Thread on #Mozambique: 1) Since 24 Mar news of a multi-pronged militant attack on the town of #Palma in northern Mozambique have made international headlines, with reports of ongoing clashes, fatalities, displacement & militants capturing, at least temporarily, parts of Palma
2) But #ISIS, which has affiliated fighters in the region and operates through its so-called Central Africa Province branch, has yet to make any comment on the events. In fact, ISIS hasn't claimed any activity in Mozambique in nearly 5 months, since 1 Nov.
3) After a series of deadly raids on and a brief capture of villages and towns in Cabo Delgado (where Palma is also based) in 2020 - namely in March, April, May, June, August and late October - IS went quiet about its operations in the province
4) It's unclear if IS has continued its activity in Mozambique without publicly parading it, for reasons unknown to us. Last year it was similarly late in claiming big attacks in Cabo Delgado that made int. headlines, or it downplayed the nature of the attack when reporting it
5) Such delays could be down to communication difficulties between militants in Mozambique and IS's central media apparatus, or they could be linked to operational considerations
6) IS commonly relegates delayed claims to the pages of its weekly paper al-Naba, including previous late claims on Mozambique. However, the latest issue of al-Naba, which was released late on 25 March, carried no news on Mozambique
Our @BBCMonitoring report offers insight and context on IS activities in Mozambique and instances of delayed claims for attacks in the country: monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c202gm…
7) Militant violence in Cabo Delgado predates IS’ emergence in Jun 2019 when IS appeared to have co-opted local Islamist militants. They were known as Ansar al-Sunna (aka Ahlu al-Sunna Wa-Hamo), & locally called “al-Shabab" (not linked to Somali-based al-Shabab).
#ISIS has finally claimed responsibility for capturing the town of Palma in #Mozambique. Says it killed 55 ppl including soldiers, Christians and “foreign contractors”. Claims it seized gov buildings, factories & banks. Claim made five after days after militant attack started
9) ISIS has released a brief video claiming to show a large gathering of its militants after capturing the town of Palma in northern Mozambique. The militants are not in any uniform but many wear red head bands - a battlefield headdress that signifies important raids.
In the latest issue of its weekly paper al-Naba, IS said the Mozambican military had completely cut off all communications between Palma and the outside world from the start of the attack. IS may have deliberately added this info to explain why it was late in claiming the raid.
10) In the latest issue of its weekly paper al-Naba, IS led coverage with the Palma raid but failed to offer significant additional original info about the op. Instead, it gleefully highlighted the international media attention given to the offensive: monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c202h4…
11) Via al-Naba, IS said the attack was launched from Mocimboa da Praia - possibly in response to doubts cast about image IS shared on 29 Mar claiming to be from inside Palma but had sign 'Mocimboa da Praia'. Claimed army imposed comms siege, possibly to justify delay in claim
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