The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock – among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.)
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On January 29, 2013, the Shumoukh Al-Islam jihadi forum, which has been offline for several weeks, announced its return. The announcement attributed the forum's shutdown to "continuous malicious [cyber]attacks" by the "enemies of Allah." Celebrating its return, the forum thanked the "brothers responsible for technical support" for their efforts to get the site back online.
Jihadi Forum 'Jihadi Media Platform' Hosted In France
The following document will review the jihadi forum Minbar Al-Jihad Al-I'lami ("Jihadi Media Platform," henceforth JMP), which can be accessed at www.alplatformmedia.com. The website is strongly affiliated with the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), an Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) splinter group that operates in northern Mali and the Sahel. The site domain alplatformmedia.com was registered in December 2011, around the time of MOJWA's emergence, by one Tareq Abed, who provided a Gazan address as his place of residence. The website is hosted in France by OVH Systems. As of January 29, 2013, the forum had 1,326 registered members.
The Islamic website Izharudeen issued a statement calling the ongoing joint military operation against Islamist groups in Mali a 'terrorist' attack by France against Muslims. It said that France and the Western 'criminal' camp would fail in their endeavor, which it claimed aims to curb the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in the region. The statement added that, in light of Islam's growing momentum in the region and Mali's geographic location, the West had begun to panic over Islam's potential diffusion through North Africa and thence to Spain. Despite the military campaign in Mali, the statement said, Islam would emerge victorious, as promised by Allah, and would eventually spread throughout the U.S., Russia, China, France, and Britain.
Al-Quds Al-Arabi: Jihadists Expelled From Mali May Infiltrate North Africa, Southern Europe
A January 29, 2013 report in the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi speaks of growing concerns that terrorists driven out of northern Mali may infiltrate North Africa and southern Europe. Citing European and North African sources, the daily states that the level of alert in North African Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania) and in some countries in Southern Europe, notably Spain, has been raised following the expulsion of jihadi elements from towns in northern Mali. Morocco's military has reportedly gone on full alert, intensifying ground and aerial patrols to track the movement of terrorist, and Spain is closely monitoring border zones with Morocco and boats carrying immigrants, especially those arriving from Algeria and from the Canary Islands.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan: 'Our Offer For Negotiations [With Pakistan] Must Not Be Misunderstood'
In a January 25 statement, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) warned that its recent offer to negotiate with the Pakistani government must not be misunderstood. The statement was issued in English, Urdu and Arabic languages on a jihadi Internet forum. In the statement , which was signed by TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan, the TTP made it clear that its war against Pakistan is for the enforcement of Islamic rule in the country. It also rejected a statement by Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik that he faces a threat from the Taliban. The TTP statement also noted that Miranshah, the main town in Pakistani tribal region of North Waziristan, is being attacked by Pakistani military, and published phone numbers of Pakistani government and military officials requesting that journalists should report it.
Afghan Daily: 15 Groups Emerge Among Afghan Militants Over Peace Talks
An Afghan newspaper reports that at least 15 factions emerged during recent peace negotiations involving the Afghan Taliban and other militant groups. The Afghan Taliban are generally united under the banner of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban shadow government led by Mullah Mohammad Omar. But a January 20 report in Mehwar, a Pashtu- and Dari-language Afghan daily, reveals that following the recent peace negotiations in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Kabul, at least 15 divisions emerged among the Afghan militants. The report, which was published by Pashtu-language website Taand.com, noted that some of the militants groups have even revolted against the leadership of Mullah Omar. The militant groups, which have fought under the banners of Hizb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Islamic Emirate led by Mullah Omar, each have separate leaders, special flags, areas of operations, and separate military targets.
Twitter Suspends Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen's English Twitter Account
On January 25, 2013, the unofficial Arabic Twitter account of the Al-Qaeda Somali affiliate organization Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (@HSMPress_arabic) announced that Twitter had suspended the group's official English Twitter account (@HSMPress). In the announcement, the organization mocked Twitter's decision, asking how it could be reconciled with the freedom of expression so cherished in the West. In response to Twitter's decision, the Muslim Youth Center (MYC), a Kenyan pro-Al-Shabab group, provided a link on its own Twitter account to a report previously published by MEMRI on jihadis' use of Twitter, suggesting that the latter report may have had a role in the shutdown of Al-Shabab's account.
On January 30, 2013, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) released an audio message in support of the recent Sunni anti-government demonstrations in Iraq. The message, delivered by ISI spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-'Adnani, warned Sunnis against trusting their elected Sunni politicians, claiming that the latter collaborated with the Shi'ites and betrayed their fellow Sunnis when they decided to join the "Safavid" (Shi'ite) government. Al-'Adnani further called upon the demonstrators to be prepared to carry weapons and to choose the path of jihad. He warned that, if they did not, they would continue to be subjugated and persecuted by the Shi'ites.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government in the country) has issued a jihadi statement by Islamic clerics. The statement was issued in a bid to oppose the proposed conference in Kabul of Afghan Islamic scholars, backed by the Afghan government. On January 31, 2013, a Pakistani media report indicated that the government-backed Kabul conference has been postponed and will likely take place in the next few weeks. The Islamic Emirate published the pro-jihad clerics' statement in Morchal (Bunker), one of its monthly magazines. It claimed that the statement was issued by 300 prominent Afghan UIema (Islamic scholars) at a meeting, but did not release the names of the signatories and the venue where they met.
