There are few actions that run more contrarily to the ideology of the so-called Islamic State and al-Qaeda than voting in a U.S. presidential election. As such, the November 8 U.S. elections represent a symbolic and practical target for terrorist groups and their sympathizers. While the ability of either the Islamic State or al-Qaeda to launch a directed attack in the U.S. during the election is doubtful, the intention is clear; the outsized consequences of any attack—successful or attempted—has raised the already heightened terror threat level in the U.S. even higher.

The non-specific nature of an ‘election threat’, combined with the significance of such a high profile event, results in alarmist headlines of pending attacks as well as intentional instigations. Despite the public attention media reports surrounding the recent threats has received, law enforcement and intelligence agencies are nearly always faced with a spike in credible threats during periods such as an election—particularly such a divisive election. These threats are investigated thoroughly to discern bluster from menace. While the media has an obligation to inform the public of credible threats, reports citing sources regarding amorphous threats tend to do more harm than good, and generally play into the propaganda of terrorist groups.

Thus, recent press reports noting a potential pre-election plot by Afghan-based al Queda affiliates have generated public buzz, despite the lack of specificity or determination of credibility. Reports have also indicated that the threat has resulted in cities such as New York and Washington, D.C. to be on higher alert. Such reports, however, often fail to take into account that major U.S. cities are always on higher alert as high-profile events such as elections approach. The ability of al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan too coordinate an attack in the U.S. prior to election day is unclear, but doubtful. While the threat has apparently merited a response from authorities inside the U.S., law enforcement and intelligence agencies are likely far more concerned about homegrown, inspired attacks than attacks directed from abroad.

Both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State reject the quadrennial U.S. presidential elections. For both, the open democracy represented by U.S. elections represents a direct repudiation to their cause. On November 5, the Islamic State released a seven-page manifesto railing against Muslim-Americans from voting in the election, and also included a vague threat towards the elections. The language used is striking, equating voting with apostasy. While the group fears its inevitable military defeats, there is no greater rejection of the pillars of the Islamic State than Muslims willingly participating in democratic elections.

Both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda view democratic elections as illegitimate, and therefore seek to minimize and reject the election results. Though the capability of Islamic State or al-Qaeda to direct attacks related to the election is likely limited, the intention on the part of both groups is clear. This intention is not lost on any  the groups’ supporters inside the United States. As such, U.S. law enforcement agencies will be on high alert for potential inspired attacks, which are far more difficult to guard against than foreign-directed attacks, and add to the list of concerns stemming from domestic extremist groups as the tumultuous 2016 election season draws to a close.

soufangroup.com/

After US intelligence inputs warned about a possible terror attack by al-Qaeda militants in New York, Texas and Virginia, terror group ISIS called for the “slaughter” of US voters on Election Day.

ISIS demanded that Muslims should not participate in the democratic process because “there is no difference between the Republican and Democratic parties” as their policies are against Islam and Muslims.

The militant group also asked Muslims to not participate in “rituals of democracy” claiming both the US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are anti-Islam.

Rita Katz, director of terrorist monitoring group SITE Intelligence Group, tweeted that the threats appeared in an essay titled The Murtad Vote and was carried by the Islamic State’s Al Hayat media center. It said that the militants “have come to slaughter you and smash your ballot boxes.”

“May Allah make this year’s U.S. presidential election a dreadful calamity like no other to have struck America throughout ts pathetic history,” the seven-page manifesto, entitled “The Murtad Vote,” read.

Murtad means a person born to a Muslim parent who later rejects Islam or a person who converted to Islam and later rejects the religion.

intoday.in

An Islamic State (ISIS)-linked propaganda magazine, published in English, Arabic, and French by the Nashir Media Foundation, is urging jihadists in Europe and the United States to carry out deadly “lone-wolf” attacks to avenge the terrorist group’s losses in Mosul.

In the second issue of the magazine, titled Nashir – Now Fight Has Come, the writers remind Muslims across the globe of the “privilege” they have residing “among our enemies who live peacefully in their countries,” notes the Foreign Desk (FD).

“Every soldier fights on the Caliphate land [in Iraq and Syria] wishes to be in your place. We can cut the tail of the snake but it will sooner grow again. But you have its head,” adds the magazine.

“Brave Mosul is bleeding. You should stop its bleeding by carrying out exhaustion operations of the Enemy’s power and blood … cut their heads by your knives, let us hear your guns blasting their heads,” it also states, according to FD.

A U.S.-backed force of at least 30,000 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Sunni tribesmen, Shiite militiamen, many backed by Iran, Kurdish Peshmerga troops, and Christian fighters is advancing towards Mosul in a push to liberate the city from ISIS.

An estimated 5,000 ISIS jihadists are believed to be defending the city, using thousands of civilians as human shields as the U.S.-backed force inches closer to Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the terrorist group’s last major stronghold in the country.

An article in the Nashir magazine titled “O thee whom Al – Adnani called thee wolves” echoes previous calls to war by former ISIS commander and chief propagandist Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, stressing the importance of local jihad and urging jihadists that “if the tyrants have shut the doors of hijra [immigration to ISIS territories] in your face, then open the gate of jihad in their faces and make them regret their action.”

“Jihadists are persuaded not to wait to see the outcome of the battle for Mosul, but rather launch attacks on coalition countries by any means possible,” reports FD.

Although Adnani was killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike back in August, his propaganda message has outlived him and is still used to motivate jihadists to carry out attacks in the West.

“Several affiliations of the pro-ISIS Nashir Media Foundation such as the Nashir Political Service, have become active online in recent months, particularly on the encrypted messenger app Telegram,” notes the Foreign Desk. “New private channels appear almost daily, quickly mushrooming to hundreds if not thousands of followers before being deleted by Telegram staff.”

breitbart.com

A convicted jihadi from Minnesota says he was so brainwashed that he would have had no qualms about carrying out brutal ISIS executions — as he warned other young Muslims against turning to terror.

“I say it’s not worth it. It’s not worth your family going through all the pain and suffering just because you believe in something that is total nonsense,” said Abdirizak Warsame. “That doesn’t make sense. It’s not worth your life.”

The 21-year-old faces up to 15 years behind bars for helping other Muslim youths join ISIS and for trying himself to join the terror group, where he said he intended to commit the kind of atrocities that have made the organization so notorious, such as beheadings, drownings and burning prisoners alive.

“Yeah, I was going to be, I was going to be participating in those activities,” Warsame told “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired Sunday night.

Warsame, a Somali immigrant from Minneapolis who came to the United States at age 10, was arrested last year.

He was 19 in 2014 when he helped two pals get passports and hooked them up with ISIS contacts in Syria.

His two contacts reached Syria via Turkey, and were soon killed in action.

“I believe I am responsible for their deaths and I think about that every day,” Warsame said.

If he had ever gone through with going to Syria, Warsame said ruefully, “I probably would be dead right now.”

Warsame told “60 Minutes” that he turned to ISIS because he felt lost between the traditional Muslim household of his parents and his new, confusing American life.

“And so I kind of got into that culture, you know, music. Going to prom, dancing, it’s hard to kind of explain that stuff to your parents when they kind of really don’t understand what it is,” Warsame said.

The young man said he was introduced to terrorism through online videos of Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical American-born cleric who was killed by a US drone in Yemen in 2011.

Watching al-Awlaki ranting on YouTube became his reality.

“It kind of takes control of you,” Warsame said.

“Most of the videos would talk about how, if you would engage in jihad, you would be doing your family favor. And that you would be saving their lives from eternal hellfire.”

nypost.com/

The Strategic Communications Working Group of the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh convened in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Abu Dhabi on Friday, to take stock of its efforts on combating Daesh’s online propaganda and recruitment.

The eighth meeting of the working group was hosted by Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who co-chaired the meeting together with Richard Stengel, Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, US Department of State, and Tobias Ellwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for the Middle East and Africa), UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from 29 coalition countries, as well as a selected number of experts, including participants from Al Azhar, Hedayah, Sawab Centre, the Coalition Communication Cell in London, and private sector entities.

The meeting provided a venue for discussions on the anti-Daesh communications activities of coalition members, an exchange of views on future challenges in the fight against Daesh, including the battle to liberate Mosul, and a platform to exchange optimal messaging strategies amongst members of the working group.

Dr Anwar Gargash praised the member’s efforts and emphasized the need for the coalition to further step up its activities and reach new audiences. Further echoing this need, Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE Minister of State for Tolerance, shared with the group the UAE’s vision of tolerance and highlighted effective methods of creating resilience against extremism in the society.

Additionally, the working group members exchanged experiences with media companies and the creative community about their mutual efforts to challenge the extremist narrative in the online space. Representatives from the media and creative community included twofour54, MBC, Sky News Arabia, Affinis Lab, and Quantum Communications.

The meeting concluded with the working group members reaffirming their continued commitment to tackle Daesh’s propaganda online and offline and a consensus that the battle against extremism is one that must continue post-Daesh.

gulfnews.com

On September 6, the Islamic State (IS) launched the first issue of their new online magazine, Rumiyah. Using the classical Arabic word for Rome, the title references the Western empire’s downfall.

IS also publishes “Dabiq,” a glossy electronic publication. In Islamic eschatology, Dabiq, a small town roughly 8km south of the Syrian border with Turkey, is one possible site of a future apocalyptic battle between “the Romans” and a Muslim army of “the best people of the earth,” according to a saying of the Prophet Muhammad regarding the end of days.

The first issue of the magazine came out weeks before Turkish-backed FSA rebels captured Dabiq on October 15, Syria Direct reported. The cover subject is Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, the Islamic State’s spokesman and number two in command after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Al-Adnani was killed one week before the magazine’s release. The second issue’s cover story details “how to carry out individual knife attacks.”

Rumiyah bears many of the same trappings as Dabiq, with similar layouts, high-resolution photography and appeals to a Western audience. IS publishes Rumiyah—like Dabiq—in seven languages. Arabic is not one of them.

Unlike the Islamic State’s online Arabic content, Rumiyah focuses on European fighters, individuals who joined the caliphate or carried out domestic attacks.

“Attacks in Europe, in particular, take center stage,” says Zeid a-Thabit, the pseudonym of a member of pro-opposition news outlet Sound and Picture who lives in Deir e-Zor under Islamic State control.

But a-Thabit calls Rumiyah’s content “softer,” noting the “warmer profile pieces…to attract the Western reader.” The Islamic State fighters, he tells Syria Direct’s Noura al-Hourani, “know how to present themselves, and know how to keep the Western reader far away from the reality on the ground.”

Q: IS published their new magazine, Rumiyah, in seven languages. Arabic is not one of them. What do you believe was the motivation here?

This magazine is geared towards a Western audience. It’s distributed among foreign fighters and their families living in Syria, Iraq and abroad. It’s rarely found in the hands of a native Syrian.

IS deliberately differentiates between its Arab and Western readership. While items like Dabiq are published internationally for Western readers, other magazines, such as al-Naba and al-Furqan, are published in Arabic for a local audience.

Q: Why does IS feel the need to make this distinction between Western and  Arab readers? Why don’t they just publish bilingually?

The Islamic State is not blind to the cultural differences between their Western and Arab audiences, and they’ve tailored their media content accordingly.

The Arabic content is undoubtedly more violent than its English counterpart. It largely focuses on IS triumphs: their attacks, killings and conquests. Attacks in Europe, in particular, take center stage. That’s deliberate. It’s an intimidation tactic used to strengthen their grip on power at home by highlighting and projecting their reach abroad.

When it comes to their English content—whether that is with Dabiq or with Rumiyah—IS takes a markedly different approach. It’s much more of a call to arms. Yes, they do delve into the heroism and accomplishments of the Islamic State, but it’s done with a softer touch. They put warmer profile pieces of Islamic State fighters in each issue, which is done to attract the Western reader. The Islamic State knows how to present themselves, and they know how to keep the Western reader far away from the reality on the ground.

IS published Rumiyah electronically and in several different languages in order to maximize the magazine’s reach, making it accessible to all of its members regardless of nationality.

Q: I want to go back to something you just mentioned, namely how the Islamic State presents itself to its Western audience. How do they try to connect with their Western readership?

Rumiyah is different from other IS publications. It’s motivational and meant to bring people to action. It not only talks about past instances of jihad, it discusses how to individually carry out attacks.

The Islamic State knows how to tailor its content. When writing for the West, they focus on European fighters, individuals who left Europe and came to live in IS lands. The magazine highlights the accomplishments of these European fighters and how they are righteous and justified in their actions.

Discussion of future payoff really hits home with the readership. For instance, the magazine highlights the narrative of the fighter who started as a normal foot soldier but steadily rose to become an important member of the organization because of his commitment and devotion to the Islamic State. This is how they draw you in.

Q: You live in IS territory. Do you notice a difference in how the Islamic State treats its foreign and local fighters?

There’s absolutely no comparison. I can point to a handful of cases—maybe 10 at most—of Syrians who receive the kind of special treatment that foreigners get, but this only happens because these Syrians have a high impact on the organization.

In terms of preferential treatment, the list goes as follows: Westerners and Iraqis are at the top, then come the rest of the non-Syrian Arabs and finally are the Syrians at the bottom of the totem pole.

Differences in status and treatment can be seen everywhere from the fighters’ houses and cars to even the ways they dress. There are even special schools for the children of Western IS members that Arab children are not allowed to go to. The Islamic State announced that they were starting a university two years ago, but this was nothing more than a media ploy.

Q: The Arab Bank published a report earlier this month showing that foreign fighters who join the Islamic State on average come with a high level of education. Do you believe that IS takes this into account in their media strategy?

There are very few individuals in the Islamic State with a high level of education, but IS invests a lot in these people. IS makes sure to train them and to offer them everything that they may need. They rely heavily on their few educated members, especially when it comes to their media and propaganda efforts. Here, they try to project the appearance of culture and enlightenment in order to attract as many people as possible.

The majority of fighters have pretty average levels of education. Some even have warrants out for their arrest in their home countries. IS deliberately reaches out to this target group in their promotional materials, encouraging them to leave their countries to come fight with the Islamic State.

But I’ve also met a large number of IS fighters at Internet cafes who don’t even know how to use a computer. They’ll have to bring over the owner of the café to get them on a website or to send emails and messages for them on Facebook and Twitter.

However, IS generally doesn’t want even their own members to have a lot of Internet access, and many members have been arrested for this very reason. The Islamic State operates in a borderline schizophrenic way. They’ll spread ignorance and at the same time keep their members from communicating with the outside world. This is all done with the intention of imposing their control at every turn.

Not only is the IS media machine totally detached from reality, but the Islamic State also keeps its members and civilians from interacting with the outside world. The Islamic State strives to show its followers abroad that they are thriving, but this is far removed from the reality on the ground.

Q: How do the foreign recruits react when they finally make it to the supposed caliphate and see the reality on the ground?

Of course they’re surprised. This happens all the time. A number of them want to leave the Islamic State, but they’re unable to do so. Perhaps the largest limiting factor is that they aren’t well versed with the local geography and simply don’t know how to run away. New recruits will also find themselves trapped because they’re persona non grata with their home governments. They may not be allowed back in either because they’ve been stripped of their citizenship or because they will be imprisoned upon return.

As such, these new recruits have to give in to the reality: This is their life now, stuck, waiting to die in just another battle.

Q: Do you find that these individuals—those who have become disillusioned with the Islamic State—ever try to get that message out back home? Do they ever try to relay their own experiences to keep others from falling into a similar trap?

People definitely try to do just that, but it’s difficult. Like I mentioned before, IS doesn’t want its members to have unrestricted access to the Internet. In order to get on the Internet, you have to submit not only your ID but also a list of the websites that you’ll be visiting. It’s all heavily monitored.

There are constantly raids on Internet cafes. Members of IS will enter suddenly and demand that everyone put their hands in the air while they search cellphones and other electronic devices. If IS notices anyone closing their devices, that person will be arrested immediately, even if that person is an IS member. Yes, the Islamic State even monitors the Islamic State.

syriadirect.org

The war against the Islamic State seems to have hit a turning point, both on the battlefield and on social media. A new report from West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center shows official ISIL propaganda on social media is dwindling.

nextgov.com

thestar.com

The group’s pioneering use of jihadist social media and communications ensures that its message will continue resonating well past the loss of Mosul and other strongholds

The beginning of the Mosul Offensive earlier this week poses yet another test for the adaptability of the Islamic State, or ISIS, which has downplayed or ignored a string of territorial setbacks it has suffered in Iraq and Syria over the last year. While Mosul will be the most strategically and symbolically significant of these tests — being the site where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi pronounced himself caliph, and one of the cities in which ISIS was able to realize its caliphate-state and its most significant presence in Iraq — the liberation of the city, as well as eventually of Raqqa (ISIS’s capital in Syria), will not signal a final defeat for the group. Where territorial governance was indispensable in building the group’s brand over the last two years, today it is dispensable precisely because it will always be a part of the group’s history and narrative.

The single area in which the group has proved to be exceptional is not territorial but rhetorical. In the case of the other jihadist Syrian groups, this is not for want of trying; rather it is because of their fundamentally different aim — namely of being recognized as the only solution to the Syrian conflict. By contrast, ISIS’s brand of harsh punishment, mass extortion and terrorizing of society are unsustainable as long-term governance strategies — something for which we could expect ISIS leadership to have planned.

To be sure, ISIS’s fight for Mosul will be long and bloody. It is perhaps the most important territorial site for its brand. However, as evinced by its simultaneous propaganda activities, we should be careful not to forget that the group pioneered social media and communications space in a way that no other jihadist group did.

Territorial governance (and governance of Mosul in particular) has been a central theme of that messaging. But insofar as the group’s sights are set on “inspiring” others to its cause, it can use or do away with governance as the group considers helpful toward this end. Indeed, it has reported less on governance in its recent propaganda, compared with its substantial coverage of Islamic ritual observance and theology. The fact that it once had the opportunity to govern such a swath of territory suffices for its propaganda purposes in its claim of being the only “Islamic” cause that is committed to the application of what it sees as an authentic Islam and the punishment of any violation of it.

washingtoninstitute.org

Australia has been asked to send 150 troops and helicopter gunships back to southern Afghanistan.

The meeting was held last month after the provincial capital Tarin Kowt almost fell under Taliban control.

Speaking to the ABC, Mr Nazir said Australian personnel could provide invaluable support to Afghan forces.

“We don’t have a lot of stuff like helicopters to support by air strike.”

“It will help our army in the field, the air support is very important for our army.”

Australia has ‘shared enemies’ with Afghanistan: Governor

Forty-one Australian troops died in operations in and around Uruzgan before the decade-long mission ended in 2013.

Three hundred Australian personnel remain in Afghanistan, but mainly in Kabul, in training roles.

By some accounts, the Taliban controls more territory now than at any time since it was removed from power by the US military in 2001.

The militants’ big objective for 2016 is to capture a provincial capital.

On September 7, they came for Tarin Kowt.

Mr Nazir said the militants snuck into the city with the support of Afghan police.

By his estimation, more than 70 civilians were killed or injured during the fight.

“Fighting was going around the city and sometimes the bullets from many different guns were coming and hitting those civilians,” he said.

“They didn’t know, they were walking around and going to do daily work.”

Mr Nazir insists Australia still has a national interest in helping Afghan forces overcome the Taliban threat.

He argues that getting involved again would stop the flow of asylum seekers from Afghanistan to Australia.

“I see these as common, shared goals.”

abc.net.au