TRAC has noted a growing trend within al-Qaeda and Islamic State, both of which are localizing propaganda in obscure languages to target smaller ethnolinguistic communities. This is a powerful recruiting tool for these organizations that reach into transnational communities.
This tactic is also a frustration for analysts because these local dialects are considered “low resource” languages, in the sense that there are few translations, no online translation tools, and few grammars and sketches of the languages to reference.
Examples of this localization process are:
- A JNIM produced video, in an extremely rare language, Barida. The speaking community for the language is transnational, existing in northern Togo, across northern Benin and into Niger State, Nigeria. Northern Togo and northern Benin have been targets for JNIM recently, and appealing to the Barida speaking community could allow them to tap into a geographically-situated, cohesive group that extends beyond political country borders.
- An Islamic State recruitment video for Islamic State Somalia (Abnaa ul-Calipha). The video was narrated entirely in the majority language in Ethiopia, Amharic. While many Ethiopians may be bilingual in Arabic and Amharic, the video likely targets the transnational Amhara ethnolinguistic community, which is largely centered in northwestern Ethiopia, but also dips into eastern Sudan and southern Eritrea.
Furthermore, unofficial Islamic State media houses and supporters are taking official media and localizing it, such as in Central Africa where the official IS Arabic language newsletter is translated to the local dialect of Swahili and turned into a podcast, thereby addressing two problems: 1) reaching those with no knowledge of Arabic and 2) reaching the illiterate populations. Al-Azaim media foundation in IS Khurasan province has taken steps to translate operational documents into Tajiki – an important new area of expansion for ISK.
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TRAC Video Analysis:Amaq News Agency (Official Islamic State) Releases a Video Message From Islamic State Central Africa (Wilayat Wasat Ifriqiyah / ISCA) to the Government Of Mozambique |
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Image: Screenshot from ISCA video released by Amaz News Agency. |
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Released on 09 August 2022, this is the first video of its kind released by ISCA (Shabaab Cult) because it actually threatens the Mozambique army (and those helping them, such as South Africa and Rwanda). The release of this video comes on the heels of a series of expanding attacks in Cabo Delgado, Niassa, and Nampula, which includes the successful resupply mission on 08 August 2022 in the Nangande District in Cabo Delgado.
This is one data point that begins to show that ISCA Shabaab Cult is not an organization on the brink of weakness and starvation. They are in fact, well-supplied and ready to take the fight to the enemy. In the video, they vowed to continue to attack Christians and army elements until Sharia law is the law of the land in Mozambique. |
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TRAC Insight: al-Azaim Foundation (Unofficial Islamic State): Voice of Khurasan #11 “The Black Hole In Ukraine” |
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Image: Publication banner for downloading. |
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The unofficial Islamic State media house al-Azaim circulated their magazine Voice of Khurasan issue #11 on 03 August 2022. The magazine, which was first released on 31 January 2022, was the beginning of a heavy propaganda push by Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISK). While remaining unofficial, al-Azaim has spread propaganda for ISK authoritatively and although the magazine is published in English, as mentioned above, al-Azaim has begun a more localized propaganda effort to reach ethnolinguistic communities in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, with a recent, popular target being Tajikistan.
Similar to previous issues, the Taliban was not spared any sharp criticism of their "un-Islamic nature," but the most interesting portion of this issue is in the details of the situation in Ukraine. Voice of Khurasan (VoK) makes it very clear that Ukraine is not the land of hijra and jihad and that Muslims should not engage in the war because it is "Crusaders massacring Crusaders." One key sticking point for the author is that this war has unveiled the deep racism in the Western Christian societies, and they paint a picture of the West lamenting the deaths of white, blonde, blue-eyed people in the streets of a rich European country, as punctuated by the inclusion of a picture of a blonde Ukrainian child on a tank.
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TRAC Incident Report:French Anarchists - 01 August 2022 Molotov & Mortar Attack on the Vitry-sur-Seine Police Station, Injuring Two, in Val-de-Marne, France |
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Image: A picture featuring the improvised Molotov cocktails from the attack |
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On 1 August 2022, a group of approximately 20 French anarchists committed a targeted attack on the Vitry-sur-Seine Police Station in Val-de-Marne, France. In this attack, the anarchists employed five Molotov cocktails and multiple rounds of mortar fire, destroying two police vehicles and injuring two BAC police officers.
The perpetrators arrived by the Marronnier alley and started throwing Molotov cocktails at the security fence surrounding the police station’s parking lot, as well as at the cops standing outside. Shortly thereafter, mortar fire was opened on the police station’s front side and to prevent anyone from exiting the police station through the parking lot, a device to block the gate’s opening was installed on a fence. The targeted police officers were able to escape the police station and attempt to apprehend the assailants, but the attack lasted at least 45 minutes.
The use of a device to prevent anyone from leaving the property is indicative of a planned coordinated attack and the use of mortar fire is a completely new tactic for this group. Large scale Molotov cocktail attacks are common amongst Greek anarchists, where the attacks are more brutal and the targets highly specific. They previously established a trend of employing sledgehammers as a weapon, which other anarchists in Europe have now followed suit. It appears as if the multiple Molotov cocktail trend is also taking effect in other European countries. |
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TRAC Incident Report:Iraqi Security Forces Foiled an Alleged Islamic State (IS) Suicide Bombing Intended to Target Ashura Gatherings of the Shia Muslims in Diyala Province, Iraq |
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Image: Iraqi Security Force personnel standing over body of the suicide bomber |
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On 08 August 2022, Iraqi Security Forces foiled an alleged Islamic State (IS) suicide bombing intended to target Ashura gatherings of the Shia Muslims in Diyala Province, Iraq. The IS militant blew himself up by detonating the IED that was attached to his body as the military surrounded him with the intention of capturing him alive. The perpetrator intended to carry out a terrorist assault in a Shia temple amid religious activities on the occasion of Ashura Day.
On 07 August 2022, Islamic State Khurasan committed a large scale successful bombing in the name of Ashura in Kabul, Afghanistan. However, on 04 August 2022, the Iranian Ministry of Information and National Security stated that it had made at least 10 arrests of Islamic State supporters who had planned attacks throughout the country on the Shia celebration of Ashura. A CTO was conducted in several provinces in the west and south of Iran, where in one undisclosed location that is under investigation, a firefight ensued and two security officers were injured.
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| | Far Right Extremism -Instructional Advice: Ecofascist Telegram Channel Share Tips on How to Dismantle a Police ‘Spot Robot’ |
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