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November 7, 2013 JTTM Weekly No. 72

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekend Summary

November 7, 2013
JTTM Weekly No. 72

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Statements By New TTP Emir Maulana Fazlullah 2008-2013: 'Talks Are Part Of The War'; 'Our Jihad Will Continue'; 'Our Jihad Is Against The U.S. And Its Allies'; 'Passion for Jihad is Just Like an Addiction'

On November 7, 2013, Maulana Fazlullah was named the new emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), succeeding Hakimullah Mehsud who was killed in a U.S. drone strike a week ago on November 1. TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, who announced the appointment of Maulana Fazlullah, declared that the new TTP emir has rejected any peace talks with the Pakistani government. Maulana Fazlullah has been the TTP emir for the Malakand region, which includes the Swat district of Pakistan. Shahid also announced the appointment of Sheikh Khalid Haqqani, until recently the TTP's emir for Swabi district, as the new deputy emir of the TTP.

Maulana Fazlullah, who has recently launched a series of high-profile attacks on Pakistani security forces from across the border in Afghanistan, rose to global fame in 2009, when his fighters began enforcing Islamic sharia rule in Pakistan's Malakand region and ordered a total ban on girls' education as part of a sharia-for-peace agreement agreed between the Pakistani government and his father-in-law Maulana Sufi Muhammad, the emir of Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (the Movement for Enforcement of the Sharia of Muhammad). It was from here in 2009 that a Swat girl, later identified as Malala Yousafzai, wrote her anonymous blog, describing how Fazlullah's fighters were imposing sharia. Malala rose to fame after Maulana Fazlullah's fighters shot and wounded her in 2012; she has since moved to the UK.

EXCLUSIVE: French-Speaking Jihad Fighters In Syria: 'France, Soon It Will Be Your Turn'


This photo of "Te Ou," posted on his Facebook page, is titled "France, it will soon be your turn"


Among the jihadis fighting in Syria are French-speaking Europeans, mostly from France and Belgium. Some of these individuals are active on social media, where they provide detailed information about their journey to Syria and about their experiences there: their daily lives, their training routine, and their experiences on the battlefield fighting not only the Syrian regime forces but also the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish PKK. They urge their fellow European Muslims to come fight in Syria, and answer questions by would-be recruits, often chatting with them in real time.

Posted on Facebook and Twitter rather than on password-protected Islamist forums, the messages are directly accessible to the general public and not just to a closed community, and are obviously aimed at recruitment. In casual and often jocular language typical of messages on social media, the authors paint a rosy picture of life on the front, stressing the pious atmosphere and the sense of brotherhood-in-arms shared by the fighters. They note that recruits may come with their wives and children, and stress the practical advantages of joining the jihad community in Syria, such as the prospect of finding a bride and the low cost of living.

At the same time, the messages also contain the usual tropes of jihadi discourse: the authors stress that they are fighting the "infidels" with the ultimate aim of establishing the Islamic Caliphate, rebuke fellow Muslims who fail to do their duty of fighting jihad, express their willingness and even desire to be martyred for the sake of Allah, and voice threats against those they perceive as their enemies, including Western countries.

Article By Jihadi Cleric Telling Young European Muslims To 'Strike Deep Inside France' – Translated Excerpts

On October 24, 2013, a member of the jihadi website Al-Fida'a posted a series of articles authored by Sheikh Abu Muslim Al-Jazairi, a member of the shari'a committee of the jihadi website Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad which belongs to Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al Maqdisi. Al-Maqdisi is considered one of the top ideologues of global jihad (see also Jihadi Cleric Tells Young European Muslims: 'Strike Deep Inside France').

In one of the articles, "A Plot Against Muslim North Mali – Does A Savior Exist?" Al-Jazairi condemned Algeria and Tunisia for aiding France, which he claimed was slaughtering the Muslims of North Mali simply because they were determined to institute shari'a law in Azawad (North Mali). Calling on young Muslims worldwide to join the jihad theater closest to their homes, he exhorted the mujahideen in the Maghreb to hold fast and apprised them that very soon they would dismember the European Union. He also told young Muslims in Europe to carry out terror attacks deep inside their countries.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Party Calls For November 8 Demonstrations In Front Of U.S., Israeli Embassies, Morsi's Prison, Egyptian Courts

An Egyptian newspaper reports that the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party has called on its supporters to hold protests today (November 8, 2013) in squares throughout Egypt. According to sources within the movement, protestors plan to march towards Burj Al-'Arab prison in Alexandria, where Morsi is being held, towards courts, and towards the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Cairo, located not far from Tahrir Square.

Taliban Fatwa Threatens Journalists, Television Hosts, Analysts And Other Media Personalities In Pakistan With Death

Recently, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) released a fatwa that approves death for television hosts, journalists, analysts and media personalities whose acts and views are deemed by the Taliban to be against Islamic shari'a. The fatwa was authored by a group of Ulema and Muftis (clerics and those qualified to issue fatwas) associated with the TTP a year ago and reissued. The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors criticized the fatwa and expressed its resolve to continue informing facts to the general public despite unfavorable circumstances and threats.

In New Video, AQIM Fighters From Tunisia, Algeria, Call Upon Muslim In France To Execute Attacks There; Urge Them 'Not To Consult Anyone In Killing French'

On October 30, 2013, a video bearing the logo of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) media company Al-Andalus was posted on the Shumoukh Al-Islam forum. The video, titled "France and the Search for the Mirage," features a group of multinational AQIM mujahideen, believed to be somewhere in northern Mali, delivering various messages. Several messages are directed against France, with calls to target French interest and individuals, as well as a call to Muslims in France to execute attacks there.

It is noteworthy that the video was not released via the official AQIM distributing channels, i.e. via Al-Fajr Media Company, and over the two AQIM Twitter accounts. Nonetheless, the post on the Shumoukh Al-Islam where the video appeared remained active for several days thereafter without being deleted by the forum's administrators.

Saudi Jihadi Women Call On ISIS Leader To Attack Saudi Prisons In Order To Free Female Jihadi Prisoners

The jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam published a video clip of Saudi jihadi women calling on Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi – the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – and his men to storm and attack Saudi prisons to release female jihadi prisoners held there, as they did in Iraq. They said that this move comes after their attempts to accomplish this peacefully have failed.

Jihadi Cleric Calls On Muslims In Egypt To Take Up Arms And Confront The 'Infidel' Egyptian Military

The jihadi website Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad has published an article by Sheikh Abu Mundhir Al-Shinqiti, a member of the website's Shari'a Committee, dated October 17, 2013, calling on Egyptian citizens to abandon the method of demonstrations and nonviolent protests. Saying that these have proven ineffective, Al-Shinqiti says that Egyptians must take up arms against the regime in general and the Egyptian military in particular – which he terms "an army of infidels" and "a collection of criminals." He claims that in light of the Egyptian military's crimes against Islam and Muslims, it is the individual duty of every able Muslim to carry out defensive jihad against it.

Following are excerpts from Al-Shinqiti's article:

An Egyptian Soldier's Family Must 'Disconnect From Him And Hate Him'

Al-Shinqiti begins by saying that in recent decades, the West has invested a great deal of money in the Egyptian military so that it would serve as a tool to defend its interests in the region and to block anyone who tries to oppose it. In this context, he claimed that the goal behind the Egyptian military's attack on the mujahideen in the Sinai was "to defend Israel and secure its border, after the presence of jihadi organizations in Sinai became a real danger for it..."

Online Jihadi Shares IP Hiding Application

On November 6, 2013, Um Sufyan, a member of leading jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam shared an application that hides IP addresses for Smart Phone users.

Report: 'Indian Mujahideen' Plotted To Kidnap Jews In India To Bargain For Pakistani Scientist Aafia Siddiqui Jailed In U.S.


Yasin Bhatkal, co-founder of Indian Mujahideen, now in Indian custody

Yasin Bhatkal, the co-founder of Pakistan-backed terror group Indian Mujahideen, who was arrested in August 2013 by Indian security officials from India-Nepal border, has revealed that the jihadist group had planned to kidnap Jews in India.

The Power Struggle Intensifies For The Leadership Of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), As Interim Leader Named


Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, the interim emir of TTP

Following the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud and several militant commanders in the November 1 drone strike in North Waziristan, the struggle for power within Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), already underway for some time now, has intensified. Several top commanders are vying to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as the emir of the TTP. Excerpts from two media reports, examining the power struggle within the TTP, are given in the paragraphs below.

On November 3, it emerged that the TTP appointed an interim leader while the organization's shura (executive council) deliberates on who should succeed as the TTP emir. Pakistani media report that Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, the head of the TTP's shura council, has been authorized to officiate as the TTP emir for an interim period. Shahidullah Shahid, main spokesperson for the TTP, announced: "Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, the head of the supreme shura, has been appointed as temporary head of the TTP."

Pakistani Daily Report Examines Internal Factionalism In TTP As The Terror Group Faces Split In Search Of Successor To Hakimullah Mehsud


Khan Saeed Sajna is the top contender to lead the TTP

Following the November 1 killing of Hakimullah Mehsud, the emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, various factional commanders within the terror group are locked in a struggle for power to succeed the slain jihadi leader.

According to a Pakistani media report, there are more than 40 jihadi groups which had joined the TTP at its formation in December 2007. Although the TTP was formed in 2007, its roots go back to early 2002 when the Pakistani and non-Pakistani militants, fleeing Afghanistan in the wake of the 2001 U.S. invasion, began joining forces.

The TTP, which functions mainly within Pakistani territory, also has deeper ideological and operational connections with the Afghan Taliban, whose commanders are also based in North Waziristan, where Mehsud was killed. The Afghan, Taliban as well as Al-Qaeda, whose central leadership lives in Pakistan, will also have a say in who succeeds Hakimullah Mehsud.

Following are excerpts from the report:

'The First And Foremost Challenge Faced By The TTP's Central Shura Is How To Overpower The Internal Strife For The Top Slot [The TTP Emir], Which Is Posing An Imminent Threat To The Unity Of The Taliban'

"The first and foremost challenge faced by the TTP's central Shura is how to overpower the internal strife for the top slot, which is posing an imminent threat to the unity of the Taliban conglomerate. According to informed jihadi circles, the sudden demise of Hakimullah Mehsud [in a U.S. drone strike on November 1, 2013] has created a leadership crisis within the TTP mainly because many of the top leaders of the organization have fielded themselves as candidates to clinch the leadership of the Taliban at all costs."

Al-Qaeda Video On 'Missing Persons' Seeks To Discredit Pakistan Army And Police In Muslim Eyes


Relatives of Pakistan's missing persons in Islamabad

A new Al-Qaeda video seeks to discredit the image of the Pakistani Army and police in the eyes of Muslims and presents instances from the past several decades to argue that they have always committed atrocities against Muslims of Pakistan.

The 19:31-minute video is the sixth in an Al-Qaeda series called "Sharia or Democracy" and is titled "What did democracy deliver us – A 'mujahid' army which is the friend of infidels and the killer of Muslims."

The video accuses the Pakistani army of acting against Muslims in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and shows footage of the Pakistani army surrendering to India at the end of the 1971 war that created Bangladesh. A commentator says that the Pakistani Army has turned its guns on its own people, as clips from the post-9/11 war on terror are shown: A mosque destroyed by Pakistani troops in South Waziristan, houses and cars burnt down in North Waziristan, Pakistani troops shooting captured youth in Swat to death, and so on.

2004-2013: List Of Top Taliban And Al-Qaeda Commanders Killed In U.S. Drone Strikes In Pakistan


Hakimullah Mehsud, emir of TTP, was killed in a drone strike on November 1, 2013

A week before the killing of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) emir Hakimullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike on November 1, 2013, a Pakistani newspaper compiled a list of top jihadi leaders killed in such drone strikes, which are widely criticized by Pakistani leaders.

The U.S. began drone strikes in northwestern Pakistan on June 18, 2004, when it killed several jihadi commanders, including Nek Muhammad Wazir, a top Al-Qaeda leader who had begun to organize the jihadi commanders into a group that would later be known as TTP.

Excerpts are given below from the list of jihadi fighters killed in U.S. drones strikes, compiled by the Pakistani newspaper from various media reports about the killing of top commanders of the TTP, Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network (of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and other jihadi groups.

2004-2008: Nek Muhammad Wazir, Haitham Al-Yemeni, Abu Laith Al-Libi, Abdullah Azam Al-Saudi, Rashid Rauf, Abu Zubair Al-Masri And Others

"[Nek Muhammad Wazir was killed in a U.S. drone strike on June 18, 2014.] Other top Al-Qaeda leaders and their allies/supporters who have perished in drone attacks in Pakistani territories since June 18, 2004 include Haitham al-Yemeni (May 14, 2005), Al-Qaeda's 3rd in command Abu Hamza Rabia's wife and three children (November 5, 2005), Abu Hamza Rabia himself (November 30, 2005)..."

Report: The Top 15 Most Wanted 'Indian Mujahideen' Terrorists


Following the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal, the co-founder of Pakistan-backed terror group Indian Mujahideen (IM), an Indian media report identifies top 15 IM militants who are wanted by the Indian government for their role in terror attacks in India. Yasin Bhatkal was arrested along with Asadullah Khan, another IM militant, on the India-Nepal border in August 2013.

After Bhatkal's arrest, it was believed that the IM's cells in India might stop working. However, a series of bomb blasts in Patna, the capital of the northern Indian state of Bihar, on October 27, which took place hours before a Hindu nationalist leader was to address a political meeting there, revealed that the IM remains an effective organization.

The media report, which identifies the top 15 IM militants, notes: "The think tank of the Indian Mujahideen is located in Pakistan and it is active at ground level all over India. After the 300-hours… [of interrogation] of Bhatkal and Asadullah, the National Investigation Agency [NIA of India] has got some vital clues about this terrorist group and they have also come to know about the structure of this organization." Excerpts from the report, identifying the names of the militants some of which may not be real names, are given below:

i) Riyaz Bhatkal

"After Yasin Bhatkal, he is the most powerful and cunning face of IM. He is one of the founders of Indian Mujahideen. It is said that Riyaz is the one who made Yasin Bhatkal the mastermind of the group. He is currently in Pakistan."

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