Summary of Information on Jihadist Websites May 2017

Author: JMG DESK Published on: August 16, 2017 Published in: Global Jihad

Highlights

Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden and a senior member of Al-Qaeda, calls on Muslims living in the West to initiate individual attacks against Jewish and Christian targets, as well the US, NATO member states and Russia, in revenge for the crimes committed by the enemies of Islam against the children of Syria, the widows of Palestine, the women of Iraq and the orphans of Afghanistan. According to him, the lone attacker should plan out his targets and choose his weapons carefully in order to inflict maximum damage on the enemy.
Hamza bin Laden accuses the Saudi regime of cooperating with the West since the establishment of the Saudi Kingdom, first with the British and then with the Americans. According to him, one of the devastating implications for the Muslim Nation caused by this cooperation was the creation of the State of Israel. In light of this, Hamza calls on Muslims to wake up and realize that the Saudi regime is acting against the interests of the Muslim Nation and, therefore, they must take action to restore their rights.
Dr. Sami al-Aridi, a senior Salafi-jihadist sage in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, calls on jihad factions in Syria to move to guerilla warfare due to the new circumstances that were created in the region, such as Turkey’s attempt to take control of liberated areas in Syria. Al-Aridi warns jihad factions not to turn to the diplomatic path since it is doomed to fail, but rather to adhere to the path of jihad and follow the advice of Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, to move to guerilla warfare and unite under the banner of global jihad.
Ali Mahmoud Raji, the spokesman for Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen, Al-Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, calls on new recruits who joined the organization from various African countries, such as Tanzania and Kenya, to put an end to the oppression of Muslims by the infidels in East Africa. In addition, Raji calls on the organization’s fighters to lead an army to conquer Kenya so that they can return to their families with dignity and save them from the humiliation of the Christians.
Jihadist organizations in Syria, including Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam and others, set conditions for a ceasefire agreement in Syria as a result of negotiations that were held on the matter in Astana. According to them, Iran is unfit to serve as a guarantor of political activity in Syria, and Russia must cease its air strikes in liberated areas and act to implement UN Security Council resolutions. According to them, the principles of the revolution set forth in a joint resolution between the Syrian Islamic Council and the revolutionary factions are the basis for any negotiations for a future solution in Syria. In this context, senior Salafi-jihadist clerics, such as Sheikh Abu Mariyya al-Qahtani, criticize the participation in the Asatana talks and claim that it harms the achievements of the rebels and strengthens Assad’s regime.
Ansar al-Shari’a in Libya announces it dissolution, calls on rebels in Libya not to cooperate with the West and encourages Muslims in Libya to support the implementation of shari’a in the country.
The Islamic State claims responsibility for a terrorist attack that took place at the Manchester Arena concert hall in England. The announcement states that “one of the Caliphate’s soldiers was able to plant explosive devices among groups of Crusaders […] that exploded in a building used for licentious parties”.
The Islamic State publishes in its magazine, RUMIYEH, guidelines on how to kidnap Western civilians and encourages this trend as a means of terrorizing Christians. For example, it recommends seizing control of crowded places, such as movie theaters, malls and universities, and taking hostages there, or publishing fictitious classified ads that would encourage civilians to come to the apartments where the kidnapping would take place.The Islamic State encourages Muslims to carry out attacks in their countries of origin, especially in the West. One fighters, Abu Hamza al-Amriki, calls on lone terrorists to carry out attacks in the West using stabbings, rammings or throwing people off of high buildings.

This article is part of the RED-Alert project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation Programme under grant agreement No 740688.