This month’s In Focus analyzes the bold Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin assault on Bamako, attacking the main airport of the Malian capital, as well as the gendarmerie school in Faladie District. This was the first attack in Bamako in years, in which the militants filmed and published online the moments of the attack, during which aircraft, including the presidential airplane, were damaged, and a high number of casualties were recorded among the Malian Armed Forces. JNIM continues to increase its attacks, incorporating complex assaults, against the FAMa and the Russian Private Military Companies assisting them.
During September 2024, two new chatrooms addressing potential adherents in Latin America started operating under IS’ chatroom nexus on the Rocket.Chat platform. In their first month of activity, the chatrooms shared thoughts, propaganda content and militant tutorial videos, mainly in Spanish, English and Portuguese. Although the chatrooms received low rates of engagement, which likely derives from the fact these are one-man enterprises that do not enjoy official backing, some of the content may incite lone wolves to action in an arena that has thus far has been given low priority by the jihadi group.
In August 2024, Bangladesh witnessed a pivotal moment as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted after weeks of mass protests. What began as backlash against a controversial quota system favoring the descendants of Bangladeshi veterans rapidly spiraled into a widespread revolt against the government. The June 2024 high court ruling reinstating the quota system ignited public fury, particularly among youth facing high unemployment. The brutal crackdown by police and paramilitary forces, which left over 266 dead, only intensified the unrest. As pressure mounted, Hasina fled, creating a power vacuum swiftly filled by the military. Student leaders and civil society groups expressed opposition to military involvement in politics, advocating instead for an inclusive, democratic government. However, the military’s track record, along with the resurgence of Islamist groups, leaves the country’s future uncertain.
This month’s Who’s Who? analyzes an X account that belongs to a Hamas supporter from Belgium. The account was very active until it was suspended in September 2024. Although little is known about the account owner, his support for Hamas is obvious based on his activity on X and CuriousCat – an anonymous Q&A social networking platform
This month’s Instant Messaging Applications analysis focuses on a phone number with a Ugandan country code that is a member of WhatsApp groups affiliated with the Islamic State, and a phone number with a Thai country code that is an admin of three IS-affiliated WhatsApp groups.
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