Periodical Review: Summary from the Jihadi Forums – The Second Half of December 2013
This report summarizes notable events discussed on jihadist Web forums during the secondhalf of December 2013. Following are the main points covered in the report:
- Al-Qaeda released a video clip of Warren Weinstein, an American who was abducted in Pakistan, in which he asked the United Stated government to work for his release and his return to his family.
- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) published a rare apology over the killing of Yemeni citizens by members of the organization in the December 5, 2013 attack on the hospital located within the Yemeni Ministry of Defense compound in Sana’a.
- The Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, published a video documenting its seizure of the Al-Kindi Hospital, considered to be one of the most important strategic centers in Aleppo.
- Sirajuddin Zurayqat, a senior leader in the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, took responsibility for a terrorist attack that was carried out against the Iranian Embassy on November 19, 2013. He explained that all Lebanese Hezbollah sites were legitimate targets for terrorist attacks due to Hezbollah’s participation in the civil war in Syria alongside Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its battle against Sunnis in Syria and Lebanon. He called on Sunnis in Lebanon to come to their senses and defend their dignity in the face of such aggression.
- Jihad activists called on Muslims in Indonesia and on the mujahideen to revolt against the Indonesian government for its oppression of Muslims who want to implement shari’a [Islamic law] in the country.