In this month’s In Focus, we examine the reaction of global jihad groups to the unrest in Sudan that started on April 15, 2023, caused by an armed conflict between rival factions of the military. For now, the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab have confined their responses to expressing criticism toward the rivaling Sudanese military factions and against Western actors, alleging their interference and influence in the situation. None of the jihadi mouthpieces have called for their supporters to participate in the conflict or to exploit the situation to perform violent actions at this time. In recent years, Sudan has experienced occasional periods of unrest, and while the global jihadi groups are monitoring the developing situation in the country, they seem content to wait patiently on the sidelines and see how developments unfold, before ascertaining whether the circumstances provide any beneficial opportunities warranting further action on their part.
In the Caucasus, presumed Islamic State adherents clashed with security forces in Ingushetia three times between March 27, 2023, and April 6, 2023. While the last claim of responsibility by global jihadi organizations in the region was in January 2020, arrests and small-scale terror attacks by supporters of global jihadi ideology continue to take place in the arena. Furthermore, IS-affiliated media channels continue to appeal to Chechens in published propaganda, with a recent article calling for Muslims from former Soviet Union states to abandon the battlefield in Ukraine and the Christian nations that send them to fight as cannon fodder, and instead to invest their efforts in waging jihad in the Caucasus.
In an unusual episode, four Saudi IS supporters filmed themselves with their faces fully visible expressing their radical views against the Saudi royal family, with some of the messages calling on Saudis to take violent action against the apostate government that rules the Arabian Peninsula. Since the beginning of 2023, three supporters seem to have traveled to Yemen, while the fourth supporter, who filmed himself in early April 2023, appears to be armed and still residing in Saudi Arabia. These messages were enthusiastically shared and re-shared on IS social media profiles and channels in order to encourage other adherents to follow the same example.
This month’s Who’s Who? features a Facebook profile from the Palestinian Authority (West Bank,) by the name of “Sharar Hamail.” He expresses strong support for IS by publishing segments from their videos, and other propaganda items. His face is fully visible in photos published in his Facebook account and other related social media, indicating his temerity. This, along with a possible familial relationship to Hamail clan members who were killed or arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces, make him a POI for further monitoring and investigation.
In our Instant Messaging Applications Monitoring, using the Codex IMATM system, we investigated two different phone numbers from two locations. The first has a Yemen country code, and according to the system, the POI is a member of eight radical WhatsApp groups. The POI’s two Facebook profiles have friends with jihadist leanings. The second phone number has an Afghan country code, and the POI is a member of three radical WhatsApp groups, one of which shares regular content about AQ. Our system managed to find related Afghani social media profiles with AQ content.
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