Thread by @CalibreObscura

#Nigeria IS West Africa released new video, covering JAS (Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād) fighters pledging allegience (bay'ah) to IS & the Caliph, joining ISWA, making statements to local+wider communities, & lastly fighting with ISWA against NA near Firgi, Bama.
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Whilst most of my followers aren't here for the intra-jihadi drama, this video is actually very significant because it shows JAS fighters, previously loyal to the infamous Abubakar Shekau (Split frm ISWA in 2016) who despite his crazy appearance was quite effective.

(Old pic)
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Full details of Shekau's demise & "death" are fairly unclear; 1 thing is clear; quantities of his fighters have joined ISWA & have started operations under WA banner (SE. Borno); given they never regarded themselves as leaving IS this gets interesting.
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https://twitter.com/Ex_Trac/status/1407730637935726595

These fighters regarded themselves (as did Shekau) as the legitimate branch of IS in West Africa, and ISWA as imposters who had strayed. So despite the formidable personal loyalty Shekau obtained, this factor (among others which I won't detail) made a big shift possible.
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So, Calibre Obscura, gun guy, why give all this background? Show us some guns!

OK. The video as I mentioned is mainly Bay'ah & unity speeches; there's little combat. However, we do see status guns w/ speakers, primarily the Polish FB Beryl M762 used by higher tier NA units.
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The ones we see are quite interesting, as they seem to have had their M4-style stocks swapped for Romanian/East German style side folding stocks. The practice is quite common with IS; but good to note in this particular case. M762 have been captured by IS in multiple attacks.
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M762 was rarely so often seen in IS media; however it seems that it is being given a new status here. Quite apart from the reliable and effective nature of the Beryl, these guns have the "tactical" edge that other status weapons have to set them apart.
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https://twitter.com/CalibreObscura/status/1302360539566354435

As this video shows (presumed) notable(s) from IS during bay'ah ceremonies, we also get a look at an ex-NA Special Forces AK-74 w/ the ZenitCo kit. This was previously the main status weapon of ISWA speakers/fighters in videos, linking back to AK-74 significance in MENA.
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Thinking back to JAS, their main status weapon for squad commanders and above was the Zastava M21 S AK (M762 on right), which we can see in this video from the Sambisa forest (Sambisa was previously a key Shekau stronghold). These were captured from Cameroon's BIR, mainly.
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The significance of the M21 is such that if combat footage emerges of JAS fighters emerges (or ex JAS...) then one can usually tell command figures by the presence of the M21 S, and this rule has not been broken by the merger with IS; see distinctive stock w/ this commander.
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The rifle also appears (during the raid against the NA in Bama) with this young ISWA (former JAS) fighter, who despite his age appears to be someone significant; not least his ability to speak. The AK all the way from Kragujevac, Serbia has a significance out in the bush.
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Other arms seen are standard; there's nothing much to say (RPG-7, PK(M), AK, etc) but worth noting that AKMS also have a certain status as compared to fixed stock AKs, likely why other speaker & those flanking can be seen w/ them. IS fighters adequately kitted, for sure.
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Overall, the most significant thing to me was the sheer quantities (100s) of JAS fighters joining IS, many of them underage. This will be a significant boost to IS Cadre, even if they prefer not to use children in actual combat to such a degree as Shekau.
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For me; video is a serious power move by IS to stamp their approval/legitimacy on JAS, or large portions of it, being re-subsumed by the "official" branch of IS in the Lake Chad area. What that means for the doubters is unclear, but video is for them too. Note IS cadres abt.
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The whole situation in the area is beyond the scope of this thread, but safe to say that IS Central is very pleased with events & is choosing to trumpet it, but not bothering to show the 10s of large ISWA attacks w/ ghanimah over recent months; (semi)internal politics matter.
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A couple of other things; note the rear pickup's up-armouring/repair around the front? That seems to be somewhat of a hallmark of JAS vehicles; we will have to see if the practice continues with ex-JAS units.
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And of course...IS had to end the video with the traditional "explosive into the armoured vehicle" move which is a really common trope with serious significance, almost as much as the Mosul-esq "standing on the armoured vehicle". In this case, Vickers Mk3 MBT ate a grenade.
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That's about it. Please share etc if you enjoyed this mix of pseudo messaging, internal and weapons analysis- these worlds really do merge together. If you really liked it: ko-fi.com/CalibreObscura.

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cc @AbraxasSpa @_AlameenYaqub @AlexAlmeida2020 @MENA_Conflict @Jake_Hanrahan @Murtalaibin @TomaszRolbiecki @HKaaman