Eyes on Jihadism. Monitoring Jihadist Propaganda #143

From 16 to 23 December

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

Objectives of the analysis: A newsletter that collects the main propaganda of jihadist organisations and groups from 16 to 23 December in a single publication.

Sources and Methodology: monitoring, study and analysis of primary and direct sources of propaganda from Salafi-jihadist organisations and groups (videos, photos, statements, claims). The study utilises OSINT, SOCMINT, IMINT and Digital HUMINT sources.

Verification and Limitations: This analysis of propaganda does not require verification and has no limitations, as it comprehensively presents only the propaganda published by organisations and groups, highlighting language, structure, type, and objectives.

Structure of the analysis:

Individual organisations will break down the propaganda:

In the case of al-Qaeda (AQ) and the Islamic State (IS), the central leadership, official branches and provinces will be included.

Then, independent jihadist groups, which have alliances and relations with other jihadist groups but which have independent operations and propaganda, will be included.

Finally, there are the jihadist tactical groups.

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This issue contains all the primary propaganda material:

• Al-Qaeda:

(JNIM, Al-Shabaab)

• Islamic State (IS):

(1 issue al-Naba, IS official media)

• Independent Jihadist Groups

(Ittehad Mujahidin Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Ansar al-Furqan).

1. Al-Qaeda (AQ)

Az-Zallaqa Media, Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), issued 11 statements and 9 photos, claiming 15 attacks.

The targets of the attacks were: the Malian Army, Russian PMC Africa Corps, Burkinabé Army, and the VDP militia.

The areas of the attacks were :

1) Mopti region, Timbuctù region, Ségou region; in Mali;

2) Yatenga province, Mouhoun province, Gourma province, and Sissili province; in Burkina Faso.

(For more details on JNIM’s monthly military activity, read here).

Az-Zallaqa Media, Jamat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), released an 8:58-minute video in Mooré and Fulfulde, in which two spokesmen claim that the organisation is composed of representatives from all ethnic groups in the Sahel and does not discriminate against anyone. In the video, the speakers state that their main current objective is to overthrow the President of Burkina Faso, Traoré, who, according to JNIM, is causing suffering in the country. In most of the video, JNIM also shows a training camp for recruits in Burkina Faso.

Al-Kataib Media, Harakat Al-Shabaab al-Mujahidin (AS), published a photo report showing the capture of Nuur Dugle in the Middle Shabelle region. Somalia

(For more details on the Al-Shabaab’s monthly military activity in Africa, read here).

Al-Kataib Media, al-Shabaab (AS), has released the second and third parts of videos showing members of the United Nations (UN) team captured by the Somali jihadist group in central Somalia. In the first video, the Egyptian doctor, who introduces himself as Mohamed Said Hariza, confirms that he worked as a member of the air medical evacuation teams before being captured by Al-Shabaab after the helicopter carrying the evacuation crew crashed during a humanitarian mission due to a technical failure. Hariza made a direct appeal to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, calling for urgent intervention to secure his release and that of his colleagues as soon as possible. The other video shows another prisoner, in this case a Kenyan paramedic working with the United Nations mission in Somalia, who was captured by AS in the same plane crash. The prisoner, who identifies himself as Ambrose Kimetich, appealed to the UN Secretary-General and Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto for immediate intervention to negotiate his release. Somalia

2. Islamic State (IS)

The official media of the Islamic State published 1 issue of the weekly al-Naba this week (526). Issue 526, eight pages long, covers the week of 20 to 26 Jumada al-Akhira 1447, from 11 to 17 December 2025. The main infographic summarises the areas affected by military operations during the week mentioned above: Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Syria, Mozambique, Mali, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo (For more details on the Islamic State’s monthly military activity in Africa, read here).

IS claims to have conducted 22 operations in all the mentioned areas and to have caused 56 deaths and injuries (for more details, read here).

In this issue of al-Naba, the Islamic State published an infographic dedicated to attacks carried out by militants in the province of Sham (Syria) between 15 November and 14 December 2025.
IS claims responsibility for 18 attacks that caused 28 deaths and injuries. The areas of activity were the governorates of Hama, Idlib, Aleppo, Raqqa, Daraa and Damascus.

The Islamic State terrorist group published a long editorial in issue 526 of al-Naba entitled: “The Glories of Sydney”. The reference is to the attack on Bondi Beach in Australia. The important passage is this:

“Let the Jews and their supporters know that what happened in Sydney can happen in Paris, London, New York or any other city. The response will reach them in their homes, their markets and their streets. And this is only the beginning”. The Islamic State inspired the attack and supports it, making it rhetoric, the target is defined in explicitly ethnic-religious terms: the “Jews” (not Israel, not IDF, not state targets) and its Western allies.

IS deliberately accepts the loss of operational control in exchange for the scalability of terror. This editorial is not empty rhetoric, it is a psychological manual for widespread terrorism. IS today does not command: it enables. Those who continue to read these texts as “generic propaganda” have failed to understand the historical phase of jihadism (To delve deeper into this editorial from an intelligence and cognitive warfare perspective, click here).

3. Independent Jihadist Groups

Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), a Pakistani jihadist organisation comprising the Hafiz Gul Bahadur (HBG) group, Lashkar-e-Islam and Harkat Inqilab-e-Islami Pakistan (HIIP), has released a 7-minute video showing numerous sniper attacks carried out against the Pakistani army in the Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan.

(For more details on IMP’s monthly military activity, read here).

Umar Media, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released a 6:47-minute video showing its militants’ operations against Pakistani army convoys and positions in the Mir Ali area of Pakistan’s North Waziristan district.

(For more details on TTP’s monthly military activity, read here).

The Iranian jihadist group Ansar al-Furqan has released a new statement announcing the end of the second phase of the operation called “Sword of al-Furqan”, reporting a violent attack that its militants carried out against a checkpoint of the Iranian government forces and the IRGC in the Fahraj area, in the province of Kerman, Iran.

According to the statement, the clashes lasted about an hour and resulted in the death and injury of more than 16 members of the government forces.

© 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