#ISIS supporters have launched a seemingly coordinated anti-Rwanda propaganda campaign online (Telegram), in relation to the country's involvement in the anti-jihadist battle in #Mozambique. The campaign, with the Arabic hashtag 'crimes of Rwanda's Christians', started on 11 Aug
The campaign comes after Rwandan forces recently announced they had assisted Mozambique in retaking the key port city of Mocimboa da Praia in the north from jihadists, where IS operates under the name of Central Africa Province /2
In last week's issue of al-Naba, IS mocked the coalition against it in Mozambique, primarily referring to Rwandan troops /3
The campaign has so far generated at least 12 anti-Rwanda posters. ISIS supporters have only recently concluded a similar campaign against democracy and Islamist Ennahda party in Tunisia (that campaign from 1-8 Aug saw them put out 25 pieces of propaganda) /4
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Key points from my Explainer for @BBCMonitoring about the latest jihadist responses to the Taliban's rapid territorial gains /1
Online jihadists, with the exception of ISIS, have been widely cheering the swift territorial gains made by the Taliban in recent days, with some highlighting the long-term benefits for jihadists more broadly 2/
Al-Qaeda's Sahel leader, Iyad Ag Ghali, said in a 10 August message that the Taliban's recent advances marked a "historic" moment, as he congratulated the group on its military feats 3/
Mini thread: #ISIS weekly paper al-Naba uncharacteristically swaps typical 3rd-page editorial for biog (prt 1) of late ISIS propaganda chief Abu Muhammad al-Furqan (Wa'il al-Ta'i)-also the name of ISIS' flagship media outfit al-Furqan that he founded. He was killed in Sep 2016 1/
The biog, part of Naba's long-running 'Story of a Martyr' series, charts Furqan's journey from a paediatrician in Iraq to becoming ISIS' media chief. Highlights his "fight against" Kharijites (ultra-extremists), saying his lectures against them became compulsory reading in IS 2/
During the height of ISIS' so-called 'caliphate' rule & despite the prominence of its propaganda machine, Furqan was kept in the shadows and didn't enjoy a public profile as others in the group did, such as ISIS' late spox al-Adnani. Naba says he was keen to keep a low profile 3/
1) A pro-al-Qaeda media group has urged jihadists to infiltrate protests in the West to carry out jihadist attacks, including against the police, taking advantage of "the cover" that protests, "especially chaotic ones", can offer
2) The incitement came in the 2nd issue of al-Malahem Cyber Army's flagship magazine 'Wolves of Manhattan' aimed at the "lone wolf" (would-be jihadist). 1st issue in Nov urged jihadists in the West to exploit Covid-19 conditions (eg mask to cover identity) to carry out attacks.
3) the latest issue tells jihadists to disguise as protesters, pretending to share their views, and try to and steer the protests, or certain protesters, to violent actions, or carry out violent actions under the cover of protests, including car rammings.
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
1) Thread: The new al-Qaeda video that was presented as a message from the group's leader al-Zawahiri will have come as a disappointment to the group's supporters as it failed to give evidence that he is presently alive and operational
2) The video marks al-Zawahiri's first "appearance" since unconfirmed reports emerged in November that the Egyptian had died of natural causes a month earlier
3) The video about the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar is dominated by an unseen narrator who provides al-Qaeda's commentary on the subject. Zawahiri features in v brief audio clips, with an old still image of him, commenting generally about the suffering of the Rohingya
Thread - ISIS attacks on women: 1) In what appears to be a recent shift in its tactics, IS has been targeting women and publicly and shamelessly claiming responsibly for killing them. The group has recently killed women in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
2) The latest attack happened today, in northern Iraq, where IS said it killed two women along with their four male relatives allegedly for being “spies”. Authorities said the victims were the mother and sister of the four men, all of whom were killed.
3) On 2 March IS killed it three female media workers who were employed by a local TV station in the eastern Afghan city of Nangarhar.
In December, the group killed a female journalist, Malala Maiwand, who worked for the same TV station.