In ‘unprecedented’ hiatus, IS media offline for a day

23 November 2017, 2:18 pm

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The Islamic State group’s online propaganda channels went mysteriously quiet for more than a full day between Wednesday and Thursday, in what analysts say was an “unprecedented” silence.

IS, which uses messaging application Telegram to broadcast daily updates on military operations and claims of attacks, published nothing between 0900 GMT on Wednesday and 1001 GMT on Thursday.

In this May 22, 2016 file photo, an activist looks at an Islamic State group marketplace on the encrypted app Telegram, advertising a 12-year-old Yazidi girl as a slave for the price of $12,500, in a photo taken in northern Iraq. “Peace be upon you and the mercy and blessings of God,” the text reads in Arabic. “There is a female slave – Virgin – Beautiful – 12 years old – Her Arabic is weak – Clean – Her price has reached $12,500, and she will be sold soon. The photo is private. Only those who have the money may request the picture.” (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

Charlie Winter, senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, calls the silence “unprecedented.”

IS’s Telegram channels usually post more than a dozen messages each day, ranging from multilingual radio broadcasts on battlefield achievements to pictures of civilian life in the group’s self-styled “caliphate.”

— AFP