Spotlight on Global Jihad (July 6-12, 2023)

Main events of the past week

• This week, ISIS’s activity around the world continued to be relatively limited and focused on Africa.
• Syria: A senior ISIS operative was killed in a US drone attack in the Aleppo region. Russian fighter jets disrupted the activity of US drones operating against ISIS in several different incidents. A video from the Al-Hol camp, where family members of ISIS operatives are detained, documents paramilitary training of the children of ISIS operatives, which is supposed to train them as the next generation of ISIS operatives.
• Jordan: Three terrorist operatives, apparently ISIS operatives, were killed in exchanges of fire with the security forces in southern Jordan.
• Africa:
  • Nigeria: ISIS operatives killed around 50 Boko Haram operatives and their families.
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo: ISIS operatives killed three Christian civilians in the border area between Congo and Uganda.
  • Mozambique: ISIS announced that it had executed a Mozambican soldier who had been taken prisoner a week earlier.
  • Kenya: Thirty operatives of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab were killed in exchanges of fire with Kenyan police Special Forces near the border with Somalia.
  • Somalia: Somalia’s security forces, operating in collaboration with US Air Force aircraft, killed more than 40 Al-Shabaab commanders and operatives in the south of the country. A suicide bomber was captured in a crowded stadium in Mogadishu while Somalia’s president was giving a speech.
• Germany: Seven people arriving from Ukraine were detained on suspicion of financing a local terrorist network and supporting ISIS.
• Bangladesh: A senior wanted Al-Qaeda operative was detained in the capital Dhaka.
• The battle for hearts and minds: The editorial of ISIS’s weekly Al-Naba refers to the burning of the Quran in Sweden by an Iraqi immigrant and calls for jihad against the “infidels” and for applying Islamic law (Sharia).
• According to a new study, Islamic terrorist organizations in Africa are transferring their social media activity to encrypted applications to promote extremist content and coordinate activities while keeping their anonymity.

The Syrian Arena^[1]

ISIS’s activity

Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region

• On July 9, 2023, ISIS operatives stabbed to death an employee of one of the oil wells about 20 km southeast of Al-Mayadeen. It should be noted that ISIS carried out many attacks against those operating oil wells in areas controlled by the SDF forces in northeastern Syria (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, July 9, 2023).
• On July 9, 2023, ISIS operatives fired at an SDF checkpoint in the village of Al-Zir, about 15 km north of Al-Mayadeen. There were exchanges of fire between the sides. ISIS operatives fled the scene. No casualties were reported (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, July 9, 2023).

Al-Hasakah Province

• On July 11, 2023, a video was uploaded to Twitter documenting paramilitary training carried out by children of ISIS operatives in the Al-Hol camp in the Al-Hasakah Province, where family members of ISIS operatives are being detained. The video shows the children training. One of the children is seen holding a dummy rifle. It should be noted that since at least 2014, ISIS has worked to train the children of its operatives, whom it calls the “cubs of the Caliphate” (Ashbal al-Khilafah), to be the next generation of its operatives (Twitter account @t16_mona, July 11, 2023).

Counterterrorism

Aleppo region

• On July 7, 2023, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out a drone airstrike against a senior ISIS operative in Aleppo, northwestern Syria, while he was riding a motorcycle. The senior operative, codenamed Osama al-Muhajir, Anas al-Shami (the Syrian), and Hamam al-Shami (the Syrian), was killed. He had served in many positions in ISIS, including as the governor (wali) of ISIS’s Deir ez-Zor (Al-Khayr) Province. His center of activity was in eastern Syria. A Syrian civilian who was at the scene at the time of the incident was wounded (CENTCOM, July 9, 2023; Washington Post, July 9, 2023; Sky News, July 9, 2023; Charles Lister Twitter account, July 7, 2023).

• In this context, it was reported that on July 5, 2023, three Russian fighter jets disrupted the activity of US drones on a mission against ISIS targets in Syria. The Russian planes dropped flares and carried out dangerous maneuvers that forced the drones to perform evasive maneuvers. This activity was documented in a video that was released on the media. The exact area where the incident occurred was not specified. For the next two days, Russian aircraft continued to operate in this way, in what appears to be a change in Russia’s policy of using its force in the region (NBC News; VOA, July 6, 2023; Al-Arabiya, July 8, 2023). The background to Russia’s move may be the cooperation between Russia and Iran, whose objective is to prevent American aircraft from monitoring the activity of pro-Iranian militias in the country.

Iraq

Counterterrorism

Nineveh Province

• On July 10, 2023, the Iraqi security forces detained three ISIS operatives in the Nineveh Province (the exact location was not specified) (Iraqi News Agency, July 10, 2023).

Kirkuk Province

• On the night of July 7, 2023, a force of the counterterrorism unit landed from helicopters and operated against ISIS operatives about 35 km northwest of Kirkuk. Five ISIS operatives were killed (Iraqi News Agency, July 7, 2023).

Summary of ISIS’s activity in the various provinces

• According to an infographic published by ISIS’s weekly Al-Naba, summarizing ISIS’s activity in the period between June 29 and July 5, 2023, ISIS operatives carried out nine attacks in the various provinces during this period (compared with 16 in the previous week). The Central Africa Province carried out three attacks. Attacks carried out in the other provinces: Syria (2); Iraq (2); Mozambique (1); and Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (1). A total of 50 people were killed and wounded in the attacks, compared with 24 in the previous week. The largest number of casualties was in Central Africa (24). In the other provinces: Mozambique (18); Syria (4); Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (2); and Iraq (2) (Al-Naba weekly, Telegram, July 6, 2023). This is a continuation of the decline in ISIS’s activity around the world.

Attacks by week (according to ISIS’s figures)

Africa

Nigeria

• On July 10, 2023, a grenade machine gun was fired at a Nigerian army camp in the town of Buni Yadi, about 50 km south of Damaturu, in northeastern Nigeria. No casualties or damage were reported (Telegram, July 11, 2023).

ISIS’s activity against Boko Haram

• On July 5, 2023, ISIS operatives who arrived on motorcycles attacked hiding places of Boko Haram operatives and their families in the Sambisa Forest, about 60 km southeast of Maiduguri, in northeastern Nigeria. Dozens of Boko Haram operatives, including women and children, were killed. According to one of the testimonies, ISIS operatives fired at everyone they saw in the area, including babies. The number of bodies in the area is estimated at about 50. It was noted that only a few Boko Haram operatives managed to flee, leaving behind their belongings, motorcycles, bicycles, and assault rifles (Zagazola, July 6, 2023). Some of the operatives who fled turned themselves in to the Nigerian army, including Khaid Malam Ali, a senior Boko Haram commander, and his deputy, Bunu Umar (Zagazola, July 9, 2023).

Democratic Republic of the Congo

ISIS’s activity

• On July 7, 2023, an attack was carried out against Christian civilians in the village of Lisasa, in the Beni area, about 50 km west of the Ugandan border. Three civilians were killed (Telegram, July 8, 2023).

Mozambique

ISIS’s activity

• On July 8, 2023, ISIS announced that it had killed a Mozambican army soldier captured on July 2, 2023, near the village of Cobar in the Macomia region, in the northeast of the country. ISIS released a photo documenting his execution as well as an identification document (Telegram, July 8, 2023).

Somalia

Al-Shabaab activity

• On the night of July 7, 2023, several Al-Shabaab operatives patrolled the area of Beledamin, Lower Shabelle, southern Somalia, in preparation for an attack. African Union Transition Mission (ATMIS) forces in Somalia lying in ambush at the site opened fire at them. Two Al-Shabaab operatives were killed, and the rest fled. Two assault rifles and six matching magazines were found at the scene (Somalia News Agency, July 8, 2023).

Counterterrorism

• In the early morning hours of July 9, 2023, several airstrikes by aircraft of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and a ground attack by the Somali army were carried out against a hiding place and a weapons depot of Al-Shabaab in the town of Welmaro, Lower Juba, in southern Somalia. More than 40 Al-Shabaab operatives, including senior commanders, were killed, and a weapons depot was destroyed (Somalia News Agency, July 9, 2023; AFRICOM, July 9, 2023).
• On July 7, 2023, it was reported that while Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was giving a speech in a packed stadium in Mogadishu in honor of Somalia’s Independence Day, a suicide bomber carrying an IED entered the stadium after evading security measures. Security personnel were able to locate the suicide bomber and capture him before he could detonate the IED. In addition to Somalia’s president, the deputy prime minister, defense minister, interior minister and other senior government officials were present at the stadium (Horn Observer, July 7, 2023).

Kenya

Al-Shabaab activity

• On the evening of July 5, 2023, Al-Shabaab operatives ambushed the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the National Police Service (NPS) in Mandera Province, northeastern Kenya, near the border with Somalia. There were exchanges of fire between the sides. Thirty Al-Shabaab operatives were killed. Six Special Operations team members were killed and eleven wounded. An RPG launcher and a machine gun were found at the scene (NTV Kenya, July 6, 2023).

Kenya postponed opening of border with Somalia

• On July 5, 2023, the Kenyan government decided to postpone the opening of its border with Somalia due to numerous attacks carried out in the previous month by Al-Shabaab along the border (Anatolia News Agency, July 5, 2023).

Yemen

Al-Qaeda activity

• On July 6, 2023, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Qaeda’s branch operating from Yemen, reported two terrorist attacks carried out by its operatives:
• Several operatives infiltrated the headquarters of the military forces of the Provisional Council of South Yemen, known as the Security Belt Forces, supported by the UAE, in the Mudia area in Abyan Province, about 160 km northeast of Aden. The operatives detonated an IED they had planted in a supply truck, putting the truck out of commission (Akhbar al-Aan, July 6, 2023).
• Two IEDs were dropped from a drone on the Al-Qana’ah military compound belonging to a local force in the Shabwa Province in southern Yemen. It was not specified whether there were casualties in the incident (Akhbar al-Aan, July 6, 2023).

Asia

Jordan

Counterterrorism

• On July 9, 2023, a special force of the Jordanian security forces acted against three wanted terrorist operatives (possibly ISIS operatives). The three were armed and used vehicles to move around desert areas in southern Jordan. After the three opened fire at the force in the Ma’an area, in the south of the country, the force returned fire, and the three terrorist operatives were killed (Jordan’s General Intelligence Directorate, July 9, 2023).

Iran

• On the morning of July 8, 2023, four armed men (apparently ISIS operatives) threw hand grenades at a police station in the city of Zahedan in southeastern Iran, about 35 km south of the Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan tri-border area. Security forces arrived at the scene and surrounded the armed men, who had barricaded themselves inside the police station. There was an exchange of fire between the sides. Two policemen and four armed men were killed (Al-Jazeera, July 8, 2023). So far, no organization has claimed responsibility for the attack.
• On July 8, 2023, two ISIS operatives from Afghanistan who assisted an ISIS operative who, on October 26, 2022, carried out a shooting attack on worshippers at the Shiite Shah-e Cheragh temple, the most important in the city of Shiraz, were hanged. The two defendants, Mohammed Ramez Rashidi and Naeem Hashem Qatali, admitted during their trial that they had been in contact with ISIS operatives in Afghanistan (ISIS’s Khorasan Province) (Al-Jazeera, July 8, 2023; Iran International, July 8, 2023).

Bangladesh

• According to a report from July 9, 2023, Ikramul Haque, codenamed Abu Talha, one of the most wanted terrorist operatives by the security forces in India and one of the senior leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), was arrested on May 30, 2023, with his wife, in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. His arrest was the culmination of a one-year manhunt by Indian security authorities (theprint.in, July 8, 2023; Hindustan Times, July 9, 2023).

   
Photo of Ikramul Haque, distributed by the Indian security establishment (theprint.in, July 8, 2023), and caught on security cameras (in a blue circle) at one of the train stations in Bangladesh, before his arrest (Telegram, July 9, 2023).

Europe

Germany

• On July 6, 2023, seven people were arrested at several sites in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. One of the detainees is from Turkmenistan, one from Kyrgyzstan and five from Tajikistan. The seven are accused of financing a local terrorist network and supporting ISIS. The detainees had known each other for a long time and held radical Islamic views. They came to Germany from Ukraine around the same time, shortly after the Russian army invaded the country. In the summer of 2022, they established a squad with the aim of carrying out terrorist attacks in Germany. According to the indictment, the seven were in contact with ISIS operatives operating within the organization’s Khorasan Province (Afghanistan). The squad operatives examined possible targets in Germany and tried to purchase weapons. It was noted that at the time of their arrest, they had not yet formulated a plan to attack a specific target. Six of the squad operatives had been raising money for ISIS since April 2022 and transferred the funds to the organization (ABC News, July 6, 2023).

Netherlands

• On July 6, 2023, a 29-year-old man from Tajikistan and his wife, a 31-year-old woman from Kyrgyzstan, who had been living in the Netherlands since 2022, were arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of “making preparations for terrorist activity.” The man is suspected of membership in ISIS (ABC News, July 6, 2023).

Spain

• On July 4, 2023, it was reported that a court in Madrid ordered the deportation of a Moroccan citizen back to his country after he was convicted of terrorist offenses between 2012-2018, including pledging allegiance to ISIS, promoting the organization’s ideology on social media, and calling for violent jihad, and after serving a two-year prison term for these offenses. The court rejected the convicted man’s claim that he is homosexual and therefore exposed to mortal danger in Morocco should he be deported there. It was noted that several foreign nationals against whom a deportation order had been issued from Spain tried to make use of such claims to prevent their deportation (Alhurra, July 4, 2023).

Canada

• According to a report from July 8, 2023, two women and three girls have been returned to Canada after being held in a detention camp for families of ISIS operatives under the supervision of the Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria. They were originally from Edmonton in western Canada. It is still unclear whether the women will be arrested (CBC News, July 8, 2023).

The use of drones by Islamic organizations

• A MEMRI report on the use of drones among Islamic terrorist organizations in 2017-2023 indicates that major Sunni and Shiite Islamic terrorist organizations, mainly ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the IRGC, and the pro-Iranian Shiite militias, have made significant progress in this area over the past few years. The report points out the great ease with which terrorist organizations currently obtain drones and their high ability to quickly adapt the use of drones to their needs, which poses a growing threat to the national security of various countries. According to the report, despite the differences between the various organizations and the extent of their use of drones, it can be noticed that drones are used by all these organizations and that the organizations are expanding their knowledge about their use and ways to deal with the drones of the security forces fighting them (MEMRI, July 7, 2023).^[2]

The battle for hearts and minds

ISIS weekly calls for jihad over the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden

• The editorial of ISIS’s weekly Al-Naba, published this week under the title “Whoever abolished the Quran will not support it,” deals with the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden by an Iraqi immigrant, which caused a stir around the world and in the Islamic world in particular^[3] (Al-Naba weekly, Telegram, July 6, 2023).
• The author of the article notes that the burning of the Quran reflects the “Crusader” war waged by the Christian West against Islam and that the Christian West uses the principle of freedom of expression to harm Islam. The author further notes that Muslims are responsible for the incident because they abandoned the Quran and its values in their daily lives. He stresses that this is the reason “infidels” dare to attack and defame the Quran. Even the clerics, who serve the rulers of the “tyrannical” Islamic countries, bear responsibility for the attack against the Quran by not taking care of the implementation of its laws but acting to please their “tyrannical” masters. The author notes that if Muslims followed the Quran, they would boycott Western countries and the perceptions and beliefs of the West instead of protesting on social media and calling for a consumer boycott against countries that violate the Quran. He stresses that the victory of the Quran will come through the implementation of Islamic law (Sharia) and through jihad against the “infidels” and that the Arab and Muslim regimes should not be expected to defend the Quran because “whoever abolished it (i.e., the Quran) will not support it.”
• The article is accompanied with a photo showing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressing NATO members. The background is Erdoğan’s activity to prevent Sweden from entering NATO as long as its government legally approves the burning of Qurans as an act of protest. Therefore, the title “Whoever abolished the Quran will not support it” also refers to Erdoğan, among other things, as someone who dismisses the value of the Quran by not implementing Sharia law in Turkey and who is therefore not the right person to truly protect it.

• It should be noted that following the incident, it was reported that the Swedish government is considering outlawing the burning of holy books. According to Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer, the recent burning of Qurans has damaged Sweden’s internal security, and this harms Sweden’s chances of joining NATO, given Turkey’s significant role in approving the application (Reuters, July 6, 2023). ^[4] On July 10, 2023, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had withdrawn his objection to Sweden’s accession to NATO and that the process would now be advanced and given the necessary approval by the Turkish parliament (Ynet, July 10, 2023).

Al-Qaeda’s magazine strongly criticizes ISIS and the Saudi royal family

• The tenth edition of Al-Qaeda’s magazine, Umma Wahida, published on July 4, 2023, congratulates the Islamic nation on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, extensively describes the organization’s successes since its establishment, and strongly criticizes ISIS and the Saudi royal family (Telegram, July 4, 2023; MEMRI, July 6, 2023).

African terrorist elements’ activity on social media

• A new study was published on July 4, 2023, on the use made by terrorist organizations in Africa (especially in Nigeria) of social media to promote extremist content and their agendas and coordinate activities. According to the study, the activity of these organizations on social media has increased significantly in recent years and is carried out by the terrorist organizations Boko Haram, ISIS’s West Africa Province, and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansaru. These organizations use social media and various apps to post claims of responsibility and display their power against Nigerian security forces. In so doing, they seek to erode public confidence in the ability of the state and military to maintain national security.
• According to the study, following the restriction of the activity of these organizations on various social media, including YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, and Instagram, the organizations switched to activity on other platforms. While ISIS’s West Africa Province has switched to WhatsApp, Rocket.Chat, and Telegram, Boko Haram has switched to using Telegram mainly to share its activity before and after the attacks, and Ansaru still chooses not to appear on social media due to its underground activity, which is more difficult to monitor.
• According to the study, ISIS’s West Africa Province recently acquired high-speed Internet services via satellite, which improved its communication with its target audience. It is noted that this communication enables the organization to carry out more coordinated attacks.
• The study recommends to deal with this challenge in a multidimensional approach, which includes effective cooperation with technology companies to identify extremist content; building technological infrastructure for the country; creating synergistic collaboration with the military and intelligence agencies; promoting the removal of extremist content from social media while using dedicated multilingual algorithms that can detect encoded messages of extremism and handling various types of content, including audio and video files (Global Network, July 4, 2023).^[5]

^[1] According to ISIS’s claims of responsibility and the global media. ↑
^[2] See the ITIC’s Information Bulletin from October 29, 2018, “ISIS’s use of drones in Syria and Iraq and the threat of using them overseas to carry out terrorist attacks”. To read the full report, see: https://www.memri.org/ . ↑
^[3] On June 28, 2023, a Swedish citizen of Iraqi origin, calling for a ban on the publication of the Quran in Sweden, burned pages from a copy of the Quran as an act of protest. Since Swedish law authorizes such an action and considers it a legitimate act of protest, it has provoked anger against the Swedish government. ↑
^[4] Regarding a previous incident of burning the Quran, see the ITIC’s Information Bulletin from February 6, 2023, “ISIS calls for attacking Christians around the world, especially in Europe” ↑
^[5] https://gnet-research.org/ ↑

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