Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

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Report On Karachi Violence – Part II: Car Bombing At U.S. Consulate, Suicide Attacks On Shi'ite Processions, Killings By Members Of Rival Political Parties

The second part of a comprehensive list of violent attacks in Karachi over the past 64 years has been prepared by a Pakistani newspaper, giving a fresh insight into the unending linguistic and ethnic clashes as well as sectarian and jihadist attacks that have afflicted Karachi, the economic lifeline of Pakistan. This part traces the history of ethnic and political violence as well as sectarian and jihadist attacks in Karachi.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5995¶m=UPP.

Pakistani Intelligence Warns Of Missile Attacks On Islamabad, Says Taliban Planning Attacks On Diplomats and Politicians

A leading Pakistani daily, citing Pakistani intelligence reports, has warned that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and others militant groups are planning to launch attacks on diplomats, politicians and military officials in the Pakistani capital. The report quoted unidentified sources in the Pakistani interior ministry as saying, "The federal capital [of Islamabad] is facing new threats from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups of attacks at sensitive installations, offices of diplomats as well as military and political personalities in the near future…"

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6008¶m=UPP.

TTP Letter Threatens Death For Peshawar University Professors Over Salman Rushdie Issue, States: 'I Put You On The List Of The People Liable To Be Killed'

In a letter, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has threatened two professors of the University of Peshawar to prepare for death, declaring them infidels and friends of Salman Rushdie. The hand-written letter was issued by Muhammad Tariq Afridi, the commander of the TTP for Darra Adamkhel and Orakzai Agency. The letter arrived by post at the doors of Professor Mujeebur Rehman, the Chairman of the Department of English, and Professor Sarfaraz Khan, the Director of Area Study Centre, on May 1. It should be noted that the University of Peshawar has recently been in controversy over a move to include Salman Rushdie's two books "Midnight's Children" and "Shame" in the syllabi for MPhil and PhD students. The decision by the university's Department of English and Applied Linguistics led to protests on the campus last month.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6009¶m=UPP.

Report On Bajaur Agency: 'Maulvi Faqir Muhammad Arose As The Al-Qaeda-Backed Leader Of The Taliban In Bajaur'

A leading Pakistani newspaper reports that Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, the Taliban commander for Bajaur Agency who is currently hiding across the border in eastern Afghanistan, controls 3,000 militants who will fight against the Afghan government following the U.S. withdrawal in 2014. In an editorial titled "Al-Qaeda's Revenge in Bajaur," the newspaper wrote, "Maulvi Faqir Muhammad arose as the Al-Qaeda-backed leader of the Taliban in Bajaur, who has escaped capture for the last six years, although it was rumored earlier this year that he may have been killed. He is an important commander with approximately 3,000 warriors under his wing and is expected to fight the post-withdrawal war in Afghanistan."

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6007¶m=UPP.

Al-Qaeda Releases Video of American Hostage

On May 7, Al-Qaeda's media wing Al-Sahab released a 2:41-minute video titled "A Message from the Prisoner Warren Weinstein to his President," referring to the American hostage it is holding, who was kidnapped by the Taliban in Lahore on August 7, 2011. In an attempt to show that Al-Qaeda is treating its "prisoner" properly, the video opens with a recitation of Koranic verses 76:8-9, that speak of the need to feed prisoners. Weinstein is seen sitting in front of a tray of food, from which he eats while speaking.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5992¶m=APT.

Report: Pakistani Police Have in Custody Two Al-Qaeda Members Involved in Dr. Warren Weinstein's Kidnapping

Police officials in Pakistan said they had tracked down the Al-Qaeda ring involved in the kidnapping from Lahore of septuagenarian U.S. aid worker Dr. Warren Weinstein, according to a Pakistani daily. The police officials told a visiting FBI team on Monday that Pakistani security agencies had arrested two Al-Qaeda operatives, Saifur Rehman and Hafiz Muhammad Imran, who were part of the eight-member ring involved in Dr. Weinstein’s kidnapping. "One of them took part in the kidnapping, while the other was the facilitator," a report in The Express Tribune daily said, quoting the police sources.

To read the full report, visithttp://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6000¶m=UPP.

U.S. Hostage Warren Weinstein, Held by Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, in Video Plea to President Obama to Secure His Release

Following is a transcript of a video posted on Islamist websites, in which U.S. citizen Warren Weinstein, held captive by Al-Qaeda in Pakistan since August 2011, is seen pleading to U.S. President Obama to meet the demands of the mujahideen. The video was posted on May 7, 2012.

Title: "A Message from the Prisoner Warren Weinstein to His President"

Warren Weinstein: "My name is Warren Weinstein, my wife is Elaine, and I'd like her to know that I'm fine, I'm well, I'm getting all my medications, and I'm being taken care of.

"And then I'd like to talk to President Obama, and ask him – beg him – that he please accept and respond to the demands of the mujahideen.

"My life is in your hands, Mr. President. If you accept the demands, I live, and if you don't accept the demands, then I die.

"It's important that you accept the demands and act quickly and don't delay. There will be no benefit in delay, it will just make things more difficult for me.

"I know that you have two daughters that you enjoy. You are with them, you spend time with them, but I get the feeling that you are not paying any attention or care about my problem or my needs, and you are not paying attention and you don't give much importance to my situation.

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"I am an American citizen, I've worked in public service for the U.S. government, and as a professor of USAID, as a Peace Corps director for many years. So I've done a lot of service for my country, and I would hope that my country will now look after me, and take care of me, and meet the demands of the mujahideen.

"I think that it is important that you act quickly. The demands of the mujahideen are not difficult. They are according to Islamic law. They are easy.

"If you respond to them, then I will live, and hopefully rejoin my family, and also enjoy my children, my two daughters, like you enjoy your two daughters.

"It is very important that you act quickly, and I am now waiting for your response."

To read the full report, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/3434.htm.

Pakistani Daily: 'Osama's Son [Hamzah bin Laden] May Be Hiding In Pakistan'

A Pakistani newspaper reports that Hamzah bin Laden – a son of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who is believed to have escaped the Abbottabad operation of May 2, 2011 – may be hiding in Peshawar and its surrounding areas. The newspaper cites a letter written by Osama bin Laden – and recently released by the U.S. – as saying that bin Laden instructed his commanders to find a safe house for Hamzah in Peshawar and its surrounding areas.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5996¶m=UPP.

Senior Islamist Preacher: Islamic Law Forbids Commemorating the Anniversary of Osama bin Laden's Death

On May 1, 2012, senior extreme Islamist preacher Sheikh Dr. Hani Al-Siba'i, who lives in London, published on his website, Almaqreze.net, a fatwa forbidding any commemoration of the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. The fatwa did, however, permit teaching his legacy throughout the year. Al-Siba'i said his ruling was based on the fact that there was no precedent for such commemoration in Islam: the Prophet did not mark the anniversary of the deaths of his Companions or kin, nor did his successors commemorate the anniversary of his death or even his birthday. Therefore, such commemoration was tantamount to bid'a, or forbidden innovation that deviates from Islamic law.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5983¶m=GJN.

Pakistani Daily: Unorthodox Gas Bills For Bin Laden's Compound Point To Existence Of Other Safe Houses

A Pakistani newspaper report, which investigated the "unorthodox" pattern of gas bills for Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, says that several other safe houses could have been used by the slain Al-Qaeda leader and his associates. The report, titled "Osama's gas bills show moving pattern of family," notes: There were phases of several months where the consumption remained low continuously which reflect that the family kept moving from one place to another and this hints towards a possible existence of other safe-houses that the Bin Laden family may have used during their stay in Pakistan."

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6006¶m=UPP.

Al-Malahim Media Releases English-Language Publication "In Remembrance of Osama"

On May 11, 2012, the Al-Fida' Forum published a 14-page English-language document, produced by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP) Al-Malahim Media company, titled "In Remembrance of Osama [bin Laden] – A Collection of His Methodological Instructions, Words and Poetry." The document's foreword, dated Spring 2012, states: "It is almost a year since the world witnessed the heroic battle of Abbottabad. It was that fierce fight which painted the last beautiful chapters of the life of the honorable and brave sheikh, the Mujahid, the Imam, Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy on his soul. The last chapter of all was the greatest, as the sheikh [was] killed while pulling the trigger. His enemies thought they disparaged him, but were eluded by the fact that they had given him [just] what he wished for: martyrdom, something which Sheikh Osama was for the last three decade searching for."

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6011¶m=GJN.

Al-Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Urges Somali Muslims to Attack Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmad, Persevere against U.S. Air Attacks, and Utilize Guerilla Warfare against U.S. until They "Wipe Them Out"

On May 11, 2012, the Al-Qaeda media company Al-Sahab released an audio message from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in which he urged Somali Muslims both in Somalia and elsewhere to support and join jihad in Somalia. He also asked the Somalis to be patient in the face of ongoing U.S. air strikes, promising that the U.S. would surely fail in its fight, as it failed before in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. The message, 14:03 in duration, includes a new still of Al-Zawahiri. It also makes reference to the London Conference on Somalia, held in February 2012, which suggests that it was recorded shortly thereafter.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6012¶m=GJN.

Al-Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Condemns Koran Burning in Afghanistan, Urges Afghans to Join Taliban

On May 9, 2012, the Al-Qaeda media company Al-Sahab released an audio message from Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in which he condemned the recent wave of Koran burnings by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. In the message, which is almost eight minutes long, Al-Zawahiri cites multiple verses from the Koran regarding the need for Muslims to disassociate themselves from the Christians and Jews, while emphasizing their duty to defend Islam and join jihad. Al-Zawahiri says that the Koran burnings are a manifestation of the Crusaders' hatred of Islam and the Muslims, a hatred also evident in other deeds, including attacks against the Prophet Muhammad and impingements on Muslim women's right to wear the hijab. Al-Zawahiri mocked the U.S.'s government assurances to investigate following each incident, calling these calls a "silly charade."

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6002¶m=APT.

In Letter, Escaped Al-Qaeda Militant Adnan Rashid's Friend In Pakistan Air Force Recounts Days Spent Together: 'He Was An Extremely Close Member of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda; He Also Showed Me His Pictures… With Al-Qaeda Leaders'

In a letter, a member of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) recounts some months he spent with Adnan Rashid, a former Pakistani soldier and Al-Qaeda militant who had been imprisoned for a 2003 assassination attempt against Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. In April 2012, Adnan Shahid escaped along with hundreds of other Taliban militants, after the Taliban launched a coordinated attack on the Bannu Central Jail in northwest Pakistan. The name of the PAF serviceman who wrote the letter has not been revealed.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5997¶m=UPP.

Article in 'Jihad Recollections' Magazine Envisioned Mujahideen Armed with EMP Grenades by 2012

Before founding Inspire, the English-language e-magazine of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Pakistani-American Samir Khan published an English e-magazine called Jihad Recollections. The magazine's four issues, published April-September 2009, included content very similar to what would later appear in Inspire, such as instructions for building and detonating homemade bombs.

Issue I featured an article by writer "Mu'tasim," which described the destructive potential of EMP (electromagnetic pulse) grenades, imagining that by 2012, the mujahideen would possess such weapons. The writer envisioned the mujahideen integrating this technology, which emits "a broadband, high-intensity, short-duration burst of electromagnetic energy which burns out all electrical components it reaches," with RPGs to destroy enemy communications centers. This, he said, would cut the enemy off from aerial support and disrupt supply operations, forcing them to fight the mujahideen "on even terms" and ultimately resulting in victory for the latter. Although the article quotes Laurie Buckhout, commander of the U.S. Army Electronic Warfare Division, as saying that EMP grenade technology "is out there," the actual existence of such weapons remains unconfirmed.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5998¶m=APT.

Three Swedish Nationals Join AQAP

On May 2, 2012, the Egyptian website bikyamasr.com reported that three Swedish nationals had recently joined Ansar Al-Sharia/Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. The report, citing a "tribal source" in Abyan, said that the three Swedes had entered the country legally as tourists on April 30, and had then traveled to AQAP's strongholds in the city of Jaar in order to fight alongside the mujahideen against the Yemeni government.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5990¶m=GJN.

Facebook Page Promotes Ansar Al-Shari'a

A page promoting Ansar Al-Shari'a (AS), a Yemeni group associated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), is operating on Facebook. The page was launched on April 14, 2012. As of this writing, some 470 users have "liked" the page. The page is presented as belonging to AS's Madad press agency, which is described as "a press agency dealing with the news of the mujahideen in the Arabian Peninsula." The status updates on the page feature Madad press releases, which convey updates from ongoing battles between the Yemeni army and AS, as well as updates on drone strikes against AQAP and AS operatives. Madad also disseminates its media releases, such as its newsletter and a video series titled "An Eye On Events," via the page, along with photos from the battle zones, exclusive photos from areas targeted by U.S. strikes, and photos of its fighters.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5952¶m=GJN.

Reports of Schism in Al-Qaeda in Southeast Yemen

On May 10, 2012, the UAE daily Dar Al-Khaleej reported that there was schism within Ansar Al-Shari'a in southeast Yemen's Abyan and Shabwah governorates and an ongoing dwindling of its ranks in these regions. The report attributed this to massive aerial attacks against Ansar Al-Shari'a's strongholds over the past two weeks, alongside intensive operations by Yemeni government forces, which had forced them to retreat to rear posts.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6004¶m=GJN.

AQAP Promises Vengeance Against Americans and Their Allies For Killing Al-Quso', Mourns His Loss

The prominent jihadi forums Al-Fida and Shumoukh Al-Islam published a communiqué from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) mourning Sheikh Fahd Al-Quso' Al-'Awlaki, who was killed May 6, 2012, in a U.S. aerial strike in the Shabwah governorate, and promising to avenge his death against the Americans and their allies. The communique was produced by Al-Qaeda's media company Al-Fajr. The organization claimed that Al-Quso' had escaped death in numerous American air strikes "until Allah honored him with shahada in the second bombing of his farm." It stressed that his death would only serve to encourage the mujahideen to follow in his footsteps "and die for the sake of that for which he died," and to spur the mujahideen to harm and kill Americans and their allies in vengeance for his killing.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=6003¶m=GJN.

Syrian Jihad Group Calls on Rebels Not To Honor Ceasefire With Regime, Which Repeatedly Violates Ceasefire and Uses It to Crush the Uprising

In a communiqué posted May 6, 2012 on the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, the "Jabhat Al-Nusra" jihad group condemns the ceasefire between the Syrian rebels and the regime. The group attacks UN envoy Kofi Annan, who brokered the ceasefire, calling him an "engineer of catastrophe" and mentioning that he was in charge of keeping the peace in Yugoslavia, where over 200,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed, and in Rwanda, where at least 800,000 people were killed while Annan "shackled the international forces and kept them from intervening." The group claims that Annan himself has admitted he failed in stopping these massacres, and has promised not to repeat the same mistake in Syria. The group states further that the ceasefire is nothing but a ruse, because the regime used the 12 days before it went into effect to increase its violence, killing some 100,000 people. Moreover, since it came into effect, it said, not a day had gone by without blood being shed, cities being shelled, and neighborhoods being destroyed.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5999¶m=GJN.

Al-Hayat: Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi Renounces Armed Operations in Jordan; Al-Tahawi Affirms Commitment to Armed Jihad

According to the London daily Al-Hayat, the Salafi-jihadi stream in Jordan has renounced armed jihad operations inside Jordan for the first time in its history. Al-Hayat cited as its source Munif Samara (described as a senior member of the Salafi-jihadi stream in Jordan and a former jihad fighter in Afghanistan), who allegedly presented the daily with a document to this effect, handwritten by prominent Salafi-jihadi ideologue Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, who is currently incarcerated in Jordan on terrorism charges. Samara also told the paper that many of the jihadis in Jordan have decided to leave for Syria, in order to fight alongside their "Sunni brothers" in that country. Al-Hayat quoted from the document but neither published it in full nor provided a photo of it.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5965¶m=GJN.

AQIM Proposes to Free British Hostage In Return for Extradition of Abu Qatada to a Country of His Choice

The jihadi websites Al-Fida' and Shumoukh Al-Islam have posted two communiqués – one issued by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the other by Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM), both dated April 29, 2012 – warning Britain against extraditing Sheikh Abu Qatada to Jordan, and threatening that such a move would bring disaster upon Britain, its interests, and its nationals throughout the world. The AQAP message is brief and merely repeats the warning against extraditing Abu Qatada to Jordan, whereas AQIM also adds a proposal of its own: it offers to free British-South African hostage Stephen Malcolm, whom it is holding, if Britain extradites Abu Qatada to one of the Arab countries that have recently experienced Arab Spring revolutions or to any other country of his choice. AQIM states that if Britain fails to accept this offer, it will not only face difficult consequences but also miss a golden opportunity to free its hostage.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5964¶m=GJN.

Members of Shumoukh Forum Discuss Besieging U.S. Embassy in Cairo

On April 29, 2012, two members of the Shumoukh Al-Islam forum discussed the idea of holding mass demonstrations outside the U.S. embassy in Cairo, besieging it and disrupting its activity as a means of pressuring Egypt's interim government, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). The idea was proposed by 'Abdallah bin Muhammad, a senior writer on Shumoukh, who replied to a post by an Egyptian member, Mu’askar Khalden, who is likewise a respected forum participant. The latter reported that violent clashes were taking place in front of the Defense Ministry building in Cairo. 'Abdallah bin Muhammad replied that instead of demonstrating there or in Al-Tahrir square, the Egyptians should hold mass protests in front of the U.S. Embassy and demand the end of U.S. intervention and patronage – because this would be the best way to put pressure on the SCAF.

To read the full report, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=5966¶m=GJN.

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

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