Taliban Announces Imminent Attack on Uruzgan Province

A Taliban communiqué posted March 5, 2007 on Islamist websites announces an imminent attack on Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan. The message declares that 8,000 fully equipped Taliban soldiers are ready to launch an attack on "the American occupiers and their Afghani collaborators" in the province. It urges those whose relatives are collaborating with the "enemy" to stop them from doing so, and promises that collaborators will be forgiven if they sever ties with the enemy and instead assist the mujahideen.

Islamic State in Iraq Announces Attack on Shi'ites in Retaliation for Two Rape Incidents

On March 2, 2007, Islamist websites posted a communiqué by the War Ministry of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), in which the ministry announces the launching of the "Attack of the Vengeance of Honor." The communiqué says: "Our brothers the jihad fighters in the War Ministry have decided to launch the 'Attack of the Vengeance of Honor' in Baghdad and in the other provinces, as part of the Plan of Honor and in response to the call of Commander of the Believers Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi… This attack will continue until the number of Shi'ite policemen, commando fighters, soldiers and defenders of the regime who are killed reaches 2,000 - that is, 1,000 fatalities for each of our sisters whose honor has been violated."

The Islamic Front of Iraqi Resistance (JAME) Calls Upon the U.S. to Negotiate Directly with the Mujahideen

A communiqué by the Islamic Front of Iraqi Resistance (JAME), posted March 5, 2007 on Islamist websites, responds to Al-Maliki's recent call for an international summit on Iraq, dismissing this initiative as a political ploy. According to the message, Al-Maliki's move is an attempt to comply with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group; however, Al-Maliki wishes to address only the issues that immediately concern the Iraqi government - such as the security problem - rather than more fundamental issues such as human rights in Iraq, recognition of the resistance, and the fact that various ministries are controlled by the militias and not by the government. The communiqué further states that, if the U.S. wishes to escape its predicament in Iraq, it should not rely on the Iraqi "sectarian government" and its "mercenaries," but should negotiate directly with the jihad commanders.

Iraqi Government and the Islamic State in Iraq Compete to Recruit Former Iraqi Army Officers

On March 5, 2007, Islamist websites posted a communiqué by the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), responding to the Iraqi government's call for former officers in the Iraqi armed forces to join its security apparatuses. The ISI communiqué reminds these officers that ISI leader Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi has called upon them to join his army, and threatens harm to anyone who responds to the government's call. The message says: "Now that the noose around [the neck of] the Al-Maliki government and [around the necks of] its American masters has tightened, and now that the Shi'ite forces have proved helpless to stop the wagon of blessed jihad, the Shi'ite government is once again… calling upon the former officers in the Iraqi army - and especially upon the Sunnis among them - to volunteer and join the apostate [security] apparatuses, and thus to form the spearhead in the war against the jihad fighters… We warn [these former officers] not to fall for these false claims on the pretext of defending their cities or for a handful of dollars… We remind the former [soldiers] of the Iraqi army that ISI commander [Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi] calls upon them to join the army of the ISI… [1] Those who sell out their faith and their nation cheaply, and agree to follow Al-Maliki, will receive nothing from us but a sharp sword. We will not allow these traitors to stand in the way of the jihad fighters and to hinder their plans."