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.
An Urdu-language Pakistani magazine reports that Pakistan-based jihadi group Brigade 313 might be working under the banner of Al-Qaeda in Syria, especially as Pakistani fighters have recently travelled to Iraq and Syria.
Maulana Fazlullah, the new emir of TTP
Below are excerpts from two recent Pakistani media reports that examined the strength of the Pakistani and foreign militant groups operating from North Waziristan, a jihadi stronghold rarely visited by journalists from Pakistan's other areas.
In the first report, journalist Ismail Khan examined the growing confidence of the militant groups based in North Waziristan as well as the complexity of the militant situation there, while in the second report author Zahid Hussain explained how the country's political leadership remains unclear about tackling the militant threat originating from the tribal region.
"There Are So Many [Militant] Groups … [In North Waziristan] That No Matter Whom The Government Speaks To Sue Peace, Any Of The Groups Not Happy With The [Dialogue] Process Can Light A Match To Burn Down The Entire Process"
Following are excerpts from Ismail Khan's report:
"Guns have fallen silent in Mirali – a bustling town 35-km to the east of North Waziristan's regional headquarters of Miranshah, but now with rows of burned-down and bombed shops and houses. The sudden flare-up and military's fierce response to a suicide bombing at one of its main camps in Khajori on December 18 have shown that the situation in North Waziristan remains volatile, dangerously close to a full-blown conflict."
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Following are excerpts from a Pakistani media report that noted that billions of Pakistani rupees have recently been transferred to fake bank accounts, possibly of jihadi groups:
"Terrorist groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs) and Baluchistan have been receiving billions of [Pakistani] rupees each month through banking channels and money exchange companies, sources in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have revealed. These companies, in collusion with some bankers, have been transferring huge amounts to unnamed bank accounts in Quetta and Peshawar. The FIA has recently found evidence of the transfer of billions of rupees to the two cities in the last few months."
The Mohmand chapter of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has released a video showing their militants undergoing military training, making bombs, and targeting security forces' positions with small and heavy arms in Mohmand Agency, a restive tribal district of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.
The TTP-led Pakistani militants from Mohmand Agency are believed to be hiding in different bordering districts of Nangarhar and neighboring Kunar provinces, and cross into the tribal district to target Pakistani security forces.
Abdullah aka Hammad is a commander of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban shadow government), currently serving as the deputy in-charge of the jihadi activities for the country's Paktika province, which borders Pakistan.
Abdullah, who hails from Maqur district of Ghazni province, recently gave an interview to a Taliban website in which he discussed the overall jihadi situation in the province and noted that the Taliban fighters are in control of three districts.
Following are excerpts from the interview:
"The American Soldiers Are Only Present In Urgun District And Seh Gana Area Of Khair Kot District, With A Very Limited Number Inside Sharana City"
Question: "Would you like to mention any prominent change or success regarding the jihadi situation which took place in your area this year?"
Abdullah: "The most significant change inside Paktika province was that thousands of those troops which were deployed here ten years ago, had built concrete security posts and military bases since they were under the incessant strikes of mujahideen - eventually this year they were compelled to prefer abscondence from this province …. [Currently], the American soldiers are only present in Urgun district and Seh Gana area of Khair Kot district, with a very limited number inside Sharana city, the center of this province…."
A new video produced by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government) shows that Taliban fighters set up a fake antenna in order to attract a U.S. helicopter, and shot it down in December 2013.
The video justifies jihad by quoting verse No. 69 from the Koran's chapter al-Ankabut: "And those who wage jihad for our cause, we certainly guide them to our ways, and verily Allah blesses the men of spiritual excellence with his companionship."
Taliban Claim To Have Downed Chinook Helicopter In Herat District
A January 6 post on the Al-Fida' forum stated that "mujahideen" in the Islamic Emirate in Herat district, in Afghanistan, had downed a Chinook helicopter "belonging to the enemy" that was on a military mission.
Report: Pakistani Cleric Sami-ul-Haq Moves To Ensure Pakistan-Taliban Talks
Maulana Sami-ul-Haq
Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, the chief of Pakistan's Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) party, has begun making contacts with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to ensure Taliban-government negotiations, according to a Pakistani media report.
Recently, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave the indication that his government is sincere in beginning talks with the TTP. Sami-ul-Haq, who is billed as the father of the Taliban, asked the government to remain firm on its stance of dialogue with the Taliban, according to a report.
