This month’s In Focus analyzes Al-Qaeda’s increased propaganda efforts on the occasion of the commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The propaganda focused on inciting more attacks against the West, and military strategy theory by the AQ leader.
In the passing month, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin has intensified attacks against the Malian Armed Forces and Russia’s Wagner Group in Mali, especially focusing on military facilities and aircraft. This wave of jihadi attacks comes against the backdrop of the withdrawal of French troops and the MINUSMA peacekeeping force from the country, which has strengthened the jihadi group. Notably, some of the attacks were carried out by Azawad tribal rebel factions that sided with JNIM. Being a heterogeneous unit, the Azawads’ conflict of loyalties to different groups has left them between the hammer and the anvil on the difficult path to independence as political turmoil continues to dominate Mali.
IS adherents use video games to recreate scenes from Islamic State propaganda videos, as well as game battlefields to increase the jihadi sentiments of players against non-Muslims. The examples analyzed provide additional evidence of the ongoing efforts by IS to use gaming platforms to recruit youth and create a new generation of jihadists.
This month’s Who’s Who? analyzes a social media account of a radical Facebook profile belonging to a Lebanese man who supports the Islamic State. Although his Facebook profile is the only social media platform still active and used by him, his support for IS is clearly indicated throughout the content he shares.
In our Instant Messaging Applications Monitoring, using the Codex IMATM system, we investigated two phone numbers, Yemeni and Saudi, which are members of several radical WhatsApp groups. The Yemeni number is affiliated with the Houthi Ansar Allah terrorist group, while the Saudi number is affiliated with the Global Jihad movement and is a member of a group that distributed instructions on the preparation of IEDs. Further investigation, using additional tools and systems, revealed their social media presence and associated accounts.
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