ISCAP Attacks in Mozambique, Tanzania, and DRC (14th October– 22nd October 2020)
DRC
- 16th October- several Congolese soldiers were killed and wounded by ISCAP militants in Beti, Beni territory. Weapons and ammunition seized.
- 17th October- Congolese military patrol vehicle was hit by an IED in Lese, Beni where three soldiers were seriously injured. This is the first report of ISCAP in DRC using explosives in their attacks.
- 20th October- Armed ISCAP terrorist attacked Kangbayi central prison in Beni following a directive by ISIS-Central to its affiliates to free prisoners. The jailbreak set at least 1300 prisoners free among them over 230 belonging to ISCAP or were sympathizers of the outfit.
- 22nd October- 7 people killed by ISCAP in an attack on the Vulichi group in Beni region.
Mozambique
- 14th October- 3 simultaneous attacks were conducted by ISCAP in Ndique and Quissanga (the same day as the Mtwara attack in Tanzania) and lefts 2 civilian shot dead and homes burned to the ground.
- 15th October- 1 girl was burned alive after ISCAP attacked and burnt houses in Nacata village, Macomia
- 15th October- ISCAP killed several people as well as burned down homes in Namalala village, Palma District
- 16th October- Mozambican Marines were attacked by ISCAP in Olumbe, Palma district forcing them to retreat to Afungi Peninsula
- 18th October- ISCAP attacked and beheaded 2 people in Ntapuala, Macomia
- 19th October- militants attacked Koko, Macomia, and kidnapped one person, and set several homes on fire.
Tanzania
- 14th October- ISCAP attacked Kitaya village, the Mtwara region north of Mozambique’s border with Tanzania. Kitaya is located approximately 160km from MDP and is the first attack by the group across the border but the second against Tanzanian troops.
- At least 20 people were brutally beheaded with videos circulated on social media. Additionally, the attackers captured a Tanzanian military WZ-551 armored vehicle and assorted weapons
ANALYSIS AND INSIGHTS
DRC
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the past week evidences the threat posed by ISCAP in the country with the group making strategic moves that continue to reiterate its fealty to ISIS-Central. The week marked the first reports of the group using IEDs as well as promptly following a directive by the Caliph to all its province. The latter led to the attack and release of over 1300 prisoners in the Kangbayi central prison in Beni where almost 250 of the released prisoners belonged to ISCAP as well as the terror group’s conspirators and sympathizers arrested in North Kivu Province. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack through IS’ Amaq News Agency shortly after the jail-break. The threat by ISCAP in the larger region is further heightened by the fact that ISIS Central asked branches to free prisoners from jail and in DRC, ISCAP followed through the promise of allegiance by freeing over 1300 inmates hours later.
Intelligence reports in September indicated that the ISCAP branch in DRC had received a large financial boost from ISIS financiers in Africa and the monies were channeled through the organization’s network in East Africa. S.I. reported that a large amount of money being ferried from Kenya to DRC’s Beni region disappeared from police custody and likely ended up in the hands of the militants in the restive region following a conspiracy enabled by certain FARDC soldiers. The finances believed to have been facilitated by ISIS-Central have evidentially improved the group’s capabilities if the events of the last week are anything to go by. The worrisome trend that has introduced the group’s increased and enthusiastic fealty to ISIS in the nature of the attacks as well as recognition from the leadership in Iraq and Syria. Needless to say, the recent speech from ISIS spokesman Qurashi was quintessential of the group, calling for attacks worldwide and has seemingly motivated the group’s affiliates across the globe including ISCAP. This speech is made more troubling with the fact the speech was translated into many languages which means that the leadership sought to articulately communicate with its non-Arabic speaking affiliates and sympathizers especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Notably, in the past, ISCAP in DRC has received money from Waleed Ahmed Zein, a Kenyan financier linked to Islamic State, suggesting tentative ties between the Congo insurgents and other jihadists in Africa and beyond. Such links and recent reports of the money being transported to Beni can be attributed to the recent use of explosives against the military in Lese, Beni as well as what appeared to be a very heavily armed militancy that released the prisoners.
The use of IEDs by ISCAP in DRC should trigger immediate and stringent COIN measures as it is an obvious indicator of the group’s growing capabilities and increased sophistication in their attacks. The genesis of IEDs could propel the group into larger-scale attacks with bigger casualties as the groups seek international recognition as a formidable ISIS branch. The group can use the IEDs to conduct series of attacks with a reduced number of deaths on their side which will make CT operation that much harder as the attacks could increase in frequency and magnitude as opposed to the current small-scale ambushes and raids.
Tanzania and Kenya
On the 14th of October, ISCAP militants attacked Tanzanian troops in Kitaya, Mtwara region north of Mozambique’s border with Tanzania. Kitaya is located approximately 160km from MDP and is the first attack by the group across the border but the second against Tanzanian troops. At least twenty Tanzanian soldiers and several civilians were killed and a Tanzanian military WZ-551 armored vehicle was seized in the attack that has made shockwaves in Tanzania. ISIS-Central has since claimed the attack and affirmed that that wouldn’t be the last attack in Tanzania while at the same time including Tanzania along with Mozambique and Congo on its attack map in its al-Naba weekly newsletter. This is in line with the groups publicizing and glorifying its affiliate’s attacks in Africa to draw attention to its growing presence in Africa.
The fact that ISIS claimed the attack in Tanzania and has not claimed more attacks in Cabo Delgado is a clear indicator that the group is seeking to lure recruits and followers in Tanzania which has a huge Jihadi presence under its folds and could quite possibly serve as the beginning of the establishment of an affiliate ‘province’ in the East African nation. The attack by ISCAP implies its confidence in expanding its offensive from Mozambique into Tanzania seeing as it was unprovoked and could be the genesis of the group’s incursion in Mtwara a region that has radical inclinations and as such offering breeding grounds for the expansion into Tanzania.
ISIS’s spokesman, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, in his October 17 audio statement highlighted the successes of the group in DRC, Mozambique as well as mentioning Kenya that was followed by the claim of the Kitaya attack which puts the East and Great Lakes regions in the spotlight and ripe for the creation of an expansion ISCAP. The mention of Kenya in the audio message highlights the almost forgotten Al-Muhajiroun group and Jabha East Africa which were both were scions of Jaysh Ayman in Boni Enclave and they were ISIS allied and whose pledge for allegiance to al Baghdadi was not accepted. Some either traveled to Qandala in Somalia to join ISS, others to Cabo Delgado, others to Beni, and others just remained dormant and are not at a risk of activation and creating an ISIS network in East Africa down from Mozambique to up in Somalia through, Tanzania, Uganda, DRC, Kenya and possibly Ethiopia.
The expansion of ISCAP into Tanzania can be further backed up by the killing of the chief recruiter for ISIS in East Africa, Juma Athuman Mwengo in Kwale County towards the border with Tanzania in August 2020. Mwengo’s location is a clear indicator that he was either en route to Tanzania or Mozambique or was positioning himself near the border to facilitate the movement of recruits and returning terror cells to and from Kenya and Tanzania. Kwale county which has significant radical elements could serve as a conduit for the expansion of ISIS across the East Africa region. Moreover, IS-Somalia though appearing dormant has offered trainers, strategists, and logisticians for the entire ISCAP as they were appointed the overseers of ISCAP by Baghdadi.
Tanzania will offer very fertile grounds for the establishment of an ISIS branch because it already has a significant jihadi presence of recruits who were unable to travel to Somalia to join al Shabaab or ISS. Such establishment may quite possibly benefit from some significant local support from aggrieved communities especially in Mtwara because in previous years Tanzania’s government has cracked down on Islamists and jihadist sympathizers in the south of the country. while some of them dispersed throughout Tanzania and the region and it would not be surprising if others have established more formal links with ISCAP as evidenced by recurring videos online of Tanzanian jihadists training in caves.
Mozambique
The presence and position of the Tanzania fighters in ISCAP Mozambique are quite significant as the group that attacked Mtwara shouted in Swahili that they were al Shabaab from Mozambique and they had come to remove Magufuli who is the current Tanzanian president. The attack is the first prominent step that ISCAP has made towards becoming a regional or international-focused terror organization deviating from the previously local-based outfit. The timing is also convenient as recently international focus like Kenya donating food and other aid as well as the EU offering to send CT assistance to Mozambique in dealing with the insurgency. ISCAP has been gaining traction in recent months and as such the group’s need to make international headlines and attempt to establish dominance as the most lethal group in the East and Central region a spot currently held by al Qaeda affiliated al Shabaab active in Somalia.
It is important to note that the group is not turning away from Mozambique as on the same day they attacked Tanzania, the group also conducted several seeming coordinated attacks in various districts in Cabo Delgado a power move that highlights the group’s strategic advantages and growing capabilities that allow the group the liberty to expand into the region. It also intensified its social media campaigns and propagating their attacks as was evident in the attacks in Mtwara where the terrorists are seen beheading a man and setting his head on the road as a way to celebrate their attack.
A notable trend in Mozambique is that the insurgents have been collecting mobile phones from their victims that have been used to facilitate communication within the growing organization as well as intimidate people as was the case with the Mayor of Manica village. The phones have also been used to gather information to enable targeted attacks as well as shoot videos of their gruesome attacks like beheadings of residents circulating on social media in recent weeks.
In terms of CT, there have been reports that the Mozambican government is establishing militias that are geared at helping the government troops and police in fighting ISCAP as well as protecting the civilian populace. It is reported that such government-backed militias are active in Lyuala and Nangude in Muidumbe districts, in Mueda Districts as well as Licangano in Macomia district. Historically, most fights against terrorist groups tend to be more successful where there is overwhelming cooperation between the local population and the government forces and as such the formation of the militias are paramount in the war against ISCAP and ensuring the holistic success of COIN efforts both in Mozambique and across the region.
Comments 1