HTS’s Political Affairs Department has put out a series of new statements:

“The liberation of Syria is a victory for all its sons who sacrificed for the unity of the land and the people. On this occasion, we affirm our commitment to strengthening societal unity and establishing the principles of justice and dignity among all components of Syrian society” 1 “We are opening a new page in the history of Syria, a page whose title is construction and progress. We will work to develop a comprehensive plan to rebuild the infrastructure and achieve sustainable development in a way that ensures the return of life to normal.” 2

Was planning to write something yesterday about the institution-building/lessons of HTS over past 4.5 years, but my laptop died so going to Apple Store to get fixed today. But for those curious about these changes, here’s a thread of articles I’ve written since 2020 on HTS: 🧵 May 2020: The Jihadi-Backed Salvation Government and Covid-19 in Northwest Syria washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysi…

New infographic on three years of diplomatic engagements by the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate Other variations of infographics for the first three years of the Taliban’s diplomacy

For those curious about the Islamic State's activities in Austria in recent years in light of the Taylor Swift concert attack plot, here's a short thread 🧵:

1. Claimed responsibility for a shooting/stabbing attack in Vienna on November 2, 2020. washingtoninstitute.org/islamicstatein…
2. In June 2023, there were arrests made related to an IS plot to attack the Pride Parade in Vienna that year washingtoninstitute.org/islamicstatein…

Thread 🧵 on the newest UN monitoring report on the Islamic State and al-Qaeda and information that stood out.

1. "The identity and location of the group’s leader, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is still not clear."

-Contra certain leaks by the U.S. governmentmain.un.org/securitycounci… 2. "Concerned by new inward travel to Afghanistan of some Al-Qaida personnel and training, recruitment and reorganization activities."

-It should be remembered that Turkish Airlines now flies direct to Kabul since May 21, so a lot easier to get to Afghanistan now than in past

https://x.com/azelin/status/1792885324474982457

🧵 on the minuscule number of jihadi cases related to Oman over the past 20 years Today's Islamic State claim

https://x.com/azelin/status/1813304655134220358

For current and future reference: A thread on Islamic State attacks against different countries and targets.

-Afghanistan (Taliban and former Afghan Republican Government)

-Algeria

While we wait to see if IS claims the attack in Russia, my Islamic State Worldwide Activity map has an archive of IS-related propaganda, attack claims, designations, and local arrests in Russia going back a decade. Not IS's first rodeo within Russia. washingtoninstitute.org/islamicstatein…
Past IS-claimed attacks within Russia (outside Chechnya/Dagestan/Ingushetia regions) from the IS Map.

Aug '16: Balashikha

Oct '16: Nizhny Novgorod

Apr '17: Khabarovsk

Aug '17: Surgut

Dec '17: St. Petersberg

May '18: Nizhny Novgorod

May '18: Neftekamsk

Apr '19: Kolomna

Hamas-announced martyrs since October 7 🧵

Can't vouch for when these individuals actually died.

October 7:
-Karam Nasr al-Ayadi
-'Amr Gibran
-Ahmad 'Abd al-Nasr Rabi
-Muhammad 'Awad Jarbu'ah





-Mahmud Bassim Akhmis

October 8:
-'Abdul Halim Abu Snaynah

October 9:
-Rajih Hussam Taha
-Amjad Mahir Khudayr

In light of Zawahiri's death, I added 16 videos to the @Jihadology_Net archive of his from the years before I started the website. Don't have everything due to the takedowns of content, but still might be of interest for researchers. See below: October 4, 2009: "Lamenting the Leader of the Mujāhidīn Ibn al-Shaykh al-Lībī” jihadology.net/2009/10/04/vid…

Thread on some of Ayman al-Zawahiri's most important releases while leader of AQ. (1/9) "Days With the Imam" series on Usamah Bin Laden. You can find all eight parts here: jihadology.net/2019/05/05/new… (2/9)

AQ’s general command released a statement on the Coronavirus, which includes analysis and ‘ways forward’. (Thread) 1/n How AQ views this for the United States

Alright, you can see everything below, but I also had @threadreaderapp create it all in one spot bit.ly/2HUZwaN

Next, I plan to shout out some excellent reporting by journalists that helped fill important gaps in the process of researching my book.

https://twitter.com/azelin/status/1228410606941876227

First up, I want to give a huge shout out to @Tunisia_Live. It’s too bad it is no longer around, but it was an amazing resource in the aftermath of the revolution and incubated so many great journalists and researchers. I hope they make a comeback at some point.

In the spirit of @dbyman when his book came out, over the next week or two, I’m going to shout out folks whose work enriched the final product of my book. @dbyman First up are two excellent recently published books on Ennahda from @AnneMWolf (amzn.to/38xItY4) and @rmccarthy (amzn.to/2HqwjV2). They provide updated and enriched histories based on insider primary sources and ethnographic field research.

On @Jihadology_Net, I’ll have a running update on new official bayat to IS’s new ‘caliph’ Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qaurashi bit.ly/2WIVzwv Up first, yesterday, Sinai and Bangladesh. @Jihadology_Net Updated with Somalia bit.ly/2WIVzwv