Latest news with #pro-ISIS
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Brit's ISIS TikTok post sparked 'ring of steel' around Champions League football stadiums
A man from Cleethorpes caused an international security alert as he posted about 'easy' football stadium targets and suggesting Champions League games would get 'huge rewards' A man from Cleethorpes has been given a 15 year extended sentence after his TikTok posts sparked fears ISIS had been planning attacks on football stadiums. Mohammed Mahfuz Ahmed prompted a massive international security alert after he suggested stadiums hosting Champions League games were an 'easy target' and the results would be 'huge''. The 26-year-old's threats prompted an 'extraordinary' security response from the Spanish interior ministry for the match in April between Real Madrid and Manchester City. They drafted in more than 3,500 police officers, with four separate rings of security, and snipers posted on the roofs of buildings overlooking the stadium. Ahmed, 26, from North Lincolnshire, was running multiple TikTok accounts, including one in the name Knight_of_Martyrdom urging people to hit the 'easy' targets. He was sharing pro-ISIS propaganda making calls to behead and shoot dead disbelievers. On April 4th last year he posted an image of fans at a football ground with targets on their heads which read: "To the stadiums, launch o muwahhid (faithful) to your new target." It added: "The bleachers (open air stands) and games in stadiums are filled with large numbers of crusaders. The targets are easy to reach, the results are huge, Allah willing and the reward is many times over. This will kill them, bloody their days, ruin their lives and make grief their punishment. The Prophet said 'a kaffir (non-believer) and his killer will never be brought together in hell.'" Ahmed posted a comment with the image which read: "Answer the call" . The image was posted days after an attack at a concert at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow by four men claiming allegiance to Islamic State, who opened fire killing at least 145 people including six children. Another image was posted four days later, on April 8th, by a media channel linked to ISIS in the same black and red colours, featuring a gunman in a balaclava with the message: 'Kill them all." It pictured the Emirates Stadium in London, Parc de Prince in Paris, and Santiago Bernabéu and Metropolitano Arena stadiums in Madrid which were due to host UEFA Champions League football matches the next day. Ahmed was arrested on April 18th at his home address and police seized an iPhone, a Samsung laptop and two USB memory sticks. On his phone was an image of the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid with a red target circle at the entrance to the stadium where people are entering. The threats made headline news across the world and Katherine Robinson, prosecuting, told Sheffield crown court: "We say that this is a statement of direct encouragement to commit acts of terrorism. "The defendant had an extensive following on TikTok. He also used hashtags which accompany each of his posts. This enables the user to significantly widen the reach of their posts." Ahmed was using the TOR browser to access the dark web which disguised the source of the terrorist material he distributed, the prosecutor said. Ahmed was found guilty of three counts of disseminating terrorist material and one count of encouraging terrorism. The judge, Jeremy Richardson KC, said Ahmed had "utterly revolting scenes of cruelty and savagery relating to a variety of terrorist outrages" on his computer. "By far the most serious of the charges relates to the UEFA football tournament, when you were directly encouraging individuals to indulge in terrorist activity, relating to that major public international event," he added. "You were seeking to recruit others with equally perverted views as yourself to indulge in acts of terrorism as individuals have done in the past elsewhere in the world." Sentencing him to 10 years in jail with five years on extended licence, the judge added: "I have a duty to protect the public. I sincerely hope that this sentence serves as a deterrent to others." The police said a raid on his home revealed a 'deep-seated extremist mindset' and an 'avid determination to share terrorist material online.' Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley the head of Counter-Terrorism Policing North East said: 'Ahmed was persistent and determined in his efforts to reach as many people as possible with his posts, which often included graphic content and glorified acts of terrorism. 'He went to considerable lengths to seek out and share material that could not easily be found on mainstream online platforms, using hashtags to appeal to a wider audience and encourage more followers. "The potential impact of his actions should not be underestimated…Sharing extremist material online is not a victimless crime and may inspire others to act.." Over a five-month period Ahmed gathered more than 1,300 followers and received in excess of 14,000 likes in response to his content. Each time TikTok closed his accounts, Ahmed set up a new one with a slightly varied username, re-posting the same pro-ISIS content and adding new posts. In messages dating back to October 2023, Ahmed shared graphic violent pro-ISIS videos with his wife. In one exchange he told her: "A martyr can take 70 people to heaven with him. The blood of a martyr is more pure than water or anything." Then he added: "Babe, I'm surprised how MI5 haven't come to my house yet. I've heard people getting raided and going to prison for spreading so called Islamic propaganda. I mean it's happened to loads of people. "They take away your passport and everything sometimes, depending on what it is. The only thing that would get me into trouble is with the police for dissemination of so-called terrorist publications." Omran Belhadi, defending, said Ahmed came from a very small Bangladeshi community in Cleethorpes where his opportunity to mix with other Muslims was limited. His middle brother suffered from non-verbal autism and his mother had had a stroke which left her unable to feed and clothe herself, putting "pressure points" on the family, he added.
Memri
7 days ago
- Memri
New Website For Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Michigan-Based Preacher Launched, Hosted In Bahamas; Material Uploaded On San-Francisco Based Archive.Org
On June 16, 2025, the official Telegram channel of Michigan-based pro-ISIS preacher Musa Abdullah Jibril declared that a new Arabic-language website devoted to the cleric's sermons has been launched. The website describes the cleric's effort as a religious effort "to raise a generation upon the methodology of the Sahabah (the Prophet's Companions). The website's homepage features a selection of audio and video sermons, using YouTube, as well as transcriptions in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, and uploads to the California-based digital library, Internet Archive ( The full text of this report is available to MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor subscribers. Subscription information is available at this link. JTTM subscribers can visit this page to view the report
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Time of India
Singapore detains self-radicalised teens; 15 yr-old girl planned to join ISIS, 17 yr-old targeted mosques
Singapore detains self-radicalised teens: 15 yr-old girl planned to join ISIS, 17 yr-old targeted mosques Two self-radicalised Singaporean teenagers, aged 15 and 17, were issued with security orders under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in February and March 2025, Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) said in an official release. The 15-year-old female student was placed under a Restriction Order (RO), making her the first female youth in Singapore to be dealt with under the ISA. Investigations revealed that she became a supporter of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after consuming online propaganda in mid-2023. According to ISD, the girl was deeply influenced by ISIS content and pledged allegiance to the terror group's former leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. She aspired to marry an ISIS fighter, raise a pro-ISIS family, and was willing to fight and die as a martyr in Syria. Between September 2023 and April 2024, she was actively searching for flights to Syria and tried to connect with ISIS supporters for travel advice. She was involved in multiple online romantic relationships with alleged ISIS supporters overseas. She also attempted to share pro-ISIS materials with her schoolmates and on social media, but her efforts to radicalise others were unsuccessful, ISD said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Valencia: El sеcreto de la abuela pаra alіvіar la artritіs sorprеnde a los médіcos Reumаtólogo jеfe de España Leer más Undo In a separate case, a 17-year-old male was detained under an Order of Detention (OD) for being self-radicalised by far-right extremist and racist ideologies. ISD said he came to attention during investigations into 18-year-old Nick Lee Xing Qiu, who was detained under the ISA in December 2024. The teen had been radicalised since 2022 after encountering Islamophobic content online. He reportedly adopted the belief that East Asians were superior to other ethnicities and regularly posted hateful content targeting Muslims. The 17-year-old had also taken steps to plan attacks on mosques in Singapore. Since 2015, 17 self-radicalised youths aged 20 and below have been dealt with under the ISA. Of these, nine had plans to carry out attacks in Singapore. ISD stated that the threat of youth radicalisation remains a concern in Singapore, driven by online content.
Memri
31-05-2025
- Memri
Posters By Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Media Outlets Present Perpetrators Of Attacks In The West As Role Models, Encourage Media Incitement Of Jihad
On May 23, 2025, the Islamic State (ISIS) official English-language Halummu media outlet published English translations of two posters by unofficial pro-ISIS media groups inciting attacks in the West and media jihad. Both posters' texts consist of excerpts from editorials in ISIS weekly Al-Naba'. One poster, titled "Incitement Is a Necessity and a Virtue," was originally released in Arabic by the Al-Murhafat Foundation and is based on the editorial in issue 305 of Al-Naba'. Encouraging media operatives to incite jihad, it depicts a hooded figure sitting in front of a laptop. The poster's text declares: "The jihadi media workers must put their efforts to perfect the ways of incitement and knock on the hearts of Muslims" to convince them of "the eternal [bliss] of being killed for the sake of Allah." It adds: "Just like the mujahid never leaves his weapon in battle, so should the inciter for jihad possess the tools to support him in his mission, and develop himself and learn the ways to fulfill his blessed mission, [since] because of that the jihad continues …" The full text of this report is available to MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor subscribers. Subscription information is available at this link. JTTM subscribers can visit this page to view the report
Toronto Star
15-05-2025
- Toronto Star
Toronto man who used COVID-relief money to help fund ISIS sentenced to 12 years
A Toronto man who financed ISIS using bitcoin, pandemic relief payments and money raised from bogus GoFundMe campaigns was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday. The acts committed by Khalilullah Yousuf, 37, that occurred between 2019 and 2022, are 'exceptionally troubling,' Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly said. Yousuf pleaded guilty to financing terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Although he did not plead guilty to a third offence, facts heard in court demonstrated that he facilitated terrorist activity, Kelly said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Court was told Yousuf redirected more than $35,000 he received from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) — which provided financial support to Canadians directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic — and money collected from multiple GoFundMe campaigns purported to benefit charitable causes to individuals in the United States and overseas associated with ISIS. He also created and disseminated pro-ISIS propaganda for the purpose of radicalizing and recruiting people to join or support the Islamic State. This included material that glorified mass killings, said federal prosecutor Martin Park reading from an agreed statement of facts. Initially, Yousuf used MoneyGrams and Western Union to transfer cash, before switching to the cryptocurrency bitcoin because, he wrote to someone, it was the best way to move money without leaving a trail, Park said. A note found on Yousuf's computer indicated he believed an Islamic caliphate is the only acceptable form of rule. Not much is known about the defendant, the judge stated. He has the support of his family — one man was in the otherwise empty courtroom on Monday — and he has engaged in a program designed to address the factors that can lead to violent extremist activities. Wearing a long black beard, dark grey hoodie and slacks, Yousuf declined to address the court Monday when asked if he had anything to say before the judge retired to consider his sentence. But he was polite and responsive when asked if he understood the significant implications of his guilty pleas. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Crown and defence lawyers agreed he should receive a sentence of 12 years. Factoring in credit for time served, Yousuf has nine years and 105 days left. He has been in custody since December 2022. Kelly said she believed 12 years is a fit sentence for such serious offences. But she noted that his pleas saved weeks of court time in a trial and prevented 'the further advancement of a platform' due to the public nature of such a proceeding. 'I do hope that the rehabilitation does work, Mr. Yousuf both for you personally and for the safety of our community,' Kelly told him. She followed the recommendation that he serve half of his sentence before becoming eligible to apply for parole. Yousuf faces no immigration consequences because he is a Canadian citizen.
