Analysis No. 515 of the Islamic State’s al-Naba weekly.

Propaganda and operations of IS provinces

Daniele Garofalo Monitoring is registered with the Italian National ISSN Centre and the Centre for the Registration of Serial Publications (CIEPS) in Paris.

ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 3103-3520

ORCID Code: 0009-0006-5289-2874

The Islamic State publishes its al-Naba magazine every week, providing significant information on the group’s military, ideological, and propaganda activities in its provinces. The weekly newsletter reached number 515 last Thursday.

Objectives of the analysis: Analysing the weekly issue of the al-Naba newsletter, the Islamic State’s official media product, allows one to assess the jihadist organisation’s threat in operational terms.

Source/Methodology: Direct analysis of propaganda and military information contained in the current issue (photos, statements, claims).

Limitations: Incomplete information (sometimes IS reports and claims in al-Naba tend to exaggerate numbers or often include attacks and photos not officially claimed in the past), bias of sources, possibility of propaganda and disinformation. Over the years, it has been noted that the attack data provided by the Islamic State in its propaganda is real and verifiable in the field; usually, the exaggeration is in the number of damages/deaths caused (in the case of unverified attacks, the author will indicate this directly in the analysis, as was the case for some attacks carried out in Uganda in early 2025).

Structure of the analysis: brief overview of the weekly magazine/newsletter, photos and analysis of the magazine, summary and translation of military activities in the various areas and provinces of IS, analysis of the number of attacks, graphs and statistics, photos, areas, conclusions and assessments.

Issue 515, eight pages long, covers the week of 3 to 9 Rabi al-Thani 1447, from 1 25 September to 1 October 2025.

Al-Naba generally includes most of the statements and photos published daily over the past week on its official channels, although often with new elements or additional details, both written and photographic. However, al-Naba won’t include unpublished statements or messages.

The main infographic summarises the areas affected by military operations during the week mentioned above: Nigeria, Niger, Syria, Somalia, Mozambique, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

IS claims to have conducted 28 operations in all the mentioned areas and to have caused 95 deaths and injuries.

On the fourth page, the weekly magazine goes into detail about the types of attacks, operations and targets of Islamic State fighters, who follow two main strategies: “war of attrition” and “economic warfare”, as well as other strategies aimed at targeting Christians and Shiites. Since 20 March, the Islamic State has embarked on a new military campaign, particularly in Africa (in the areas of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Mozambique) called “Burning Camps”.

Below is a detailed account of the attacks by province/area:

1) Somali Province: The weekly al-Naba reports on 2 operations conducted by militants from the Somali Province against Puntland Security Forces, involving direct clashes and ambushes in the administrative region of Bari, in the federal state of Puntland, Somalia.

2) West Africa Province: The weekly magazine al-Naba reports on 8 operations carried out by ISWAP militants against barracks, convoys and patrols of the Nigerian army and pro-government militias in the states of Borno and Yobe, Nigeria.

3) Sham Province: The weekly al-Naba reports on 5 operations carried out by militants in the Syrian province against checkpoints, convoys and patrols belonging to the Kurdish SDF militia in the Deir-ez Zor governorate in Syria.

4) Central Africa Province: The weekly magazine al-Naba reports on 2 operations carried out by ISCAP militants: 1 attack against a commercial convoy belonging to local companies (economic warfare) and 1 attack against a Christian village in North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

5) Sahel Province: The weekly al-Naba reports 1 attack by militants from the Sahel Province against a temporary outpost of the Nigerien army and national gendarmerie in the Dosso region of Niger.

6) Mozambique Province: The weekly al-Naba reports on 9 operations carried out by Mozambican militants against Christian villages and civilians in the districts of Macomia, Montepuez and Chiuré, in Cabo Delgado Province, and in the district of Mimba, in Nampula Province.

7) Iraqi province: The weekly magazine al-Naba reports on 1 operation carried out by Iraqi militants against a patrol of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) in the governorate of Anbar, Iraq.

Conclusions: impact and implications

An assessment of data published this week shows that attacks perpetrated by the Islamic State remained steady this week, with a slight decrease in damage and casualties caused.

This week, IS struck simultaneously in seven of its provinces, with affected areas spanning seven different countries.

This week, the most affected areas were Mozambique, Nigeria, and Syria. However, the data confirms the stable presence of the Islamic State in many areas, despite ongoing counter-terrorism operations, especially in Africa. Added to this is the ability (and confirmation) to carry out attacks in various ways, targeting different areas and creating chaos and problems in every possible way. This week, there was a new attack in Iraq.

This week, the attacks carried out by IS involved only three of its strategies: “war of attrition”, attacks against Christian civilians and attacks against economic targets (the “economic warfare” strategy). The attacks that were not carried out were those against Shiites (another IS strategy), attacks against al-Qaeda militias, and attacks against military bases and camps (the “Burning camps” strategy).

Creating problems for central governments and instability in areas where IS operates serves to exploit widespread discontent to gain support and recruitment. Violence continues to grow, as does the Islamic State’s strength in Africa.

© Daniele Garofalo Monitoring - All rights reserved.

Daniele Garofalo is a researcher and analyst on Jihadist Terrorism, Islamist Insurgents and Armed Groups. He is an expert in Monitoring Jihadist Media Channels, Islamist rebels, and Armed Groups.

Daniele Garofalo Monitoring is registered with the Italian National ISSN Centre and the International Centre for the Registration of Serial Publications (CIEPS) in Paris.

ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 3103-3520

ORCID Code: 0009-0006-5289-2874

Support my research, analysis and monitoring with a donation here, PayPal.Me/DanieleGarofalo88