Spotlight on Global Jihad (October 7-13, 2021)

Main events of the past week

• Afghanistan: ISIS operatives continued to carry out attacks against the Taliban forces and Shiite civilians. A major incident was an attack carried out by a suicide bomber in a mosque of the Hazara, a Shiite minority, in the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. About 50 people were killed and dozens were wounded. Sources in the Taliban noted that over 100 people had been killed in the attack and over 140 had been wounded. Al-Battar, a media foundation that supports ISIS, issued a statement entitled “From the Khorasan Province to Washington,” threatening to expand jihadi activity from Afghanistan to Europe and the United States.
• Syria: In general, there has been a decrease in ISIS attacks. In the Idlib region, fighting continued between the Syrian army and the rebel forces, while Russian planes continued to carry out airstrikes against targets in the rebel enclave. In the desert region (Al-Badia), Russian planes carried out airstrikes against ISIS targets. At least 17 ISIS operatives were killed and many more were wounded. For the first time in many months, there have been no reports about ISIS attacks.
• Iraq: Despite this week’s elections, ISIS was relatively inactive (two attacks were carried out against polling stations). Iraqi authorities have announced the arrest of Sami Jassem, ISIS’s official in charge of finances who had been deputy to former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. This is a major achievement for the Iraqi security forces in the war against ISIS and a blow to ISIS at the morale and operative level.
• The Sinai Peninsula: Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi issued a presidential decree (the first of its kind) authorizing the defense minister to impose a series of special measures on the entire Sinai Peninsula and not just the northeast, which is the area where the campaign against ISIS operatives is taking place. According to an article in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula has been relatively calm of late, and in the past three months there have been only a very few incidents, indicating a significant decline in the ISIS’s activity and possibly a temporary freeze. According to Hassan Abu Haniyeh, an expert on jihadi organizations, the Sinai Province has decreased its activity to protect itself from total decline. However, he makes it clear that ISIS is still alive, constituting a source of danger.
• Africa: The West Africa and Central Africa provinces continued their terrorist activity, although there was a slight decrease in its volume:
  • Nigeria: Noteworthy attacks this week were attacks against Christian civilians. Among other things, an attack against a Christian town and the abduction of a Red Cross worker.
  • Uganda: For the first time, ISIS’s Central Africa Province claimed responsibility for an attack carried out by its operatives in the capital Kampala.
• The battle for hearts and minds: The feature article in Al-Naba’ weekly was devoted to the parliamentary elections in Iraq and the fact that democracy is in complete contradiction to Islamic law (Sharia).

Afghanistan

Attack on a Shiite mosque in Kunduz

• Dozens of Shiite worshipers were killed and wounded in a terrorist attack carried out by a suicide bomber in a Shiite mosque in the city of Kunduz, north of Kabul, near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border (AP, October 8, 2021). According to Taliban sources, over a hundred people were killed in the attack and over 143 were wounded. ISIS’s Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack. According to ISIS, the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who managed to infiltrate into a place of worship of the Hazara Shiite sect, where he blew up his explosive vest. According to ISIS, about 300 people were killed or wounded and the building, which is the largest house of worship of the Hazara in the region, was destroyed. ISIS further noted that the suicide bomber, whose codename is Mohammad al-Ayghuri (i.e., the Uyghur), was an Uyghur (a Muslim from Turkestan / Xinjiang in China), whom the Taliban promised to expel in compliance with the Chinese government’s request (Telegram, October 8, 2021).

• This is one of the most prominent attacks carried out by ISIS’s Khorasan Province in Afghanistan, as part of a series of attacks against Taliban and Shiite targets carried out by ISIS in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country and the United States evacuated its forces. The police deputy commander declared that the Taliban is poised to safeguard the security of the Shiites.
• Following are other prominent attacks carried out by ISIS in Afghanistan (according to ISIS’s claims of responsibility on Telegram):
  • On October 12, 2021, a person loyal to the previous Afghan government was targeted by gunfire while in his car, in Jalalabad.
  • On October 9, 2021, two Taliban members were targeted by gunfire in Jalalabad. The two were killed and their weapons were seized.
  • On October 8, 2021, a Taliban intelligence operative was abducted in Jalalabad and later executed. On October 6, 2021, another Taliban member was abducted in the city. He was also executed.
  • On October 8, 2021, an IED was activated against the vehicle of a Taliban commander in the Jabrahar region, Nangarhar Province, on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. He was killed and three of his escorts were wounded.
  • On October 7, 2021, an IED was activated against a foot patrol of the Taliban forces in the Khogyani region, about 90 km southeast of Kabul. One Taliban member was killed and another was wounded.
  • On October 5, 2021, an IED was activated against the vehicle of a Taliban official in the Kama region, in Nangarhar. Three Taliban members were killed and four others were wounded, including the official in charge of the region.

Threat to carry out attacks in the US and Europe

•  The Al-Battar Foundation, which is an ISIS-affiliated media outlet, published a statement entitled “From the Khorasan Province to Washington.” It threatens to expand jihad activity from Afghanistan to Europe and the United States. The statement addresses the “leaders of Jewish infidels and slaves of the Cross, America and its allies,” who have thought that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban will replace them in Afghanistan, but they will face attacks in their own countries, originating from Afghanistan (Telegram, October 11, 2021).

The Syrian arena

• This week, for the first time in many months, there have been no reports about ISIS attacks.

The Idlib region

• Exchanges of artillery fire continued between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it, and the rebel forces in the rebel enclave in Idlib. On October 7, 2021, the Russian Air Force resumed its activity and carried out airstrikes in the western part of Idlib (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 7, 2021).

The desert region (Al-Badia)

• Since early October 2021, Russian fighter jets carried out over 300 airstrikes against ISIS targets in the desert region. At least 17 ISIS operatives were reportedly killed and 27 others were wounded (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, October 12, 2021).

The Iraqi arena

• The Iraqi army spokesman announced that the United States had begun to evacuate its forces from Iraq and that the evacuation process would be completed by December 31, 2021. As part of the July 2021 agreement between the US and Iraq, all the American fighting forces will leave the country, and only advisors, training staffs and combat service support will remain in Iraq (Al-Sumaria, October 7, 2021).

Attacks by province^[1]

Kirkuk Province

• On October 11, 2021, an Iraqi police outpost was targeted by gunfire in the Riyad region, about 50 km southwest of Kirkuk. Two policemen were wounded and a thermal camera was destroyed. Several days before (October 6, 2021), an IED was activated there against an Iraqi police armored vehicle and passengers on board were wounded.
• On October 10, 2021, a parliamentary election center was targeted by gunfire in southern Daquq, in the southern region of Kirkuk. A police officer and two policemen were killed, and three others were wounded.

Al-Anbar Province

• On October 9, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi army foot patrol in the Kabisa Desert, about 60 km northwest of Ramadi. One soldier was killed.
• On October 6, 2021, an Iraqi soldier was targeted by gunfire west of Al-Rutba, in western Iraq.
• On October 5, 2021, two intelligence operatives were abducted in the Akashat region, near the Iraqi-Syrian border, east of Al-Qaim. They were interrogated and then executed.

Diyala Province

• On October 10, 2021, a Tribal Mobilization camp was targeted by gunfire east of Al-Miqdadiya, about 40 km northeast of Baqubah. One fighter was killed and two others were wounded.
• On October 6, 2021, an Iraqi army patrol was ambushed and fired at north of Al-Azim, about 60 km north of Baqubah. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded.

Salah al-Din Province

• On October 10, 2021, a rocket was fired at a polling center (for the Iraqi parliamentary elections) in the city of Baiji. According to ISIS, definite hits were detected.

Counterterrorism measures in Iraq

The security forces arrest ISIS’s official in charge of finances

• Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced that the Iraqi security forces had arrested Sami Jassem, ISIS’s official in charge of finances, “outside Iraqi borders,” apparently on the Syrian-Iraqi border. Al-Kadhimi noted that Jassem had been the deputy of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS’s former leader (Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s Twitter account, October 11, 2021). This is a major achievement of the Iraqi security forces in their war against ISIS and a major blow to ISIS’s morale and its operative capabilities (for further details, see the ITIC’s publication on this issue).

Salah al-Din Province

• The Iraqi security forces killed two ISIS operatives in the Tarmiyah region. One of the operatives had reportedly planned to carry out a suicide bombing attack in Baghdad (Popular Mobilization website, September 29, 2021). The day before, the Iraqi security forces killed an ISIS commander near Samarra (Facebook page of Iraqi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Rasoul, September 28, 2021).

The Sinai Peninsula

ISIS activity

• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a presidential decree (the first of its kind) authorizing Defense Minister Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed to enforce a series of special measures on the entire Sinai Peninsula at any time, and not just on the northeast, where the campaign against ISIS is being waged and where ISIS holds territories which the army has no control of. The decree renders the entire Sinai Peninsula an official military zone. In practice, the Egyptian Defense Ministry has become the supreme commander of this territory, having powers overshadowing those of the prime minister and the governors (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, October 7, 2021).
• According to an article published in Al-Araby al-Jadeed, recently there has been relative security calm in the Sinai Peninsula, after eight years of fighting between ISIS’s Sinai Province and the Egyptian security forces. According to the article, over the past three months, only a few incidents have been recorded, indicating a significant decrease in ISIS’s activity and maybe even a temporary freeze of the organization’s activity. According to sources on the ground, ISIS’s operatives are not to be seen in most of northern and central Sinai, indicating a withdrawal or the end of ISIS’s presence in the region. Tribal sources operating alongside the Egyptian security forces noted that many operatives had turned themselves in to the security forces and others had fled. In addition, ISIS’s Sinai branch has had fatalities and also has suffered from lack of logistics and finance. Based on the current situation, the Egyptian army has reportedly allowed dozens of civilians to return to their homes.
• Hassan Abu Haniyeh, an expert on jihadi organizations, notes that ISIS’s Sinai Province has decreased its activity in order to protect itself from total decline. However, he makes it clear that the organization is still alive, constituting a source of danger (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, October 9, 2021).

Summary of ISIS’s activity in the various provinces

Weekly summary of ISIS’s activity

• An infographic published by ISIS summing up its activity around the world in the period between September 30, 2021, and October 6, 2021, indicates that during that period, ISIS carried out 48 attacks in its various provinces in Asia and Africa, compared to 54 in the previous week. The largest number of attacks was carried out by the Iraq Province (26). Attacks carried out in the other provinces: Khorasan (i.e., Afghanistan) (10); West Africa (6); Central Africa (2); Syria (1); Sinai (1); India (1); Somalia (1) (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, October 8, 2021). A total of 174 people were killed and wounded in the attacks, compared to 136 in the previous week. The largest number of casualties was in the Khorasan Province, i.e., Afghanistan (100). The other casualties were in the following provinces: Iraq (49); West Africa (10); Central Africa (9); Sinai (3); Syria (1); Somalia (1); and India (1) (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, October 8, 2021).

ISIS attacks in recent months (according to ISIS data)

Africa

Nigeria

• On October 10, 2021, ISIS operatives attacked a Nigerian army camp in Mairi, southeast of Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria. Three soldiers were killed and several others were wounded in the exchange of fire.
• On October 10, 2021, positions of militias loyal to the Nigerian army were targeted by gunfire in Bam, about 160 km southwest of Maiduguri. Four militia members were killed and the rest fled.
• On October 9, 2021, an IED was activated against a Nigerian army convoy on a highway in Borno State. One vehicle was destroyed and the passengers on board were killed or wounded.
• On October 9, 2021, ISIS operatives abducted a Red Cross worker in Borno State and seized his car (Telegram, October 9, 2021).

   
Right: The Red Cross worker who was abducted and his car which was seized by ISIS
(Telegram, October 9, 2021)

• On October 7, 2021, Nigerian soldiers and fighters of militias loyal to the government were targeted by gunfire in in Borno State. One militia fighter was killed in the exchange of fire.
• On October 6, 2021, a Christian village was targeted by gunfire in Borno State. Three residents were killed and three churches were set on fire.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo^[2]

• On October 10, 2021, two Christian villages, Mangazi and Duduma, were targeted by gunfire. The villages are located in the Beni region, about 50 km west of the Congo-Uganda border. Nine Christian residents were killed and several houses were set on fire.
• On October 9, 2021, a convoy of Christian residents was targeted by gunfire in the Ituri region, about 50 km west of the Congo-Uganda border. Six Christian civilians were killed and six of their vehicles were set on fire. Two days earlier, a Congolese army camp in the region was targeted by gunfire. The camp soldiers fled and ISIS operatives seized weapons and set the camp on fire.

Uganda

• An IED was activated against a Ugandan police post in the capital Kampala. Several policemen were wounded and the post sustained damage (Telegram, October 8, 2021). This is the first time that ISIS’s Central Africa Province claimed responsibility for carrying out an attack in Kampala.

Morocco

• On October 6, 2021, Moroccan security forces reported the arrest of ISIS operatives in Tangier (Sky News, October 6, 2021).

Asia

Pakistan

• On October 9, 2021, ISIS’s Khorasan Province announced that its operatives had fired at a Shiite resident in southern Waziristan, on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border (Telegram, October 10, 2021).

India

• India’s security forces raided 16 locations in Jammu and Kashmir, in the north of the country, for involvement in the distribution of the ISIS leaflet, Sawt al-Hind (The Voice of India). Three ISIS-affiliated operatives were detained during the operation (www.indiatoday.in, October 10, 2021; www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, October 10, 2021).
• An indictment was filed against a 31-year-old Hizb-ut-Tahrir operative codenamed Saravana Kumar. The operative, who became radicalized and adopted ISIS’s ideology, posted messages on social media against the Indian government and messages supporting ISIS’s ideology. He also called for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in southern India (Hindustan Times, October 7, 2021).

The Philippines

• On October 7, 2021, ISIS operatives fired at a force of the Moro^[3] militia, which is loyal to the local government, in Maguindanao, in the southern Philippines. The militia fighters fled the scene (Telegram, October 9, 2021).

Yemen

Senior Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQIP) official threatens the United States

• AQIP’s media foundation released a video featuring senior AQIP official Ibrahim al-Qosi. In the video, Al-Qosi, who was previously incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay in the US, threatens the United States that it will suffer more severe attacks than the September 11, 2001 attacks. He also congratulates the Taliban for taking over Afghanistan, implementing Sharia law and highlighting the defeat of the United States as a world power that has lost its deterrence capability. He notes that the United States would not enjoy peace and security, as promised by former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who claimed that the United States would not have security until Palestine is liberated and as long as its soldiers were stationed in the Arabian Peninsula (Telegram, October 6, 2021).

Europe

Kosovo

• Kosovo’s prosecutor general reported that after several months of investigation and surveillance, police have arrested five ISIS operatives who were planning to carry out attacks in the country. The five were part of an extremist Islamic group. Two of them have previously been detained for terrorist activity. The detainees include operatives of the organization who previously came to Syria, via Turkey, to fight in the ranks of ISIS. Kosovo police released photos of weapons, including anti-tank weapons, rifles, ammunition and explosives, found in the country. This might be equipment stored by the detainees to carry out the planned attacks (www.militantwire.com, October 13, 2021). It should be noted that more than 260 citizens of Kosovo, including fighters and their families, have returned to the country since 2019. Many of them fought in the ranks of ISIS.

The battle for hearts and minds

• The feature article in Al-Naba’ weekly was devoted to the parliamentary elections in Iraq. The author refers to the elections as an act of infidels against Allah since, according to him, democracy is in complete contradiction to the rule of Allah, which is expressed in Islamic (Sharia) law. The author adds that the ISIS operatives (“jihad fighters”) strive to impose the laws of Islam and that ISIS, since its inception, has been warning against acts carried out by infidels. He notes that ISIS continues its preaching to implement the rule of Allah and jihad against the infidels and that its operatives in Iraq will not stop fighting the infidels until Sharia is implemented there (Al-Naba’ weekly, Telegram, October 8, 2021). It should be noted that ISIS claimed responsibility for two attacks targeting the Iraqi elections.

^[1 Mostly according to ISIS’s claims of responsibility posted on Telegram ↑
^[2] Mainly according to ISIS's claims of responsibility posted on Telegram ↑
^[3] The Moro are an ethnic group in the southern Philippines that has converted to Islam. ↑

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