Audio Message by Emir of Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad in Syria

On May 27, 2007, Islamist websites posted a 45-minute audio message by Abu Jandal, the Emir of the jihad group Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad in Syria. The following are the main points of the message.

In the first part of his address, Abu Jandal presents the organization's guiding principles. He declares, for example, that the group regards jihad as a religious duty which exists even "in the absence of an Imam or an Islamic state." The goal of jihad, he adds, is first of all to liberate the Sunnis in Syria from the "decades-long, malicious occupation by the Nusairi [i.e. the Alawis], which... has violated the sanctities of Islam and the [Muslims'] honor [as part of] an evil plan concocted by the Nusairi Hafez Al-Assad... The killing of a Nusairi takes precedence over the killing of all other [unbelievers], since their heresy is confirmed by all Muslim scholars."

In the second part of the message, Abu Jandal addresses the Sunnis in Syria, urging them to fight the "Nusairi regime" in order to render the religion of Allah supreme. He cites various legal authorities who assert that unbelief is worse than civil strife (fitna), and says: "There is no point in talking to the Nusairis, [since] they understand only the language of raids, assassinations and violation of sanctities... [This is evident from] the massacres of Hama and Halab [Aleppo], and [especially] from the suppression of the Kurdish rebellion, during which the evil Syrian troops and intelligence [services] killed demonstrators using live ammunition."

Next, Abu Jandal addresses Muslim scholars affiliated with the Syrian regime, and criticizes them for cooperating and fraternizing with Syrian officials who were involved in the killing of Sunnis in Syria. He warns the Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Hasun, not to cooperate with the regime since the latter will only betray him as it did many other dignitaries. Abu Jandal also makes a death threat against the members of the Syrian intelligence agencies. He states that their end is near, and calls their attention to the fate of the National Guards in Iraq who are killed every day by the soldiers of the Islamic State of Iraq.

In the final and most lengthy part of the message, Abu Jandal addresses Syrian President Bashar Assad, denouncing his religious and political policies and threatening him with a lengthy guerrilla war. He says: "You [Assad] are an infidel, because you have passed laws... [that are different from those of] Allah... because you have permitted what is forbidden and forbidden what is allowed... You must be killed because you fought Allah, His Messenger and the believers..." Abu Jandal accuses Assad of opening the borders to Shi'ites from Lebanon and Iraq while closing them to Sunni Palestinians and Syrians "fleeing from the hell in Iraq." At the end of the message, he elaborates on the corrupt nature of the Alawi regime, naming specific officials and describing their crimes.

Commander of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan: "Our Current Plan Is to Spur the Muslims to Kill Jews and Crusaders"

On May 26, 2007, Islamist websites posted a 42-minute video presenting an interview with the new commander of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Sheikh Mustafa Abu Yazid, known as Sheikh Sa'id. The video was produced by Al-Sahab and is subtitled in English. It introduces Abu Yazid as a fighter who arrived in Afghanistan in 1988, took part in the establishment of Al-Qaeda in 1989, and is a member of the organization's Shura Council. The following are excerpts from the interview:

Abu Yazid states that "the condition of jihad in Afghanistan is steadily improving. During the winter, the jihad fighters trained and prepared their ranks for an attack on the oppressing enemy. [The attack will take place in the summer], which will be a season of victory for the jihad fighters and defeat for the Crusader enemies... The support for the jihad fighters among the [Afghan] population is almost absolute, especially in the southern and eastern provinces... [There are] hundreds of volunteers for martyrdom operations..."

About the jihad fighters' current plans, and about the deaths of Al-Qaeda leaders and its effect on the organization, Abu Yazid says: "The Islamic [lands] are occupied from East to West... In this situation, jihad becomes the personal duty of each and every Muslim... Our current plan is to spur all the Muslims in all the Islamic lands to kill Jews and Crusaders... Jihad will continue until the Day of Judgment, and the martyrdom of a few commanders will not stop us... Al-Qaeda absorbs the losses and [replaces] the commanders [that are killed]."

In response to the claim that Al-Qaeda's popularity is steadily waning, Abu Yazid says: "Those who say this must understand that Al-Qaeda is not an isolated party or an entity separate from the [Islamic] nation. On the contrary, [Al-Qaeda] is the nation itself, which trains and educates its sons to produce lions of jihad whose role is to crush the enemy of the Islamic nation: America."

Next, Abu Yazid calls on the jihad fighters to unite their ranks, "for in unity lies the strength needed for victory." He advises them to "be patient and to persist in the path [of jihad], whatever the hardships, since it is the path of truth taken by the Prophet Muhammad." He also advised them "to be fierce with the infidels but merciful among themselves [i.e., towards the Muslims]." Addressing the jihad fighters in Iraq, he advises them to learn a lesson from what happened in Afghanistan and join their brothers in the Islamic State of Iraq even before the invaders withdraw.

Finally, Abu Yazid addresses the American people and says: "Islam is a faith of mercy and peace, but only towards those who are [themselves] merciful and want peace. Towards the infidels... and towards arrogant tyrants like Bush and his administration, it is a religion of might, power and determination... Since you have begun to realize the sort of hell and death that [Bush] is leading you to, we call on you to continue exerting pressure on him... for your own sake and your own safety. We also call upon you to join the Islamic faith, since it is the true faith."

The video can be viewed at http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=883567&ak=null.

Below are images from the video:

Message by Abu Laith Al-Libi

On May 24, 2007 Al-Qaeda's media company Al-Sahab posted an 11-minute video by Sheikh Abu Laith Al-Libi, Al-Qaeda's commander in Afghanistan, titled "Countering the War of Imprisonment." Abu Laith's address – which is subtitled in English and is accompanied by still images of Abu Laith and of the imprisoned Islamist sheikh Abd Al-Rahman – is part of an Islamist campaign to release mujahideen held in prisons around the world.

Abu Laith states that the "infidels" are waging a "war of prisons and captivity" against the mujahideen, and are incarcerating large numbers of Muslims as part of a deliberate policy to gain, through "coercion and repression," what they have failed to gain through "debate and persuasion." Next, he describes what he calls the harsh conditions at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and Baghram prisons. He urges the Muslims to follow the Prophet's tradition of redeeming prisoners of war by paying ransom, or by exchanging them for soldiers captured on the battlefield or for people kidnapped for that purpose "on a road, in a valley, or on a mountain trail." He declares that Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan is willing to exchange prisoners with any government or army that is holding mujahideen in custody. Among the imprisoned mujahideen he mentions Abu Qatada Al-Falastini, Sheikh Omar Abd Al-Rahman, Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, Sheikh Suleiman Al-Alwan and Sheikh Abu Mundhir Al-Sa'adi.

The video can be viewed at:

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=877084&ak=null

Al-Zawahiri: Dadullah's Death – Good Tidings for Victory

In a new video message, Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri warns the U.S. and NATO that "if the martyrdom of... Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi was the beginning of the dreadful breakdown of the Americans in Iraq, the martyrdom of... Mullah Dadullah shall break the back of the Crusaders... in Afghanistan, and hasten their imminent defeat..."

On Islamist Websites, Solidarity With Fatah Al-Islam In Lebanon

The Islamist websites are expressing solidarity with the Fatah Al-Islam organization in Lebanon. For example, www.al-boraq.com posted, on its home page, a banner congratulating Fatah Al-Islam, while www.alnusra.net posted, at the top of its home page, a communiqué calling on jihad preachers in Lebanon to help their jihad-fighting brothers in the Nahr Al-Bared camp, because "the infidel Lebanese army is destroying houses of Allah in the Nahr Al-Bared camp and is killing Muslims [even though] their blood is forbidden."