(10)Ansar al Jihad swears allegiance to al Qaeda's emir
Ansar al Jihad, a newly formed Islamist terror group in Egypt, has sworn allegiance to al Qaeda's emir.
Ansar al Jihad in the Sinai Peninsula made the announcement yesterday in a statement that was signed by "Your soldiers in Ansar al Jihad in the Sinai Peninsula." The statement was released on the Sinam al Islam jihadist web forum and has been translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
"To our beloved emir and honorable sheikh, Abu Muhammad Ayman al Zawahiri ... from your soldiers in the beloved Sinai in the Land of the Quiver [Egypt], we give you allegiance for obedience in good and bad, in difficulty and ease, and altruism," the statement said. "So, throw us wherever you wish.... We will never quit or surrender until the last drop of our blood [is spilled] in the Cause of Allah and until Islam rules by the help of Allah the Almighty."
Ansar al Jihad called Zawahiri their "beloved Mujahid Sheikh" and asked "Allah to preserve you with His protection and preserve the commanders of jihad everywhere...."
Ansar al Jihad announced its formation on Dec. 20, 2011. In that statement, also translated by SITE, the terror group vowed to "to fulfill the oath of the martyr of the Ummah, our Sheikh Osama bin Laden."
Ansar al Jihad is the military arm of al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, a newly formed terror group that operates in Egypt. Al Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula has been establishing ties with the Gaza-based Salafist groups and is seeking to coordinate operations, a US intelligence official told The Long War Journal in late December.
Security in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has deteriorated since the popular uprising last winter that resulted in former President Mubarak's ouster. Hundreds of Islamists, many from Ayman al Zawahiri's Egyptian Islamic Group, have been freed from prisons, and some are thought to have returned to support terror groups.
Al Qaeda in the Sinai is also thought to have been involved in a series of attacks in August near the Israeli resort town of Eliat that killed eight Israelis, as well as bombings against a natural gas pipeline between Israel and Egypt.
Many analysts predicted that al Qaeda would be weakened after the death of Osama bin Laden, as Zawahiri is perceived to be unpopular in many jihadist circles. All of al Qaeda's affiilates, however, including al Qaeda in Iraq, Shabaab, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, have sworn allegiance to Zawahiri. Furthermore, there have been no reports of major disagreements within the jihadist leadership or the rank and file over Zawahiri's succession to bin Laden's role as emir.
READER COMMENTS: "Ansar al Jihad swears allegiance to al Qaeda's emir"
Posted by JRP at January 24, 2012 5:26 PM ET:
All the more reason to keep up the pressure on Pakistan to capture or kill Zawahiri or find him and turn him over to us. Bin Ladin's influence is quickly fading into history. Zawahiri's stature is growing. Once we pull out of Afghanistan in 2014 AQ will sweep back in with Zawahiri in control and with affiliates in Egypt, Yemen and Somalia. You can expect more attacks in and on the West. Smaller in scale than 911, but just as unnerving due to their frequency.
Posted by Eddie D. at January 24, 2012 7:52 PM ET:
I swear our forces will get Zawahiri is the allegiance I swear so, Ansar al Jihad keep your swear book open because you will be swearing to American forces before long.
Posted by jayc at January 24, 2012 8:18 PM ET:
Not entirely unexpected. After all, he is a Masri.
Posted by Paul at January 25, 2012 12:29 AM ET:
Zawahiri's Egyptian organisation was Islamic Jihad; Islamic Group (Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya) was a different outfit that was lead by the Blind Sheikh.
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya renounced violence and has even formed a political party in Egypt, while some Islamic Jihad members in prison also renounced violence, many others have not.
Posted by Justin at January 25, 2012 6:11 AM ET:
It's interesting to me to see this group in the same area as a place like Sharm el-Sheikh. Such a contrast between those two worlds...
Posted by Paul D at January 25, 2012 12:55 PM ET:
Zawahiri is being kept in a hideout just like Bin Laden and Mullah Omar.
It pays to keep these guys.The Paks know this
Posted by mike merlo at January 25, 2012 2:53 PM ET:
Nothing like signing one's own 'death warrant.'
Posted by David Lee V at January 26, 2012 9:30 AM ET:
Unfortunately, the virus known as al-Qaeda is growing even though their greatest leader has been swept of this mortal coil by our most dedicated special forces. It is interesting that many of the Egyptian terroritst groups that Al-Zawhari helped create are quiet, as the supposed Arab Spring would only make them stronger.
Posted by JRP at January 26, 2012 8:36 PM ET:
@ Paul D . . . I get it about Mullah Omar, but what does Pakistan have to gain by holding on to Zawahiri??? The reward on Zawahiri's head is $25M, if I'm not mistaken. I would think the Pakistani Gov't/Military/ISI would favor the money over the man. I also don't see what's in it for the Taliban to continue to protect AAZ, if that's what is happening. I just don't get it.
Posted by gitsum at January 27, 2012 10:01 AM ET:
so...............
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