Afghanistan Content Report

April 6 – April 12, 2024

Please note that all items in this issue are concerning ISIS-K

Table of contents

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 438, Published April 11, 2024
2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter
3. ISIS Amaq Statements
4. Pro-ISIS Al-Azaim Web Magazine “Voice of Khorasan” Issue 34, Released on April 8, 2024 
5. Pro-ISIS Al-Jahaur Media Center Web Magazine “Serat ul Haq” Issue 3, Released on April 10, 2024

Main points (Pro-ISIS online chatter)

• N/A

   

1. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter Edition 438 Published April 11, 2024

• “Assassination of a leader in one of the apostate democratic parties and a bombing that kills an officer and wounds another in Khorasan Province.”

“This week, soldiers of the Caliphate in Khorasan Province assassinated a leader in one of the apostate political parties, killed a Pakistani police officer, and wounded another with an explosion that targeted them in the Bajaur border area.”

• “A leader of an apostate political party was killed.” 

“In detail, with the grace of God Almighty, on Wednesday (Ramadan 24), the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a local official in the apostate political party called Jami’at Ulema-e-Islam, in the town of Ghulam Khan in the Waziristan region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with machine guns, which It led to his death, praise be to God, and local media showed pictures of the dead leader.”

• “One officer was killed and another injured.”

“In the Bajaur region on the Pakistani-Afghan border, the Caliphate soldiers targeted on Saturday (Ramadan 27) A foot patrol of the apostate Pakistani police, in the Mamond area, detonated an explosive device, which led to the death of an officer and the wounding of another, praise be to God.”              

• “The slain leader of the Democratic Party called Association of Islamic Scholars.”

2. Pro-ISIS Online Chatter

• CEP did not locate relevant pro-ISIS online chatter this week.

3. ISIS Amaq Statements

• April 6: ISIS claims to have killed one Pakistani police officer and wounded another in an attack in Bajaur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan.

“Khorasan Province. By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a foot patrol of the apostate Pakistani police in the Mamond area in Bajaur, which led to the killing of an officer and the wounding of another, and praise be to God.”

• April 6: ISIS claims to have killed an official from the political party Jami’at Ulema-e-Islam in Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

“Khorasan Province. By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a local official in the apostate political party Jami’at Ulema-e-Islam in the town of Ghulam Khan in the Waziristan region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last Wednesday, with machine guns, which led to his death, praise be to God.”

• April 11: ISIS claims to have attacked a Taliban oil tanker with an explosive device in Qala-e-Murad Beg, near Kabul, on April 9.

“By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate detonated a bomb attached to an oil tanker belonging to the apostate Taliban militia in the Qala-e-Murad Beg area north of Kabul the day before yesterday, which resulted in its destruction and the ignition of other tankers in the place, and praise be to God.”

4. Pro-ISIS Al-Azaim Web Magazine “Voice of Khorasan” Issue 34, Released on April 8, 2024 

Article 1: “A Message for Bangladesh”

• The article advocates for a religious system and warns the people of Bangladesh not to choose secularism.
• Bangladesh should be governed by religious laws, not a democratic system.

Article 2: Translation of Abu Hudayfah al-Ansari’s March 28 Speech “[By Allah], Allah Will Bring This Matter to Its Consummation”

• The speech marks the 10th anniversary of the declaration of the Islamic State.
  • The West (and others) are fighting ISIS “from Iraq to Mozambique” and from “Sham [Syria] to the Sahel.”
• A massive coalition of countries could not defeat ISIS.
• Ansari noted that the organization has expanded from its beginnings in Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan, Pakistan, West Africa, Central Africa, Mozambique, the Sahel region, Somalia, and the Philippines.
• ISIS’s four prior leaders were killed in battle.
• Ansari also congratulated ISIS fighters in different areas, noting the recent ISIS victories in Mozambique and attacks in Afghanistan against the Taliban, religious minority groups, and the U.S., Russia, and China. 
• He also mentioned the recent attack on a Russian concert hall near Moscow, noting that it was revenge for Russia’s fighting against ISIS in Syria and the Sahel region, and noted the October 31, 2015, attack on a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula.
• Ansari also emphasized the importance of pledging allegiance to ISIS’s leader and encouraged translating and spreading the archive of online ISIS propaganda. This content’s global spread was declared secondary in importance only to physical fighting.  
• The speech also called for attacks to free those in the al-Hawl camp in Syria. Al-Ansari called for global attacks against local allies of the U.S. fighting against ISIS, invoking the Camp Speicher massacre.

Article 3: One From the Best Generation: Fatimah

• The story of Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.
• The article emphasizes Fatimah’s piety, steadfastness, and patience.
• Fatimah is described as the ideal female leader.

Article 4: The Bear Bewildered

• Russia is one of the leading countries fighting against ISIS, along with the U.S. and Iran.
• Eighty-seven countries, including the Taliban, are part of the global coalition fighting against ISIS.
• Russia, allied with the Assad regime, has committed atrocities against Sunnis in Syria.
• The Russian aerial campaign in Syria destroyed villages and killed civilians, and Wagner fighters committed heinous acts.
• ISIS has sworn revenge against its enemies.
• The article lists recent attacks, such as the Kerman attack in Iran (which is incorrectly dated in the magazine) and the stabbing of a Jewish man in Zurich, Switzerland (which is also incorrectly dated), as examples of revenge.
• The Moscow attack is the latest example of ISIS attacking their enemies.
• The article noted that the Moscow attack occurred almost exactly five years after the fall of Baghuz, Syria, the last piece of territory held by ISIS in Iraq or Syria.
• The article stated that many civilians were killed in the attack on Baghuz and that the Moscow attack on March 22 was an act of payback.
• The U.S., Russia, and other countries are afraid of ISIS attacks, which proves that ISIS is a force to be reckoned with.
• The attack on a Moscow concert hall also split people into two camps: those who supported the attack as an act of revenge and those who expressed their condolences to Russia.
• Many people who expressed sorrow over the Moscow attack did not care about attacks on Muslims in Syria or Chechnya or the persecution of the Uyghurs in China.
• The Taliban are mentioned as following a religion devised by the U.S., Russia, and Pakistan.

Article 5: “Those Who Persevere in the Right and Those Who Succumb to the Pressure of the Status Quo” By Abu Musab at-Turki

• An article on the importance of fighting disbelievers.
• The article condemns groups in Syria supported by Turkey.
  • These groups claim they are fighting for truth, but they are allegedly trying to deceive others.
• These organizations claim to be pious but allow immorality and do not follow religious law.
  • These same people imprison journalists who expose their lies and hypocrisy and do not distribute taxes that they have collected to the people who need them.
• These Syrian groups had first appealed to outside powers to fight against ISIS. Now they appeal to their patrons to fight against other groups.

Infographic: Advertising the Turkish language version of al-Azaim publications.

Article 6: Light of Darkness 2

• The article focuses on online operations security and privacy.
• Posts uploaded to the internet are permanent and traceable.
• The article urges the reader to be responsible in posting content on social media.
  • Warning regarding personal information and geolocatable content. 
  • Warning regarding how individuals are tracked online.
• Who tracks you online:
  • Service providers.
  • Advertisers and marketing agencies.
  • Data brokers.
  • Governments.
  • Educational and research institutes.
  • Cybercriminals.
• The article advises reviewing privacy settings, being careful sharing personal information, using privacy tools, having strong passwords, staying informed about online threats, monitoring accounts, reading terms of service, not posting personal information to social media, and backing up data. 
• The article states that the reader is always surrounded by enemies and should act like it. 

Article 7: On the Path of Being a Faithful Servant 2

• An essay on why one should not be tricked into following modern religious sects.
• The essay states that compared to these modern sects, Sunnism has existed for 1400 years and has not changed because it is the perfect interpretation of religion.

Infographic on what Muslim and Arab leaders were doing instead of sending aid to Gaza.

• “The Taliban were busy counting the dollars the U.S. gave them.”
• “Pakistan was begging the IMF [International Monetary Fund] for more loans.”

Article 8: If Not Now Then When?

• The article condemns patriotic or separatist movements and leaders accused of serving the West.
• The article calls for individuals to fight to establish religious law and impose ISIS’s version of religion.
• The article states that fighting is mandatory.
• The article encourages traveling to Afghanistan, stating that “Khorasan province is now the home of migration and jihad, and wide areas are watching the way of immigrants.”
  • Emigration erases sins.
• The entire world has united against ISIS.
  • The entire world insults your religion, commits atrocities against women and children.
• Fighting is mandatory in the same way that fasting is mandatory.
• The article encourages committing attacks if one cannot emigrate.
• At the very least, you should send money to those who are fighting.
• The article recommends contacting official ISIS accounts to emigrate and to follow all given instructions.
• The article also states that if one is going to commit attacks in their home country one should “keep in touch with the Mujahideen so that they assist you suitably.”

Just as in previous issues, there is a call to donate the privacy cryptocurrency Monero.

The last page of issue 34 encourages attacks in Europe.

5. Pro-ISIS Al-Jahaur Media Center Web Magazine “Serat ul Haq” Issue 3, Released on April 10, 2024

Serat ul Haq is an English-language pro-ISIS web magazine. Its articles are mainly directed towards people in India. The last issue was released in March 2023. Below is a summary of an article criticizing the Taliban.

Article 2: “The Puppets of [the] USA”

• The Taliban are controlled by the U.S. and cannot criticize the latter, lest their funding be cut off. 
• The Taliban care more about personal comfort and money than the hereafter and religion.
• The Taliban gave up their image as religious after taking power.
• While Muslims suffer around the world, the Taliban are the puppets of the U.S.
• The author compares this to ISIS, who are portrayed as following the true and righteous path.