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.
On March 13, 2014, Al-Qaeda media company Al-Sahab released a book by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, titled Reeh Al-Janna ("Fragrance of Paradise"). The 162-page book is in fact a second edition (first edition released in 2004) where Al-Zawahiri discusses in details the use of suicide attacks by jihadi groups.
On March 20, 2014, the pro-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) blog theshamnews.wordpress.com, announced that ISIS will possibly change its name in the near future, presumably as a result of the planned addition of two major groups to its ranks.
Caucasus Emirate Confirms Death Of Dokka Umarov, Announces New Emir
On March 18, 2014, the Kavkaz Center (KC) website, which is affiliated with the Caucasus Emirate (CE), confirmed the death of the CE emir Dokka Umarov. Unconfirmed reports of Umarov's death appeared on various media outlets in January 2014. Shortly thereafter, a prominent jihadi media outlet published a eulogy of Umarov. The Caucasus Emirate announced in a video that Abu Muhammad 'Ali, a Dagestani who served as its chief qadi, will replace Umarov as its leader.
In Syria, a militant training camp has been named after Abdur Rasheed Ghazi, a jihadi cleric who was killed in the 2007 Pakistani military operation at Islamabad's Red Mosque.
Given below are some images of the graduating class of militants from the Abdur Rasheed Ghazi Training Camp in Syria, as posted by the Pakistani jihadi media group Jamia Hafsa Forum on its Facebook page.
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It should be noted that over the last year, a number of Pakistani Taliban militants were reported to have joined the jihadi fighters in Syria as well as in Iraq. The number of Pakistani Taliban in Syria could be around a dozen or so, as per the activities reported in the jihadi media. In Iraq, 12 Pakistani militants were part of a group of jihadists killed by Iraqi military recently.
- In Issue XII, 'Inspire' Praises 'City Wolves' – Maj. Nidal Hasan, Faisal Shahzad, Tsarnaev Brothers; Says: 'There Is No Need For Bin Laden's Leadership Or Al-Awlaki's Charisma For [America's] Destruction'
- Issue XII Of 'Inspire' Focuses On Car Bombs – With Calls To Imitate Times Square Bomber Faisal Shahzad, Car Bomb Instructions, List Of Targets In U.S., U.K., France
- AQAP Mufti Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Rubaysh In Issue XII Of Inspire Magazine: Contrary To Obama's Claims, Al-Qaeda Is Not 'Decimated'; The Mujahideen Are Growing Stronger Every Day
- Inspire Presents Calls By Anwar Al-'Awlaki For Attacks On Civilians In U.S., U.K, France, West
- In Issue XII Of Inspire, AQAP Pays Tributes To Slain Pakistani Taliban Leader Hakimullah Mehsud: 'The Killing Of Leaders And Notable Mujahideen Grows The Flame Of Jihad'
Ex-Guantanamo Detainees, Bin Laden Associates Voice Support For ISIS
On March 14, 2014, a group of ex-Guantanamo detainees published a statement of support for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and called all upon all jihad fighters from the various groups in Syria to join it. The authors of the statement did not sign their names to it, but stated they were 'contemporaries and associates of Osama bin Laden' currently residing in Europe, Australia, Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Australian Jabhat Al-Nusra Cleric In Video Appearance Criticizes ISIS
On March 17, 2014, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) released a new video featuring Australian cleric Abu Sulayman. This is Abu Sulayman’s first media appearance since assuming a JN leadership role. The video, distributed by JN’s Al-Basira media company, continues the group’s polemic with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In the video, Abu Sulayman addresses three points of controversy between the two jihadi groups.
First, Abu Sulayman addresses the issue of ISIS' group affiliation. He recounts a personal conversation with ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, where Al-Baghdadi declared that he had pledged fealty to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
Tawfiq Muhammad Freij, aka Abu 'Abdallah (image: alarabiya.net)
In March 14, 2014 Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis published a communiqué eulogizing senior organization official Tawfiq Muhammad Freij, a.k.a. Abu 'Abdallah, who died on March 11, 2014. The communiqué, which was posted on the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, disclosed that Freij was killed when a thermal bomb he carried in his car blew up during a traffic accident.
Afghan Presidential candidate and former jihadi leader Abdur Rab Rassoul Sayyaf has urged his followers to vote in the April 5 elections, saying he would establish a caliphate-like system of government in Afghanistan.
According to a report on the Afghan website Pajhwok.com, Sayyaf was addressing a huge gathering of supporters including thousands of religious scholars and students in Kabul on Monday, where he "hailed Islam as the right code of life."
"I would establish a caliphate-like government if I win the elections," he said during the election campaign, adding he would "pay more attention to promoting Islamic law" if he won the vote.
Several radical Islamic seminaries in Pakistan have been closed and their students have been sent to fight in Afghanistan to disrupt the April 5 presidential vote, according to an Afghan website.
"Based on intelligence information, seminaries used as training centers for terrorists across the Durand Line [i.e. across the Afghan-Pakistan border, in Pakistan] have been closed over the past month and their students have been sent to Afghanistan for attacks," according to a statement issued by the Afghan interior ministry."
As Part Of Peace Talks, Pakistani Taliban Ask Pakistan To Free Taliban-Trained Child Suicide Bombers
Amid the peace negotiations with the government of Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has demanded that the Pakistani government return its young trained suicide bombers, according to an Urdu-language daily.
In a video message to the people of Baluchistan, Deputy Emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Sheikh Khalid Haqqani has urged the Baluchi separatists to join hands with the Taliban fighters for the freedom of Baluchistan and establishment of an Islamic caliphate.
