Jaysh Al-Islam Produces Video Showing Kidnapped BBC Correspondent Alan Johnston

The London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi has reported that the Jaysh Al-Islam organization, which is holding kidnapped BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, has produced a new video showing the journalist in an orange prisoner's uniform. The paper stated that the video is soon to be posted on the Internet, and that the orange uniform is meant to imply that Johnston is to be executed unless the organization's demands are met, i.e., unless prisoners held in Jordan and Britain – especially Abu Omar (Abu Qatada) – are released.

ISI Forms Special Jihad Brigades

On May 13, 2007, Islamist websites posted a communiqué by the ISI announcing the establishment of special jihad brigades to carry out attacks deep in enemy territory.

The following are excerpts:

"We announce to the Muslim nation that the [ISI] war ministry has trained special brigades with exceptional physical fitness and combat abilities. Their task: to carry out attacks like the ones currently being carried out in Al-Anbar, Mosul, and Diyala districts and elsewhere, to reach the enemy's rear lines, to penetrate deep into enemy territory, as in the attacks on the [Iraqi] parliament and on [Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister] Salam [Al-Zubaie] Al-Zukum [wounded in a car bomb explosion near his home on March 23, 2007], and to bring [wanted] individuals into custody."

Video Documenting the April 11, 2007 Bombings in Algeria

On May 10, Islamist websites posted a 29-minute video produced by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which has taken responsibility for the three bombings in Algiers on April 11, 2007.[1] The video shows the last messages of the three bombers, and documents the preparation and implementation of the attacks.

The video begins with a caption saying "Attack on three targets [belonging to] blatant collaborators: the headquarters of the apostate Algerian government, the Interpol headquarters, and the headquarters of the Center for Fighting Jihad." This is followed by captions describing the "crimes" committed by each of these bodies.

Next, the video brings excerpts from speeches by Sheikh Abu Mus'ab Abd Al-Wadoud, the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and by Osama bin Laden, in which they declare that jihad and martyrdom are the only ways to fight the infidels, and urge Muslim youths to join the jihad.

The video then shows the stages of preparing the attacks. First is the stage of "gathering information and preparing the operation," in which the terrorists scope out the targets. Next is the stage of "preparing the bombs and loading the vehicles with 1,900 kilos of explosives," in which the terrorists, backs to the camera, are shown preparing charges fitted with timers. The following scene shows the terrorists, wearing explosive belts and with guns at their sides, giving their last statements. They urge young Muslims to join the jihad and carry out martyrdom operations, and one of them says: "I recommend the path of Martyrdom, for it is the shortest route to Paradise."

In the stage of "implementing [the attacks]," the terrorists are shown getting into the explosive-rigged trucks. One of them points to the switch and says that a single push will bring one to Paradise. The video ends with a caption saying: "The last moments before the bombing of the Interpol headquarters and the Center for Fighting Jihad." A few seconds later, an explosion is shown, while cries of "Allah Akbar" are heard in the background.

The video can be viewed at: http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=840992&ak=null.

Below are images from the video:

Videos Show Execution of Iraqi Officers Kidnapped by the ISI

Islamist websites recently posted two ISI videos showing the execution of the Iraqi officers captured by the organization on May 7 and May 8, 2007. [2]

The first video, posted May 10, 2007, opens with a written message stating that since the ISI's ultimatum has expired, the organization has decided to "carry out Allah's ruling." The film then shows the six hostages kneeling on the ground, surrounded by several masked mujahideen, two of them holding cameras. During the execution, an excerpt from an audio message by ISI War Minister Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir is heard in the background: "Crush their supremacy, raid their military bases, cut off their limbs, tear their hearts from their bodies! This is the day of massacre. Today we will annihilate the unbelievers..."

The second film, posted May 11, 2007, shows the three hostages – Lieutenant Colonel Khaled Ahmad Hussein and his two bodyguards – kneeling on the ground, while a masked mujahid stands behind them and reads out the ISI's May 8, 2007 ultimatum to Al-Maliki's government. Next, the three officers recite a text, calling on "those who cooperate with the government of idols" to "return to their senses, cooperate with the mujahideen and with the ISI, and defend the divine laws." This is followed by the written message stating that "the ISI's ultimatum has expired, and the ISI court in Mosul has therefore decided to carry out Allah's ruling." The three hostages are then executed next to a busy road in full sight of the people in passing vehicles.

The first video, with some graphic images removed, can be viewed at:

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=840664&ak=null.

The second video, with some graphic images removed, can be viewed at:

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=840671&ak=null.

Below are images from the videos:

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[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No.1541, "Islamist Websites Monitor No. 85," April 13, 2007. Islamist Websites Monitor No. 85.