Article In Al-Qaeda Magazine Urges Jihadi Operatives To Exercise Caution And Operational Security In Phone And Internet Communication

On September 11, 2019, Al-Qaeda released the first issue of the English version of One Ummah magazine. The issue, a 50-page PDF, was posted on the official Telegram channel of the organization's media outlet. The magazine emphasizes ideological themes found in previous Al-Qaeda publications and statements by Al-Qaeda's leadership, including: the importance of unifying the efforts of jihadi groups; the prominence of the war against the West - especially the U.S.; and preaching the Islamic concept of monotheism.

Just as in the original Arabic version, there is an article titled "Security And A Sense Of Responsibility," by a writer using the name Mukhtar, who urges jihadi operatives to be responsible and adhere to security precautions when communicating using telephones, or over the Internet, so as not to unknowingly leak valuable information to the enemy and endanger the mujahideen.

In the article, Mukhtar claims that deficiency in a mujahid's sense of responsibility toward his organization and his fellow operative leads to lax adherence to operational security protocols. This in turn leads to intelligence services turning the negligent mujahid into an unwitting treasure trove of intelligence. Mukhtar cites a case study in which Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) discovered that the security services in Yemen had been shielding three AQAP officials from assassination due to their serving as unwitting intelligence assets. This became possible due to their poor adherence to operational security protocol. Mukhtar further adds that these issues are "among the leading causes" for the disruption of jihadi networks and operations.