First Installment in "Shahada Knights" Series
On March 2, 2007, Islamist websites posted a 40-minute video, produced by the ISI media company, titled "First Installment in the Fursan Al-Shahada [Knights of Martyrdom] Series." The video presents the stories of three suicide bombers. http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=663244&ak=null
The film opens with an animated sequence showing a truck entering an enemy compound and exploding against a large cross that stands in the middle of the compound, while cries of "Allah Akbar" are heard in the background.
The film then presents the stories of three suicide bombers, Hajj Abu Khatab Al-Ansari, Abu Ghazal Al-Muhajir and Abu Al-Walid Al-Shami, who allegedly set off truck bombs near American targets. A caption states that the first of the three attacked the American headquarters in Al-Saqlawiya in Al-Anbar province, destroying eight vehicles, killing 45 U.S. troops, and causing the Americans to leave the area. The part dealing with the third suicide bomber, Abu Al-Walid Al-Shami, begins with a similar caption, identifying his target as a building in Al-Ramadi which had been seized by the enemy and used as a military post. The caption also states that at least 30 American snipers were killed in the operation.
The film includes the statements recorded by the bombers before setting out on their operations. The three praise jihad and martyrdom, urge Muslim youths to join the jihad, and make threats against the Americans, those who collaborate with them, clerics who do not support jihad, and others.
Two of the fighters are shown getting into trucks, but only one of them is shown driving towards the target and pressing the switch that triggers the explosion. In the other two cases, the video only shows the explosion allegedly set off by the bombers.
The video is accompanied by jihad and martyrdom songs, and includes an excerpt from a bin Laden video, in which he states that jihad, gunfire, and martyrdom are the only way to wipe out the humiliation and heresy that have spread throughout the Islamic lands. The footage is also accompanied by excerpts from audio-recordings by Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi and by another martyred jihad commander. The latter says: "You must join the ranks of jihad… You must humiliate America, you must destroy America, you must liberate the Muslim lands."
The Islamic State in Iraq (ISI) Claims Responsibility for the March 6, 2007 Attack on a Jail in Mosul
In a communiqué posted on Islamist websites on March 7, 2007, the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI) claimed responsibility for the March 6, 2007 attack on a jail in Mosul which led to the escape of dozens of prisoners. According to the message, the attack was preceded by an extensive reconnaissance mission, the results of which were handed over to the military commanders who consequently formed a special storming unit. The message states that after storming the jail, the mujahideen freed over 150 Iraqi and foreign Arab prisoners, and then retreated safely.
The Islamic State in Iraq (ISI) Denies Claims about the Arrest of Its High-Ranking Commanders
A communiqué by the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI) posted March 6, 2007 on Islamist websites denies what it calls "announcements by the Iraqi Interior Ministry regarding the arrest of ISI's prominent commanders." The message declares that all ISI's commanders are safe and that all claims made by Al-Maliki's government to the contrary are false. The message concludes by assuring Muslims that "had God ordained an ISI commander's [death or arrest], we would have not been remiss in informing people about it, because we believe that our jihad will not go forth unless the blood of the commanders [is spilled] before that of the soldiers."
