED was activated against a Nigerian army tank and APC in Borno State. The crew members of the tank and the APC were killed.
• On January 14, 2021, ISIS operatives fired machine guns at Nigerian army troops and other forces supporting the Nigerian army, about 70 km north of Maiduguri. Several soldiers were killed or wounded. A commander in the forces supporting the Nigerian army was taken prisoner and executed. In addition, weapons and ammunition were seized.
• On January 13, 2021, several IEDs were activated against two Nigerian army APCs about 90 km southwest of Maiduguri. The passengers were killed.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

• On January 13, 2021, ISIS operatives exchanged fire with Congolese soldiers in the Beni region, in the northeast of the country. Several soldiers were killed or wounded. In addition, weapons and ammunition were seized.

Niger

• On January 17, 2021, ISIS operatives fired machine guns at a Nigerien army patrol in southeastern Niger, about 3 km north of the Niger-Nigeria border. Three soldiers were killed and several others were wounded. In addition, weapons, ammunition and vehicles were seized.

Asia

Afghanistan

• On January 18, 2021, an IED was activated against vehicles carrying a number of Shiites and Afghan police personnel in Kabul. Six people were killed or wounded. In addition, an IED attached to a vehicle carrying a senior official in the Telecommunications and IT Ministry was activated in the city of Kabul. According to Kabul police, there were no casualties (Khaama Press, January 18, 2021). ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, noting that the IED was activated against a vehicle carrying employees of the telecommunications (ministry). According to ISIS, two people were killed and another was wounded (Telegram, January 19, 2021).
• On January 16, 2021, an Afghan police checkpoint was targeted by gunfire in the city of Jalalabad. A police officer and a policeman were killed. Their weapons were seized in the incident.

• On January 16, 2021, an Afghan soldier was targeted by gunfire at a military checkpoint in Jalalabad. He was killed. His weapon was seized.
• On January 15, 2021, an Afghan security operative was targeted by gunfire in Jalalabad. He was killed. The day before, an Afghan army officer was shot and killed.
• On January 13, 2021, two Afghan government judges were targeted by gunfire in the city of Jalalabad. Both of them were killed.

Counterterrorism and preventive activity

• On the night of January 12, 2021, a unit of the Afghan National Directorate of Security^[6] carried out an operation in a region about 20 km east of Jalalabad. A squad of ISIS operatives was captured during the operation. In addition, weapons were seized. One of the detainees had planned to assassinate the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Afghanistan (Ross Wilson, who is actually the highest-ranking US official in the country). He had also planned to assassinate other senior officials in the country. Two of the detainee’s relatives had been part of ISIS’s leadership in Afghanistan and were killed in Afghan army airstrikes (Khaama Press, January 13, 2021).

The interrelationship between dawa and Jihad

• In a recent article, terrorism researcher Aharon J. Zelin discusses the interrelationship between dawa (preaching)^[7] and the jihad (holy war) movement, based on ISIS’s preaching activity in 2013-2016.^[8] The study is based in part on the ISIS Files, 19 internal documents of the Islamic State Dawa and Mosques Administration, which was located in the Nineveh Province and the Al-Jazeera Province, in northern and northwestern Iraq.^[9]

The jihad movement and dawa from a historical perspective

• For many years, the groups operating as part of the global jihad movement did not take dawa seriously as a way to expand the dissemination of their message. The jihadi group which began using dawa as its main course of action for disseminating its jihadi ideology was established in Britain in 1996. The group was called Al-Muhajirun (the emigrants) and was founded by Syrian émigré ‘Umar Bakri Muhammad. This movement conveyed its preaching messages online and was headed by Anjem Choudary. This group exported its model and dawa methodologies to other jihad e-groups in a number of Western countries such as the US, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. Some of the operatives of these groups joined ISIS.^[10]
• Following the outbreak of the regional upheaval (known as the Arab Spring), several new jihadi groups, which had served as Al-Qaeda’s front-line organizations, began to develop dawa programs. One of these groups, Ansar al-Sharia, was active in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. Al-Qaeda began promoting an online public activity program intended for remote audiences, through the publication of lectures on religious topics. This program combined extensive dawa activity along with extensive welfare and charitable activity, thus expanding the scope of its preaching activity through the provision of social services.

ISIS’s dawa activity in Syria

• In Syria, ISIS attempted to lay the groundwork for the establishment of a future Islamic state, with its operatives gradually presenting dawa to Syrian residents. To this end, ISIS carried out its actions, including setting up fixed or mobile “medium positions” where it distributed its promotional material; distributing material containing preaching content; setting up bulletin boards in cities and villages; and establishing and maintaining dawa forums. All of these actions were designed to persuade Syrian residents to adopt ISIS’s Islamic messages and interpretations.
• In addition, the book, The Six Basic Principles, by Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (the founder of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia) was published in pamphlet form; a dawa truck drove around for the purpose of conveying content pertaining to ISIS’s ideology; in addition, religious schools were established for children, who also became an ISIS target audience, and received encouragement in the form of quizzes and gifts.

The Dawa and Mosques Administration and its contribution to promoting ISIS’s terrorist activity

• Following the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate, the Dawa and Mosques Administration was established as one of ISIS’s 14 administrative bureaus. Its main function was to call on people to believe in Allah, and thus to implement the content of this call; to train and appoint imams and preachers; to hold preparatory seminars and courses on the subject of Sharia (Islamic law) and to establish mosques for prayer. This dawa activity was carried out concurrently with ISIS’s terrorist activity^[11].
• The study in question provides insights into the way ISIS translated its sermons in practice and then used these materials, broadcasting them as part of its propaganda activity. For example, one order was to remove everything that remained from the creation of innovations in mosques. Another order: to remove or change the names of mosques which were not built or named according to Sharia principles.

The unique content included in the ISIS Files

• Thirteen of the 19 ISIS Files are copies of sermons delivered at mosques in ISIS’s Nineveh Province and ISIS’s Al-Jazeera Province in northern and northwestern Iraq, where ISIS promoted and disseminated its dawa. Two of the files contain details about the preparatory courses and Sharia courses, organized and operated by the Dawa and Mosques Administration, including the competitions and prizes intended for the winners. The ISIS Files also contain details about the training of imams and preachers, including how to use Facebook and strictly comply with dress codes. The files contain details about examinations on religious topics and how mosques are consecrated in order to meet ISIS’s requirements.

Conclusions

• The study shows that the ISIS Files reveal the operational importance and the direct way in which the mass preaching program was carried out. This program went beyond the scope of the organization’s selected messages, which were broadcast online. One of the main conclusions based on the ISIS Files is that international jihadi movements must not be perceived and evaluated solely as the perpetrators of insurgency or acts of terrorism.
• By 2020, the jihadists had acquired extensive experience in diverse activity, in addition to combat. The combination of terrorist activity and the dawa that leads to it finds its way to civilians in places where ISIS operates. As a result, fighting ISIS on the battlefield will not put an end to the activity of the global jihad movement, which it is a significant part of. The study calls on Arab regimes and Western countries to create sustainable solutions, beyond the establishment of authoritarian or theocratic regimes, in order to successfully deal with the international Islamic terrorist activity led by ISIS.

The battle for hearts and minds

ISIS’s messages to its operatives detained in Iraq and Syria: “We have not forgotten you”

• On January 14, 2021, ISIS published an infographic in its Al-Naba’ weekly entitled “Prisons whose walls the soldiers of the Islamic State have destroyed – we have not forgotten you.” The infographic includes a list of prisons in ISIS’s Baghdad, Al-Anbar, Diyala, Nineveh and Salah al-Din provinces throughout Iraq. ISIS operatives attacked these prisons, liberating ISIS operatives incarcerated between 2004 and 2017 (ISIS’s Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, January 14, 2021). This infographic is part of ISIS’s ongoing campaign to liberate its prisoners around the world, especially in Iraq.

• On January 18, 2021, a recording of ISIS’s Spokesman Abu Hamza al-Qurashi was disseminated on social media. The recording was entitled, “We have not forgotten you and we will not forget you.” The recording was distributed by an agency called War and Media, which is considered to be affiliated with ISIS. In the recording, the spokesman addresses ISIS’s incarcerated operatives, assuring them that they will soon be liberated from the prisons, especially from the prisons run by SDF forces in Syria. A video of archival footage documenting past prison break-ins by ISIS operatives in Iraq, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo serves as a backdrop for the recording.
• The spokesman accuses the SDF prison management of deliberate medical neglect of the ISIS’s detainees, noting that 400 ISIS detainees have contracted tuberculosis. One of them has died and the lives of eight others are in danger (Telegram, January 18, 2021).

• ISIS attaches great importance to the release of its prisoners, as a reflection of its commitment to them. In his previous recording, distributed on October 18, 2020, the spokesman also calls on ISIS’s operatives to work for the release of its incarcerated operatives. In recent months, ISIS has liberated its incarcerated operatives from prisons in Afghanistan (August 2, 2020) and Nigeria (October 20, 2020).

^[1] According to ISIS’s claims of responsibility posted on Telegram ↑
^[2] The Fatemiyoun Brigade operating in Syria comprises Shiite Afghan fighters under the Iranian IRGC command. ↑
^[3] According to ISIS’s claims of responsibility posted on Telegram ↑
^[4] According to ISIS’s claims of responsibility posted on Telegram ↑
^[5] According to ISIS’s claims of responsibility posted on Telegram ↑
^[6] The National Directorate of Security (NDS) is Afghanistan’s central intelligence agency. ↑
^[7] The Arabic word dawa has various meanings. In the present context, it means preaching or calling on people to convert to Islam. The author notes that the term also refers to [Islamic] outreach activity. ↑
^[8] Aaron Y. Zelin, My Beloved Brothers in God, This is an Invitation: The Islamic State Dawa and Mosques Administration. Program on Extremism, George Washington University, December 2020.The author is the founder of the highly acclaimed website Jihadology.net, and the author of the new book: Your Sons are at Your Service: Tunisia's Missionaries of Jihad (Columbia University Press, 2020). ↑
^[9] These documents are part of thousands of authentic ISIS documents in the archive, which was inaugurated in June 2016 at George Washington University. The documents were turned into a digital database in July 2020. They were collected by Rukmini Callimachi, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. There is a parallel archive of hundreds of similar documents, compiled by the British researcher (of Iraqi origin) Ayman Jawad al-Tamimi. Aaron Zelin made extensive use of them in this article. ↑
^[10] ‘Umar Bakri Muhammad, a native of Syria, came to England in 1985 and established a local branch of the Islamic Liberation Party (Hizb al-Tahrir), and later the Al-Muhajirun organization. After leaving England, he was replaced by his deputy, Anjem Choudary. ↑
^[11] The author mentions an attempt to integrate prominent female ISIS supporters into the dawa activity, but this failed due to disagreements between the project’s director, Dr. Iman Mustafa al-Bagha, and the organization’s management, and remained the responsibility of the Dawa and Mosques Administration. ↑

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