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May 9, 2014 JTTM Weekly No. 96

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

May 9, 2014
JTTM Weekly No. 96

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 jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.)

Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@memri.org. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.

 

Al-Qaeda's American Spokesman Adam Gadahn: 'It Is Essential To Fight America'

On May 2, 2014, Al-Qaeda’s media company Al-Sahab released a new message from its American born spokesman, Adam Gadahn, in which he discusses the anti-Mursi military coup in Egypt, laments the Arab world's general state of affairs, and urges Muslims to wage jihad against America.

The U.S. role in the coup highlighted the need to fight the U.S. to halt its meddling in internal Muslim affairs, Gadahn stated: "The bloody fascist secular coup in Egypt has confirmed the need to confront America and stand up to its criminality and tyranny, until it stops its interference in our affairs and its backing of factions loyal to them in our countries. It is essential to fight America. It is essential for every youth in Egypt to strive to emulate the martyred champion Muhammad Atta and his magnificent companions, who sold themselves cheaply to Allah for their Ummah’s freedom, honor and future. It is essential to wage Jihad against America and inflict slaughter on it and restrain it; otherwise, bloody secular coups will recur again and again all over our Islamic world."

Al-Sahab Released Part Four Of Al-Zawahiri's Reminiscences About Bin Laden

On May 1, 2014, Al-Qaeda's media wing, Al-Sahab, released part four of the "Days with the Imam" video series, in which the organization's leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, reminisces about Osama bin Laden.

Similar to previous installations in the series, Al-Zawahiri speaks spontaneously and informally while occasionally glancing at his notes. Al-Zawahiri even breaks into an embarrassed chuckle several times during his talk, which is unusual for a man of his stature.

JN Communique On Confrontation With ISIS Following Al-Zawahiri Instructions: We Are Prepared For Immediate Ceasefire As Long As ISIS Ceases Hostilities

On May 4, 2014, the jihadi forum 'Arin Al-Mujahideen ("Lion's Den of the Mujahideen"), which is associated with Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN), issued an official communique on the ongoing violent hostility with ISIS. The communique was issued following instructions from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri to immediately end the bloodshed between the two organizations. In the communique, JN accused ISIS of being responsible for the situation but stated that it [i.e. JN] was willing to declare an immediate ceasefire once ISIS ceased hostilities towards it.

In the communique, JN made several harsh accusations against ISIS, including:

-During the four months of bloody hostilities, JN had responded to every peace initiative, while Isis had rejected them all.

Jihadi Suggests Targeting Drones On The Ground As A Countermeasure

A jihadi on the Shumoukh Al-Islam forum recently suggested attacking drones while they are on the ground, rather than during flight, as a strategy to deal with the problem they pose.

The jihadi, who goes by the name "abdooo6," offered his advice on countering drones in a post titled "Some solutions and painkillers regarding the [unmanned] aircrafts..."

Abdooo6 first noted that, in regard to the enemy's use of drones, the mujahideen must not be defeated psychologically. He added that drones were the only problem that the mujahideen has to face, while on the other hand, their enemies have to deal with multiple issues such as IEDs, mortar attacks, and martyrdom operations.

In New Video, AQAP Continues Anti-Drone Campaign, Documents Recent Attack Against Military Headquarters In Aden

On May 1, 2014, an Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) video documenting the group's attack on a Yemeni military headquarters in Aden was released on the Shumoukh Al-Islam forum. The attack is part of AQAP's ongoing attempts to target what it says are joint Yemeni-U.S. drone operation centers.

The video is part 4 in AQAP's "Repulsion of Aggression" video series. Similar to its predecessors, the current video condemns the U.S.'s drone strikes in Yemen and the complicit involvement of Yemeni security and military services in those attacks.

The video is 11:19 long and was first posted on Shumoukh Al-Islam by a user named Abu Al-Ahnaf Al-Shibani.

Following is a summary of the video:

The video begins with footage of Yemeni civilian victims of the U.S.'s drone strikes. The footage includes angry responses by Yemenis to those strikes. In one part, a man is seen standing in front of two large bags of wheat that USAID delivered to Yemenis as humanitarian aid. The man expresses astonishment at the dichotomy of this, and wonders how Yemenis accept this bit of U.S. aid when the U.S. itself is killing those same people's family members and friends.

Senior AQAP Official: Yemeni Army Attacks Have Been Repulsed; Tribesmen Are Rallying To AQAP


Jalal Bal'id Al-Marqashi

In a video released May 3, 2014 by Al-Malahem, the media wing of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the organization's senior official Jalal Bal'id Al-Marqashi, a.k.a. Hamza Al-Zinjibari, gives a status report on AQAP's recent clashes with the Yemeni army. This video, dated April 30, follows an April 30 audio by Al-Marqashi that likewise dealt with the halting of the army's advance and with American drone strikes.

In the video, Al-Marqashi argues that the Yemeni army's current attack was based on an American plan and financed by the Gulf countries. He notes with satisfaction that, for the first time, tribesmen joined the fighting against the army, due to their bitterness over its attacks on them and over prolonged government neglect, and that AQAP and the tribesmen successfully repulsed the Army's ground attacks.

Jordanian ISIS Member Calls Upon Residents Of Ma'an To Wage Jihad Against The Jordanian Government


Gharib Al-Urduni (center)

On May 3, 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) media company Al-I’tisam released a new video titled "A Message to Our People in Ma’an", in response to recent events in that southern Jordanian city. In recent weeks, Ma'an was wracked by violent clashes between the security forces and residents following a local youth's death during a search for wanted persons. Speaking in the video, Gharib Al-Urduni, allegedly a Jordanian, and possibly a Ma'an native himself, urged the city's residents to take up arms against the Jordanian government and security forces. He also called upon Jordanian tribesmen to abandon the security forces, and stop sending their sons to join them. The ISIS fighter warned the Jordanian army's soldiers that ISIS was prepared to fight them.

Following are excerpts from the video:

"The Only Solution For This Criminal Regime Is Jihad"

The video begins with ISIS member, Gharib Al-Urduni addressing and inciting the Ma'an residents: "[Take up] arms! Blood for blood, destruction for destruction! The only solution for this criminal regime is to fight it and wage jihad against it… what the criminal regime is doing in Ma'an is neither novel nor extraordinary for this regime. It is a regime of treachery, a regime of unbelief and apostasy. It is the regime that has ruled over the Muslims for dozens of years according to [laws] differing from those of the Koran and the Sunna of the Prophet. It rules them instead according to infidel man-made laws. It is a regime that kills Muslims and aggresses their sacred places… it is a regime that battles jihad and the mujahideen in all the jihad arenas…"

To view this clip click here.

Afghan Website: Mullah Mohammad Omar's Brother Appointed Afghan Taliban's Military Commander


Logo of the Islamic Emirate

According to a leading Afghan website, a brother of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been appointed as the military commander of the Afghan jihadi movement.

Mullah Mohammad Omar leads the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, the Taliban umbrella organization that conducts jihad for the enforcement of Islamic sharia rule under the Taliban in Afghanistan. According to a report on the Afghan website Pajhwok.com, Omar's brother Mullah Abdul Manan Hotak was appointed as the military commander of the Islamic Emirate following a meeting in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province.

It is widely believed that the central leadership of the Islamic Emirate led by Mullah Mohammad Omar has mostly resided in Quetta over the past decade, where it is controlled by the Inter-Services Intelligence of the Pakistani military. Because it is based in Quetta, the Afghan Taliban's Shura (executive council) has come to be known as the Quetta Shura.

TTP Statement Rejects Media Reports Of Infighting In Pakistani Taliban, Describes It As Limited And Over 'Administrative Matters'

In a new statement, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has rejected Pakistani media reports that the current wave of infighting between various TTP factions, in which dozens of militants have been killed in the Pakistani tribal region, are over the issue of the TTP's talks with the government.

In a statement signed by Maulana Umar Saif Al-Mahajir, who is described as the head of the TTP's media and propagation department, the TTP said that the media is spreading reports of infighting in the Pakistani Taliban in order to spread "poisonous propaganda about the mujahideen of Islam."

TTP Exasperated Over Pakistani Army Operations, Warns: 'We Only Accept The Rule Of Allah; Whether It Be The War Or Negotiations, We Will Not Backtrack From Our Real Objective [Of Sharia Rule]'


Shahidullah Shahid, TTP spokesman (middle)


Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is engaged in failing peace negotiations with the Pakistani government, has expressed exasperation over the Pakistani army's bombings in Taliban-controlled areas of South Waziristan.

In a statement dated May 6, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid stated: "Over the past two days, a war has been thrust upon innocent people without reason in the Babad and Shaktoi areas of South Waziristan. The government is pursuing a policy of negotiations on the one hand, and war on the other. Operations against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan are being increased across Pakistan; and relatives of missing innocent persons kept in the secret prisons of ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistani Army] are being tortured."

Historical Letter - March 2001 Letter From Chechen Commander To Afghan Taliban Ruler Mullah Omar: 'I Thank Allah That Our Two Nations Met On The Path Of Jihad'


Mullah Mohammad Omar (left) and Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev


The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban government led by Mullah Mohammad Omar that ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001, had recognized the Islamist/jihadi government of Chechnya during the latter half of the 1990s.

Below is the text of a March 2001 letter written by Chechen commander Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev to then-Afghan Taliban ruler Mullah Mohammed Omar, detailing some links between the two jihadi states of Chechnya and Afghanistan:

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
"To Emir-ul-Momineen in Afghanistan Mullah Mohammed Omar
"Peace be upon you

"We ask Allah for you safety and wellbeing.

"Brother, how are you? How are the brothers and their families? I ask Allah to write for us victory for his sake. And before that I ask Him, the almighty, safety and wellbeing in Islam for the Afghan people who became today the center of jihad for the sake of the governance of Islam on earth. We follow the news of Afghanistan and are happy for your advancement and victories, since that encourages us against the kaffir [infidel] Russian enemy."

Report: Taliban And Al-Qaeda Militants Plan To Use Indus Waterways, Kidnap Chinese Engineers Working At Pakistani Nuclear Site

The Indus river is the lifeline of Pakistan

According to a Pakistani media report, Taliban militants are planning to use the informal waterways of the Indus river to transport arms and ammunitions.

Report: Afghan Officials Arrest Six Taliban Suicide Bombers In Kandahar Province


Some of the suicide bombers captured in Kandahar

According to an Afghan website, officials in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province have arrested at least six Taliban suicide bombers.

The website quoted Afghan officials as saying that the detainees were looking to carry out suicide attacks in Aino Meena city, which is one of the well-known cities of Kandahar province. "The suicide bombers were arrested during a military operation conducted by Kandahar intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) operatives," the report noted.

Afghan Taliban To Launch 'Operation Khyber' Starting May 12, Warn: 'If The Invaders Or Their Internal Stooges Believe That Reducing The Number Of Foreign Forces Will Dampen Our Jihadi Fervor, Then They Are Sadly Mistaken'

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban shadow government led by Mullah Mohammad Omar) has announced the upcoming launch of a military offensive against both the foreign and Afghan security forces as well as various personnel assisting them.

In a statement on the official website of the Islamic Emirate, the Taliban warned that the current year's operations have been planned by specialists and will target spies, translators, and officials who assist the foreign and Afghan security forces. The statement has been issued by the leadership council of the Islamic Emirate.

Video Of Anti-India Group Ansar Ut-Tawheed Shows Militants Undergoing Arms Training

Ansar ut-Tawheed, a new anti-India jihadi organization that emerged sometime in the second half of 2013, has released a new video showing its jihadi fighters undergoing militant training, possibly somewhere in Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

The video – titled "Usood ul-Hind-2" (The Lions of India-2) – is second part of a series. The first part was released sometime in late-October 2013. The second part of the video is 12:46 minutes and appears to have been filmed with a cellphone camera, and is of poor quality.

Reports: Arrested Terrorist Linked To Jihadist Cells In Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, And Pakistan, Involved In Reconnaissance Of U.S. Consulate In Chennai

Mohammed Zakir Hussain, a Sri Lankan terrorist arrested on April 29 by police in the southern Indian city of Chennai (formerly Madras), has links to jihadi cells in Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, and India, according to Indian media reports.

Singapore-based Sri Lankan terrorism expert Dr. Rohan Gunaratna described Hussain's arrest as "very significant" for the entire South Asia region. According to a report in The New Indian Express daily, Gunaratna said that "cells such as Hussain's have been functioning in [Sri] Lanka, the Maldives, and India, posing a 'severe threat' to the entire region."

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