Spotlight on Global Jihad (June 30 – July 6, 2022)

Main events of the past week

• This week, ISIS’s activity focused on Syria, Sinai, Afghanistan and Africa.
• The Sinai Peninsula: The Egyptian army and the Sinai Tribal Union continued to attack ISIS’s infrastructure in western Rafah and the Bir al-Abd region. The forces suffered casualties.
• Syria: ISIS operatives attacked a pro-Iranian militia operating in Syria in the Syrian Desert, killing several of them.
• Afghanistan: ISIS operatives attacked Taliban members who were securing a conference held in Kabul. Several Taliban members were killed or wounded. The Taliban administration imposed a strict media ban on the incident.
• India: An Indian citizen was executed by members of a squad that was apparently inspired by ISIS. The background to this appears to be the citizen’s support for the offensive remarks made by members of India’s ruling party against Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam.
• Africa: Increased counterterrorism activity in Nigeria against ISIS and Boko Haram. Hundreds of operatives turned themselves in to the local security forces. In Niger: ISIS operatives attacked an army post in the southeast of the country. Twenty soldiers were wounded. ISIS continued its intensive activity against Christian residents in the Cabo Delgado Province in northeastern Mozambique, and in the Beni region, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Sinai Peninsula

• The Egyptian army and the Sinai Tribal Union continued the fighting against ISIS west of Rafah. An ISIS commander (emir) was detained in the Bir al-Abd region and two of his escorts were killed. Egyptian soldiers and Sinai Tribal Union fighters were also killed and wounded.
• ISIS’s Sinai Province announced that on July 4, 2022, its operatives had activated an IED against a Sinai Tribal Union patrol in the village of Al-Matlah, west of Rafah. Two fighters were killed and several others were wounded (Telegram, July 4, 2022). Two days before, on July 2, 2022, an IED was also activated against a Sinai Tribal Union patrol west of Rafah. One fighter was killed and several others were wounded (Telegram, July 2, 2022). That same day, an IED was activated against an Egyptian army patrol in the Maghara region, about 60 km southwest of Al-Arish. According to ISIS, several soldiers were killed including at least one officer, and several others were wounded (Telegram, July 2, 2022). According to the Sinai Tribal Union, five of its fighters were killed on July 2-4, 2022 (Sinai Tribal Union’s Facebook page, July 2-4, 2022).
• On July 1, 2022, the Egyptian army and the Sinai Tribal Union detained ISIS’s Sinai Province’s Bir al-Abd commander (emir) and killed two of his escorts in the northern Sinai Peninsula. The detainee is apparently Palestinian (@mahmouedgamal44 Twitter account, July 1, 2022).

• According to tribal sources, on June 29, 2022, two Sinai Tribal Union fighters were killed in the explosion of an IED activated by ISIS during combing activity west of Rafah (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, June 29, 2022). ISIS issued a claim of responsibility, noting that its operatives activated an IED against a Sinai Tribal Union patrol near the Rafah beach, killing two fighters and wounding several others (Telegram, June 29, 2022).

The Syrian arena

The desert region (Al-Badia)

• On July 2, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked a force of the Fatemiyoun Brigade, a pro-Iranian militia operating in Syria, at the entrance to the town of Al-Sukhnah, about 120 km southwest of Deir ez-Zor. Several brigade fighters were killed (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, July 2, 2022).

The Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region

• On July 4, 2022, ISIS operatives fired machine guns at an SDF vehicle near Al-Attal Square, in the Shahil region, about 9 km north of Al-Mayadeen. According to ISIS, the passengers on board were wounded (Telegram, July 4, 2022).
• On June 30, 2022, ISIS operatives fired at an SDF vehicle on the road leading to the Al-Omar oilfield, in the Shahil region. According to ISIS, the passengers on board were killed or wounded (Telegram, July 3, 2022).

The Al-Hasakah region

• According to local sources, on June 30, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked an SDF post in the Al-Bawardi region, in the rural area of the town of Al-Hawl, about 35 km east of Al-Hasakah. They took over a weapons depot containing assault rifles and ammunition and seized some of them (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, June 30, 2022). It should be noted that this is the first attack of its kind, seeking to obtain weapons and ammunition, in the regions controlled by the SDF

Al-Raqqah region

• ISIS’s Syria Province announced that on June 30, 2022, its operatives had fired at an SDF vehicle on a road about 20 km east of Al-Raqqah. Four SDF fighters were killed or wounded (Telegram, July 1, 2022). On July 5, 2022, ISIS shot and killed an SDF “agent” in the city of Al-Raqqah (Telegram, July 5, 2022).

Southern Syria

• ISIS’s Syria Province announced that on July 2, 2022, its operatives had shot and killed a Syrian police officer in the village of Khirbat Ghazaleh, about 12 km northeast of Daraa (Telegram, July 2, 2022). On June 30, 2022, ISIS operatives shot and killed a Syrian soldier in the town of Samalin, about 45 km north of Daraa (Telegram, June 30, 2022). It should be noted that the Syria Province announcements were published after several months during which no activity was reported in this region.

The Iraqi arena

ISIS attacks by province^[1]

• This week as well, ISIS’s attacks remained relatively few in number.

Diyala Province

• On July 5, 2022, an IED was activated against an Iraqi police armored vehicle about 15 km northeast of Baqubah. The passengers on board were wounded. Another IED was activated against the sapper who tried to neutralize the IED, killing him (Telegram, July 5, 2022).
• On July 4, 2022, an IED was activated against a Tribal Mobilization foot patrol in the region of Sharwin, about 40 km northeast of Baqubah. Four fighters were wounded (Telegram, July 4, 2022). The day before, on July 3, 2022, a Tribal Mobilization compound was attacked in the same area. Two Tribal Mobilization fighters were killed. Another force arriving on the scene to provide assistance was also attacked and eight other fighters were wounded (Telegram, July 3, 2022). The Tribal Mobilization confirmed the report (kurdistan24, July 4, 2022).

Kirkuk Province

• An IED was activated against an Iraqi army vehicle in the village of Al-Samakah, south of Daquq, about 30 km south of Kirkuk. The vehicle was put out of commission (Telegram, July 4, 2022).

Salah al-Din Province

• An Iraqi army patrol was targeted by gunfire near the Taloul al-Baj region, about 15 km southwest of Shirqat. One soldier was killed and three others were wounded (Telegram, June 23, 2022).

Nineveh Province

• An IED planted by ISIS exploded on July 2, 2022, in the village of Al-Salehiya, about 125 km west of Mosul. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded (Al-Sumaria, July 2, 2022).

Counterterrorism measures

Kirkuk Province

• On July 2, 2022, the Iraqi army announced the capture of 17 ISIS operatives and 60 wanted men in the Kirkuk Province. In addition, seven terrorist sites were destroyed, and seven depots of weapons and ammunition were found, containing 24 shells, 55 mortar shells, and eight rockets. A total of 59 IEDs and two explosive belts were neutralized (Iraqi News Agency, July 2, 2022).

Nineveh Province

• The Iraqi Military Intelligence, supported by other forces, captured ISIS’s military operative in charge of the southern Nineveh Province, codenamed Abu Fallah. He was caught before he managed to enter the Al-Jad’ah displaced persons camp, about 60 km south of Mosul (SecMedCell Facebook page, which belongs to the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office, June 30, 2022).

Summary of ISIS’s activity in the various provinces

• An infographic published by ISIS, summing up its activity around the world in the period between June 23 and June 29, 2022, indicates that the organization carried out 43 attacks in its various provinces around the globe (compared to 53 in the previous week). The largest number of attacks was carried out in the Sinai Province (9) and West Africa Province (9). Attacks carried out in the other provinces: Central Africa (8); Mozambique (8); Iraq (5); Syria (2); and Khorasan, i.e., Afghanistan (2). A total of 112 people were killed or wounded in the attacks, compared to 131 in the previous week. The largest number of casualties was in the West Africa Province (44). The other casualties were in the following provinces: Sinai (16); Mozambique (16); West Africa (14); Khorasan (9); Syria (7); and Iraq (6) (Al-Naba, Telegram, June 30, 2022).

ISIS attacks by week (according to ISIS data)

Africa

• On July 4, 2022, an African Coalition^[2] force thwarted an attempt by operatives of ISIS’s West Africa Province to infiltrate the city of Monguno, about 6 km from the Nigeria-Cameroon border in northeastern Nigeria. The ISIS operatives, who arrived in several vehicles, were targeted by gunfire by the Coalition force and retreated after an exchange of fire that lasted about an hour (dailytrust.com, July 4, 2022).
• On July 1, 2022, dozens of ISIS operatives were killed in an African Coalition airstrike in the Lake Chad region in Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria (thecable.ng, July 1, 2022).

Nigeria

• ISIS continued its activity against the Nigerian army in Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria, while the Nigerian army continued its activity against ISIS and Boko Haram. On June 30, 2022, the Nigerian army announced that in the past two weeks, it had killed at least 89 Boko Haram operatives in various operations in the north and northwest of the country (dailypost.ng, June 30, 2022).
• Attacks against the Nigerian army: ISIS’ West Africa Province announced that on July 4, 2022, its operatives had attacked a Nigerian army checkpoint in the town of Mafa, about 45 km east of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, killing a soldier and seizing three assault rifles and other equipment (Telegram, July 4, 2022). On the same day, an IED was activated against a Nigerian army armored vehicle on the Gambaru–Wulgo highway, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Those on board were wounded (Telegram, July 4, 2022).
• On June 29, 2022, a total of 314 operatives of both Boko Haram and ISIS’s West Africa Province surrendered to the Nigerian security forces in the Bama region of Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria (Facebook page of the Nigerian army, June 29, 2022).

• On July 3, 2022, ISIS operatives shot and killed a Nigerian policeman in the town of Suleja, in central Nigeria, about 20 km northwest of the capital Abuja (Telegram, July 3, 2022). It should be noted that this is a rare incident in this region.
• On June 30, 2022, there was an attack against the Christian town of Garin Malam, about 100 km southwest of Maiduguri, in northeastern Borno State. Six residents were killed and a motorcycle was seized (Telegram, July 1, 2022).

Niger

•  On July 3, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked a Nigerien army post in the town of Garin Dogo, in the Diffa region of southeastern Niger, about 3 km north of the Niger-Nigeria border. Twenty soldiers were killed or wounded. One soldier was abducted. According to ISIS, the Nigerien army used helicopters in an attempt to locate the abducted soldier and track down ISIS operatives who withdrew from the area (Telegram, July 4, 2022).

• On July 3, 2022, the Nigerien security forces thwarted an attack by Boko Haram operatives against a National Guard checkpoint in the town of Garin Dogo, in southeastern Niger. A total of 11 Boko Haram operatives were killed. A soldier was also killed in the incident (AFP, July 5, 2022).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo

• ISIS operatives carried out attacks against Christian villages:
  • On July 3, 2022, there was an attack against the Christian village of Bolongo, in the Beni region, about 50 km from the Congo-Uganda border. Three residents were killed and their homes were set on fire. A truck and a motorcycle belonging to residents were also set on fire on the village road (Telegram, July 4, 2022).
  • On July 4, 2022, Christian residents were targeted by gunfire on the Beni–Kasindi highway. A man was killed and a Christian-owned vehicle was set on fire (Telegram, July 4, 2022).
  • A few days before, on July 1, 2022, ISIS operatives fired at a truck on the same highway. A man was killed and the truck was set on fire (Telegram, July 2, 2022). Also on June 30, 2022, ISIS operatives fired at residents on the same highway. Five residents were killed and six motorcycles were set on fire (Telegram, July 1, 2022).

Mozambique

• This week, ISIS’s Mozambique Province continued to carry out attacks against Christian villages and military targets in the Cabo Delgado Province in northeastern Mozambique.

Burkina Faso

• According to an official source, at least 22 civilians were killed on July 4, 2022 in an attack by armed men in the Kossi Province in northwestern Burkina Faso (Al-Jazeera and Reuters, July 5, 2022). No one claimed responsibility for the incident, but it can be estimated that the perpetrators were Islamic elements affiliated with Al-Qaeda or ISIS operating in the area.

Cameroon

• On July 2, 2022, Boko Haram operatives attacked a hospital in northern Cameroon. According to local sources, a security guard was killed in the attack and several people were wounded (Xinhua, July 3, 2022).
• An attack was carried out against a joint compound of the Cameroonian army and militias supporting it in the town of Mada, in the Kousséri region, in northern Cameroon, near the Cameroon-Chad border. One fighter was killed and four vehicles were set on fire (Telegram, July 4, 2022).

Somalia

• According to an announcement by ISIS’s Somalia Province, on July 2, 2022, its operatives activated an IED against a Somali police patrol on the Mogadishu–Afgoye highway, about 20 km northwest of Mogadishu. According to ISIS, at least two policemen were wounded (Telegram, July 2, 2022).

Asia

Afghanistan

• According to an announcement by ISIS’s Khorasan Province, on June 30, 2022, three of its operatives attacked Taliban members who were securing a conference of Taliban commanders at a conference hall in Kabul. ISIS operatives positioned themselves on the roof of a nearby building and killed two Taliban members who were securing the roof of the building. An exchange of fire ensued. In addition, IEDs were activated against Taliban patrols. The Taliban reportedly launched aircraft to ward off the attack. On July 1, 2022, six rockets were fired at the conference hall when the Taliban leader arrived. Several Taliban members were killed or wounded. The Taliban administration imposed a strict media ban on the incident (Telegram, July 1, 2022).

India

•  On June 28, 2022, a Hindu tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, was murdered in broad daylight in the city of Udaipur, in the state of Rajasthan, northwestern India. He was murdered by two Muslims, who impersonated customers and were apparently inspired by ISIS. The two recorded a video confessing to his murder following a post expressing support for the former spokeswoman of India’s ruling party, who had made statements against Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. The video also included threats on the life of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India Today, June 28, 2022).

   
Right: One of the killers impersonates a customer of the tailor. Left: The two murderers brandishing the knives used to commit the murder (from a video of the murderers, Telegram, June 29, 2022)

• The two murderers were arrested by Indian police several hours after the murder (India Today, June 28, 2022). Their investigation revealed that one of the murderers, Mohammad Riyas Ansari, had been in contact with the Dawat-e-Islami Organization, which operates in Pakistan. The other murderer, Gulam Gaus, visited Pakistan’s capital Karachi in 2014 and made two trips to Nepal, where he was in contact with terrorist organizations (NDTV, June 29, 2022). Prior to the murder, they had watched numerous ISIS videos and made many calls to Pakistan, which could suggest that the attack was inspired by ISIS (NDTV, June 29, 2022). This is another attack carried out in the wake of the stir caused by Indian politicians who made offensive remarks against Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam.

Pakistan

• On July 4, 2022, two Pakistani policemen were targeted by gunfire in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, southwest of Peshawar, about 50 km east of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Both policemen were killed. Both of their assault rifles were seized (Telegram, July 5, 2022).
• On July 4, 2022, operatives of ISIS’s Khorasan Province shot and killed a tribal leader who assisted Pakistani Intelligence in the Salarzai region, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border (Telegram, July 4, 2022).

Turkey

• On July 4, 2022, Turkish counterterrorism unit detained 19 suspected ISIS operatives in an operation carried out simultaneously in 20 different locations in Istanbul (Anatolia News Agency, July 4, 2022).
• On July 1, 2022, Turkish security forces in the Mersin Province (southern Turkey) detained 13 suspected ISIS operatives. The detainees have been charged with transferring financial aid and supplying equipment to ISIS. A search is underway for another wanted man (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, July 1, 2022).
• Turkish Intelligence has identified several straw companies operating in Turkey that transferred funds to ISIS. The companies are owned by 20 foreign nationals who were granted residence permits in Turkey after seeking asylum in the country, and have transferred funds to ISIS-affiliated elements in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt (Zaman, June 28, 2022).

Yemen

• On June 29, 2022, Brigadier General Saleh al-Sayyid, the officer in charge of security in the Lahij Governorate on behalf of the Provisional Presidential Council, survived an assassination attempt when a car bomb was detonated against a convoy of vehicles in the Khur Maksar neighborhood, on the road leading to Aden International Airport in southern Yemen. Four of his escorts were killed and at least seven others were wounded. No organization has claimed responsibility for the attack. It is believed to be the work of Al-Qaeda, which has recently stepped up its attacks in southern Yemen (Al-Jazeera, June 29, 2022).
• On July 4, 2022, the security forces of the Yemeni Provisional Presidential Council launched an operation against Al-Qaeda in the Abyan Governorate, in the wake of a recent increase in Al-Qaeda’s activity (Balqis TV, July 4, 2022).

The battle for hearts and minds

•  The editorial of this week’s issue of ISIS’s Al-Naba weekly was entitled, “The prisons of [the land] of the two holy places [Mecca and Medina, i.e.: Saudi Arabia] – be patient.” The article attacks the Saudi leadership and calls on ISIS’s supporters and operatives to work for the release of the ISIS operatives incarcerated in Saudi prisons. The author notes that the “tyrannical” Saudi regime is fighting against Islamic law (sharia), promoting alliances with Jews and Christians, spreading corruption and torturing incarcerated Muslim believers. According to the author, the believers have a duty to work for the release of incarcerated ISIS operatives. Finally, the author encourages the prisoners, noting that their struggle is not in vain and that Allah will overthrow the Saudi royal family through the believers and will restore the land of the two holy places to the bosom of Islam (Al-Naba weekly, Telegram, June 30, 2022).

Propaganda video of ISIS’s Iraq Province addressing the Kurds

• On July 1, 2022, ISIS’s Iraq Province released a 38-minute Kurdish-language propaganda video entitled “[Fight them] until there are no more infidels.^[3]“ The video, which has Arabic subtitles, calls on the Kurdish population to abandon “infidel” nationalism and adhere to ISIS’s Islamic concept of the Islamic State. The video also claims that Jews and Christians created divisions among the Kurdish population, as well as other populations, in order to divide the Muslims. The video shows masked ISIS operatives from Kurdistan. One of them notes that an Islamic state should be established, rather than a Kurdish nation state. Later in the video, the video threatens the Kurds who are operating against ISIS’s operatives, telling them that they will pay a heavy price. The video ends with the documentation of the execution of a Kurdish operative, and a call by Kurdish ISIS operatives to Kurdish residents in Turkey, Iraq and Iran, urging them to join ISIS (Telegram, July 1, 2022).

   
Right: The slide at the beginning of the video. Left: A claim that Jews and Christians created divisions among the Kurdish population (Telegram, July 1, 2022)

Appendix

Additional ISIS attacks (according to ISIS’s claims of responsibility)

Syria

Deir ez-Zor-Al-Mayadeen region

• On June 28, 2022, an SDF headquarters was targeted by gunfire and a rocket near Al-Mayadeen Bridge in the Dhiban region, about 5 km southeast of Al-Mayadeen. The headquarters sustained damage (Telegram, June 29, 2022).
• On June 29, 2022, the vehicle of an SDF commander was targeted by gunfire in the village of Jazrat Milaj, in the Kisra region, about 80 km north of Deir ez-Zor. The commander was wounded (Telegram, July 2, 2022).

Iraq

Kirkuk Province

• On July 3, 2022, ISIS operatives blew up three homes belonging to Tribal Mobilization fighters in the village of Al-Samakah, south of Daquq, about 30 km south of Kirkuk. In addition, two generators were destroyed (Telegram, July 4, 2022).

Nigeria

• On June 28, 2022, a Nigerian army compound was attacked in the town of Lassa in Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria. Ammunition and military equipment were seized. One Christian resident was abducted in the area (Telegram, June 29, 2022).

Mozambique

• On July 3, 2022, ISIS operatives killed a Christian resident in the village of Macaia, in the Ancuabe region, in the Cabo Delgado Province, in the northeastern Mozambique (Telegram, 3, 2022).
• On July 2, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked the Christian village of Iba, in the Miloko region in the Cabo Delgado Province. Homes of Christian residents were set on fire (Telegram, July 3, 2022).
• On June 29, 2022, a Christian resident was abducted and executed in the town of Namoka, in the Ancuabe region, in the Cabo Delgado Province (Telegram, June 30, 2022).
• On June 29, 2022, a Mozambican army compound was attacked in the town of Mandimba, in the Nangade region, in the Cabo Delgado Province. One soldier was killed and several others were wounded. weapons and ammunition were seized. The compound was set on fire (Telegram, July 1, 2022).
• On June 28, 2022, ISIS operatives attacked the Christian village of Kissanga, in the Cabo Delgado Province. Several homes of Christian residents were set on fire (Telegram, June 30, 2022).
• On June 25, 2022, a bus carrying Christian residents was targeted by gunfire on the road leading to the village of Najama, north of the town of Mocímboa da Praia in the Cabo Delgado Province. Three residents were killed and four others were wounded. The bus was set on fire (Telegram, June 29, 2022).

Afghanistan

• On July 4, 2022, a sticky bomb was activated against a Taliban vehicle in the Imam Saheb region, in the Kunduz Province in the northeast of the country. The vehicle went up in flames. Five Taliban operatives were killed or wounded (Telegram, July 5, 2022).
• On July 1, 2022, an IED was activated against a Taliban vehicle in the Narang District, the Kunar Province, northeast of Jalalabad. The passengers on board were killed or wounded (Telegram, July 2, 2022).

^[1] According to ISIS claims of responsibility and the Iraqi media ↑
^[2] This is a reference to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), consisting of forces from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Niger. ↑
^[3] The source is Surat al-Anfal, Verse 39, which calls for fighting against the infidels until they disappear and Islam rules the world. ↑

Related Articles