Image Above:
Bot image on Telegram suggesting that pro-white / Neo-Nazis create backup channels on Tam Tam encrypted platform.
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Bottom Line Up Front:
Social media is the cornerstone of recruitment and planning for all militant networks; nothing more so than encrypted chat platforms. Recent media reports have been misleading regarding Neo-Nazi use of Telegram being hampered by security sweeps on the platform. While TRAC noted that a dozen or so accounts were taken down in late June 2020, since that time Telegram use has gone unabated on the encrypted platform. With over a billion users worldwide, Telegram now also attracts anarchists as well. Though European anarchists continue to prefer private blogs for communication, North American anarchists quietly entered the Telegram space in 2020. Islamic State and AQ both continue diffuse across multiple platforms, but their foreign language outlets remain unscathed on Telegram.
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Photo Above:
Overpass banner specifically threatening the staff of the Attorney General of Justice of the State of Mexico (FGJEM)
Photo Below:
Vehicle riddled with gunfire, belonging to officer who was targeted on Sunday, 12 July.
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TRAC INCIDENT REPORT: La Familia Michoacana (LFM) Carries Out Targeted Assassinations in 'Promised' War Against Attorney General of Justice of the State of Mexico (FGJEM) - Villa Victoria and Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico - 12 & 13 July
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On 12 and 13 July, investigative police officers with the office of the Attorney General of Justice of the State of Mexico (FGJEM) were targeted by La Familia Michoacana (LFM.) On Sunday, one officer was killed along with his two children and on Monday, five officers were ambushed while out to eat at a local shop. The officer targeted on Sunday was driving near Palo Amarillo Yebucivi in Villa Victoria and enjoying the day with his two children, ages three and six. The agent was pronounced dead at the scene and his children later died at the hospital. La Familia Michoacana operates in the south of the State of Mexico and the Attorney General of Justice of the State of Mexico (FGJEM) has carried out arrests and operations against the group in that area. In early July, La Familia Michoacana (LFM) allegedly ambushed officers and a day later, hung several signs on overpasses specifically threatening the staff of the Attorney General of Justice of the State of Mexico (FGJEM), stating that the "War has begun!"
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TRAC INCIDENT REPORT: Taliban/IEA Claim Responsibility For Car Bombing (VBIED) and Armed Assault on a National Directorate of Security (NDS) Facility in Aybak, Samangan, Afghanistan- 13 July 2020
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At 11:00 am local time on 13 July, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) facility in Aybak, the provincial capital of Samagan province in central Afghanistan was stormed by three militants of the Taliban's 'martyrdom brigade' after a massive car bomb explosion. Dozens of civilians were hurt by glass shards from the blown out windows. The Taliban claim to have killed at least 70 employees of the intelligence facility during the 'thunderous assault,' although the official casualty toll was lower. The IEA spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a Tweet asserted that the Taliban was in fact responsible for the attack, and published a short essay via its website on why such operations will continue:
- The Kabul regime continues their attacks on the Afghan people and the mujahideen, so the Taliban will continue to respond in kind in accordance with Islamic law.
- The Kabul regime only seeks to mislead and divide rather than negotiate in good faith.
- Attacks on the NDS and other government agencies is a message to 'those who do not understand the language of diplomacy'- only through such brazen attacks can the Kabul regime be compelled to 'return to the right path.'
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Images above:
The car bomb detonation outside the NDS facility in Aybak (via Twitter); IEA Twitter Claim
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Photo Above:
Colonel Mushtaq, allegedly killed during the BLF attack. Supporters of the Baloch separatist movement are circulating his image on social media, though his death hasn't been verified (Twitter)
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TRAC INCIDENT REPORT: Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) Ambush on Pakistani Military Convoy in Gichk, Panjgur, West Balochistan, Pakistan- 14 July 2020
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A five-vehicle Pakistani military convoy patrolling near Gichk, Panjgur, west Balochistan was ambushed by Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) militants. Rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles were used to pin the vehicles down, all of which were allegedly destroyed. At least 8 Frontier Corps troopers were confirmed killed. The Baloch Liberation Front spokesman asserts that 20 Frontier Corps elements were killed, and the leader of the convoy, Colonel Mushtaq was also neutralized. An ambush on a military convoy in Gichk, west Balochistan, has been claimed by the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) separatist group. In a statement to sympathetic journalists, the spokesman Major Gowhram Baloch asserted responsibility and vows that a video of the operation will be released soon (the official social media accounts of Baloch separatist militant groups were purged after the attack on the Pakistani Stock Exchange on 29 June). The BLF are one of many Baloch separatist groups operating in the restive province. The group sometimes collaborates with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and others under the Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) umbrella group.
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TRAC's Weekly Analyst Review is a small curated list of many events.
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TRAC Weekly Analyst Briefing
As many of our clients know, we invite one organization a week to sit in on our Analyst Briefing. The briefings take place at 10 AM US eastern time and last an hour. We meet virtually in TRAC's online conference center.
If your organization is interested in attending, please schedule with the link below. We look forward to having you join us and ask questions.
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