🧵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

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”

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

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

🧵 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

🧵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

🧵In its latest release featuring al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda failed to follow his name with the phrase “May God protect him” حفظه الله – said for the living – leaving his status vague /1 The audio msg, packaged as a vid, is part part 7 of a series titled “Deal of the Century”, all of which have been fronted by Zawahiri. In all past episodes, AQ media followed Zawahiri’s name with the phrase “May God protect him” (see eg on R); but not this time (see eg on L)/2

Al-Qaeda has now released the trailed propaganda by AQ official Abu Muhammad al-Masri, who was assassinated in Iran in Aug 2020. It's a 271-page book/booklet offering Masri's account of events and "memoir" on the subject of the 9/11 attacks /1

https://twitter.com/Minalami/status/1568953615095857153

Similar to a 500-page book released on last year’s anniversary of 9/11, on that occasion by AQAP leadership figure Ibrahim al-Qawsi (aka Khubayb al-Sudani)....

“Pragmatic” jihadist voices linked to Syria-based militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have been calling on al-Qaeda to disband and urging its branches – with focus on those in Yemen (AQAP) and North Africa (AQIM) – to ditch the al-Qaeda brand and association and go local /1 HTS-linked figures like Abu Maria al-Qahtani & Abd al-Rahman al-Idrisi seem to be suggesting that AQ branches should follow HTS' example in breaking away from AQ and its global agenda, and focus on local projects that can win over local population and mitigate intl. action /2

🧵1) The latest releases by al-Qaeda – a statement from its “General Command” and 7th issue of its flagship magazine One Ummah – are the first by the group since news about the death of its leader al-Zawahiri in Kabul on 31 Jul – which neither the statement or magazine refer to 2) The only ref to Zawahiri is a poem in One Ummah attributed to him, and which was released some months ago about the subject of hijab in India. Conveniently, no phrase (explained in following tweet) follows his name to indicate whether he's alive or dead

🧵Taliban statement of 4 Aug on the subject of AQ leader al-Zawahiri's reported death in Kabul has divided jihadists. While some considered it weak and submissive, others saw it as justified "trickery" in Islam during times of war to avert a backlash against the Afghan rulers /1

https://twitter.com/Zabehulah_M33/status/1555150782361640961

Our team @BBCMonitoring has released three insight pieces: What al-Zawahiri's death means for al-Qaeda; Who are the potential successors; and What al-Zawahiri said in his flurry of messages this year. This is in addition to the jihadist reaction pieces we have filed /1 The first argues that while the death of Zawahiri, if confirmed by al-Qaeda, will be a symbolic and emotional blow for the group, it is unlikely to hinder its operations /2

Quick 🧵on jihadist reactions to #Zawahiri's death: Online supporters of al-Qaeda, including heavyweight clerics, have mourned the "martyrdom" of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, seeming to largely accept US announcement of 1 Aug that he was killed in a drone strike in Kabul /1 Al-Qaeda itself, however, has yet to officially comment on the subject /2

mini 🧵Latest al-Zawahiri message, as part of a longstanding series, does not offer anything specifically new or hugely interesting, but it does show the jihadist leader has humour /1 👇

https://twitter.com/NihadJariri/status/1547649270089543680

As part of his talk about leadership succession in the Islamic system, which he says must not be inherited and must go to the most qualified candidate, al-Zawahiri takes a detour and appears to indirectly take aim at al-Qaeda's staunch rival, IS /2

🧵Our latest BBC Monitoring analysis looks at IS calls during June for hijra (migration) to Africa, where the group may be trying to rebuild its "caliphate" project, formerly centred on the Middle East /1 This explicit call for recruitment in Africa last month coincided with the 8th anniversary of the declaration of IS’s "caliphate" in Iraq & Syria. In its recent messaging, IS drew parallels between its purported influence in Africa and its presence in Syria & Iraq after 2014 /2

🧵Breaking: ISIS has claimed responsibility for the 18 June attack on a Sikh temple, or Gurdwara, in the Afghan capital Kabul, saying it was to avenge Prophet Muhammad following remarks made by Indian politicians about the Muslim prophet /1 IS identified the attacker by the nom de guerre "Abu Muhammed al-Tajiki" and released a picture of him.
Said he was armed with a gun & hand grenades and that he opened fire at "Hindu and Sikh worshipers", allegedly killing or wounding 30 /2

IS appears to have claimed its first attack in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, to the south of Cabo Delgado where IS normally operates. IS claimed it attacked a Christian village in the Memba district /1 IS granted its Mozambique branch independent status in May. It’s since carried out attacks in areas of Cabo Delgado it had not previously targeted, namely Ancuabe and Chiure, both in the southern parts of the province. These attacks have so far mostly targeted "Christians" /2

The latest message from al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri sees him lament the state of the jihadist movement today, saying there’s a shortage of role models, educators and truly sincere figures. Sounds downbeat /1 He rails against sell-outs and opportunists and those who break their pledges of allegiance, in a likely dig at IS and HTS, both of whom at some point in history were linked to al-Qaeda through a pledge of allegiance where al-Zawahiri was their ultimate emir. Both broke ties /2

🧵In its latest video, IS' West Africa Province (ISWAP) flaunts its religious outreach activities, presumably in NE Nigeria, showing its hisbah (religious police) and zakat (alms) teams in action, to show off "governance" capabilities, despite those being clearly limited /1 Shows IS preachers delivering lectures to locals, including many children, in unidentified rural areas, and religious events with quizzes and nashids /2

🧵#ISIS today casually indicated the death of its spokesman, Abu Umar al-Muhajir, without saying where, when or how he died /1 IS made the revelation through an excerpt in its weekly newspaper al-Naba (issue 339) that featured al-Muhajir's April message. Next to his name were the words "May Allah have mercy on him" - a phrase used for the deceased /2

A statement attributed to IS-linked Furat Media, posted on RocketChat, claims that the recent Furat vid "Message to the infidel West", which was shared by IS outlets on Telegram, is fake/doctored. Stressed it hadn't yet resumed activity. So is this statement or the video fake? /1 It was odd of the media group to suddenly pop up like that after years of absence, but worth noting that the video was widely shared by multiple IS-linked content disseminators on Telegram, and was repackaged and celebrated by some pro-IS media groups /2