The Long War Journal

Shabaab formally joins al Qaeda

2012-02-09T22:41:24Z

Shabaab and al Qaeda have announced their formal merger, according to a video disseminated online today and translated by the SITE Intelligence group. In the video, Mukhtar Abu al Zubayr (a.k.a. Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamed or Godane), the emir and cofounder of Shabaab, pledges his organization's allegiance to al Qaeda, and Ayman al Zawahiri, the emir of al Qaeda, accepts.

"O our beloved Emir, on behalf of my brothers in al Shabaab al Mujahideen Movement, commanders and soldiers, I say: We give allegiance to you to follow the Book of Allah and the Sunnah [traditions] of His Messenger, to listen and obey in good and bad, to have altruism and not dispute with people in their fields except when we see clear unbelief that is proven in the revelation from Allah as much as we can," Zubayr says in his address to Zawahiri, according to SITE's translation.

"Lead us on the path of martyrdom and jihad, on the steps drawn by our martyred Imam Usama [bin Laden]," Zubayr adds.

In his portion of the video, Zawahiri claims that the "jihadi movement is growing...despite the fiercest Crusader campaign in history launched by the West against Muslims." Zawahiri continues: "Today, I have pleasing glad tidings for the Muslim Ummah that will please the believers and disturb the disbelievers, which is the joining of the Shabaab al Mujahideen Movement in Somalia to Qaedat al Jihad, to support the jihadi unity against the Zio[nist]-Crusader campaign and their assistants amongst the treacherous agent rulers who let the invading Crusader forces enter their countries."

The announcement is hardly surprising. Al Qaeda and Shabaab have long been closely linked. And Shabaab's leaders have repeatedly proclaimed their allegiance to al Qaeda.

During an interview in December 2011, Zubayr highlighted the role al Qaeda has played in Somalia since the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. In 2010, according to an account published by Reuters, Zubayr signed a statement saying that Shabaab had "agreed to join the international jihad of al Qaeda."

Al Qaeda has praised Shabaab and its predecessor, the Islamic Courts Union, for years prior to accepting Shabaab into the fold. And for years al Qaeda has helped produce propaganda for the Islamic Courts and Shabaab, and has addressed the group in its own propaganda tapes. Osama bin Laden endorsed the Islamic Courts during a speech back in 2006.

"We will continue, God willing, to fight you and your allies everywhere, in Iraq and Afghanistan and in Somalia and Sudan until we waste all your money and kill your men and you will return to your country in defeat as we defeated you before in Somalia," bin Laden said. Al Qaeda leaders Ayman al Zawahiri and Abu Yahya al Libi have also directly addressed Shabaab and voiced their support for the terror group's activities.

During the summer of 2008, Shabaab sought to formally join al Qaeda. By the end of that year, al Qaeda had indicated that it had all but formally accepted Shabaab as its official affiliate in East Africa.

In September of 2008, Shabaab formally reached out to al Qaeda's senior leadership in an effort to better integrate with the network and its strategic nodes across Africa and the Middle East. The effort came in the form of a 24-minute video that featured Saleh ali Saleh Nabhan, a dual-hatted al Qaeda and Shabaab leader.

In the tape, Nabhan declared an oath of bayat (loyalty) on behalf of Shabaab to bin Laden and al Qaeda and encouraged fighters to train in Shabaab-run camps and participate in the fight against the transitional federal government, Ethiopian forces, and African Union peacekeepers. A public response to Shabaab's declaration came two months later, on Nov. 19, 2008, when al Qaeda operations chief Ayman al-Zawahiri acknowledged the group in a propaganda video by calling them "my brothers, the lions of Islam in Somalia."

"[R]ejoice in victory and conquest," Zawahiri said, in an official transcript acquired by The Long War Journal, "and hold tightly to the truth for which you have given your lives, and don't put down your weapons before the Mujahid state of Islam and Tawheed [oneness with god] has been set up in Somalia."

Despite the close ties between the two terror groups, al Qaeda's senior leadership "instructed Shabaab to maintain a low profile on al Qaeda links," a senior US intelligence official who closely follows al Qaeda and Shabaab in East Africa told The Long War Journal in August 2010. The official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, said the information was passed between the top leadership of both groups.

"Al Qaeda has accepted Shabaab into the fold, and any additional statements would only serve to draw international scrutiny," the intelligence official said.

Longstanding organizational ties

Despite abundant evidence that Shabaab has long been a part of al Qaeda's international network, some analysts have claimed the two groups lack organizational or operational ties. Of course, al Qaeda does not publish an organizational chart for public consumption. But the depth of operational ties between the two can best be seen in the biographies of the men who have led Shabaab:

Aden Hashi Ayro was, along with Zubayr, a co-founder of Shabaab and its military commander until he was killed in an American airstrike in 2008. Ayro was a senior al Qaeda operative in East Africa. Shabaab's official biography of Ayro, released after his death, said that "he fought under the supervision of al Qaeda, and with its logistical support and expertise."

Fazul Mohammed was a dual-hatted al Qaeda and Shabaab operative until he was killed in June 2011. In November 2009, Osama bin Laden named Fazul the head of East Africa Al Qaeda (EAAQ). Zubayr, the emir of Shabaab, attended the ceremony in which Fazul was named to this leadership position. Fazul continued to seek Osama bin Laden's direction even while the al Qaeda master was in hiding in Pakistan, according to a leaked Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) memo. Fazul was long wanted by US authorities for his role in al Qaeda's 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the 2002 attacks in Mombasa, Kenya. Prior to assuming a leadership position within Shabaab, Fazul was the intelligence chief for the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which spawned Shabaab. Fazul served as an al Qaeda operative inside Somalia since the early 1990s and reportedly fought in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.

Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed in a US airstrike in September 2009, was also a dual-hatted Shabaab and al Qaeda commander. Like Fazul, Nabhan was also wanted for his role in al Qaeda's 1998 embassy bombings and the 2002 attacks in Kenya. Nabhan was tasked with training foreign recruits for Shabaab, including at least some of the young recruits Shabaab attracted from the US. In a video recorded in July 2008, Nabhan praised Osama bin Laden as "the courageous commander and my honorable leader." The Shabaab cell that carried out the July 11 double suicide attack in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people, was named the Saleh Ali Nabhan Brigade, which indicates the importance of Nabhan and al Qaeda to Shabaab.

Abu Talha al Sudani, who was killed in 2007, was a senior al Qaeda leader in East Africa. Like Fazul and Nabhan, he was wanted in connection with the 1998 and 2002 terrorist attacks. Sudani was reportedly "close" to the aforementioned Ayro. In fact, Nabhan announced Sudani's death in an online video that also discussed the 2008 airstrike that killed Ayro.

Mukhtar Robow (a.k.a Abu Mansur) is Shabaab's spokesman. Like other Shabaab leaders, Robow received his terrorist training in Afghanistan. Robow also does not hide his allegiance to al Qaeda. In August 2008, according to the Los Angeles Times, Robow admitted: "We are negotiating how we can unite into one [with al Qaeda]. We will take our orders from Sheik Osama bin Laden because we are his students." Robow continued: "Al Qaeda is the mother of the holy war in Somalia. Most of our leaders were trained in Al Qaeda camps. We get our tactics and guidelines from them. Many have spent time with Osama bin Laden."

Issa Osman Issa was sanctioned, along with Zubayr and Robow, by the US Treasury Department in November 2008. Leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo documents reference intelligence reports tying Issa to both al Qaeda and Shabaab. In one such memo, Issa is described as "a mobile commander for al Shabaab forces." Issa reportedly took part in al Qaeda's 1998 embassy bombings and the 2002 attacks in Mombasa, Kenya.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys was co-leader of the Islamic Courts Union. In early 2009, he founded Hizbul Islam, a coalition of four Somali Islamic groups. Although the two organizations cooperated in attacks against their common enemies, Hizbul Islam became a rival of Shabaab after the two unsuccessfully attempted to merge forces. The two clashed in southern Somalia, including in Kismayo. Hizbul Islam was weakened by infighting, however, and Sheikh Aweys eventually merged the group with Shabaab. Aweys is now a Shabaab commander.

Aweys is a longtime ally of al Qaeda and was trained in al Qaeda's pre-9/11 Afghan camps. He was reportedly involved in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. In November 2001, the US State Department added Aweys to its list of Specially Designated Terrorists. Aweys has long advocated suicide attacks, including the use of children as suicide bombers. According to a leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo file, Sheikh Aweys "sponsored" Saleh Ali Nabhan in Mogadishu after Nabhan fled there following al Qaeda's Nov. 28, 2002 terrorist attacks in Kenya.

Sheikh Hassan Turki was a leader in Al Ittihad al Islami (AIAI) and then the Islamic Courts Union before forming his own organization, the Ras Kamboni Brigade. Sheikh Turki originally merged the Ras Kamboni Brigade into Sheikh Aweys' Hizbul Islam, but later broke from Aweys' group to join Shabaab in early 2010.

Zubayr, Shabaab's emir, and Sheikh Turki released a joint statement announcing the merger. The statement read: "We have agreed to join the international jihad of al Qaeda .... We have also agreed to unite al Shabaab and Kamboni mujahideen to liberate the Eastern and Horn of Africa community who are under the feet of minority Christians." Sheikh Turki operates terrorist training camps in southern Somalia and has trained suicide bombers close to the Kenyan border.

Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud is, according to the United Nations, a Shabaab "military commander" and "one of approximately ten members on al Shabaab's leadership council as of late 2008." The UN notes that Mahamoud and "an associate were in charge of the 10 June 2009 mortar attack against the Somali Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu." A leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) file notes that a current Gitmo detainee, Abdul Malik Bajabu, has admitted to having "a close relationship" with Mahamoud. The same file describes Mahamoud as an "EAAQ member." Mahamoud "planned to assassinate the Somali Prime Minister and conduct unspecified suicide attacks," the JTF-GTMO file adds.

Abdul Malik Bajabu is currently held at Guantanamo. A JTF-GTMO threat assessment summarizing the intelligence on his activities alleges that he was a member of East Africa Al Qaeda (EAAQ) and the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), and also "has ties to the al-Ittihad al-Islami (AIAI)." Bajabu has allegedly "admitted that he participated in the planning and execution" of the Nov. 28, 2002 attacks on the Kikambala Paradise Hotel and an Israeli airliner in Kenya. Several of the dual-hatted al Qaeda and Shabaab leaders on this list were involved in that attack.

The details of Bajabu's career alleged in the threat assessment show a high degree of
coordination between al Qaeda members and Shabaab leaders. The file cites intelligence reports that say Bajabu operated out of Mogadishu and conspired with Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, Fazul Mohammed, Issa Osman Issa, and Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud, as well as with other terrorists working for al Qaeda, Shabaab, and the ICU. The JTF-GTMO threat assessment also alleges that a member of a group called the "London Boys" was a "close associate" of Bajabu's. The "London Boys" allegedly received terrorist training under Fazul Mohammed and may have been recruited by al Qaeda to be sleeper agents for future attacks in the West.

Ibrahim al Afghani was reportedly killed in a Predator strike in late June 2011. Afghani previously served as Shabaab's regional governor of the Kismayo administration. The Somalia Monitoring Group, in a March 2010 report, said Afghani is one of the group's top leaders. Afghani was listed after Zubayr, Shabaab's emir. Afghani received his nom de guerre because he fought in Afghanistan for years. A leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) threat assessment dated Aug. 6, 2007 describes Afghani as "an al-Ittihad al-Islami (AIAI) military commander known for his religious knowledge as well as loyalty and support for al Qaeda and the Taliban and for his continuing links to Afghanistan." The file continues: "[Afghani] was one of the first founders of al Qaeda affiliated AIAI cells and one of the instigators of terrorist attacks in Somaliland."

Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was indicted by the US Department of Justice in 2011 "on charges of providing material support to al Shabaab and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)." The DOJ alleges that Warsame "received explosives and other military-type training from AQAP," "worked to broker a weapons deal with AQAP on behalf of al Shabaab," and provided explosives training. Multiple press reports have pointed to collusion between Shabaab and AQAP. For instance, the Washington Post reported in late June 2011 that two Shabaab leaders targeted in a US missile strike had "direct ties" to deceased AQAP cleric Anwar al Awlaki.

Abu Mansour al Amriki is a US citizen whose real name is Omar Hammami. He converted to Islam and traveled to Somalia in 2006. Once in Somalia, he quickly rose through the ranks, and now serves as a military commander, recruiter, financier, and propagandist. Amriki appears in several Shabaab propaganda tapes. The US has added Amriki to its list of specially designated global terrorists for his ties to both al Qaeda and Shabaab.

Bilal al Berjawi was a British citizen "of Lebanese origin" who was known as Abu Hafsa. Berjawi was second-in-command to slain al Qaeda leader Fazul Mohammed and fought in Somali for years before he was killed in a US Predator airstrike in southern Somalia in January 2012.

Shaykh Muhammad Abu Fa'id is a Saudi citizen who serves as a top financier and a "manager" for Shabaab. He is also known as Sheikh Fua'd Mohamed Khalaf.

Abu Sulayman Al Banadiri is a Somali of Yemeni descent. He serves as a top adviser to Zubayr, and trained in an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.

Abu Musa Mombasa is a Pakistani citizen who serves as Shabaab's chief of security and training.

Mahmud Mujajir is a Sudanese citizen who serves as Shabaab's chief of recruitment for suicide bombers.

Commander killed in drone strike 'funneled Pakistani jihadists' to al Qaeda

2012-02-09T16:22:15Z

A senior Taliban and Qaeda commander said to have been killed in the latest US drone strike in North Waziristan played a key role in funneling fighters from a radical Pakistani jihadist group to al Qaeda camps.

Pakistani and US intelligence officials believe that Badr Mansoor was among four terrorists killed in last night's Predator airstrike in Miramshah, the main town in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. Four "militants" were reported killed in the strike. Mansoor's death has not been confirmed.

Mansoor is known to run terrorist camps in North Waziristan that are used to train fighters to wage jihad in Afghanistan. He is also said to be the mastermind of the May 2010 suicide assault on an Ahmadi mosque in Lahore that killed scores of Pakistanis, as well as several attacks in Karachi.

Mansoor was the "de facto leader of al Qaeda in Pakistan," a Pakistani intelligence official told AFP. A US intelligence official described Mansoor as "al Qaeda's go-between with Pakistan's umbrella Taliban movement and a member of al Qaeda's leadership shura [council] in Pakistan."

"Badar Mansoor had moved between the militant groups of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda where he became a key figure," according to a report in the BBC.

The Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) is a Pakistani terror group with thousands of members that operates primarily in the Indian state of Kashmir. It is closely allied with al Qaeda, and is known to have sent its fighters to other theaters of jihad, such as Chechnya, Bosnia, and Somalia. Fazl-ur-Rahman Khalil, the leader of Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, was an original signatory to Osama bin Laden's 1998 fatwa that declared war on the West. He also was close to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks on the US. Khalil lives openly in Islamabad and enjoys the support of the Pakistani military.

Two US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal confirmed that Mansoor uses his ties to both the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan to recruit from their ranks, train them, and place them into al Qaeda.

"Mansoor funneled Pakistani jihadists from HuM and TTP [Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] into the ranks of al Qaeda," one official said. "He didn't just recruit low level-jihadists, but also convinced more experienced commanders to fill positions in al Qaeda."

Another US intelligence official said that Mansoor is part of the "deep bench" of commanders who are culled from the plethora of Pakistani and Central Asian jihadist groups operating in Pakistan to fill vacant leadership positions in al Qaeda.

"Al Qaeda is taking advantage of decades of networking in Pakistan, not just in the tribal areas, but in Pakistan proper, to develop a deep bench of leaders and foot soldiers who can be brought into the organization when there are vacancies," the second official told The Long War Journal. "Badr Mansoor and Aslam Awan are perfect examples of how al Qaeda takes advantage of this relationship."

Before he was killed in the Jan. 11 drone strike in Miramshah, North Waziristan, Awan was a deputy to the leader of al Qaeda's external operations network. Awan was a Pakistani citizen from Abbottabad, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in a cross-border raid in May 2011.

The second US intelligence official said that the US's strategy to defeat al Qaeda with limited drone strikes is flawed as the program only focuses on "a narrow slice of al Qaeda's network in Pakistan."

"The targeted strikes in North and South Waziristan only hit al Qaeda's vanguard, the ones who are at the front lines, in select camps in a small area of Pakistan" the official told The Long War Journal. "But al Qaeda has camps elsewhere in Pakistan, and also relies on the camps operated by allied jihadi groups. Its [al Qaeda's] network in Pakistan is expansive, and it leverages the deep ties with the Pakistani jihadist groups that have been built over years. Harkat-ul-Mujahideen is but one such group. And Pakistan has no interest in dismantling this terrorist infrastructure."

For more information on al Qaeda's network in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the limits of drone strikes, see LWJ reports, Analysis: Al Qaeda is the tip of the jihadist spear, US airstrikes alone cannot defeat al Qaeda, and Analysis: Al Qaeda martyrdom tape shows nature and extent of terror group's reach in Afghanistan.

US Predators strike again in Miramshah

2012-02-09T01:49:32Z

Unmanned US drones struck in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan for the second time in 24 hours, killing four "militants," including a senior Taliban leader linked to al Qaeda.

The Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired a pair of missiles at a compound in Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan today, according to AFP and Geo News.

Pakistani intelligence officials said that Badr Mansoor, a Taliban commander with close ties to al Qaeda, was killed in the strike. Mansoor rain training camps in the area and sent fighters to battle NATO and Afghan forces across the border, according to AFP. One Pakistani official told AFP that Mansoor was al Qaeda's chief in Pakistan. A US intelligence official said he was a member of al Qaeda's leadership council for Pakistan.

The Haqqani Network, a Taliban group that operates in North Waziristan as well as in eastern Afghanistan, administers the area where today's attack took place. Al Qaeda leaders and operatives, who are closely allied with the Haqqani Network, shelter in the area, as do other terror groups.

The strike is the second in 24 hours. Earlier today, the CIA-operated drones killed 10 Haqqani Network and Central Asian fighters in an attack on a compound in the village of Tappi, just outside of Miramshah.

The US has carried out five strikes in North Waziristan since Jan. 11. All five strikes took place in and around Miramshah. The Jan. 11 strike was the first in 55 days. The program was put on hold following a clash between US forces and Pakistani Frontier Corps troops on the border of the Afghan province of Kunar and the Pakistani tribal area of Mohmand on Nov. 25-26. The US troops struck in Pakistan after taking mortar and machine gun fire on the Afghan side of the border from Pakistani troops. Twenty-four Pakistani Frontier Corps troops were killed. The pause was the longest since the program was ramped up at the end of July 2008 [see LWJ report, US drone strikes in Pakistan on longest pause since 2008].

The Jan. 11 strike killed Aslam Awan, a deputy to the leader of al Qaeda's external operations network. Awan was a Pakistani citizen from Abbottabad, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in a cross-border raid in May 2011. Awan is the most senior al Qaeda leader killed in a drone strike since mid-October, when Abu Miqdad al Masri, a member of al Qaeda's Shura Majlis who also was involved in al Qaeda's external operations, was killed. [For a list of senior terrorist leaders and operatives killed in drone strikes, see LWJ report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2012.]

Abu Zubaydah al Lubnani, a Lebanese al Qaeda operative who operates along the Afghan-Pakistani border, has said that while the drones have "delayed some operations or even stopped them," the terror group is still functioning in the region.

"I want here to confirm that Qaedat al-Jihad is still standing in Khorasan, solid and strong, despite what hit it, and it is still producing operations and it doesn't know the path of despair...," Lubnani said in statement that was recently released on jihadist forums. The statement was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Al Qaeda 'still standing in Khorasan' despite US drone strikes: jihadist

2012-02-08T16:32:44Z

An al Qaeda operative based along the Afghan-Pakistani border claimed recently that although US drone strikes have had an impact on the terror group's operations, it is "still standing in Khorasan."

The statement was given by Abu Zubaydah al Lubnani, a Lebanese al Qaeda operative, in an interview published two days ago on jihadist web forums. Lubnani's interview was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

In the interview, Lubnani was asked: "We hear a lot about drones. Do their bombings have an effect on the jihadi work where you are?"

Lubnani responded that the strikes "for sure ... delayed some operations or even stopped them - some of them due to the martyrdom or the disappearance of those who would have carried them out - but that doesn't mean that these acts stop."

"I want here to confirm that Qaedat al-Jihad is still standing in Khorasan, solid and strong, despite what hit it, and it is still producing operations and it doesn't know the path of despair.... Everything is still fine, albeit with some slowness in some sectors in jihad."

Lubnani then said that al Qaeda and other terror groups have endured the strikes for years, and that time was on the side of the jihadists as the US and NATO are leaving Afghanistan.

"Everyone knows that the war is about to end with a great defeat to NATO; the black slave [Note: Referring to US President Barack Obama] announced their intention to completely withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014-1435," he said. "These planes [the drones] were introduced into duty actually in the war against the mujahideen in the past two years, and before that, during eight years, the mujahideen were able, praise be to Allah, to harm the Americans badly. They took the bait and lost the war, and now they are in the overtime and the time is in our favor, praise be to Allah..."

Al Qaeda and allied terror groups were given a reprieve from the strikes over the past two months. The US dramatically scaled back the CIA-operated drone program after a clash between US and Pakistani forces along the border resulted in the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers. Due to deteriorating relations between the two countries, there were zero drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas between Nov. 16, 2011 and Jan. 11, 2012.

So far this year, there have been only four strikes. All have taken place in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. On Jan. 11, the US launched a strike that killed Aslan Awan, a senior aide to al Qaeda's operations chief. Two other strikes took place that month, on Jan. 12 and Jan. 23. No senior leaders or operatives were reported killed in either strike. And just today, the US launched another drone strike in the tribal agency.

Lubnani has emerged as a new spokesman for al Qaeda. In the last three months, he has released a statement announcing the death of an Omani jihadist who was killed in Afghanistan, and a martyrdom statement of a Jordanian fighter who was part of a cell of Middle Eastern terrorists involved in the December 2009 suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman in Khost province, Afghanistan, that killed seven CIA officials and contractors. In that attack, the suicide bomber, who was another Jordanian, had lured the CIA officials into relaxing security protocols by promising to provide them intelligence that would lead to Ayman al Zawahiri.

US drones kill 10 'militants' in North Waziristan strike

2012-02-08T05:08:06Z

Unmanned US strike aircraft launched missiles at terrorists based in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan today, killing 10 "militants" in an area known to serve as an al Qaeda haven.

The Predators or Reapers, more commonly called drones, fired a pair of missiles at a compound in the town of Tappi near Miramshah, Pakistani officials told AFP. The Taliban have cordoned off the site of the strike and are conducting recovery operations. This is often a sign that a senior operative or leader was present.

"Eight militants were killed and two wounded," the Pakistani official told AFP. "Militants have surrounded the compound and are removing the dead bodies." The death toll was later raised to 10.

The exact target of the strike has not been disclosed, and the identity of those killed is not known. Those killed were later said to be Haqqani Network operatives and fighters from Central Asian countries.

Terrorists are known to have sheltered in the village of Tapi in the past. The US has struck at targets in the village five other times since the beginning of 2008, according to data on the strikes that has been compiled by The Long War Journal.

Today's strike is the first in Pakistan's tribal areas in 15 days, and just the fourth this year. All four strikes this year have taken place in or around Miramshah in North Waziristan, a stronghold of the Haqqani Network.

The first strike this year took place on Jan. 11; it was the first by the US in Pakistan in 55 days. The previous strike took place on Nov. 16, 2011. The pause was the longest since the program was ramped up at the end of July 2008 [see LWJ report, US drone strikes in Pakistan on longest pause since 2008, from Dec. 19, 2011].

The program was put on hold from the end of November to the second week in January, following a clash between US forces and Pakistani Frontier Corps troops on the border of the Afghan province of Kunar and the Pakistani tribal area of Mohmand on Nov. 25-26. The US troops struck in Pakistan after taking mortar and machine gun fire on the Afghan side of the border from Pakistani troops. Twenty-four Pakistani Frontier Corps troops were killed.

The clash led to Pakistan's closure of the border crossings in Chaman and Khyber to NATO supply columns destined for Afghanistan; the supply lines remain closed to this day. In the aftermath of the Mohmand incident, Pakistan also threatened to shoot down US drones flying in Pakistani airspace, and ejected US drones and personnel from the Shamsi Airbase in Baluchistan.

US officials told The Long War Journal on Dec. 12, 2011 that the program had been put "on hold" due to tensions over the Mohmand incident, but that the drones would strike again if a high value terrorist target that could not be ignored was spotted.

Hakeemullah Mehsud, the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, was also rumored to have been killed in the Jan. 11 strike. His death has not been confirmed, however, and the Pakistani Taliban have denied he was killed.

The second strike last month, which took place on Jan. 12, killed six "militants," including several "foreigners," according to reports. No senior terrorist leaders or operatives have been reported killed in the Jan. 12 strike.

The third strike in January took place on the Jan. 23 and is said to have killed four terrorists from Turkmenistan. The Turkmen fighters may have been members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan or one of the smaller Central Asian terrorist groups, such as Jund al Khilafa, that operate in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Al Qaeda releases photos of slain Khorasan commanders

2012-02-07T21:07:52Z

Top left: Abu Laith al Libi; top center: Abdullah Saad al Libi; top right: Abu Abu Abdullah al Shami; bottom left: Abdul Khabir al Turkistani; bottom center: al Qaeda in the Khorasan fighters; bottom right: Soraqa al Kuwaiti. Images from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A jihadist media outlet has released "several previously-unreleased" photographs of senior al Qaeda military leaders and fighters who have been killed during fighting in Afghanistan or in US drone airstrikes in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agencies.

Pictures of Abu Laith al Libi and Abdullah Said al Libi, two top military commanders; Abu Abdullah al Shami, a leader who escaped from Bagram; and Soraqa
al Kuwaiti and Abdul Khabir al Turkistani, two jihadist fighters, were published on Feb. 4 by the Al Ibda' Foundation for Media Production. The photographs were published as part of a new series called "Pictures from Khorasan, 1," according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which provided a translation of the statement along with the photographs.

Abu Laith al Libi

Abu Laith al Libi was a top-tier al Qaeda leader and a revered military commander. He led al Qaeda's 055 Brigade (or 55th Brigade), the military formation that eventually grew into the Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army. Brigade 055 fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance in the 1990s up until the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the US. The unit was decimated during the US attack on Taliban and al Qaeda forces in 2001-2002, and was disbanded. Laith reformed the unit, which later became one of six brigades of al Qaeda's Shadow Army, which operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In addition, Abu Laith was the senior leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and also served as a chief spokesman for al Qaeda. As leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, he announced the terror group's merger with al Qaeda in November 2007.

US Predators and Reapers killed Abu Laith in an airstrike in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan on Jan. 29, 2008. Al Qaeda announced his death.

Abdullah Said al Libi

Abdullah Said al Libi was a Libyan national who is thought to have served in his country's military before joining al Qaeda. Once in al Qaeda, he rose in the ranks of the terror group's military, and eventually took command of the Lashkar al Zil.

In April 2009, Abdullah Said laid out the strategy for al Qaeda and the Taliban to retake control of the Khorasan, a region encompassing large areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Iran. In the statement, he is identified as the leader of the Qaidat al-Jihad fi Khorasan, or the Base of the Jihad in the Khorasan.

Abdullah Said was killed in a US drone strike sometime in late 2009 or early January 2010. Mustafa Abu Yazid, al Qaeda's former leader of Afghanistan, who was killed in a later drone strike, mentioned his name while noting the deaths of other top al Qaeda leaders. Yazid said the suicide attack on a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan, which killed seven CIA operatives and employees along with a Jordanian intelligence official, was designed to "avenge" the deaths of Abdullah Said, former al Qaeda operations chief Saleh al Somali, and former Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

The Bagram Four: Abu Abdallah al Shami [upper left]; Abu Nasir al Qahtan [upper right]; Abu Yahya al Libi [lower left]; Omar al Farouq [lower right].

Abu Abdullah al Shami

Abu Abdallah al Shami was a Syrian national who served as a senior military commander in eastern Afghanistan. He was one of four senior al Qaeda operatives who escaped from Bagram prison on July 10, 2005. Al Qaeda said that al Shami was killed in a US airstrike in Afghanistan sometime in July 2008.

Al Shami escaped from Bagram with top al Qaeda leaders Abu Yahya al Libi, Abu Nasir al Qahtani, and Omar Farouq. Of the four, only Abu Yahya remains free. Yahya is now considered to be al Qaeda's second in command, following the death of Atiyah al Libi in a US airstrike in Pakistan last fall.

British special forces killed Omar Farouq in Basrah, Iraq, in September 2006 after he tried to be reassigned to facilitate the flow of money, weapons, and fighters for al Qaeda in Iraq. Prior to his capture by Indonesian security forces in 2002, Farouq was considered to be al Qaeda's point man in Southeast Asia. In 1994, he helped set up the first al Qaeda training camp in Southeast Asia, in Mindanao in the Philippines. Five years later, in 1999, he took credit for bombing both a mosque and the Philippine ambassador's house in Jakarta.

US forces recaptured Abu Nasir al Qahtani in Khost province in November 2006. Like Shami, Qahtani was a senior al Qaeda military commander in eastern Afghanistan. After his escape from Bagram, Qahtani fled to North Waziristan to continue attacks against NATO and Afghan forces inside Afghanistan. He joined forces with al Qaeda operative Abu Wafa, who operates from the North Waziristan tribal agency in Pakistan. Wafa and Qahtani were active in the Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia, and Paktika. Qahtani also released propaganda and training videos for terrorists operating in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Qahtani's brother, Abu Dejana al Qahtani, was also killed in eastern Afghanistan in May 2008.

Abdul Khabir al Turkistani and Soraqa al Kuwaiti

Little is known about Abdul Khabir al Turkistani and Soraqa al Kuwaiti. Al Turkistani is pictured in a room filled with explosives and bomb-making materials. Al Kuwaiti is a "deceased fighter who appeared in the fifth episode of As Sahab's video series 'Diaries of a Mujahid,'" according to the SITE Intelligence Group. As Sahab is al Qaeda's official media production outlet.

Afghan intelligence captures 3 members of northern assassination cell

2012-02-07T17:28:33Z

Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) captured three Taliban fighters who were part of an assassination cell that killed several high-level Afghan officials in the north. The three cell members, who report to a commander based in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, were detained while traveling to Pakistan.

The three cell members of the Taliban cell were identified as Qari Yaseen, Qari Hassan, and Qari Muhibullah, according to Pajhwok Afghan News. They were captured by NDS personnel In Parwan province while attempting to leave the country for Pakistan.

The captured Taliban fighters, who had all attended the Khwaja Mukhtar madrassa in Takhar City, reported to a Peshawar-based commander known as Qari Abdul Rahim.

"I got familiar with one of the Taliban members Qari Abdul Rahim in Shamshatu area of Pakistan," one the cell members said, according to TOLONews.

The NDS said that Rahim's network also was "helping other terrorist networks in Kunduz, Badakhshan and parts of Baghlan province."

Although not stated by the NDS, Rahim's cell is linked to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which has integrated with the Taliban in the Afghan north, runs training camps and directs suicide attacks, and is closely allied with al Qaeda. [For more information on the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and its activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, see LWJ report, IMU cleric urges Pakistanis to continue sheltering jihadis in Waziristan.]

On Jan. 30, Afghan and Coalition troops killed an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader known as Ilhom during a raid in Takhar. The International Security Assistance Force said that Ilhom "facilitated the training of suicide bombers for attacks throughout the area" and was responsible for last year's Christmas Day suicide attack at a funeral in Taloqan that killed 20 Afghans, including Abdul Mutalib Baig, a member of parliament. The NDS said today that Rahim's cell was also involved in the assassination of Baig.

In addition to killing Baig, Rahim's cell is implicated in two other high-profile targeted killings: the assassination of the top Afghan police commander in the north, General Daud Daud, and his former Shura-e-Nazar deputy, Shah Jahan Noori, on May, 28 2011; and the murder of Kunduz Governor Mohammad Omar in Tahkar on Oct. 8, 2010.

Abu Musab al Suri released from Syrian custody: report

2012-02-07T03:14:52Z

The Syrian government has freed a dangerous al Qaeda leader and strategist who was captured in Pakistan in 2005, released to the US, and then transferred to Syria in 2006, according to Internet jihadists at a prominent al Qaeda-linked forum.

A "prominent member of the jihadist forum community" claimed that earlier rumors of the release of Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, who is better known as Abu Musab al Suri, from a Syrian prison sometime last year are true, according to a translation of the message by the SITE Intelligence Group. The Internet jihadist's message was posted on the Shumukh al-Islam forum on Feb. 2, and was endorsed by the forum's administrators.

Al Suri's release has not been confirmed. US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not comment on the reports of his release.

He was first reported to have been released by Syrian's security services along with his deputy, Abu Khalid, in late December 2011, by the Sooryoon Syrian news website. Internet Jihadists debated his release in mid-January. The reason for his release was not given.

Al Suri, a Syrian who is a Spanish citizen by marriage, is a longtime jihadist whose involvement in the global jihad has spanned four decades. He has extensive ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the now-defunct Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA), the Taliban, al Qaeda, and other local and international terror groups.

In the early 1980s, he joined the Syrian Fighting Vanguards, an Islamist group involved in the uprising in Hama in 1982. He spent time in Europe after the failed uprising, then traveled to Peshawar and met Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden's mentor and the co-founder of al Qaeda. Al Suri served as a military trainer for foreign fighters who battled the Soviet Union and the Communist regime in Afghanistan. In the mid-1990s, he served as an editor for a GIA-linked jihadist magazine along with Abu Qatada, the radical cleric who is considered to be al Qaeda's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Al Suri returned to Afghanistan in 1997 and worked as a military trainer at al Qaeda's notorious Darunta camp, where the terror group experimented with chemical weapons. In 2000, he established the Al Ghuraba training camp near Kabul. The camp was established under the aegis of the Taliban's Ministry of Defense. In 2004, the US State Department issued a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, and said that al Suri "trained terrorists in poisons and chemicals" at both Darunta and Al Ghuraba.

He was a prolific writer on strategy, and has been the main advocate of so-called "leaderless jihad," which urges Muslims to establish their own cells without linking up with al Qaeda's global network, in order to escape detection. Al Suri advocated that jihadists use the Internet and other methods to gather their information to conduct attacks.

Spain has sought al Suri for his connections to two terrorist attacks: the 1985 bombing at a cafe near Madrid that killed 18 people; and al Qaeda's March 11, 2004 bombings on trains and at stations in Madrid that killed 191 people.

Al Suri was captured in Quetta, Pakistan, in November 2005 and transferred to US custody shortly afterward. He is said to have been held at a CIA black site at the Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean before being transferred to Syrian custody.

Al Qaeda operative killed during clashes in Kurram identified

2012-02-04T19:07:41Z

Pakistani officials identified an al Qaeda operative from Azerbaijan as one of the six "foreigners" killed during recent clashes in the Kurram tribal agency that have resulted in the deaths of 23 Pakistani troops and 60 terrorists. The Azeri national traveled through Iran to reach Pakistan on a visa issued by the Iranian consulate in Baku.

The Azeri national was identified as Aslanov Zaur, according to his passport and other documents that were obtained by Dawn. Pakistani officials also seized travel documents, "card readers and other devices" which contained photographs of other terrorists, and Sudanese and American currencies.

Zaur was described by Dawn as "a key commander" who "played an instrumental role in attacks on Pakistani security forces in the tribal areas."

Zaur was killed during a series of Pakistani airstrikes in the Jogi area of Kurram on Feb. 1. Five other "foreigners," a term used to describe members of al Qaeda and allied terror groups, and 14 Taliban fighters were said to be killed in the airstrike. Among those thought to have been killed in the strike was a Taliban commander known as Moheyuddin.

The Pakistani military has been battling the Taliban in Kurram since the end January, and has paid a heavy price. Twenty-three troops have been killed in the intense clashes. On Jan. 25, six Pakistani soldiers were killed in a Taliban ambush in Jogi; 17 Taliban were also killed in the fighting. On Jan. 31, 10 Pakistani soldiers and 25 Taliban fighters were killed during fighting in Jogi. And on Feb. 3, seven Pakistani soldiers and 18 Taliban fighters were killed after the Taliban attacked a military outpost in Shidano Dand. The Taliban said it captured four Pakistani troops during the fighting on Feb. 3.

Kurram is a stronghold of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan as well as the Haqqani Network. Both groups have strong links to al Qaeda, and are known to shelter al Qaeda leaders and fighters.

Zaur utilized al Qaeda's ratlines in Iran to join the jihad

According to the documents in Zaur's possession, he "was issued an Iranian visa by the Iranian embassy in Bakku for three months from March 2, 2009 to May 31, 2009," Dawn reported. He traveled to the Iranian city of Astar on March 26, 2009, "and since than had gone underground."

"He is suspected to have entered Afghanistan and then Pakistan through unfrequented routes," Dawn continued.

Zaur likely utilized a well-worn path used by jihadists to enter Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In July 2011, the US government accused Iran of having a "secret deal" with al Qaeda that allows terrorists to use the country as a transit point.

"Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world today. By exposing Iran's secret deal with al Qaeda allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory, we are illuminating yet another aspect of Iran's unmatched support for terrorism," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen said in a State Department press release announcing the designation of Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil and five other al Qaeda operatives. Khali was described as "a prominent Iran-based al Qaeda facilitator." State described Iran as "a critical transit point for funding to support al Qaeda's activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan." [See LWJ report, Treasury targets Iran's 'secret deal' with al Qaeda.]

Iran is known to support al Qaeda and Taliban operations in Afghanistan. The Qods Force, the special operations branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has tasked the Ansar Corps, a subcommand, with aiding the Taliban and other terror groups in Afghanistan. Based in Mashad in northeastern Iran, the Ansar Corps operates much like the Ramazan Corps, which supports and directs Shia terror groups in Iraq. [See LWJ report, Iran's Ramazan Corps and the ratlines into Iraq.] Al Qaeda additionally uses the eastern cities of Tayyebat and Zahedan to move its operatives into Afghanistan. [See LWJ report, Return to Jihad.]

The US government has sanctioned the Ansar Corps commander for aiding the Taliban. On Aug. 6, 2010, General Hossein Musavi, the commander of the Ansar Corps, was one of two Qods Force commanders added to the US Treasury's list of specially designated global terrorists, for directly providing support to the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

Wanted jihadists such as Mevlut Kar, an Islamic Jihad Union operative, are known to have aided terrorists with entering Afghanistan from Iran.

Iran is also known to have placed scores of al Qaeda leaders, operatives, and their families, into protective custody after many fled Afghanistan during the US invasion and the ouster of the Taliban in 2001-2002. While in Iranian custody, however, top al Qaeda leaders and operatives, including Saif al Adel, who is now al Qaeda's acting leader after Osama bin Laden's death, and Saad bin Laden, are known to have planned and executed attacks in the region.

And in recent years, Saif al Adel, Saad bin Laden, Hamza bin Laden, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Mafouz Ould Walid (Abu Hafs al Mauritanian), and dozens of other al Qaeda leaders, operatives, and family members have been released from Iranian custody. [For more information on Iran's detention of al Qaeda leaders, see LWJ reports, Osama bin Laden's spokesman freed by Iran, and Analysis: Al Qaeda's interim emir and Iran.]

AQAP operative killed in recent drone strike in Yemen

2012-02-04T01:58:43Z

A Yemeni jihadist claimed that an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative linked to the suicide attack against the USS Cole in Aden in late 2000 was killed by a US drone strike three days ago in southern Yemen.

Abdul Mun'im Salim al Fatahani (or Abdel-Monem al Fathani), was killed in the Jan. 31 Predator airstrike near the city of Lawder in Abyan province, according to a statement posted yesterday on two prominent jihadist Internet forums. He was reportedly killed the same day the strike took place, but his death was not confirmed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Nasir al Wuhayshi, the emir or leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, "broke down in tears before noon today on the road between 'Azzan in Shabwa and Mudiyah in Abyan province, upon seeing the body of the leader Abdul Mun'im Salim Amqidah al Fatahani," according to the statement, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

"Fatahani had died in [an] Azzan hospital after getting hit in the neck with shrapnel, which resulted from an American airstrike against two cars belonging to Ansar al Shariah last night in the area of al Khadirah," the statement continued. Ansar al Shariah is al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's political front.

According the statement, Fatahani was buried in the "Tha'obah cemetery, in northern Mudiyah," a town in Abyan province, where he was born. Mudiyah is known to host a large training camp for the terror group. [See LWJ report, Al Qaeda opens new training camp in Yemen.]

Fatahani is said have been involved in the October 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole in the port of Aden that killed 17 US sailors and put the warship out of commission for months before it was repaired. The Yemeni jihadist also said that Fatahani was involved in the bombing that damaged the Limburg, an oil tanker, in 2002.

The Jan. 31 strike near Lawdar is the first reported attack by the US since Dec. 22, 2011, when US drones are said to have targeted Abdul Rahman al Wuhayshi, the brother of Nasir al Wuhayshi, the emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Abdul Rahman was targeted in Dofas near Zinjibar. He is rumored to have been killed, but his death was never confirmed. AQAP did not announce his death.

Last fall, the US killed Anwar al Awlaki, the ideologue and operational commander of the terror group, and his son, Abdul Rahman, in separate strikes in southern Yemen. [For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 11 AQAP leaders, fighters: report.]

Caucasus Emirate leader orders halt on attacks against Russian civilians

2012-02-04T01:29:09Z

From left to right: Khamzat, the commander of the Riyad-us-Saliheen Martyr Brigade; Doku Umarov, the leader of the Caucasus Emirate; and Saifullah, the suicide bomber of the deadly Jan. 24, 2011 suicide attack at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow that killed 35 people.

Doku Umarov, the leader of the al Qaeda-linked Caucasus Emirate, has ordered an end to attacks that deliberately target Russian civilians. The move is a shift in strategy after his suicide bombers deliberately attacked civilians inside Russia over the past two years, including in the capital of Moscow.

Umarov "gave order to avoid attacks on civilian targets due to a process of civil protest that began in Russia, and the fact that people no longer accept Putin's policy," according to a report by Kavkaz Center, a propaganda outlet of the Caucasus Emirate. The statement is referring to recent protests against Vladimir Putin, the current Prime Minister of Russia, who is seeking a third term.

"This [the protests] may mean that the citizens of Russia - among other things - no longer support the barbarous methods of war used in the Caucasus Emirate and authorized by Putin and his clique," Kavkaz Center stated. "In this case, the civilian population of Russia stays outside the category of aggressor."

The "moratorium does not apply to military and political structures of the belligerent state," Kavkaz continued. "Likewise, this moratorium does not apply to the belligerent state itself, which will not be safe from attacks of the Mujahideen until a truce."

Caucasus Emirate fighters may continue to target "law enforcement structures, the military, intelligence services and political leadership of Russia."

The "truce" is "binding for all subdivisions of Mujahideen forces, including special-operation groups operating inside Russia." The "special-operation groups" likely include the Riyad-us-Saliheen Martyr Brigade, the suicide teams that have targeted civilians in the past.

The Caucasus Emirate has intentionally targeted civilians in recent years. Two of the most deadly attacks claimed by Umarov have occurred in Moscow. Umarov took credit for the Jan. 24, 2011 suicide attack at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow that killed 35 people and wounded scores more. Umarov also claimed responsibility for the March 29, 2010 suicide attack by two female bombers that killed 39 people in the Moscow metro.

In the past, Umarov has repeatedly vowed to continue attacks inside of Russia. In May 2011,Umarov said in an interview with Kavkaz Center that he considers "the Caucasus Emirate and Russia as a single theater of war."

"Today, the battlefield is not just Chechnya and the Caucasus Emirate, but also the whole Russia," he said last May. "The situation is visible to everybody who has eyes. The Jihad is spreading, steadily and inevitably, everywhere. I've already mentioned that all those artificial borders, administrative divisions, which the Taghut [false leader or liar] drew, mean nothing to us. The days when we wanted to secede and dreamed of building a small Chechen Kuwait in the Caucasus are over."

The Islamic Caucasus Emirate has close ties to al Qaeda. Some members of the group have fought in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, the International Islamic Battalion, the unit comprised of Arab and other foreign fighters that fights in the Caucasus, has been led by senior al Qaeda leaders. The top leaders of the International Islamic Battalion have included al Qaeda commander Ibn al Khattab (killed in 2002); Abu al Walid (killed in 2004); Abu Hafs al Urduni (killed in 2006); and Muhannad (killed in April 2011).

The US added the Caucasus Emirate to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist entities in May 2011. Umarov was added the the US's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists in June 2010.

For more information on the Islamic Caucasus Emirate and its war with Russia, see LWJ report, 35 killed in suicide attack at Moscow airport.

ISAF captures senior IMU and Taliban military commander

2012-02-03T06:32:34Z

During a raid in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, Coalition and Afghan special operations forces captured a dual-hatted Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander who directed operations in the northwest.

The commander, who was not named, was captured today by a combined Afghan and Coalition special operations team in the Nahr-e-Saraj district in Helmand.

The International Security Assistance Force described him as "a Taliban-appointed deputy and head of the insurgent group's military commission in Badghis province" in northwestern Afghanistan. He "arranged large-scale attacks, distributed weapons and collected taxes."

Additionally, he "represented both the Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan groups and was responsible for coordinating insurgent activities in Badghis and Faryab province."

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is an al Qaeda-linked terror group that operates primarily in northern and eastern Afghanistan, as well as in Pakistan's tribal areas. It is closely allied to the Taliban and the Haqqani Network. In the north, IMU leaders have integrated into the Taliban's shadow government. [For more information on the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and its activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, see LWJ report, IMU cleric urges Pakistanis to continue sheltering jihadis in Waziristan.]

The unnamed Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander is the second senior IMU leader killed or captured in the past six days. On Jan. 29, ISAF and Afghan forces killed Ilhom, an IMU commander who "facilitated the training of suicide bombers for attacks" in Takhar province and was responsible for last year's Christmas Day suicide attack at a funeral in Taloqan that killed 20 Afghans, including Abdul Mutalib Baig, a member of parliament.

For a seven-week period prior to its report of Ilhom's death, ISAF Joint Command (IJC) had stopped reporting on raids that targeted IMU and al Qaeda leaders and fighters. [See LWJ report, Afghan, ISAF troops kill IMU leader in north, for more details.] The day following the report of Illhom's death, IJC reported that an al Qaeda facilitator had been captured.

IJC would not explain the reason for its lack of press reports on the targeting of al Qaeda or IMU leaders in the period from Dec. 9, 2011 to Jan. 28, 2012, but told The Long War Journal that the gap in reporting should not be interpreted "as lack of operational rigor against those entities."

Nor would IJC would answer The Long War Journal's inquiries that asked if ISAF forces conducted any unreported operations against al Qaeda or the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan during the period from Dec. 9, 2011 to Jan. 28, 2012.

Islamic Jihad Union details cooperation with Afghan Taliban

2012-02-03T05:35:27Z

The al Qaeda-linked Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) released a video that discusses the training of its fighters, shows cooperation with the Afghan Taliban and attacks in several provinces, and provides the names of operatives killed during fighting in Afghanistan.

The video, titled "The Path to Paradise, Part 6," was released to jihadist websites in early December 2011 by Badr al-Tawhid, "the media arm of the Islamic Jihad Union," according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which translated the video.

"The first part of the video shows new fighters receiving training in firearms, explosives, and heavy weapons at an IJU camp in 2009-2010, while the second shows the fighters applying this training to clashes and strikes against NATO-led ISAF forces and Afghan soldiers in Khost, Kunduz, and Paktia provinces," a summary provided by SITE stated.

The "mujahideen of the Khorasan" fighters are trained in light and heavy weapons, and the narrator claimed the group is employing snipers in greater numbers after "(o)bserving that the tactic is very useful inside and outside the city areas of Iraq."

"Some [of the IJU fighters] are interested in chemical explosives, and others work on creating new remote-controlled explosives," the narrator continued.

"Their training and their experience during the jihadi activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan will someday certainly help a lot when it is time to help their brothers and sisters in Central Asia," the narrator of the Islamic Jihad Union propaganda tape said.

The narrator explained that IJU members fight and train with local Taliban groups in the Afghan north and east, and named specific provinces where IJU fighters are deployed.

"In this jihadi season of the year, the emigrants will fight shoulder to shoulder with the poor mujahideen against the Crusaders and their local henchmen in several areas of Afghanistan," he said. "During the time when the lists of the names of those who will be sent to the jihadi fields are being formed, every mujahid goes to his commander to request that his name be on the list. The chosen mujahideen are sent to various jihadi battlefields such as [the Afghan provinces of] Paktika, Ghazni, Kandahar, Paktia, Helmand, Nuristan, Badakhshan, Kunduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif, according to their skills."

"The mujahideen do not only stay in the southern provinces but they also help the Taliban in northern Afghanistan and provide them with military consultation," the IJU narrator continued. "Neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, northern Afghanistan is strategically a very important region for the Muslims of Central Asia."

The IJU narrator also said that "the emigrant mujahideen, with the cooperation with Taliban, invite the local people. They also train the local Uzbek, Tajik and Pashto mujahideen and teach them the best tactics of doing jihad. Thus, the emigrant mujahideen are sent to the region during all seasons. Compared to the previous years, this year more mujahideen were sent to the provinces of Mazar-e-Sharif and Kunduz."

The IJU's list of provinces in which they claim to fight closely matches with the International Security Assistance Force's reports on raids against the terror group. Since 2008, ISAF has reported on 19 raids against the IJU, in the provinces of Paktia, Paktia, Khost, Kunduz, and Balkh (Mazar-e-Sharif is the main city in this province).

At the end of the videotape, the IJU listed the names of fighters killed. The names indicate that the fighters came from Turkey, Turkistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.

Background on the Islamic Jihad Union

The Islamic Jihad Union (also known as the Islamic Jihad Group) is a splinter faction of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, another al Qaeda-linked terror group that operates along the Afghan-Pakistani border. The IJU is based out of the Mir Ali region and maintains close ties with al Qaeda leader Abu Kasha al Iraqi, and with North Waziristan Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar, who controls the Datta Khel region. It is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization.

Central Asians, Turks, and Germans make up a significant portion of the IJU. The German fighters are often referred to as German Taliban, and they carry out attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2009, the Islamic Jihad IJU released video of 'German Taliban villages' in Waziristan. Its fighters were seen training at camps and conducting military operations.

German members of the Islamic Jihad Union have been killed in combat inside Pakistan. Eric Breininger, a German man who converted to Islam, was killed while assaulting a Pakistani military outpost in North Waziristan on April 28, 2010. Three Uzbek fighters were also killed in the attack. Breininger was wanted for plotting attacks against US military bases and personnel in Germany.

Americans have also joined the Islamic Jihad Union. In recent years, two American jihadists, Abu Ibrahim al Amriki and Sayfullah al Amriki, have been featured in propaganda released by the Islamic Jihad Group (another name for the IJU).

The Islamic Jihad Union has been the target of several US airstrikes in Pakistan's tribal areas. The US killed Najmuddin Jalolov, the leader of the Islamic Jihad Union, in a Predator airstrike in North Waziristan on Sept. 14, 2009. Turkish members of the IJU were reported killed along with an al Qaeda commander in a US Predator strike in North Waziristan on June 19, 2010. And on Sept. 8, 2010, US drones killed Qureshi, an IJU commander who trained Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.

Earlier this month, the US added Mevlut Kar, a dual German and Turkish citizen who is also known as Mevlut Zikara, to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Kar was a member of the IJU cell that attempted to attack US military personnel and civilians in Germany in 2007. The targets of the attack included Ramstein Air Base and Frankfurt International Airport. Three members of the cell were arrested before the plot was executed.

Philippine military kills wanted Jemaah Islamiyah, Abu Sayyaf operatives in airstrike

2012-02-02T20:42:03Z

The Philippine Air Force force killed a senior Jemaah Islamiyah leader, a top Abu Sayyaf Group commander, and 13 others, including a wanted Singaporean terrorist, during an airstrike in Sulu province.

Zulkifli bin Hir, one of the most wanted leaders of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah; Umbra Jumdail, a senior Abu Sayyaf commander, and his son Teng; and Muhamad Ali, another wanted JI operative, were all killed in the early morning today in an airstrike, according to the country's top military commander.

Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa said the 3 a.m. airstrike targeted a camp in the village of Duyan Kabaw in Parang in the southern province of Sulu. Dellosa expressed certainty that the terrorist leaders had been killed even though the military was not in possession of the dead bodies.

"I am sure because I will not easily issue a statement here," he said, according to Inquirer News. "We have intelligence people and locals in the area."

A military spokesman said the strike, which was carried out by two OV-10 Broncos, light military attack aircraft used in counterinsurgency operations, was the result of months of intelligence gathering. Several 500-pound bombs were dropped on the terrorists' camp. No civilians were reported to have been killed in the strike.

The operation was "based on a thorough, well-executed plan and months of continuous monitoring and surveillance of JI and ASG personalities," Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., a military spokesman, said during a briefing, Inquirer News reported. In early January, a senior general disclosed that the military was engaged in operations in Sulu hunting for Hir; Muhamad Ali; Qayim and Sa'ad, two Indonesians; and Amin Baco, who is thought to be a Malaysian national.

Although no US involvement in the strike has been reported, US Special Forces are based in the Philippines to aid the government and military in their fight against the al Qaeda-linked groups and to assist in humanitarian efforts. The Philippine constitution prohibits US troops from engaging in combat operations in the country.

Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian national known as "Marwan," is wanted by the US government, which has a $5 million reward out for information leading to his capture. Hir is "an engineer trained in the United States" and "is believed to be the head of the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization and a member of Jemaah Islamiyah's central command," according to the US State Department's Rewards for Justice website. He is believed to have been sheltering in the Philippines since 2003 and has served as a bomb maker for the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Umbra Jumdail, a senior Abu Sayyaf Group commander who is also known as Doc Abu, is wanted by both the US government, which has offered a $140,000 reward for information leading to his capture, and the Philippine government. He has been involved in numerous kidnappings and assassinations.

Muhamad Ali, a Singaporean national also known as Mauwiya Anjala, is a Jemaah Islamiyah leader who is also wanted by the US, which has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

Jemaah Islamiyah is an Islamist terrorist group that seeks to establish a pan-Islamic state across Southeast Asia. Jemaah Islamiyah is most active in Indonesia and the Philippines, but also conducts operations in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. The terror group is al Qaeda's regional affiliate in Southeast Asia and its operatives have been responsible for devastating attacks in the region, including the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, the 2004 suicide car bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, the August 2003 car bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, and a series of bombings in Manila.

The terror group has suffered major setbacks inside Indonesia, with many of its top leaders killed or captured over the past several years. Among them are Dulmatin, a top leader and military commander (killed in 2010); and Noordin Mohammed Top, a senior leader, recruiter, strategist, and fundraiser (killed in 2009). Umar Patek, a top JI leader, was captured in March 2010 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, just months before al Qaeda emir Osama bin Laden was killed in the same city in a US special operations raid. Abu Bakir Bashir, the terror group's founder, is currently in prison for founding, financing, and supporting al Qaeda in Aceh.

The Abu Sayyaf Group is a Philippines-based terrorist and criminal gang formed by fighters who returned from the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union. The group was funded and financed by Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, one of Osama bin Laden's brother-in-laws, according to Khaddafy Janjalani, the leader of Abu Sayyaf before he was killed in 2006. Khalifa, an al Qaeda financier and facilitator, was killed by US special operations forces in Madagascar in 2006.

Video: Pakistani Taliban execute 15 Frontier Constabulary personnel

2012-02-01T17:17:47Z

Warning: The video of the Pakistani Taliban executing the 15 Frontier Constabulary personnel who were captured late last year is extremely graphic.

An unedited segment of the video showing the Pakistani Taliban executing 15 Frontier Constabulary personnel who were captured in the district of Tank at the end of December has emerged on the Internet.

The video, which was published on the LiveLeak video-sharing website, shows the 15 paramilitary men blindfolded and lined up along a hillside; some are handcuffed together. Taliban fighters then take turns gunning down the Pakistani troops, one at a time, with AK-47 assault rifles.

The graphic video shows the slain Pakistani security personnel falling to the ground as those still living remain standing. The Taliban are heard chanting, "We will cross all limits to avenge your blood."

The 15 Pakistani personnel were captured on Dec. 22, 2011 during a Taliban assault on a fort in the settled district of Tank, which borders South Waziristan. One soldier was killed during the assault. The next day, seven Frontier Corps troopers were killed in a suicide attack in the settled district of Bannu [see LWJ report, Taliban suicide bomber kills 7 Pakistani troops].

Ihsanullah Ihsan, a Taliban spokesman, said the Dec. 22 and 23 attacks were carried out to avenge the death of Taj Gul Mehsud, a senior deputy to Hakeemullah Mehsud, the emir of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. Taj Gul was killed along with 12 other fighters in a US airstrike in South Waziristan on Oct. 26 [see LWJ report, Taliban avenge death of commander killed in October drone strike].

The execution video does not show the statement made by the Taliban leader, who described why the Pakistani troops were being slaughtered. Reuters provided a translation of that portion of the video.

"Twelve of our comrades were besieged and mercilessly martyred in the Khyber [tribal] agency (area)," the commander said. "Our pious women were also targeted. To avenge those comrades, we will kill these men. We warn the government of Pakistan that if the killing of our friends is not halted, this will be the fate of you all."

One of the Frontier Constabulary personnel described the Taliban raid that resulted in their capture.

"They attacked us with rockets, killed a sentry. One ran away. The Taliban entered the fort and captured us with our weapons," he said. "They tied our hands, put us in a Datsun and took us away."

The Taliban have released similar videos of the executions of captured Pakistani security personnel in the past. In July 2011, a video emerged of the brutal execution of 16 Pakistani policemen who were captured in Dir. [See LWJ report, Video of brutal Taliban execution of Pakistani policemen emerges.]