A “leaked” letter released by a prominent anti-Islamic State (IS) source on Rocketchat on 20 December 2024, claims that the pro-IS media operation is in disarray, largely due to the “failure” and “malevolence” of a key media operative and IS’s failure to tackle the issue. This key operative was identified as Abu Qutaiba (aka Hamad al-Jazrawi), reputedly head of pro-IS outlet Intaj al-Ansar (Supporter Productions), which collates and disseminates content from a number of unofficial media outlets. It also suggested that Abu Qutaiba’s “dubious” administration has threatened the security of jihadist media workers, and also made links to the disappearance of multiple pro-IS websites and social media accounts in recent months.
These claims are based on a “leaked” letter presumably from an IS media supporter(s) complaining about the “near-total collapse” of the media operation and pleading for Abu Qutaiba to be dismissed from his role.
These criticisms join a long-standing narrative that has consistently focused on Intaj al-Ansar and Abu Qutaiba, with allegations of mismanagement and “suspicious” activities.
Contents of the letter
While the credibility of this latest “leaked” letter is difficult to judge, it is worth noting that some of its more specific allegations have already been observed in jihadist messaging in the past 12 months. Although not made clear, it was likely purported to be addressed to senior official media figures in IS. It lamented that the pro-IS media operation has suffered “near-total collapse”, however it said that this was not solely due to Abu Qutaiba’s alleged incompetence as head of Intaj al-Ansar. It argued that the situation was a sign that Intaj al-Ansar had been infiltrated and compromised, and directed the blame at those who let events reach this point.
The letter explained that “we” had repeatedly warned of Abu Qutaiba’s “failure, malevolence and mismanagement” and now “we” have ended up in the very situation “we” feared. Amongst various sources it is apparent that pro-IS websites and archive bots are no longer available after having been “infiltrated” several times, which has led to security risks for IS supporters. Several high-profile pro-IS websites have also seen major disruption in the past 12 months.
The letter stated that Abu Qutaiba vanished for a few weeks for no stated reason, then returned without an explanation regarding his absence. It also suggested that he had either fled his responsibilities or was asked to stay away because many Intaj al-Ansar workers and pro-IS media outlets had seen him for what he was. It also argued that a failure to coordinate media activities was mostly because of the conduct of the “failure” Abu Qutaiba.
Amongst a series of complaints, the letter criticisms continued stating that Abu Qutaiba had decided to use Intaj al-Ansar to support a “dubious” fundraising campaign in recent months, contravening previous official directives by IS.
It also stated that Abu Qutaiba excommunicated an individual called Abu Rahaj al-Ansari, adding that contact has since been lost with Abu Rahaj and worrying that he had come to harm as a result of Abu Qutaiba’s “deception”.
In June, pro-IS media group Mi’raj al-Atqiya claimed that Abu Qutaiba had forced out Abu Rahaj al-Ansari from running a flagship pro-IS website al-Raud. Al-Raud, and the similar pro-IS website I’lam have suffered prolonged outages in recent months. The letter then claimed that Abu Qutaiba had used “false accusations” to oust long-serving designers, technicians and programmers, yet now complains about a shortage of such workers. The letter and multiple criticisms concluded that as long as Abu Qutaiba remains in charge, there is little to no chance of Intaj al-Ansar and other IS-supportive media outlets reverting to their previous state, prompting calls for his immediate removal from the position.
Letter No. 5
What did the malicious Abu Qutaiba (Hamad Al-Jazrawi) do with the production of supporter media? In the name of God, praise be to God, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of God and upon his family and companions and those who follow him and after him.
Whoever follows the state of the media supporting the state, the Caliphate, may God honor it. The state of disrepute and almost complete collapse must conclude that the matter is not an evidence of the failure of the supporter called Abu Taybah to manage this media from During the production of Al-Ansar, it is an actual indicator that the production was compromised and the one who bears the primary responsibility is the one who brought matters to this point, after we warned repeatedly about the so-called, Abu Qutaiba, highlighting his failure, his accusation, and his mismanagement, and we called on him to leave.
We have reached what we were warning about and feared under the leadership of this loser. All sites and archive logs failed after being hacked several times, and this presented security risks to the supporters for which this organization bears responsibility. The lack of coordination between institutions for several reasons, the most important of which is the way this loser dealt with them. He disappeared for several weeks without a valid reason. Then he came back as if nothing had happened! Where did he disappear and why did no one know about his identity? Can you contact any member of the production? Either he was running away from his responsibilities, or his employers asked him not to appear and to withdraw because many of the supporters and a number of institutions began to see him for what he really is.
He decided on his own, without coordination or advice, to support the suspicious donation campaigns that had spread in the past months, contrary to what the official media had previously reported. And let us not forget that this malicious person had declared brother Abu Rahj Al-Ansari a disbeliever, and after he was cured, he began writing his abacus that the matter was fabricated, and now you add that brother Abu Rahj was present and did not communicate with anyone after what happened, and we fear that Abu Qutaiba's cunning, caused the death of brother Abu Rahj as He did it with Abu Abdul Aziz. The brothers must remember that the reckless person called Abu Qutaiba did not leave any of the Al-Qami brothers, including designers, technicians, and programmers, except that he found a modern way to isolate them with books, deception, and false accusations, without an environment or evidence, and now he complains and is condemned from the shadow of the designers and technicians.
Whoever believes for a single moment that the partisan media and the production of partisans will improve and return to their previous state under the management of this malicious person is delusional and out of touch with reality. This loser must be expelled immediately. Join the conversation with an account. Glory belongs to God and to His Messenger and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know.