Featured News: "Sheikh of the Arab Spring" calls for "jihad to death" against Israel

Radical Egyptian cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi was welcomed to Gaza by Hamas on Wednesday. Ever since the start of the Arab Spring, Hamas has been weaking its ties to its former patron in Iran, and is seeking ever-closer links to the new Islamist-led governments of the Middle East -and other jhadi groups in the region. Especially in Syria.

Read more:
http://news.yahoo.com/radical-egyptian-cleric-qaradawi-arrives-gaza-declares-wish-174013509.html;_ylt=At1TQ4CG_DRkFYZ2MY.1d1ZvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTNmbnJhZDJxBG1pdAMEcGtnAzBhOTUxMmU5LTcxOTUtMzQxOS1iOWYzLWQxOWY4Yjg4MjJlYQRwb3MDOARzZWMDbG5fTWlkRWFzdF9nYWwEdmVyAzgxMmI4NDMwLWI4Y2YtMTFlMi1iZmVmLTkyN2VlY2FmYmUxMw--;_ylg=X3oDMTBhYWM1a2sxBGxhbmcDZW4tVVM-;_ylv=3

Hezbollah Militants arrested in Nigeria (of all places)

Summary: Hezbollah militants have been arrested in Nigeria, home turf of their theological enemy Boko Haram: were they seeking an odd-couple alliance with Boko Haram, trying to get into the African arms dealing market, or just taking advantage of Nigeria's chaos to move weapons and money? Or were they planning an attack on African soil?


Three Lebanese men have been arrested in northern Nigeria, admitting to being members of Hezbollah, and captured along with their stash of heavy weaponry and cash. They were arrested in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, and a hub of activity for the Boko Haram terrorist organisation.

Now, not all jihadis are the same -and Hezbollah and Boko Haram represent very different parts of the jihadi spectrum, which we would expect to make them deadly enemies. Hezbollah is the world's foremost Shia jihadi group, which has recently hardened its sectarian edge with its pro-(Alawite) regime intervention in the Syrian civil war. By contrast, Boko Haram is a Salafi (ultra-conservative Sunni) organisation which has much in common with Hezbollah's al Qaeda-linked enemies in Syria. So what exactly are three members of Hezbollah doing in Boko Haram's back yard?

There seem to be four likely explanations:

Firstly, Hezbollah is seeking links to Muslim Africa's growing violent jihadi groups, regardless of theology. Having burned so many of is bridges in the Sunni world with its support of al-Assad in Syria, Hezbollah is in need of new jihadi friends to share information with and receive sanctuary abroad from, preferably ones who are indifferent to events in Syria. Boko Haram is not directly linked to al Qaeda or any other 'Arab' terrorist groups, and thus has no direct stake or interest in events inthe Middle East. Being fundamentally local in its outlook (desiring the establishment of shariah law in Nigeria), Boko Haram might not have many qualms about forging an alliance with a far-off Shia group, if the main interaction between them were beneficial to Boko Haram.

Secondly, Hezbollah could be selling weapons to African jihadis to raise funds for its war in Syria, or even seeking to buy heavy weaponry 'liberated' from Gaddafi's armouries and since acquired by militants. The men arrested reportedly had eleven 60 mm anti-tank weapons, four anti-tank landmines, two rounds of ammunition for a 122 mm artillery gun, 21 rocket-propelled grenades, seventeen AK-47s with more than 11,000 bullets and some dynamite. This economic endeavour would fall below the level of an operational alliance, and would simply entail Hezbollah and Boko Haram being occasional business partners. Boko Haram could perhaps become the middleman between Hezbollah and the wider network of African jihadis which the former has links to, and which the latter may want to sell to or buy from.

Thirdly, Hezbollah might just be taking advantage of the security crisis in northern Nigeria to smuggle weapons and money under the radar. This would mean no link to Boko Haram, and rather a focus on Nigeria's large and business-savvy Lebanese expatriate community. Hezbollah is believed to have extensive fundraising networks amongst Shia Lebanese groups overseas, and the arrested militants in this case had over $60,000 in cash. Nigeria also has a small indigenous Shia population, the product of conversions by the radical preacher  Ibrahim Zakzaky since the 1980's. Zakzaky still leads this community in Nigeria, and calls for an Islamic government enforcing shariah law, albeit campaigning for this in a peaceful manner.

Finally, and possibly consistently with any of the above, Hezbollah could have been amassing these weapons in preparation for a terrorist attack on African soil. Hezbollah has committed terrorist attacks abroad, especially against Israeli targets, as far apart as Buenos Aires (1992) and Bulgaria (2012). Israel has an embassy in Nigeria's capital Abuja, as do the United States and several other Western powers backing Hezbollah's enemies in Syria.

If not bedfellows, it seems jihadism at least makes for strange neighbours.

Al Qaeda allies had Sarin Gas in Turkey -were they targeting Alawites Abroad?

Summary: Al Qaeda's ally the al-Nusra Front was caught with sarin gas in Turkey, allegedly planning an attack on a Turkish city known for its Alawite community. With al Qaeda in Iraq simultaneously striking Shia targets there, are these jihadi groups now trying to export Syria (and Iraq)'s Sunni-Shia violence across the region?


A 2kg cylinder of sarin gas was found yesterday by Turkish authorities after they searched the homes of militants belonging to the Syrian al-Nusra Front. This jihadi organisation is either a close ally or a full-blown branch of Al Qaeda (depending on who you talk to), as well as being the most aggressive and successful rebel fighting group in the Syrian civil war.

That al-Nusra possesses sarin gas is not in itself surprising. The rebels have already captured significant amounts of chemical weapons formerly belonging to Syria's al-Assad regime, and are believed to have used sarin in an attack that killed twenty-six people, including government forces, in March this year. As the leaders of the opposition's armed struggle, it was only a matter of time before al-Nusra was able to get its hands on some of these captured stockpiles. Al-Assad has even claimed that militants linked to al Qaeda (most likely al-Nusra) were behind the sarin attack in March -though al-Assad's regime attributes almost all rebel actions to al Qaeda lately.

However, the fact that al-Nusra was caught with Sarin in a foreign country (even one next door) is more significant. According to the authorities, the gas intended for use in an attack in the Turkish city of Adana. If so, this would be the first clear attack by Syrian rebels on a foreign target. A car bombing in the Turkish city of Reyhanlı earlier in May is believed to have been carried out by the al-Assad regime or its proxies. No immediate explanation has been offered for why al-Nusra would want to strike a Turkish city with Sarin Gas -Turkey's government and population are broadly pro-rebel, if not pro-jihadi (though this distinction could have been enough to motivate al-Nusra to strike). One extremely worrying explanation is that the target was to be Adana's significant population of Alawites, the Shia offshoot which forms the core of the al-Assad regime and its supporters. The Alawite community is well-established and was in place long before the current civil war, making it a visible and accessible target if al-Nusra desired to strike against Alawites abroad.

If al-Nusra really is trying to extend its sectarian campaign against Alawites abroad, this would be a significant escalation of the conflict. Turkey has over seven hundred thousand Alawites, and Lebanon has over a hundred thousand. The fact that al Qaeda in Iraq is also currently trying to foment sectarian blood-letting there by striking at Shia targets makes it hard not to see al-Nusra's actions here as part of a wider Sunni jihadi plan to spread their "war on Shi'ism" across the Middle East.

As previously related in Sharaabtoon, to truly put it to devastating use significant quantities of sarin gas, as well as an advanced delivery system, are required. More primitive attempts to use it tactically are likely to fail, as Iraqi insurgents found out in May 2004. However, it can be used very effectively in smaller strikes on concentrated civilians targets, as was seen in the Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1994. If the al-Nusra/al Qaeda alliance is planning to use chemical weapons against Shia civilians across the region, the inhabitants of Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran may have even more to fear from these jihadis gaining such armaments than even Israel's people do.

Alawite Distribution in the Levant

Featured News: Al Qaeda gives member Poor Job Evaluation

Being a member of al Qaeda nowadays is hard work. Not only do you have to dodge drone strikes worry about your declining brand value, now you have to worry about the upper management getting all testy because you don't file expense reports, don't turn up to meetings, or you spend too much time on internet social media. But this is apparently exactly what was happening to Moktar Belmoktar, a commander in al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) who recently got so fed up with the 'brass' that he quit and formed his own jihadi organisation,  the Al-Mulathameen ("Masked") Brigade (also known as the al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam ["Those who Sign with Blood"] Brigade).

In a letter obtained by the Associated Press, AQIM's leaders give a scathing (and very long) review of Belmoktar's performance (referring to him by his alternate name  Khaled Abou El Abbas). Here are a few of the highlights:

• "Abu Abbas is not willing to follow anyone... he is satisfied only when followed and obeyed."

• "your brigade did not achieve a single spectacular operation targeting the crusader alliance"

• "Why do you only turn on your phone with the Emirate when you need it, while your communication with some media [online jihadi forums] is almost never ending!"

• "We ask you also: How many administrative and financial reports have you sent up to your Emirate?"

• "How many meetings was Abu Abbas invited to... only to see him always refuse to participate?"

• "Abu Abbas aired our laundry publicly and spilled secrets of jihad to random young men whom he doesn’t know"
  
  ... and our personal favourite...
  
  

• "As for your whispering in the ear of the organization’s emir, we consider it as derisive and snide and denigrating a figure who by our ancient Islamic law should be esteemed and respected, even if he were a black Ethiopian slave with a head like a raisin."

After job evaluations like that, is it a surprise that so many jihadis need to drink in the Sharaabtoon?


The full letter in English:
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/_pdfs/al-qaida-belmoktar-letter-english.pdf

The full letter in Arabic:
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/_pdfs/al-qaida-belmoktar-letter.pdf

Read more:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-exclusive-rise-al-qaida-saharan-terrorist

Featured News: Arrest in suspected jihadi stabbing of French soldier

French police made an arrest today in connection with the stabbing of a French soldier on counter-terrorism patrol last week, with the suspect admitting his crime. The details released so far seem consistent with, if not conclusive of, the assualt being a jihadi attack in the vein of the murder (and attempted beheading) of a British soldier in Woolwich, London, a week ago today. A Paris prosecutor has revealed that “Alexandre” (as the suspect has been named) is almost 22 years old and converted to Islam around age 18. He reportedly follows a "traditionalist even radical Islam", according to unnamed sources close to the investigation. He also has a record in the national police database from an identity check for praying in the street in 2007. Notably, Alexandre was seen on surveillance footage performing a Muslim prayer less than ten minutes before the attack, leading the prosecutor to conclude that he acted on the based on his "religious ideology" -presumably jihadism.

However, Alexandre also has a record of petty crimes as a juvenile, and was reportedly homeless and unemployed before the attack. Beyond the (tenuous) 2007 identity check, the security services had no reason to connect him to radical Islamism. It is unclear how the identification of the suspect as a “convert” with a native French-sounding name interacts with the previous description of the attacker as a man of “North African origin”, and it is possible that this was a mischaracterization made due to his wearing of an Arab-style robe and beard.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves has stated: "The aim was to kill the soldier because he was a soldier, to kill a soldier who is in charge of French security ".

Read more:
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/29/world/europe/france-stabbing-suspect/

The Woolwich Jihadis and al Shabaab's Western Outreach

Summary: a; Shabaab has increasingly been recuiting Westerners, and turning Kenyans against their own country. Considering that one of the Woolwich jihadis previously attempted to join al Shabaab al Shabaab, we must ask what his target was to be? Will other Western recruits to al Shabaab be turned against the West itself?


Al Shabaab has a long-standing recruitment drive aimed at Westerns and other foreigners. But with the recent murder and attempted beheading of a British soldier in Woolwich, London, a would-be al Shabaab has been connected to a terrorist attack in the West for the first time. Kenyan authorities have confirmed that Michael Adebolajo was held by their police in 2010 on suspicion of trying to join al Shabaab, al Qaeda's regional branch in the Horn of Africa. He was arrested and deported back to the UK in November 2010, after he was caught trying to cross the border to Somalia along with five other men. UK government sources have stated that one of the two Woolwich jihadis (it has not been confirmed which) was prevented from flying to Somalia last year, on suspicion that he intended to join al Shabaab.

Previously on Sharaabtoon, we have noted that Somalia's outreach to the Western recruits and donors has the potential to evolve into jihadi attacks on the West itself. Earlier this month, four ethnic Somalis were convicted of fundraising and recruiting for al Shabaab in Minnesota. Over forty Americans and dozens of Europeans, including Britons, are believed to be fighting for the organisation in Somalia. They also appear to have a "reporter" with a British accent working for their media wing. Increasingly, al Shabaab has been using 'new media' in suspected attempts to reach out to Western Muslims, notably using its official Twitter feed in October 2012 to threaten terrorist attacks against the UK if radical preacher Abu Hamza was deported to the USA (although such attacks have not yet emerged).

Although al Shabaab was likely not involved in the planning or execution of the Woolwich attack, al Shabaab has displayed a previous willingness to make use of foreign recruits in attacks against their own nation in one particular case: Kenya. Up to ten percent of al Shabaab's forces inside Somalia are now believed to be Kenyan citizen not of Somali ancestry, many of them recent converts from the predominantly Christian country. The "Kenyan mujahadeen", as they are referred to, have been used extensively by al Shabaab to carry out terrorist attacks (typically with guns, grenades and bombs) of increasing frequency in Kenya, as their ability to blend in to the majority population aids them in avoiding detection. Kenyan members of al Shabaab were even involved in carrying out the July 2010 bombing of crowds in Kampala, Uganda, watching screenings of the World Cup. Al Shabaab's leaders justifies these attacks as in response to the support of the Kenyan and Ugandan governments for Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (al Shabaab's bitter foe), a charge which can easily be levelled against many Western nations also. What the Woolwich jihadis have demonstrated is that al Shabaab-linked extremists are indeed capable of carrying out horrifying (if small) terrorist attacks inside the West -a worrying lesson for al Shabaab to take to heart.

Meanwhile, last night al Shabaab gunmen killed six people in attacks on Kenyan police posts near the Somali border. Two of them were police officers, one was a Red Cross teacher, and another was a fifteen year-old boy. Al Shabaab took credit for these attacks via Twitter, claiming that it had killed eight people and taken two hostages as well.

Featured News: 'Black widow' suicide bomber strikes in Russia

A female suicide bomber blew herself up in Russia's Dagestan region in the north Caucasus today, injuring eighteen. She has been identified as a widow of not just one, but two Islamists killed by Russian security forces, making her another of the "black widow" jihadis.

"Black widow" is a term applied to the at least two dozen women (mostly from the Caucasus) who have blown themselves up in jihadi attacks in Russia since the year 2000, as most of them are widows or relatives of militants killed in their anti-Russian insurgency. While nationalist in origin back during the breakup of the USSR, this insurgency was rapidly Islamized throughout the 1990's, and today is largely being waged under the black banner of jihad. Russian security forces in the region are routinely accused of extra-judicial killings and rights violations.

Read more:
http://news.yahoo.com/female-suicide-bomber-injures-12-russian-region-104132442.html