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Periodical Review – Summary from the Jihadi Forums – The First Half of April 2015

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This report summarizes notable events discussed on jihadist Web forums during the first half of April 2015. Following are the main points covered in the report:

  • The month of April begins with a series of killings of senior jihadist leaders from branches of Al-Qaeda. AlQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula eulogizes one of its senior leaders, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Rubaish, who was shot dead by an American drone. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent also loses two of its senior leaders, Sheikh Ahmad Faruq, deputy emir of the organization, and Al-Qari Amran, member of the organization’s Shura Council, who was shot dead by an American drone in January 2015.
  • Abu Muhammad al-Julani, leader of the Al Nusra Front – a branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria – sends his blessings to the organization’s fighters and the other jihadist organizations, such as Ahrar Al-Sham, that took part in the liberation of Idlib Province from Syrian regime dominance. According to al-Julani, the best way to control the liberated province is through the Shura Council, as well as maintaining unity among the ranks. In addition, al-Julani calls upon the Muslim civilians in other Syrian cities to support jihad and to wait patiently to be liberated. In response to the military achievement, Abu Musab Wadoud, emir of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, sends blessings to the jihad fighters in Syria and emphasizes the importance of maintaining unity among the ranks, and on focusing on the implementation of shari’a.
  • Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen in Somalia threatens to carry out terror attacks against Kenyan civilians, in revenge for the methodological “massacre” of the Muslim population in East Africa – and in particular in Somalia – by the Kenyan government. At the same time, Al-Muhajiroun in East Africa, affiliated with Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen, threatens to unleash a wave of terror attacks against Tunisia, Uganda, and Kenya. According to the organization, it intends to collapse the national borders created by colonial forces in East Africa, through cooperation with the Somali Al-Shabaab organization and Al-Qaeda.
  • AlQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula offers twenty kilograms of gold for the heads of Ali Salih, former President of Yemen, and Abd al-Malik al-Houthi, the Houthi leader in Yemen. According to the organization, their capture will contribute to a significant increase in momentum to jihad in Yemen.
  • Ansar Al-Sharia in Libya offers a prize to anyone who succeeds in killing one of the five commanders of the national army, headed by General Khalifa Hiftar, as well for killing Saqr Al-Geroushi, commander of the Libyan Air Force. This is due to the claim that the commanders are tyrants responsible for causing harm to every home and family in Libya.
  • The Islamic State calls upon Muslims in Tunisia to join the jihad in Libya, and promises that they will return to Tunisia as victors. In addition, the organization sends threatening messages regarding the Tunisian regime, promising to take revenge in the name of the brothers in prisons, and the sisters whose honor was damaged.
  • The Islamic State calls upon Sunni tribes in Yemen to fight against the Houthis, and calls upon jihadist organizations in Yemen to dismantle and to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State.
  • The Islamic State takes control of over 80% of the Palestinian refugee camp Al-Yarmouk in Syria, causing heated discourse on social networks, which expresses the existing division between the different jihadist groups in Syria. According to IS fighters, occupation of the camp successfully thwarted the plans of the Palestinian jihadist factions loyal to the Syrian regime to hand the camp over to the latter, and destroyed trade relations between them.

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