The Islamic State’s Third Bayat Campaign

Previously, I tracked the bayat campaign for Abu Ibrahim after Abu Bakr’s death and then for Abu al-Hasan after Abu Ibrahim’s death. This post will do the same with the announcement of Abu al-Hasan’s death and Abu al-Husayn al-Husayni al-Qurashi as the new leader of the Islamic State. As I said in the original post:

There are two main reasons for this: 1. pledges are leader-specific rather than group-specific and thus need to be renewed with each succession and 2. it is a way to legitimize al-Qurashi’s rule and create a media event so that the group can promote itself as it transitions to a new phase.

The first reason is also something that IS pointed to when it began to overtly feud with al-Qaeda (AQ) in 2013, by saying that following Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi’s death, his successor Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir gave baya to the newly created Islamic State of Iraq’s leader Abu ‘Umar al-Baghdadi and even after Abu ‘Umar was killed, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took over in 2010 and then Usamah Bin Laden was killed in 2011, Abu Bakr never publicly gave baya to Ayman al-Zawahiri, even if al-Zawahiri claims he gave it to him privately. Therefore, from the perspective of IS this whole process is not trivial, but important for legitimacy of its leadership and to potentially weed out any insubordination before it manifests into something larger as it already did in the past vis-a-vis AQ.

This post will be updated with the latest official pledges.

December 1, 2022: 

Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – Sambisa Region

Wilāyat Khurāsān

Wilāyat al-‘Irāq

Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – al-Buhayrah Region

December 2:

Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – al-Faruq Region

Wilāyat al-Shām

Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – Banki Region

December 3: 

Wilāyat al-Yaman

Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – Krenoa Region

Wilāyat al-‘Irāq

Wilāyat al-Sāḥil – Azawagh, Tri-Border, and Burkina Faso Regions

December 4: 

Wilāyat al-Ṣūmāl

Wilāyat Wasaṭ Ifrīqīyah

Wilāyat al-Sāḥil – Anderamboukane Village

December 5:

Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyah – Central Nigeria

Wilāyat al-Shām

Wilāyat Bākistān

Wilāyat Mūzambīq

Wilāyat Wasaṭ Ifrīqīyah – Beni Region

December 7, 2022:

Tūnis

Wilāyat al-Hind – Kashmir

Wilāyat Mūzambīq – Nangade Region

December 8, 2022:

Lubnān

December 14, 2022:

Wilāyat Saynā’

December 17, 2022:

Wilāyat Sharq Asīā

December 19:

Wilāyat Lībīyā

New video message from The Islamic State: “And The [Best] Outcome Is For The Righteous – Wilāyat Wasaṭ Ifrīqīyyah”

For prior parts in this video series see: Wilāyat al-Ṣūmāl, TūnisWilāyat TurkīyāWilāyat LībīyāAzerbaijanWilāyat KhurāsānWilāyat al-QawqāzWilāyat Sharq AsīāWilāyat Saynā’, and Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyyah. The title of this release is in reference to a part of Qur’anic verses 7:128, 11:49, and 28:83.

_________________

Source: Telegram

To inquire about a translation for this video message for a fee email: [email protected]

The Islamic State, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Militancy Over the Past Decade

Yesterday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for its first attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In one of the claims, IS states that these attacks occurred within its so-called ‘Wilayat Wasat Ifriqiya’ (Mid/Central Africa). Wassim Nasr notes that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has talked about this ‘wilayah’ previously in his August 22, 2018 speech. Interestingly, in al-Baghdadi’s speech following the announcement of IS’s self-proclaimed Caliphate in July 2014, he mentions the Central African Republic, but not the Democratic Republic of Congo. CAR has been a topic jihadis in general have discussed more so than DRC historically.

As Caleb Weiss highlights however, there is a history of connections between IS and some militant groups in the country. Since this is such an under-covered phenomenon, I thought it would be useful to share resources related to this topic to help contextualize and better understand it based on content I have saved over the years. It is not a ton, but better than nothing. If anyone wants to add anything to the following dossier let me know and I will post it so there is a fuller picture. From oldest to most recent.

January 17, 2013:

Authorities on alert after al-Shabaab, Ugandan militants join forces

July 1, 2014:

U.S. imposes sanctions on Islamist group in Congo for targeting children

January 9, 2015:

The Rise of ADF-NALU in Central Africa and Its Connections with al-Shabaab – The Jamestown Foundation

February 19, 2015:

New insights on Congo’s Islamist rebels – The Washington Post

May 11, 2015:

Congo seeks extradition of Islamist rebel chief from Tanzania – Reuters

September 27, 2016:

Jihadis in Congo? Probably not

December 26, 2016:

Rebels Blamed for Killing 25 With Machetes in Congo

December 8, 2017:

Islamist attack kills at least 15 UN peacekeepers and five soldiers in DRC – The Guardian

February 23, 2018:

Congo Army gruesomely destroys base of Islamist rebel group – Business Insider

May 24, 2018:

AU confirms ISIS infiltration in countries, including Somalia – Shabelle

July 31, 2018:

The Islamic State in East Africa

November 2, 2018:

Violence and Viruses_ How a Poorly Armed Insurgency in the Congo Poses a Global Threat – Jamestown

November 14, 2018:

Inside the ADF Rebellion A Glimpse into the Life and Operations of a Secretive Jihadi Armed Group

November 15, 2018:

Financier of Islamic State paid money to rebel group in eastern Congo: report – Reuters

November 24, 2018:

U.S. says receives credible terrorist threat against facilities in Congo – Reuters

December 3, 2018:

Threat from Islamic State-Affiliated Group Reason DRC US Embassy Closed

December 4, 2018:

The tentative ties between the Allied Democratic Forces and ISIS

December 7, 2018:

Militants kill at least 18 civilians in Congo’s Ebola zone – Reuters

February 9, 2019:

Trends in the Spread of Radical Islam in Africa: The Case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Modern Diplomacy

April 18, 2019:

Islamic State claims attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – FDD’s Long War Journal

Islamic State claims: