#ISIS releases 12th episode in its allegiance renewal series - latest from militants in Yemen. I'm pretty sure this is the biggest IS series on a given theme. Even during its media heyday when IS used to release coordinated vids on a subject, there didn't used to be that many
Similar to other episodes in the series, while the latest seeks to strike a tone of defiance in the face of hardships, it carries a clear admission of territorial losses and overall weakness, which the group spins as temporary and a test from God.
Unsurprisingly, in the video IS takes a swipe at its rival in Yemen AQAP, calling them 'Jews of Jihad'.
IS set up shop in Yemen in Nov 2014, sparking years of cold war with AQAP. This changed in Jul 2018 when the two finally locked horns in Bayda. Matters came to a head in Mar 2019 when the two groups started carrying out deadly attacks on each other. Tit-for-tat attacks continue
🧵Sharing key points as I listen to IS leadership msg, with little or no insight at this point:
1/ marks 10th anniversary of its "caliphate" declaration (Ramadan of 2014, which that year fell on 29 Jun). Says despite IS was left for dead in Iraq & Syria (2017, 2019), it expanded to Africa & other places - "growing stronger & expanding" still
2/ urges IS members/militants to stay united and obey their leadership and stay true to their "bay'ah" pledge, and not be misled by lies or distortions (hint of possible divisions or disillusionment among some?)
1/ Important to note that contrary to some reports by media outlets saying that IS’s Afghanistan-focused "Khorasan Province" branch (ISKP or ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the Moscow attack, IS has NOT claimed the attack in the name of that particular branch, at least not yet
2/ The only claim that has come out so far is a brief one by IS’s official news outlet Amaq. In that claim, similar to most of Amaq’s style of reporting, no IS branch or regional affiliates were mentioned. Amaq simply attributed the attack to “soldiers of the Islamic State”
I normally don't like to share pics of IS's statements, but felt it's important to do so (above) to clarify that no branch was mentioned in that claim
The new video from #ISIS's Syria branch is very disturbing in terms of the violence, showing dozens of executions of individuals in Syria who allegedly worked for government or Kurdish-led forces (SDF) across the country /1
The video appeared to have two key purposes: to deter anyone from working against IS in Syria, and to prove that the group continues to have capability and reach in the country, despite losing territory and leadership figures /2
In terms of production quality, the video is reminiscent of IS's pre-caliphate products, with limited production sophistication. Even the use of the infamous IS nashid Salil al-Sawarim harks back to the early days of IS propaganda and scenes of drive-by shootings /3
Thread: Jihadists and Islamists have been divided over the Taliban’s banning female university education, although the majority have politely criticised the move, deeming it a violation of a Sharia /1
Some jihadists wondered if the ban reflected internal Taliban rivalry, with hardliners in Taliban ranks "winning" on the subject of female education /2
Those who tried to justify the Taliban move were careful to point out that the ban is "temporary", until certain Sharia conditions involving female education are met. They stressed the ban was an internal matter for the Afghan rulers that outsiders should not interfere in /3
🧵 Summary: #ISIS has announced the death of its leader, Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, and announced his successor, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi / 1
Similar to last leader (Abu al-Hasan), and one before him (Abu Ibrahim), IS did not reveal the ID of the new leader. It only gave his nom de guerre and said he was a veteran jihadist of IS /2
In all three cases of anonymous leaders (since al-Baghdadi), IS ensured their aliases indicated they can trace their lineage to Prophet Muhammed - a perquisite for the post of caliph /3
🧵1) Key topics in new IS leadership message. Apologies if I’m repeating observations already shared by fellow analysts 👇
2) The message, again delivered IS spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir, rather than mysterious leader, typically covered a wide range of topics, from praising the group's "successes" in certain countries, to calling for recruits
3) Despite its defiant and self-righteous tone, the message conveyed a desperate IS appeal for support from Muslims around the world, and suggested strong disappointment at not being adored by co-religionists