Finally, we have clarity on the status of the leader of #AlQaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. He has appeared in a video today talking about an incident that happened in Feb 2022 in India on the subject of women’s hijab code /1
The latest al-Qaeda video shows al-Zawahiri in seemingly good health and in a setting not seen in previous al-Qaeda videos, another sign suggesting it's new. In late 2020, he was rumoured to have died or been incapacitated /2
Despite AQ putting out multiple videos featuring Zawahiri since rumours of his death or ill health emerged in Oct 2020, they had all shown him discussing historical events & ideological topics that failed to prove his present condition & enhanced speculation about his status /3
🧵 Cont’d: jihadist responses to Russia-Ukraine war. The latest issue of the pro-al-Qaeda magazine, Wolves of Manhattan, urges jihadists to take advantage of Ukraine opening borders to foreign volunteer fighters and use it to get training & weapons to later strike “Crusaders” /1
The magazine’s 3rd issue, out on 4 Apr, urged “Muslim youth”, esp in Europe, to travel to Ukraine, taking advantage of what it said was the ease and “encouragement” of such travel. Once there, jihadists were to get military training and weapons offered to volunteer fighters /2
This military training & weapons could be used to stage attacks against “Crusaders” in Ukraine, noting there are many Western diplomatic & media teams stationed there; to stage attacks in one’s Western home country upon return, or in Russia, says the mag /3
#ISIS has confirmed the death of its leader Abu Ibrahim Al-Qurashi & spokesman Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi, and named the successor (new “caliph”) as Abu Al-Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi. Said they can’t reveal the true identity of the new leader but urged followers to pledge allegiance
The US had announced the death of Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi in a US operation in Idlib, Syria, on 3 Feb
So far very little, if anything, is known about the new leader. Will he, like the previous one, not be shown or heard, allegedly all for security reasons?
IS's "West Africa Province" (#ISWAP) has released rare images claiming to show its Hisbah (religious) police destroying batches of drugs in an undisclosed location in "West Africa", likely in north-eastern Nigeria /1
The images show 3 men wearing uniform brown vests with the words "Islamic State" and "Hisbah" on them. The men pile a number of black bags which presumably contain the drugs and then set them on fire /2
IS doesn't indicate where in West Africa the action took place but it's likely to be in north-eastern Nigeria, where IS appears to have limited territorial control, especially after seizing the stronghold of its rival Boko Haram last summer /3
Thread: Key jihadist responses to Russia’s war on Ukraine 👇
1) Jubliation. Overall, jihadists welcome the war. They see it as a distraction for their "Crusader" enemies -Russia & West – away from jihadist affairs. Therefore, they are hopeful it turns into a protracted war that weakens all those involved and eases prssure on jihadists
2) Just revenge against Russia. Jihadists welcome the war as retribution against Russia primarily for its involvement in Syria, which they hope the war in Ukraine will weaken
Thread: We published two insight pieces last week on the US announcement of killing IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi in Idlib, Syria /1
The first examines how in over two years of leading the group and four leadership audio messages during his reign (including a fifth announcing his appointment), the "caliph" was never heard or seen. All messages were delivered via a spokesman /2 monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c2037x…
Such media absence and hardly any info about him offered by IS fueled speculation within anti-IS jihadist circles about his real identity and suitability for the title of "caliph", which in certain religous interpreatins requires specific physical and anscetral conditions /3
In the latest issue of its weekly paper al-Naba, #ISIS gloats about "the impact" of its deadly attack of 26 Oct on members of a Shia tribe (Bani Tamim) in Iraq's eastern Diyala province /1
The attack in the mixed Sunni-Shia province is clearly designed to reignite sectarian tensions in the hope of creating a Shia backlash against Sunnis that IS can then exploit /2
The attack gave rise to sectarian tensions and recriminations on the political & communal levels, and you can see it playing out online. There were reports of revenge attacks on an adjacent Sunni village. Such tensions on this scale have been largely absent in recent years /3