According to the Associated Press, the United States is set to delist several terrorist organizations from its list of FTOs. The delisting includes a Gaza-based Salafist-jihadist organization called Mujahideen Shura Council of Jerusalem.
Amaq News Agency published a statement conceding that the Islamic State has “retreated” from its positions outside of Derna, Libya but claims the fighters are making progress south of the city.
“Continue your journey and aim your strikes to hit the economy and tourism, for by striking these two the tyrants will wither and recede,” the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem advised its “brothers” in Ansar Jerusalem.
Saudi national Adi Saleh Abdullah al Fudhayli al Hadhli, who died in June 2012 in an attack against Israel, had originally sought to join the “mujahideen” in Somalia. In 2011, he traveled to Libya to fight in the Libyan civil war.
The statement from the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem also said attacks against the Palestinian Authority are legitimate, and called on Muslims in the West Bank to unite.
Before reaching Syria, Amer Abu Ghoula was reportedly sentenced to a year in prison in Gaza for aiding those behind the kidnapping and murder of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni.
Mediation by Kuwaiti and Qatari clerics may result in an agreement normalizing relations between Hamas and Salafi jihadists. Tensions between Hamas and Salafi jihadists have increased sharply over the past year.
In the latest jihadist call for direct attacks on the Egyptian army, a media unit tied to the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem released a statement saying now is the time for “the mujahideen” to strike the army.
Salafi jihadists in the Gaza Strip recently held a rare public demonstration in the Gaza Strip denouncing the Assad regime as well as the Egyptian military’s takeover. In addition to numerous al Qaeda black flags, demonstrators held pictures of Bashar al Assad and Abdel Fattah el Sisi with text calling the two leaders “murderers and killers.”
Egyptian forces today carried out a number of strikes on jihadist positions in the Sinai, killing at least eight militants. In addition, recent arrests in the Sinai have tied the MSC in Jerusalem to the recent killing of more than 20 policemen.
A Facebook page tied to a jihadist media unit of the MSC in Jerusalem has released a new poster threatening attacks against Eilat. The release comes about two weeks after the MSC in Jerusalem fired rockets at the southern Israeli city.
A new video from the MSC in Jerusalem praises Fahd Nizar al Habbash, a former member of Hamas’ police force in Gaza who traveled to Syria in 2013, where he is believed to have died fighting alongside the Al Nusrah Front.
Israeli intelligence agencies differ over the number of Salafi jihadists operating in the Egyptian Sinai, but they recognize a serious threat. One group, Gaza-based Jaish al Islam, is reportedly offering training camps for global jihadists.
The MSC in Jerusalem has taken responsibility for a rocket attack on Eilat just days after four members of the Salafi jihadist group Ansar Jerusalem were killed in the Sinai.
A new video praising Hithem Ziad Ibrahim Masshal, a well-known jihadist in the Gaza Strip, was released by the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center to jihadist forums. Masshal, who was killed in April by the Israeli Air Force, is celebrated for his role in supporting jihadist groups in Gaza.
The PRC’s al Nasser Salah al Deen Brigades said arresting the “mujahideen” in the Gaza Strip does not serve the resistance against Israel.
The Gaza-based Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem issued a statement of condolence for the death of AQAP deputy leader Said al Shihri. Al Shihri’s death was recently confirmed by AQAP in a video statement.
Ansar Jerusalem issued a statement today claiming that it fired two rockets toward the southern Israeli city of Eilat yesterday. Rockets were last fired toward Eilat in April by the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem.
Supporters of Salafi jihadists in the Gaza Strip held their third public demonstration against Hamas in recent months. The protesters called for the immediate release of imprisoned Salafists.
In a new video, jihadists in Syria denounced Hamas’ recent arrest campaign against Salafi jihadists in the Gaza Strip. The jihadists also called on Palestinians in Hamas and other factions to join the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem.
In recent days, Salafi jihadists have slammed Hamas over the arrest of a Salafist preacher, who Salafi jihadists say has been tortured while in Hamas’ prisons.
A jihadist media unit reported the arrest of a Salafi preacher by Hamas forces and warned Salafi jihadists in Gaza to be vigilant in the coming days as Hamas may increase its targeting of Salafi jihadists.
The top sharia official from the Muhajireen Brigade, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Syria, slammed Hamas’ recent crackdown against Salafi jihadists in the Gaza Strip. The official also called on Hamas to join hands with the Salafi jihadists in Gaza to fight Israel.
An official from the MSC in Jerusalem eulogized a leading Salafi jihadist killed on April 30 in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Tensions persist between Hamas and the Salafi jihadist groups in the coastal enclave.
Tension between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Salafi jihadists in the area has increased in recent days. On Thursday, Hamas announced the arrest of six Salafists, which was immediately denounced by Salafi jihadists.
The Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center, a jihadist media unit, has charged that elements within Hamas are “stained with the blood of the Salafi Mujahideen,” in a new statement on the recent death of Hithem Ziad Ibrahim Masshal.
In a video containing excerpts from his will, Hithem Ziad Ibrahim Masshal, a member of the MSC in Jerusalem who was killed yesterday, slammed Hamas and called on Muslims to partake in jihad.
Hamas recently arrested two members of the Popular Resistance Committees. Members of Hamas’ al Qassam Brigades have also reportedly deployed in an effort to stop rocket launchings from Gaza toward Israel.
The Israeli Air Force killed a member of the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem who was involved in the recent rocket attack on the Israeli city of Eilat from the Sinai Peninsula.
Salafi jihadist supporters held another demonstration today to protest the imprisonment of fellow travelers by Hamas.