Periodical Review – Summary from the Jihadi Forums – The Second Half of July 2014
This report summarizes notable events discussed on jihadist Web forums during the second half of July 2014. Following are the main points covered in the report:
- The wave of condemnation continues from Al-Qaeda activists and their supporters against the declaration of the Islamic Caliphate and members of the Islamic State, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Sheikh Abu Mundhir al-Shanqiti al-Shanqiti, a prominent jihadist cleric, points out the problems involved in the declaration of an Islamic Caliphate based on shari’a. In contrast, members of the Islamic State continue to justify the establishment of the caliphate.
In addition, various jihadist organizations continue to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
- The Islamic State continues its efforts to recruit operatives among Muslims in Kazakhstan and Indonesia.
- A new Salafi jihadist organization in Syria is established. The organization, called the “Ansar al-Din Front”, serves as an umbrella organization composed of: the Sham al-Islam Movement, the Army of Emigrants and Supporters (Jaysh al-Mujahidin wal-Ansar), the Fajr al-Sham al-Islamiyya movement and the Green Battalion. The establishment of the new organization receives condemnation from members of the Islamic State.
- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claims responsibility for an attack on an army drone base in the city of Seiyun. A video is published describing the modus operandi of the attack.
- Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis in the Environs of Jerusalem publishes a video in which it explains the modus operandi of the terrorist attack that its members carried out against southern Israel on August 18, 2011.
- A new jihadist media institution called Al-Husam was created in order to focus on developments and events in the arena of jihad in Yemen.