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.)
Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@memri.org. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.
EXCLUSIVE: British Fighter In Somalia Promotes Jihad On Social Media
Introduction
Much attention has been given recently to foreign fighters in Syria, especially the Westerners among them, and to their use of social media for communication, recruitment and propaganda. The following report will profile of a British jihadi fighting on a different arena – Somalia . It will review information collected from his Twitter account, where he goes by the pseudonym Saahibul Hijratain, his Instagram account, where his alias is Blendfruits, and his Ask.fm account.
Background
A prolific tweeter, Saahibul Hijratain’s Twitter account was started on September 7, 2013 and he has posted 897 messages to date. His Ask.fm account was created in November 2013, and the earliest uploaded photo on his Instagram is dated November 17, 2013. Saahibul Hijratain does not reveal a lot of personal information. His tweets cover a broad range of topics: eulogies for fallen fighters, updates on battles, quotes from jihadi luminaries, and discussions on jihad at large.
The nickname Hijratain is a reference to the name given in Islamic tradition to the Horn of Africa, Ard Al-Hijratain ("Land of the Two Immigrations").
American Fighter In Syria Explains Why He Left Jabhat Al-Nusra For ISIS
American fighter in Syria discussed why he left Jabhat Al-Nusra in a video posted to the Internet on February 10, 2014.
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
New Video Shows Jabhat Al-Nusra Outreach To Children – Including Indoctrination In Faith And Jihad
On February 6, 2014, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) released a video showing the group's outreach efforts in the Al-Ghouta Al-Sharqiyya area. The video, titled "JN Cubs – Towards The Path Of Enablement," follows a large group of children attending a JN-run shari'a school, at which they study Arabic, learn and memorize Koran and hadiths, and participate in a variety of other activities. Also evident in the video is JN's use of incentives, seen here in the form of various recreational activities offered by JN to attract children to its ranks.
During the past week, the infighting among Islamist rebel groups in Syria, which has been going on for weeks, showed further signs of escalation. This raises serious questions about the nature and the future of the relationship between the two main jihadi groups acting on the scene: Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) and the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).
Supporters Of Caucasus Emirate Threaten: Sochi Is Now The Most Dangerous Place In The World
A series of posts on the Arabic-language Twitter page "Caucasus Affairs", run by supporters of the Caucasus Emirate, threaten a large terror attack on the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The tweets were posted February 10, 2014 by the account owner.
Jabhat Al-Nusra Announces Death Of Commander Sayfullah Al-Shishani During Takeover Of Aleppo Prison
In a communiqué posted yesterday (February 6, 2014) on the jihadi forum Al-Fidaa, Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN), announces that its fighters have taken over Aleppo prison and have freed hundreds of prisoners. The organization has been threatening to take over the prison for some time, and its supporters even devoted a Twitter hashtag to this cause.
Kuwaiti ISIS Emir In A'zaz Reported Killed
Al-Kuwaiti (left) and Abu Wahib (right)
On February 12, 2014, a post on Al-Fida' jihadi forum reported that the emir of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) in the town of A'zaz (Aleppo) was killed in Anbar, Iraq. Abu 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Kuwaiti, was the emir of A'zaz when fighting broke out between ISIS and the "collaborative" Liwa 'Asifat Al-Shamal (FSA), the post said.
Madrid Train Bombing Terrorist To Be Deported to Morocco
Mohamed Larbi Ben Sellam during the trial (image: Yabiladi.com, February 7, 2014)
On February 16, 2014, Mohamed Larbi Ben Sellam, aka Abu Zoubair, a Moroccan-born member of the Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell that carried out the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings, will be extradited to Morocco after completing a nine-year prison term in Spain.
According to a Pakistani media report, Maulana Masood Azhar, the emir of the banned Pakistani jihadi organization Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), will chair an event at the University of Punjab campus this month.
A report on the website of The Nation noted that in parallel to the Punjab Youth Festival, "some banned militant outfits have launched a full-fledged campaign to covertly engage college and university students to promote jihad in the insurgency-infested Pakistan."
Mast Gul (left) sits alongside Mufti Hassan Swati at a press conference
Below are excerpts from a Pakistani media report, examining the role of former Pakistani Army soldier Mast Gul, who fought against Indian security forces in Jammu & Kashmir and has recently re-emerged as a key commander of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP):
"Mast Gul Was Described As A Former Major In The Pakistani Army"; "This Information Had Been Disclosed To The U.S. Intelligence Agencies By A Guantanamo Bay Detainee, Chaman Gul, Who Had Been Fighting Against The Indian Security Forces"
"The Pakistani jihadi chickens are coming home to roost. Mast Gul, an ex-commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen who fought against the Indian security forces for the liberation of Jammu & Kashmir, has turned out to be the mastermind of … [a February 4, 2014] suicide bombing in Peshawar. The attack has already been claimed by the Peshawar chapter of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is waging a war against the state of Pakistan."
Report: Pakistani Taliban Prepare 15 Demands As Part Of Talks With The Sharif Government
Khalid Haqqani, deputy emir of TTP, has appeared in jihadi videos in recent years, but his face has been blurred to avoid detection
The shura, or executive council, of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has prepared a list of 15 demands to be presented before the government-appointed team as part of peace negotiations with Pakistan, according to a Pakistani daily.
Maulana Masood Azhar, emir of Jaish-e-Muhammad
In a recent article, an Indian website examined the implications of a speech delivered by Maulana Masood Azhar, the emir of the banned Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), at an event at Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, on January 26, 2014. Azhar, who was released by India in exchange for the passengers of a hijacked Indian plane in 1999, has been underground in recent years, but his organization is believed to operate from Bahawalpur town in Punjab with the tacit support of Pakistani intelligence.
