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Spotlight on Global Jihad (July 29 – August 4, 2021)

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Spotlight on Global Jihad (July 29 – August 4, 2021) ( רמה כ ז מל ו תשר מה ו ד י ע י ן ( למ מ"ל ןיעידומ ש ל מ כרמ ז מה י עד מל ו ד י ע י ן ו רטל ו ר ט ןיעידומ ע ה ר Spotlight on Global Jihad July 29 – August 4, 2021 Main events of the past week Syria: There was a decrease in ISIS’s activity this week. In the Idlib region, in the rebel enclave, exchanges of artillery fire continued between the Syrian army and the forces supporting it, and the rebel forces. Russia provided air support. Following the pullback of the US forces from Syria and Iraq, a senior official in the Biden administration, who asked to remain anonymous, said that about 900 US troops would remain in Syria to continue supporting and advising the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are fighting against ISIS. Iraq: This week, there was a decrease in ISIS’S activity in Iraq as well. In the Salah al-Din and Diyala provinces, where ISIS’s activity was concentrated this week, several attacks were carried out against the Iraqi security forces and the organizations supporting them. Despite the pullback of US forces from Iraq, the US Ambassador to Iraq announced that the United States would continue to assist Iraq, as part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, until its defeat. According to him, assistance to the Iraqi army is essential not only for Iraq but also for the United States, because it prevents the resurgence of ISIS. According to Tahsin al- Khafaji, spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, the Iraqi security forces need further support in order to improve both their capabilities and the equipment to be used in the war against ISIS. Sinai: A major event this week was an attack on an army base near Al-Joura in the Sheikh Zuweid region in the northern Sinai Peninsula. Seven soldiers were killed and several others were wounded. The Egyptian security forces released a video summing up their counterterrorism activity against ISIS over the past few months. According to the video, many ISIS operatives were killed by the security forces and large quantities of weapons were seized. In addition, a large number of tunnels were located and destroyed. Africa: This week, there was a decrease in the volume of ISIS’s activity in Africa. Most of the attacks targeted camps and convoys of the local security forces. In the Congo, ISIS operatives ambushed a commercial convoy of Christian civilians. One of them was killed and six vehicles went up in flames. 127-21 2 Afghanistan: Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu expressed concern over the pullback of the US forces from the region. He said that due to the hasty pullback, the security situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating and ISIS and the Taliban were gaining in strength. ISIS's activity this week focused mainly on assassination attempts against members of the security forces and civilians cooperating with them. On August 2, 2021, an IED was activated against a bus carrying Shiite civilians. Fourteen of the bus passengers were killed or wounded. Propaganda: The feature article in ISIS’s Al-Naba' weekly is dedicated this week to events in Tunisia. According to the author, the Muslim Brotherhood movement, represented by the Ennahda party, is now paying the price of compromising with the concept of democracy. The author deduces that the only way possible is the one proposed by ISIS, based on embracing jihad and sharia. The Syrian arena Syrian governorates (freeworldmaps.net) American presence in Syria A senior official in the Biden administration, who asked to remain anonymous, said that about 900 US troops, including Special Forces of the US military, would remain in Syria and continue supporting and advising the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting against ISIS. The senior official does not foresee any changes in the American presence in the region in the short term. A senior official in the US Department of Defense said that in practice, for over a year, no US troops had been accompanying the local forces in the fighting in Syria and Iraq, and that their objective is to strengthen the local forces to be able to fight against ISIS on their own (Politico, July 27, 2021). 127-21 3 The Idlib region This week, the Syrian army and the forces supporting it continued to fire artillery at the rebel enclave in Idlib. Russian fighter jets carried out airstrikes (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, July 29, 2021). Al-Raqqah region On July 28, 2021, an SDF patrol was targeted by gunfire northeast of Al-Raqqah. One SDF fighter was killed and another was wounded (Telegram, July 28, 2021). The Iraqi arena Provinces of Iraq (Wikipedia) Pullback of US troops from Iraq According to US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Toller, in spite of the pullback of the US forces from Iraq, the United States will continue to assist Iraq until ISIS is defeated, as part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. According to him, assistance to the Iraqi army is essential not only for Iraq but also for the United States because it prevents the resurgence of ISIS. He said that the United States can assist the Iraqi security forces in the fighting by providing intelligence (Iraqi News Agency; Sky News in Arabic, July 28, 2021). According to Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, the international community is still assisting the Iraqi security forces in the fight against ISIS. This is done, according to Khafaji, by air support, the provision of intelligence, training, and military equipment. Khafaji says that the Iraqi security forces are in need of the continued support in order to preserve their capabilities in fighting against ISIS (Iraqi News Agency, July 28, 2021). 127-21 4 According to Hamed al-Mussawi, MP of the Al-Fatah Alliance faction, during its forthcoming sessions, the Iraqi Parliament intends to set up a committee to follow up on the pullback of US forces from Iraq. A source close to the government said that setting up the committee was a condition set by several armed organizations in Iraq for stopping their activity (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, August 1, 2021). Attacks by province1 Kirkuk Province On August 2, 2021, a police post in the Riyad region, about 50 km southwest of Kirkuk, was targeted by gunfire. A policeman was killed. The post was damaged. That same day, another attack was carried out against a police post in the Rashad region, about 40 km southwest of Kirkuk. Three policemen were killed and three others were wounded. On August 1, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi police convoy on the Kirkuk-Tikrit highway. The passengers of one of the vehicles were wounded. Another vehicle was targeted by gunfire and the passengers on board were wounded. Iraqi police vehicle being blown up (Telegram, August 2, 2021) On July 29, 2021, an IED was activated against an Iraqi police armored vehicle near the Allas oilfield, about 40 km northeast of Tikrit. The passengers on board were wounded. Al-Anbar Province (western Iraq) On July 31, 2021, an IED was activated against a Popular Mobilization vehicle east of Tikrit. The passengers were killed or wounded. On August 1, 2021, Tribal Mobilization forces were targeted by gunfire about 30 km southeast of Samarra. Two fighters were killed and five others were wounded. Six vehicles were put out of commission. 1 According to ISIS’s claims of responsibility posted on Telegram 127-21 5 On July 31, 2021, a police post was targeted by gunfire in the Yathrib region, about 40 km southeast of Samarra. No casualties were reported. On July 30, 2021, an attack was carried out against Tribal Mobilization and Iraqi police personnel paying a condolence call in the Yathrib region, about 40 km southeast of Samarra. A total of 15 people were killed and at least 20 were wounded. Four Tribal Mobilization vehicles and one Iraqi police vehicle were put out of commission by ISIS. Iraqi security sources reported seven dead and 17 wounded (Al-Sumaria, July 30, 2021). On July 30, 2021, two Iraqi intelligence “spies,” one of them a woman, were targeted by gunfire in the Tarmiyah region, about 30 km north of Baghdad. According to ISIS, the two were shot because they had led to the arrest of ISIS operatives. Two days before, on July 28, 2021, a member of the Iraqi National Security Apparatus was targeted by gunfire in the region. On July 30, 2021, several rockets were fired at the Baiji refinery. According to ISIS, direct hits were detected. According to Iraqi sources, an improvised rocket landed in the refinery area but did not cause any damage (Sahifat al-Iraq al-Electroniya, July 30, 2021). Rocket being fired at the Baiji refinery (Telegram, July 30, 2021) Diyala Province On July 30, 2021, an Iraqi army camp was targeted by gunfire north of Jalula, about 80 km northeast of Baqubah. Four soldiers were killed and several others were wounded. ISIS operatives set fire to the camp area and to several vehicles. 127-21 6 Three of the Iraqi army vehicles going up in flames (Telegram, August 2, 2021) On July 27, 2021, an Iraqi police post in Nahr al-Imam, in the Al-Miqdadiya region, was targeted by gunfire. One policeman was killed. That same day, another post was targeted by gunfire nearby. Another policeman was killed. On July 26, 2021, an Iraqi army camp was targeted by gunfire in the village of Al-Lahib in the Al-Miqdadiya region. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded.
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