In Speech Marking Fall Of Regime In Syria, Senior Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Official Warns Mujahideen Not To Make Concessions, Maintain Support For Palestinians: If Attacked By U.S. And Israel On Counterterrorism Claims, 'Your Best Line Of Defense Is To Attack'

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On December 7, 2024, Al-Malahem, the media arm of the Yemen-based jihadi group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published a video titled, "Dotting the I's." The production featured a senior AQAP official, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Qousi, a.k.a. Khubayb Al-Sudani. A Sudanese national, al-Sudani is a former Guantanamo detainee. In the video, he discussed unfolding developments in Syria.[1]

Posted on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket.Chat server, the 21-minute, 27-second video shows Al-Sudani seated in an indoor setting, with a computer-generated studio-like background. Scenes of Syrian rebels and people celebrating the fall of Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria play in the background throughout the video.

Title screen: "Dotting the I's."

Congratulating Syrians, Mujahideen, And All Muslims

After prefatory religious remarks, Al-Sudani opens his address by saying that the dawn of victory has risen in Syria, and at the moment the sun continues to shine brightly over the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, despite heavy sacrifices: "I open my address by congratulating all Muslims in general, and the people of Syria in particular, for this victory and manifest conquest, after years of oppression, injustice, aggression, and brutality."

Then, Al-Sudani started delivering a set of "contemplative pauses" and "pieces of advice" to the mujahideen in Syria, in line with the prophet's call to Muslims to support one another. He reminded them that their fight against the "sectarian," "blood-thirsty" regime of Bashar Al-Assad, and his father before him, Hafez Al-Assad, has been and still is a "battle of existence" that must not be stopped until the enemy is defeated:

"Beware! Do not retreat as a result of the tricks of political solutions and regional deals. You surely have tried these in years past and know the outcomes. I repeat, beware! Do not back away, lest you do, the outcome would be destructive to you and your people," he warns.

"Circumvent The Schemes Of The Conniving Nations Of Nonbelief"

Al-Sudani stressed the importance of circumventing the schemes of the "conniving nations of nonbelief," calling on Syria's fighters to reject disagreement, and to unify ranks against the "enemies of Allah," and to "know that your strength lies solely in your unity."

Al-Sudani continued, emphasizing that Syria's geographical location as a border state with Israel, makes the "schemes" devised against Syria even more dangerous. He noted that the U.S. and its "stepchild" Israel would never accept an insubordinate system that operates against their will, nor a system that threatens Syria's neighbor, "the statelet of the Jews."

If Attacked By U.S. And Israel, "Your Best Defense Tactic Is Offense"

"As long as the banner of jihad is hoisted high for the sake of Allah, you, whether you want it or not, represent a pending threat to Israel's national security," he said. He referenced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks that "a new Middle East is in the making." The video shows Netanyahu during his address before the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on September 27, 2024, holding map that read the blessing and the curse, in reference to Israel's allies and foes.

"The countdown to establish their great state of Israel has started, and your country, Syria, falls within the scope of their professed state. With the victories you achieved on the ground, you might just have turned the designs of the Jews and the Americans upside down. They may launch preemptive strikes against you, in the name of the war on terrorism."

"Should such attacks happen, your best line of defense is attack," says Al-Sudani, urging armed action against Israel: "Place your trust in Allah, for I swear to Allah if you did, your move would serve as a prelude to rally the entire Muslim ummah [nation] to fight alongside you, and participate in your torrential flood to sweep away the statelet of the Jews."

"This Is But The Start Of A Long-Lasting Fight Against The Zio-Crusader Hegemony To Control Syria"

In the fourth section of his speech, Al-Sudani argued that the victory over the regime in Syria is but the start of a long fight against the "Zio-Crusader hegemony" and control over Syria. He warns that the U.S. "will accuse you of belonging to Al-Qaeda to justify targeting you, despite [the fact] that you disengaged from Al-Qaeda over eight years ago."

Al-Sudani goes on to claim that Al-Qaeda has been warning for over three decades that the war against the U.S. and its allies has never been related to the September 11, 2001 attacks: "It is a continuation of the ancient Crusader wars against all that relates to the true Islam. It is a war between Islam and nonbelief no matter how often they change its appellations."

"Do Not Make Concessions To Enemies; Take The Taliban And Hamas As Models To Follow"

Al-Sudani further cautions the Syrians against making "concessions" to Islam's "enemies" under any circumstance, and to not be deterred by the sorrows of war. He urged them to follow the footsteps of the Afghan Taliban and that group's "extraordinary" example of steadfastness, which culminated with the "defeat" and "burial of the idol of our times, America." He also suggests that the Syrians follow the model of perseverance of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where the few fighters there "have not changed course or made concessions."

Stressing an alleged obligation owed to the Palestinians, Al-Sudani argues that the Syrian fighters' commitment to "neighboring Palestinians" must remain firm, after seizing control of Syria and savoring the blessings of Allah on them: "The matter is in your hands, after Allah, to liberate Palestine and free Jerusalem from the grip of the usurper Jews."

"Do not make of the boundaries set by the Sykes-Picot Agreement your utmost goal and concern. Your brothers in Palestine look forward to your support," Al-Sudani contends, noting that the fighters in Syria represent the "vanguard of Muslims" who will lead the grand battle to liberate the holy sites and to counter the presence and influence of Israel, the U.S., the U.K., and Russia.

"Prepare For A Lengthy War That May Last Years: Store Weapons In Top-Secret Locations"

Additionally, Al-Sudani urges preparation for a lengthy war that may last years. Citing the example of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, he urges the digging of tunnels and storage of as many weapons and other equipment as possible, in "top secret locations," especially weapons useful in guerilla warfare, such as landmines, unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs], sniper rifles, silencer-equipped guns, shoulder-fired and laser-guided antiaircraft, and anti-armor weaponry.

He also cautions the fighters to beware the infiltration of spies and detractors, and stresses the need to pay greater attention to the widely-used technologies used in espionage and geolocation, especially mobile phones and walkie talkies, and to learn the lesson from the pager blasts in Lebanon.

Al-Sudani closes his series of instructions, calling on Syrian fighters to foil the quest of the "pseudo peacemakers, the producers of international deceit, those who normalize with Israel, the stealers of uprisings, and the aspirants who exploit the blood of the martyrs," who have delegated the command of affairs to the "donor nations of apostasy and nonbelief."