The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock – among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to [email protected] with "Membership" in the subject line.)
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Jihadis Circulate Purported Images Of U.S.-Tunisian Forces In Joint Training Maneuvers
The images generated numerous responses, ranging from comments mocking the U.S. army for its attempt to train the Tunisian army, after the former itself was defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan, to threats against the "Tunisian mercenaries [i.e. army]" for their collaboration with the Americans, which the threats promised would be answered with suicide attacks. It is noteworthy that the images posted to the top jihadi forums were linked to a Facebook page belonging to the so-called Talaba Revolution (facebook.com/Talaba.Revolution.Ar), whose Facebook page describes it is an "independent media foundation" and features links to Ansar Al-Shari'a in Tunisia's (AST) Facebook page.
Jihadi Publishes Letter Allegedly Revealing Combined Jordanian, U.S., And UAE Intelligence Apparatuses' Meeting To Discuss Situation In Syria
On March 5, 2013, a member of the Ansar Al-Mujahideen Arabic Forum (AMAF) published what he claimed to be a letter containing the minutes from a meeting held in Amman between representatives of the Jordanian, U.S., and UAE intelligence apparatuses to discuss the situation in Syria. An image of the alleged letter, the authenticity of which can't be verified, was posted on AMAF by one Al-Murabit Al-Shami. The letter, dated January 25, 2013, was directed to Faisal Al-Shoubaki, Director of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) and signed by the head of the Amman GID office, Fawaz Al-Shahwan.
Report: Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi Rejects Jordanian Intelligence Request To Denounce Al-Qaeda And Jihad In Syria
Islamist sources in Jordan and London reported that the Jordanian intelligence had offered to release Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, the jailed Salafi-jihadi movement leader, if he denounced Al-Qaeda. According to the report, on February 18, 2013, the head of Jordanian intelligence, Lt. Gen. Faisal Al-Shubaki, and his deputy visited Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi and asked that he renounce Al-Qaeda and urge his supporters to refrain from traveling to Syria to fight the Assad regime.
Jabhat Al-Nusra Claims Responsibility For February 6 Attack Against Syrian Military Factory In Hama Province
The pro-jihadi website Hanein published a communiqué from Jabhat Al-Nusra, dated February 24, 2013, in which the Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliated jihadi organization claimed responsibility for a suicide attack carried out on February 6 against a Syrian military factory in Hama Province. The organization described the attack, which killed 60, as "the strike of vengeance for the death of the children of Homs." The communiqué was produced by Al-Manara Al-Bida', Jabhat Al-Nusra's media company, and was accompanied by photos.
Chechen Commander Arrives In Syria With Group Of Muhajireen, Appeals To Muslims For Money, Support
On February 20, 2013, a seven-minute video clip was posted to YouTube showing a commander named 'Omar Al-Shishani ("the Chechen") and his group of muhajireen (foreign) fighters delivering a message from somewhere in Syria. In the video, Al-Shishani calls upon Muslims not to miss the opportunity to finally instate Allah's shari'a in the land, after, what he calls many previous missed chances to do so. In order to achieve this, Al-Shishani says, the Muslims must provide the mujahideen with financial support. Al-Shishani delivers his message in Russian, which is translated into Arabic by a masked fighter sitting to his left. Al-Shishani's deputy emir, one Abu Mus'ab, follows with a brief message in Arabic, in which he also appeals for financial support.
Syrian Group Liwa Al-Mujahideen Releases Video Commemorating Chechen Instructor Killed In Syria
Abdallah Al-Shishani
A jihad group fighting in the Lataqiyya region of Syria has released a video commemorating one of its senior operatives, a Chechen known as 'Abdallah Al-Shishani. According to the video, he established a training camp for mujahideen in northern Syria and was killed in a battle with the Syrian army on January 20, 2013. The video, approximately 11 minutes in duration, outlines his jihadi career in the Caucasus, and his subsequent role as a senior instructor and commander in a unit of "emigrants", Katibat Al-Muhajireen [the emigrants' battalion], fighting against the regime in Syria.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES - Photos Of Caucasian Mujahideen Killed In Syria Posted On Facebook
On February 27, 2013, online jihadis posted a collection of photos showing the bodies of six mujahideen from the Caucasus killed in Syria while fighting the Assad regime. The photos were posted by a Facebook group called "Al-Nusra Li-Jabhat Al-Nusra Li-Ahl Al-Sham," which is affiliated with Jabhat Al-Nusra but declares itself an unofficial account. An additional photo shows a fighter nicknamed "Salman Al-Bulghari," possibly from Bulgaria.
Member Of Jihadi Forum Threatens Spain
On March 4, 2013, it was reported that Spain had sent six soldiers to Mali as part of an European Union mission to assist and train the local army there. The news was reported by an active member of the Shumoukh Al-Islam jihadi forum going by the name Hafid Al-Hussein.
Fiji Reports Its Citizens Joining Taliban In Pakistan
Police in Fiji are investigating reports that some Fijian militants are training with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to a Fijian website.
Al-Qaeda Video Pays Tribute To Kashmiri Militant Who Founded Its Urdu Jihadi Media
Ahsan Aziz
In a new video, Al-Qaeda's top Pakistani official Ustad Ahmad Farooq identifies Engineer Ahsan Aziz as a Kashmiri militant commander who founded the jihadi media in Urdu language and pays tribute to him after he was killed in an air strike in Pakistani tribal region. Ustad Ahmad Farooq is the head of Al-Qaeda's Media and Preaching Department for Pakistan. In the 30-minute video released by As-Sahab, the media arms of Al-Qaeda, Ustad Ahmad Farooq appears with a masked face.
Yarmouk Martyrs' Battalion That Kidnapped UN Peacekeepers Claims It Is 'Securing' Them Against Shelling Attacks
Image from video announcing the establishment of the Yarmouk Martyrs' Battalion
On March 6, 2013, a group of Syrian rebels hijacked a bus carrying 20 UN peacekeepers from the Philippines. The bus was traveling in the Golan Heights, in the southwest of Syria. The kidnapping was carried out by a group calling itself the Yarmouk Martyrs' Battalion ("Katibat Shuhada Al-Yarmouk), which was established in August 2012 and operates in the western outskirts of Der'a.
