Periodical Review: Summary from the Jihadi Forums – The First Half of February 2013
This report summarizes notable events discussed on jihadist Web forums during the First half of February 2013. Following are the main points covered in the report:
• The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan vows to continue armed resistance until it has routed the occupation and the last US soldier has left Afghanistan – in 2014, US President Obama has promised.
• Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) denounces France and its allies for fighting the jihadists in northern Mali, and reminds all Muslims that it is their duty to support jihad – physically, financially, verbally and in writing.
• AQAP mufti Sheikh Ibrahim al-Rubaish congratulates extremist Wahhabist Sheikh Sulayman bin Nasir al-‘Alawi on his release from a Saudi prison on December 5, 2012 after nine years of incarceration, and urges him to join the propaganda effort for the mujahideen.
• According to a senior Yemeni security officer, AQAP’s position weakened in 2012: it failed to establish an emirate in Mareb Governorate, it lost its hold on much of Yemen, and many of its leaders have been assassinated.
• The war and the French presence in northern Mali continue to inflame jihadists on and off the Web, who issue threats against French targets.
• A new Salafi-jihadist group is established in Mauritania: Ansar Al-Sharia fi Bilad Sinqit.
• Increasing numbers of Ethiopian and Kenyan militiamen are leaving the Ethiopian and Kenyan Armies to join Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen.
• The Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, issues a new encoding program: Asrar Al-Dardasha [The Secrets of Chatting].
• A new jihadist Web forum devoted to Iraq is launched: The Islamic Caliphate.
• Members of the jihadist Web forum Hanein denounce a document issued by the International Union for Muslim Scholars, based in Qatar, concerning the establishment of a federal Islamic caliphate.
