@real_rita_katz:
Kata’ib Hezbollah—the leading member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) umbrella group—denied a Reuters report implying its potential responsibility for an attack on a US base in Syria, SITE Intelligence Group reports. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/pro-iran-kata-ib-hezbollah-denies-reuters-report-insinuating-responsibility-for-attack-from-iraq-on-us-base-in-syria.html
@real_rita_katz ↩️:
Reuters reported that rockets launched from Iraq struck a US base in northeastern Syria. Reuters mentioned messages from Kata’ib Hezbollah-affiliated channels about resuming attacks after a three-month hiatus, but also that there was no official statement from the group itself. Kata’ib Hezbollah’s April 21 statement emphasized it "did not issue any statement in the last 48 hours" and lamented "fabricated news reported by Reuters Agency, which will be held accountable for it later.”
@real_rita_katz:
Houthi leader Abdul Malik Badruddin al-Houthi lashes out at Arab states for helping Israel intercept Iranian airstrikes, claiming Saudi Arabia and UAE are “serving the enemy." He also promises that attacks in Red Sea and Indian Ocean will continue until Israel halts fighting in Gaza. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/denouncing-arab-states-for-helping-israel-intercept-iranian-ordnance-houthi-leader-confirms-group-to-continue-attacks-until-gaza-aggression-stops.html
@real_rita_katz:
With the news that authorities are treating the recent stabbings at a church in Sydney, Australia as terrorism, we can see another example in what has been a significant uptick in lone-wolf jihad during the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack at this time. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7186395262062403584/
@real_rita_katz:
As it pertains to the increased threat of lone-wolf attacks across the globe, FBI Director Christopher Wray recently stated in a 2025 budget request, "now increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia concert hall a couple weeks ago." https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-director-concerned-lone-wolf-small-groups-draw/story?id=109109335
@real_rita_katz:
Thread on Iran retaliatory strikes against Israel: The strikes were largely intercepted, confirming what many expected: that the strikes would be a theatrical display instead of a mass-damaging, escalatory provocation. This response is of course is similar to that for the US’ killing of Qasem Soleimani, after which Iran fired rockets at American bases in Iraq, resulting in no casualties.
@real_rita_katz ↩️:
Now comes Tehran’s chest-beating: Iranian outlets are already promoting their latest strikes as effective against Israel's defenses. Meanwhile, Iranian government officials are warning Israel and the US of "immediate" strikes with "double severity" should they choose further confrontation.
@real_rita_katz:
IRGC warns US against harming Iranian interests after firing over 200 drones and missiles at Israel: "The terrorist American government is warned that any support and participation in harming Iran's interests will result in a decisive and rueful response from the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran." https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/announcing-airstrikes-on-israel-irgc-warns-america-of-decisive-response-if-iranian-interests-harmed.html
@real_rita_katz:
Iran has launched dozens of drones and cruise missiles towards Israeli airspace, according reports and U.S. and Israeli officials, in what appears to mark an expected retaliatory attack following a strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/ukmto-receives-report-incident-50nm-northeast-uaes-fujairah-2024-04-13/
@real_rita_katz:
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh expressed defiance after Israeli airstrike killed three of his sons and multiple grandchildren in Gaza. Hamas released written excerpts from Haniyeh's interview with Al-Jazeera: "I thank Allah for this honor that he bestowed upon us with the martyrdom of my three sons and some grandchildren." https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/hamas-political-chief-defiant-in-face-of-losing-sons-grandchildren-in-israeli-airstrike.html
@real_rita_katz:
ISIS, through its al-Furqan Media Foundation, has released a message from spokesman Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari, marking his first address since January 4, 2024. The speech reiterates calls for lone-wolf attacks in West, particularly against Jews in US/Europe as revenge for the current crisis in Gaza. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/in-new-speech-is-spokesman-celebrates-bloody-moscow-attack-rallies-lone-wolves.html?auid=118256
@real_rita_katz:
Shabaab claimed five separate attacks in Somalia between March 26 and 27, SITE Intelligence Group reports. Among the attacks was one on March 27 in Somalia’s Mudug region, where Shabaab fighters killed and wounded over “65 troops” from the government forces and captured others. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/including-major-raid-on-somali-government-forces-shabaab-claims-5-attacks-in-2-days-killing-and-wounding-over-65.html?auid=118188
@real_rita_katz:
Katz in Brief: Massacre at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall Fitting to ISKP's Calls to Attack Concerts, Other Targets https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Articles-and-Analysis/katz-in-brief-massacre-at-moscow-s-crocus-city-hall-shows-reach-of-isis-khorasan-province.html
@real_rita_katz:
The Crocus City Hall attack bolsters the image ISIS seeks to project to supporters. As I told Washington Post, “For ISIS, these operations are its way of sending a message to the world that it remains a relevant, deadly threat." It also speaks to ISKP's far reach: “Today [ISKP] is a deadly and capable ‘province’ whose tentacles reach across Central Asia, including in regions of former Soviet states." https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/25/isis-k-moscow-terror/
@real_rita_katz:
A day after the report from its ‘Amaq News Agency, ISIS issued a formal communique taking credit for the attack at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/is-issues-formal-communique-for-moscow-concert-hall-operation-reminds-it-does-not-forget-to-take-revenge.html
@real_rita_katz:
Latest on Crocus City Hall attack: Following up on its claim for yesterday's massacre in Russia, ISIS’ ‘Amaq News Agency shared a photo of the four attackers that carried it out, SITE Intelligence Group reports.
@real_rita_katz ↩️:
Citing its "sources," ISIS claimed: “…the attack was carried out by four Islamic State fighters, who were armed with machine guns, a pistol, knives, and incendiary devices, and was preceded by an intensive surveillance operation of the place.” It also stated that “three of them began shooting at the crowd, while the fourth fighter was busy setting fire to the hall using incendiary devices that had been prepared in advance for this purpose.”
@real_rita_katz:
“They’re trolling for a susceptible (and seemingly abundant) slice of citizens who amplify their garbage enough to muddy the waters of our discourse, and from there our policies." My quotes in a thorough New York Times piece on Russian disinformation artists' "increasingly complex fabrications online." https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/18/business/media/russia-fake-journalists.html
@real_rita_katz:
BREAKING: AQAP announces death of leader Khalid bin Umar Batarfi, and the appointment of his successor, Sa'd bin 'Atef al-Awlaki, SITE Intelligence Group reports. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/aqap-announces-death-of-leader-appointment-of-successor.html
@real_rita_katz ↩️:
In a roughly 15-minute video released today, al-Qaeda veteran Ibrahim al-Qosi (AKA Abu Khubayb al-Sudani) states vaguely, “Allah took his soul while he patiently sought his reward and stood firm, immigrated, garrisoned, and waged jihad for His sake.” He does not elaborate on the cause of death. The video shows Batarfi’s body (show below).
@real_rita_katz:
US Embassy warns Americans to avoid "large gatherings" in Moscow amid "imminent plans" by extremists: "The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours." https://ru.usembassy.gov/security-alert-avoid-large-gatherings-over-the-next-48-hours/
@real_rita_katz:
The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement is claiming that two Cuban hostages were killed in US drone strikes in Middle Juba region, SITE Intelligence Group reports. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/shabaab-alleged-two-cuban-hostages-killed-in-us-drone-strikes-in-middle-juba.html
@real_rita_katz ↩️:
The group identified the Cubans as Assel Herrera and Landy Rodriguez, both of whom doctors kidnapped in Mandera, Kenya, on April 12, 2019. The Shabaab had not previously acknowledged that they were holding them.
@real_rita_katz:
"The death of Aleksei A. Navalny, reported by the Russian authorities on Friday, would leave the country without its most prominent opposition voice at a time when President Vladimir V. Putin has amassed near-total power, invaded neighboring Ukraine and drawn the sharpest divisions with U.S.-led Western allies since the end of the Cold War." https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/02/16/world/aleksei-navalny?smid=threads-nytimes
@real_rita_katz 🔁:
And sadly, more and more leaders in the US seem eager to assure Putin of exactly that: free rein with zero consequences.
navalny’s death is the clearest message that putin does not today fear reprisal from the west….or from his own people. nato must remain united and strong. that’s not the present direction of travel.
— @ianbremmer — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 13:40:36 GMT
@real_rita_katz:
Presumed al-Qaeda leader Saif al-Adl revealed as author in group's latest installment of "This is Gaza" article series, SITE Intelligence Group reports. On the cover of the fourth installment, al-Qaeda provided the pen-name, Salim al-Sharif, and below it, his real name: Mohammed Salah al-Din Zaidan (Saif al-Adl). https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/aq-reveals-one-ummah-magazine-contributor-this-is-gaza-author-as-presumed-chief-saif-al-adl.html
@real_rita_katz ↩️:
This latest article deals with the Hamas-led Operation al-Aqsa Flood offensive against Israel, praising Palestinian fighters while emphasizing the key role of media. Under the Salim al-Sharif name, Adl frequently contributed to al-Qaeda's "One Ummah" magazine, as well as other documents from as-Sahab via the pen-name "Abir Sabeel."
@real_rita_katz:
A day after claiming responsibility for a Somali soldier opening fire on Emirati trainers in Mogadishu, the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement followed up with a statement framing the attack as an act of opposition to UAE’s “war on Islam,” SITE Intelligence Group reports. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/shabaab-frames-commando-attack-on-emirati-trainers-as-support-for-palestinians-every-muslim-afflicted-by-uae-in-war-on-islam.html
@real_rita_katz ↩️:
“There is no arena of conflict in which the Emirates is not the right arm of the Zionist-Crusader alliance, and there is no calamity and trial that Muslims have gone through without the Emirates being the poisoned dagger plunged into the side of the Ummah,” the Shabaab stated.
@real_rita_katz:
In its continued pressure on general elections in Pakistan, ISIS claimed responsibility for today's bombing outside the office of Asfandyar Kakar in the Pishin district of Balochistan, north of Quetta, SITE Intelligence Group reports. https://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-Threat-Statements/is-claims-vbied-blast-at-election-rally-in-balochistan-reports-45-casualties.html
@real_rita_katz 🔁:
"For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant," the judges wrote in their 57-page decision, saying that "Former President Trump lacked any lawful discretionary authority to defy federal criminal law and he is answerable in court for his conduct."
BREAKING: The U.S. Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled that Donald Trump is not immune from criminal prosecution in his federal election subversion case. https://trib.al/EekJWTy
— @abcnews — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 15:12:38 GMT
@real_rita_katz:
Wanted to share some links to adapted excerpts from Saints and Soldiers—Grand Prize winner of the Nellie Bly Book Award—on Foreign Policy and Salon. Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/23/far-right-terrorism-white-supremacy-islamic-state/ Salon: https://www.salon.com/2022/10/11/january-6-was-entirely-predictable-it-was-planned-in-broad-daylight/
@real_rita_katz ↩️:
If you haven't read Saints and Soldiers yet, it is available on Amazon and all major book websites. If you have read it (or plan to), I'd love to know what you think! https://www.amazon.com/Saints-Soldiers-Internet-Age-Terrorism-Irregular-ebook/dp/B09M97X69D/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=