The following is the 48th edition of the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekly Digest. It includes exclusive reports and items from the past week on Jihadist websites.
THE WEEK IN JIHAD
Fighting is intensifying again between France and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). On September 16 seven people were abducted in northern Niger, including five French citizens. So far no one has claimed responsibility, but the obvious suspect is AQIM. (Update: AQIM has now issued a claim of responsibility; see http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=3830¶m=APT). In the following days, the Mauritanian army entered into extended clashes with AQIM forces in Mali, leading, according to the Mauritanian Ministry of Defense, to 12 AQIM fatalities and six among the Mauritanian forces. It is not immediately clear whether the two incidents are connected, but the last major Franco-Mauritanian action against AQIM was widely reported to be an attempt to liberate a previous French hostage, Michel Germaneau, despite official denials that this was the case. On the other side of the Mediterranean, there is currently a security alert in France relating to a potential female suicide bomber on the loose. The recent passage of an anti-burqa law in the French Senate has also drawn some attention on the online jihadist forums.
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