This month’s In Focus analyzes the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Rafah in mid-October 2024, and the reactions to it from different militant groups in the Islamic world. While most were positive, exalting Sinwar’s biography and his key role in the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, the indirect response of the Islamic State was notable for its familiar criticism of both the glorification of a person they consider an apostate as a phenomenon, and its praise of Hamas, an organization they deem “un-Islamic” due to its alignment with the Iran-headed “Axis of Resistance.” Notwithstanding, unofficial reactions in Global Jihad chatrooms portray a more complex, debatable picture.
On October 29, 2024, Axel Rudakubana was charged with possession of a biological toxin and an Al-Qaeda training manual that among other aspects, discusses assassination and the preparation of explosives and poisons. Some poisons and explosives manuals can occasionally be found in simple online searches, while others are continuously circulated in jihadi circles and can be also accessed with the help of the Global Jihadi adherents community via Instant Messaging Apps and chatrooms.
IS militants launched their first confirmed attack within Azerbaijan, targeting security forces in the Qasar Region, near the Russian border. IS sources claimed responsibility for at least eight Azerbaijani security personnel killed or injured as a result of the assault. This unprecedented attack demonstrates the Islamic State’s continued presence in the region.
This month’s Who’s Who? analyzes a Facebook profile of an Iraqi supporter of the “Axis of Resistance,” which among other Iranian proxies, includes Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas.
This month’s Instant Messaging Applications analysis focuses on two radical WhatsApp groups – one affiliated with Hamas, and the other affiliated with the Islamic State. Also, in this report we investigated one phone number from each group. From the group affiliated with Hamas, a Canadian phone number that participates in the group was investigated. The group affiliated with the Islamic State included a Senegalese phone number, who is also a member of other groups affiliated with the Islamic State.
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