Overview
During the week of the 10th of September, Daesh claimed attacks and activities in India, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. Al-Naba, released on 14 September, focuses on clashes between Al-Qaeda and Daesh in al-Bayada, and included an infographic which gives advice to would-be attackers. Daesh in Yemen released a video showing its major suicide attacks and bombings in the course of 2016-2018. The so-called al-Furat province published a photo portraying normal life in Eastern Syria; they also did this at the end of August.
A French pro-Daesh group, an-Nur media centre, established a distribution channel that provides tech security advice for multiple operating systems and applications. A pro-Daesh tech group released an infographic raising awareness about VPN use in 14 countries. A Daesh-linked group in Kashmir allegedly appointed a new chief. Supporters disseminated a translation of Baghdadi’s speech into Spanish and Pashto. A 5-minute cartoon showing the biography of former Daesh spokesperson Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was also circulated.
Al-Naba magazine
Al-Naba magazine, issued on 14 September, contains some interesting content including:
- Firstly, Al-Naba contains an infographic – the second in two weeks – which gives advice to would-be attackers. The guidance given in the infographic is general and common sense. It is divided into four areas:
- What to avoid: overall advice on avoiding hesitation and procrastination;
- Personal security: advises against underestimating the enemy and gives tips on making it as hard as possible for the enemy to catch them;
- Operational & planning: emphasises the importance of good planning
- Religious devotion.
Secondly, it contains an article giving details of recent clashes between Daesh and its rival al-Qaeda in Yemen (AQAP). This is the first time that Daesh has published this sort of information. The article claims that Daesh captured 13 AQAP members when it attacked a checkpoint. Later, it accuses AQAP of lying and so incites them to continue fighting Daesh. The article describes five different confrontations between the two groups and states that both have suffered losses. It admits that Daesh initiated two of those five encounters. The article also claims that Yemini army and militias supported by Western and Saudi forces took part in an attack together with AQAP fighters. It is stated within the article that in each confrontation, Daesh fighters were the winners.
Video of Daesh in Yemen
On September 11, Daesh released a video from its branch in Yemen via Daesh outlets on Telegram. The 38-minute, 32-second video entitled ‘The crushing of the enemies – part 2’, documents its major suicide attacks and bombings. The footage focuses on suicide attacks and assassinations conducted against the Yemeni army, security personnel and UAE-backed forces. The video also promises further attacks. Some footage in the video shows a Daesh fighter allegedly changing his mission because of the ‘proximity of civilians’. The video was ‘announced’ via a poster in al-Naba on 7 September.