Terrorist Group Numbers In The Tens Of Thousands As It Continues Adept Use Of Online Cloud Storage
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Barcelona terror attack, which killed 16 people and wounded more than 100 others. A day before the vehicle attack in Barcelona, a house used to make TATP bombs in Alacanar exploded. The attack was claimed by ISIS and the group released a video praising the perpetrators later in August 2017. According to the BBC, French investigators are still looking for links between the Barcelona attackers and a suspected French terror cell. ISIS supporters on Telegram have marked the anniversary by recently sharing news stories from major Western publications related to the Barcelona attacks and Spain, as well as old content and ISIS news in Spanish.
Brazen attacks such as those demonstrate ISIS’ resiliency on and off the battlefield. Dubbed by security analyst Olivier Guitta as the “McDonald’s of Terrorism,” they thrive by “attracting anyone and everyone it can live on eternally.” Two separate reports recently released – one by the Pentagon and the other by the United Nations – confirmed that the terrorist group still numbers tens of thousands of jihadists in Iraq and Syria alone. Further, the group continues to make inroads across the globe, from north Africa, to southeast Asia and in Europe. Its message? “Fight now, fight hard, fight however you want.”
As the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) noted last week, as ISIS continues expanding, it has made adept use of cloud storage platforms – beyond its typical media propaganda. This week, CEP identified a PDF in Arabic that includes instructions for making C4 plastic explosives located on Google Drive. The manual was uploaded on August 13 and the link was originally posted on at least ten pro-ISIS Telegram channels on the same day. Text-based manuals and “how to” guides, especially those related to bomb making, present a unique challenge for file storage and cloud-based sharing services that may be specifically looking to remove video and photo content for violations.
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Anniversary Of Barcelona Attack
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Barcelona terror attack, which killed 16 people and wounded more than 100 others. A day before the vehicle attack in Barcelona, a house used to make TATP bombs in Alacanar exploded. The attack was claimed by ISIS and the group released a video praising the perpetrators later in August 2017. According to the BBC, French investigators are still looking for links between the Barcelona attackers and a suspected French terror cell. ISIS supporters on Telegram have marked the anniversary by recently sharing news stories from major Western publications related to the Barcelona attacks and Spain, as well as old content and ISIS news in Spanish.
New York Times Video Shared On A Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel, Posted On August 7, 2018
Video Nasheed With Spanish Subtitles, Posted On July 31, 2018
Spanish Translations Of Amaq News Content, Located On August 14, 2018
Spanish Translations Of Amaq News Content, Located On August 13, 2018
Manual For Making C4 / RDX On Google Drive
This week, CEP identified a PDF in Arabic that includes instructions for making C4 plastic explosives located on Google Drive. The manual was uploaded on August 13 and the link was originally posted on at least ten pro-ISIS Telegram channels on the same day. Text-based manuals and “how to” guides, especially those related to bomb making, present a unique challenge for file storage and cloud-based sharing services that may be specifically looking to remove video and photo content for violations.
C4 Explosives Manual On Google Drive, August 15, 2018
C4 Explosives Manual On Google Drive, August 15, 2018
ISIS Video Released On August 11 Still Active On Several Websites
On Saturday, August 11, ISIS’s self-proclaimed province in Khurasan (Afghanistan) released the video, “Answering the Call 2.” The video includes scenes of children in ISIS schools, combat, and features statements by wounded and blinded ISIS fighters. One corpse is shown in the video. In addition to Telegram, the video was originally released on at least 19 websites: YouTube, Google Drive, Google Photos, pc.cd, Sendvid, Ustream, Mediafire, Microsoft OneDrive, the Internet Archive, mail.ru, Dailymotion, Dropbox, file.fm, mega.nz, nofile.io, ok.ru, tune.pk, Vidio, and yadi.sk. Four days later, the video was still live on six websites: the Internet Archive, Google Photos, mail.ru, Dropbox, file.fm and nofile.io.
“Answering The Call 2” On The Indonesian Video Streaming Site Vidio, August 15, 2018
BACKGROUND
One Year After The Barcelona Attacks, Officials Are Still Looking For Links Between The Barcelona Attackers And A Suspected French Terror Cell. “Investigators believe they had planned to target Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia and the Camp Nou stadium, home to Barcelona football club. The Eiffel Tower in Paris was another target. The Alcanar blast late on 16 August had changed all that and the key figure, Abdelbaki Es Satty, lay dead in the rubble. But this is also a story of missed clues and intelligence failings, because Es Satty had been known to the authorities for years. And the BBC has learned that his gang of extremists was plugged into a network that, according to a surviving cell member, could have included another imam with a second cell of eight or nine young men in France. A year on, investigators in France have requested information from 10 countries and are still trying to break up that network and identify a possible French cell. Catalonia’s head of counter-terrorism believes the plot could have been masterminded by someone outside Spain.” (Sam Piranty, “Barcelona Attack: The Jihadists And The Hunt For A Second Gang,” BBC, 8/8/18)
Security Analyst Olivier Guitta: “ISIS Is The McDonald’s Of Terrorism. Rather Than Be An Elitist Movement, By Attracting Anyone And Everyone It Can Live On Eternally.” (Richard Spencer, “Don’t Believe Reports That ISIS Is Finished,” The Times, 8/14/18)
Pentagon And UN Reports Number ISIS Fighters In Iraq And Syria In The Tens Of Thousands – And The Group Is Continuing Its Expansion Worldwide As Well. “That may well be the case. However, the facts and figures do not bear it out. Estimates published in the past few days suggest that Isis not only remains a threat in Iraq and Syria, but that its numbers are far higher than previously thought and its reach is spreading. The Pentagon, in a report to Congress on Friday, quoted estimates of there being 15,500 to 17,100 ISIS fighters still in Iraq, and possibly 14,000 in Syria, including 4,000 to 6,000 in the US-led coalition’s area of operations. Those figures varied wildly from previous estimates, including from coalition spokesmen. However, they were backed up yesterday by a United Nations panel of experts, who also concluded there were between 20,000 to 30,000 fighters remaining in the two countries. That is before ISIS’s expanding operations around the world are taken into consideration. Fighters in insurgencies across north Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan and into southeast Asia have declared loyalty to ISIS, using the high-recognition brand name to win new recruits.” (Richard Spencer, “Don’t Believe Reports That Isis Is Finished,” The Times, 8/14/18)