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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Deceiving Cairo and helping IS, Hamas sets Gaza on course for new troubles

2016-05-29

[IsraelTimes] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, officials promised Egypt two months ago they’d end cooperation with IS fighters in Sinai. But Gazoo’s rulers have done nothing of the kind, and the repercussions could impact Israel A few days ago, Hamas’s security forces in Gazoo placed in durance vile Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! a group of Salafi activists -- members of Salafiya Jihadiya, a movement made up of Islamist groups that identify mainly with Islamic State

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Africa North

Egyptian Salafist hesitates to back Sisi presidency bid

2014-01-25

[Egypt Independent] Egypt's second biggest Islamist faction may have rallied behind a new army-backed constitution passed in a referendum last week, but its support for a presidential bid by military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appears less certain. A leading holy man in the Dawa Salafiya, the Islamist movement that spawned the Nour Party, indicated in an interview that support for a Sisi bid hinged on a fuller government explanation of last year's mass killing of supporters of deposed president Mohammed Mursi, the Moslem Brüderbund politician tossed in July. Nour Party support has provided a degree of Islamist approval for the course charted by the army since it removed the Moslem Brüderbund's Mohammed Mursi from the presidency following mass protests against his rule. Were it to decide against endorsing Sisi for president in an election that he is widely expected to contest and win, it risks exposing more starkly the divide between the Islamist movement and the Egyptians who mobilised to remove Mursi. "General Sisi has problems among many in the Islamic movement: it is the case of Rabaa and the bloodshed that followed," said Yasser Borhami, deputy head of the Dawa Salafiya, asked if the Nour would back Sisi for the presidency. Rabaa al-Adawiya is the mosque in northeast Cairo where security forces killed hundreds of people on August 14 while breaking up a sit-in by Moslem Brüderbund supporters. The government had called the sit-in a threat to national security, and says the security forces came under fire. "This is fundamental to the grass roots of the party. What happened needs clarification, I mean the way the sit-in was disbanded. What were the orders given to the forces? There was a lot of killing, and this should be clarified to the public," Borhami told Rooters in an interview at his home in Alexandria. INQUIRY INTO VIOLENCE The government established a fact-finding committee that is investigating all violence since June 30, the day of mass anti-Mursi protests that led to his removal by the army. Established on January 6, it has six months to complete its work. The dispersal of the Cairo sit-in was followed by the bloodiest bout of internal strife in Egypt's modern history, including an ongoing series of kabooms and shootings targeting the security forces: five coppers were rubbed out south of Cairo on Thursday. Sisi is widely expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency imminently, and the election could happen as soon as March or April. He enjoys wide backing among Egyptians who supported Mursi's removal one year into a divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... presidential term. With no obvious competitors, Sisi appears certain to win.

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Africa North

Jihadists Mock Egypt Army Claims of Sinai Victories

2013-09-05

[An Nahar] A jihadist group on Wednesday poured scorn on the Egyptian military's claims of victories in the restive Sinai peninsula where the army said it launched deadly air strikes on myrmidons. The fiercely anti-Israeli group al-Salafiya al-Jihadiya, in a statement posted on Islamist forums, condemned "the state media and the army as liars" who "celebrate ... fake victories in the Sinai." On Tuesday, the military launched what security sources said was its "biggest" air assault on Sinai where the army has been battling a semi-insurgency since Islamist president Mohammed Morsi's ouster on July 3. The strikes near the Rafah crossing into Gazoo targeted snuffies using the area bordering the Paleostinian territory as a hideout, the sources said. They said eight snuffies were killed and 15 maimed in the bombing of several villages. The jihadist group denied the claims. "The operation has seen innocents being tossed in the slammer Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! and presented as fighters," the group said. "They film the bombing of homes and present them as dens of fighters and openly lie about the deaths of large numbers of" myrmidons, it added. The security sources said the air assault also targeted weapons depots and explosives, apart from snuffies hiding in villages. In the northern Sinai on Wednesday, a policeman was killed and eight others were maimed when gunnies fired rockets at a police bus in El-Arish, near the Gazoo border, a security source said.

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Africa North

Egypt Salafi Party Elects New Head after Split

2013-01-10

[An Nahar] Egypt's Islamist Nur party elected a new chief on Wednesday after a split within the powerful ultraconservative Salafi movement splintered the party ahead of parliamentary elections. The party at a general assembly selected Yunis Makhyun, who was a member of parliament until a court annulled the Islamist-dominated house in June, in a vote shown live on television. His party had won 112 seats in that parliament, in a surprise showing for a movement that had mostly eschewed politics before the overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... in February 2011. The party's former leader, Emad Abdel Ghaffour, resigned along with 150 members to form al-Watan, a competing Salafi party ahead of fresh elections which are expected after February. Egyptian press reported the split was caused by disagreements over the influence of powerful Salafi holy mans in the Al-Dawaa al-Salafiya group, which had established the Nur party. "We strive to implement Islamic law for Egypt's sake and will work to purify all laws of anything that contradicts shariah," Makhyun said in a speech after his election. Makhyun has been reported in Egyptian press as denouncing as "usury" an IMF loan Egypt wants to boost its precarious economy. Usury is prohibited in Islam. The influence of Salafis, who have a considerably more rigid interpretation of Islam than President Mohamed Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund movement, in particular worries Egypt's Coptic Christian population. Makhyun sought to allay their concerns in his speech, pledging: "You will only see justice and affection from us." Salafis have been blamed for inflaming sectarian tensions in the country, which witnessed a spike of attacks on Copts over the past three years.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

5 Arab-Israelis indicted for plotting terror attacks

2011-09-19

Charges of Daburiyya residents include conspiracy to carry out attacks on Jews, explosives manufacturing, and computer hacking. Five residents of Daburiya, east of Nazareth, were locked away this month on suspicion of plotting to carrying out terrorist attacks on several targets, police announced on Thursday, following the lifting of a media ban. The arrests were carried out by the northern police district's central unit in coordination with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). Some of the suspects studied at the University of Haifa University or at the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology. "They planned to attack an IDF soldier and a border policeman who lived in the village and steal their weapons. They selected 'candidates' from which they planned to steal weapons and carry out future attacks," police said. One of the suspects considered working at a government office or a strategic factory for the purpose of planning an attack, a police front man said The suspects are affiliated with the Salafiya Jihadiya>Salafiya Jihadiya group, police added. Police said one suspect, Aslam Atrash, set up an Internet forum in which he published articles supporting Salafiya Jihadiya and its Death Eater stances." Salafiya Jihadiya members urge followers to launch armed attacks on Israel, the West and Arab-Mohammedan countries deemed as being insufficiently religious. Atrash is also suspected of being in contact with Sheikh Nathm Sakafa of Nazareth, who police said heads the Ansar Allah organization in the area, a group that was banned by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The suspects also confessed to viewing online videos instructing them on firearms training and how to assemble explosives. Sketches of electric circuits used for assembling bombs were downloaded by one of the suspects as preparations for "future attacks," police added. In the short term, the suspects planned to attack a local cop shoppe, attack security personnel and steal their firearms. Security forces said the cell posed a clear security threat due to its extreme ideology, which was fed by "content downloaded from the Internet, and the readiness of Israeli civilians to act violently within Israel and against its institutions." In 2009, Yafim Weinstein, of Upper Nazareth, was murdered by a terrorist cell affiliated with the Salafiya Jihadiya network. The Northern District Attorney's Office issued indictments for five residents of Daburiya who were locked away last week for involvement in plotting terrorist attacks. These included indictments against Ibrahim and Ismail Actilat, charging them with a conspiracy to carry out attacks against Jews. Ibrahim was also charged with attempting to manufacture explosives. In addition, the Northern District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday it had filed last week indictments against three men, Islam Atrash, Mehdi Saleh and Shadi Ibrahim, also from Daburiya, for offenses including conspiracy, attempting to provide the means to commit a crime, and illegal entry into computer systems. Their lawyer, Rafi Masalaha, said the affair was based on little more than phone records. "This started with accusations of setting up a terror cell and resulted in a minor indictment," Masalaha

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Home Front: WoT

Why Yasir Qadhi Wants to Talk About Jihad

2011-03-22

He's the Salafi imam who is the intersection point between a number On a chilly night in the dead of a New England winter, Yasir Qadhi hurried down the stairs of Yale University’s religious-studies department, searching urgently for a place to make a private call. A Ph.D. candidate in Islamic studies, Qadhi was a fixture on the New Haven campus. But Qadhi had another life. Beyond the gothic confines of Yale, he was becoming one of the most influential conservative clerics in American Islam, drawing a tide of followers in the fundamentalist movement known as Salafiya. Raised between Texas and Saudi Arabia, he seemed uniquely deft at balancing the edicts of orthodox Islam with the mores of contemporary America. To law-enforcement agents, he was also a figure of interest, given his prominence in a community considered vulnerable to radicalization. Some officials, noting his message of nonviolence, saw him as an ally. Others were wary, recalling a time when Qadhi spouted a much harder, less tolerant line. On this night, however, it was Qadhi’s closest followers who were questioning him. It was a conference call with 150 of his students at the Al Maghrib Institute to discuss the Pantibomber, who had been one of Mr. Qadhi's students. A tape of the call was given to the journalist by one of the listeners, in which he urged his students away from violence. Andrea Elliott writes long, well-researched pieces, specializing in Muslims at home and abroad -- on the various jihadis the religion has thrown up over the past decade, and on Muslims trying to reconcile tradition with becoming good Americans. This piece is all of eleven pages long, so you pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, make a small plate of Girl Scout cookies (it's the season!), and settle in.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Al-Qaida-Style Islamism Comes to Gaza

2009-08-26

By Jonathan Spyer Quiet has now returned to the Gaza Strip after the weekend violence which claimed the lives of 28 people. The last of the funerals of the Jund Ansar Allah fighters killed in the suppression of the organization by Hamas authorities has taken place. This episode demonstrated the tight hold which Hamas maintains on the Gaza Strip. The weekend's events also highlight an important but little discussed phenomenon taking place in the Strip, and to a lesser extent in the West Bank - namely, the growth of al-Qaida-style Salafi Islamism among a segment of the Palestinian population. Jund Ansar Allah did not emerge suddenly, or in a vacuum, and its defeat does not mark the final word on this matter. Who are the Salafis? Salafiyya is an extreme trend within Sunni Islam. Salafis maintain that anyone who fails to uphold any aspect of Sharia law is no longer a Muslim, and is to be considered kufar (non-Muslim). Jihadist Salafis consider that it is incumbent upon Muslims to depose and fight all governments controlled by the kufar. A myriad of small, armed Salafi groupings exist in the Gaza Strip, of which Jund Ansar Allah was one. These groups are part of a broader subculture, estimated to command the loyalty of at least 50,000 people, and probably many more. The Taliban style of dress adopted by supporters of Salafism is becoming increasingly familiar in Gaza. There are two main modes of Salafi activity in Gaza - namely, al-Salafiya Da'awiya - that is, civilian Salafism, which engages in missionary work and preaching, and Al-Salafiya Jihadiya, of which al-Qaida is the most well-known global representative, and which is committed to violent action. There is no hermetic division between these two modes. Rather, activity in the former is a gateway to later involvement in militancy, and missionary work builds the basis of support in society which is essential for successful military action. A number of Gaza mosques are known to be controlled by the Salafis. Sheikh Al Salam Bin Taymiyah mosque in Khan Yunis, which was the center of operations for the Jund Ansar Allah group, was one of these. Abu Noor al-Makdisi, who led the Jund Ansar Allah group and died during the weekend's events, was the imam at this mosque. Other mosques linked to the Salafis include the al-Sahabah Mosque in Daraj, Gaza City, and the al-Albani Mosque in the Jabalya refugee camp. Salafi activity is reportedly well-financed, with money coming in from the Gulf. As one source put it "millions of petrodollars are flowing in every month." The myriad Salafi armed groupings include the Jaish al-Islam (army of Islam), al-Saif al-Haq Islamiyya (Swords of Islamic Righteousness), Jaish al-Umma (Army of the Nation) and the Jaljalat (thunder) group, formed by disaffected former Hamas fighters during the period of the cease-fire, in June 2008. Jund Ansar Allah, which was founded in November, 2008, emerged from this milieu. The relations of the Hamas rulers of the Strip to this Salafi sub-culture are complex. Since Hamas took power in the Strip, the Salafis have engaged in numerous acts of violence against people and institutions believed to be kufar. These have included attacks on Internet cafes, book shops, beauty parlors and institutions representing the Strip's small Christian community. Young women and men suspected of engaging in "immoral" behavior have been murdered. The Hamas authorities officially oppose such behavior, but have done little to stop or deter it. There is also a certain crossover between Hamas structures and the Salafis. Many members of Hamas's al-Kassam brigades are known to support Salafi ideas. These reportedly include Ahmed al-Jabari, commander of the organization, and the majority of his brigade commanders. Hamas, however, draws the line at activity which appears to challenge its own authority or right to rule. The suppression of Jund Ansar Allah took place after its leader denounced Hamas as kufar and proclaimed the establishment of an Islamic Emirate in Gaza. The swiftness and brutality of Hamas's subsequent action attracted attention. But it was not the first time that Gaza's rulers have made clear to the Salafis that it is worth their while to respect the limits placed on them. The al-Albani mosque in Jabalya, for example, was raided on May 17, 2008 by Hamas's Executive Force. Thirty men and women were injured in the raid. The mosque's imam had delivered a sermon that afternoon insulting and ridiculing Hamas. A key question concerning the Salafi subculture in Gaza is the extent of the presence of global al-Qaida among it. Most experts believe that the al-Qaida network is present to only a very limited extent in the Strip. The al-Qaida idea, however, is flourishing, with a large number of the often quite primitively-armed and poorly-trained Salafi groups competing to be considered the "official franchise" of al-Qaida in Gaza. Abu Noor al-Makdisi is dead, and the movement he built has now been dispersed by the uncontested Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip. The Salafi subculture from which his group emerged, however, is very much alive. It is likely to make its voice heard again, in the unfolding story of the Islamic Palestinian state currently under construction in Gaza. Dr. Jonathan Spyer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Herzliya, Israel

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Palestinians Crucify the Holy Land

2007-10-11

By Robert Spencer Last Saturday, Palestinian Christian Rami Ayyad was abducted and murdered. His body was found the next day. Six months ago, a bomb destroyed Ayyad’s Christian bookstore, the Holy Bible Society in Gaza City. No group claimed responsibility for the murder of Ayyad, but the bombing of his bookstore was consistent with the pattern of bombings carried out by a jihadist group calling itself “The Righteous Swords of Islam.” Ayyad’s death comes at a time when the position of Christians in the Palestinian Authority is more precarious than ever. Dr. Justus Weiner of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs said in July that “for a number of years now, this minority community [of Christians] has been in dire need of assistance. Palestinian Christians are unable to practice their religion in freedom and in peace. Most in danger are Arab Christians. And most in danger among Arab Christians are those who have converted from Islam. They are often left defenseless against cruelty from Muslim fundamentalists.” This cruelty is often hallowed by the sanction of Islamic law. Sheikh Abu Saqer of the jihadist group Jihadia Salafiya announced last June: “I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza.” This would mean that, in accord with ancient provisions of Islamic Sharia law, Christians could practice their religion, but only if they did so inconspicuously: “Jihadia Salafiya and other Islamic movements will ensure Christian schools and institutions show publicly what they are teaching to be sure they are not carrying out missionary activity. No more alcohol on the streets. All women, including non-Muslims, need to understand they must be covered at all times while in public.” Hamas even intends to reinstitute the jizya, the special tax mandated by the Qur’an (9:29) for Jews and Christians, but from which Muslims are exempt from paying. Christians are accordingly streaming out of Palestinian Authority-controlled areas – including some of the holiest sites in Christendom. Christians comprised 85 percent of the population of Bethlehem in 1948; by 2006 their numbers had dwindled to twelve percent, and a large mosque has been built on one side of Manger Square, right across from the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Muslim thugs beat a Christian cab driver in Bethlehem, George Rabie, just for displaying a crucifix in his cab. Rabie noted: “Every day, I experience discrimination . Many extremists from the villages are coming into Bethlehem.” Sometimes this discrimination turns lethal: several years ago, Muslims shot dead two Christian women for not wearing the Islamic veil. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took responsibility and explained: “We wanted to clean the Palestinian house of prostitutes.” Samir Qumsiyeh, owner of a private Christian television station, observed last January: “The situation is very dangerous. I believe that 15 years from now there will be no Christians left in Bethlehem. Then you will need a torch to find a Christian here. This is a very sad situation.” A Bethlehem hotelier, Joseph Canawati, said simply: “There is no hope for the future of the Christian community. We don’t think things are going to get better. For us, it is finished.” Yet while all this has gone on the world has turned a blind eye. The UN has issued no resolutions calling upon the Palestinians to stop mistreating their Christian minority. Human rights organizations have likewise been silent. And in the West, where Islamic advocacy groups and student groups profess to reject and abhor “extremism,” the oppression of Palestinian Christians has likewise not registered on the radar screen. The Council on American Islamic Relations has said nothing about it. Neither has the Muslim Public Affairs Council. And on campuses around the country, Leftist and Muslim groups are denouncing organizers of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week events, instead of joining with them to stand against the oppression of Christians (as well as women, gays, and others) in all too many Muslim countries today. Why is that? If these groups really oppose jihadist activity and Sharia oppression, why won’t they stand against them? These groups have been directing their efforts toward discrediting Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week by casting aspersions upon David Horowitz and others. Some have stooped even to fabricating posters in order to portray the organizers of the Week as bigoted and hateful. The losers in all this are the Palestinian Christians and other victims of jihadist oppression. The only ones who are speaking up for them are being vilified and smeared by those who claim to be the sentinels of tolerance and justice. Yet if Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is ultimately shouted down on campuses all over the country, among the winners will be those who are making life so miserable for Christians in the Palestinian Authority and all over the Islamic world. And no one will be left to speak for them at all.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Gaza Christians warned to submit to Islam

2007-06-20

Gaza-based Muslim groups affiliated with Hamas and possibly Al Qaeda have warned local Christians that Hamas' military conquest of the volatile coastal strip means they must now fully submit to Islamic ritual law. In an interview with WorldNetDaily, Sheikh Abu Saqer, leader of the group Jihadia Salafiya, said that Gaza's Muslims “expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza.” “Missionary activity” will no longer be tolerated, and those suspected of trying to covert local Muslims to Christianity will be “harshly punished,” said Abu Saqer. Additionally, the consumption of alcohol is now prohibited in Gaza, and all women must fully cover themselves in public. In order to ensure compliance with these regulations, Abu Saqer announced the formation of a new “military wing” that will a close eye on the subjects of “Hamastan.” A committee for the protection of virtue! Following last week's unprovoked assault on a Catholic church and school in Gaza City, most are unconvinced that even full submission to Gaza's new conservative Muslim overlords will afford any degree of peace and security to the area's tiny Christian population. The Christians can move to the U.S. on a 1:1 exchange basis with Paleo Muslims currently here. Start with the ones on student visas.

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Africa North

Morocco postpones trial of Salafi Jihad members

2006-04-30

A court Friday postponed the trial of 19 Moroccans who face charges of involvement in an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group that is blamed for the 2003 attacks in Casablanca that killed 45 people, including 12 suicide bombers. Hearings were not due to start again until June 16 to give some defendants time for medical exams, court officials said. Proceedings originally opened in September. Prosecutors say the men formed an armed cell of Salafiya Jihadiya, a North African terrorist group that seeks to overthrow Morocco's monarchy and replace it with Islamic rule. The 19 include six who were returned to Morocco recently by authorities in Algeria, which they entered secretly and where they are alleged to have undergone terrorist training with Algeria's GSPC, or Salafist Group for Call and Combat. The Moroccan investigation into those six uncovered the existence of a large Salafiya Jihadiya cell in Sale, a city near Rabat widely reputed to be a center of militant Islam. The trial is due to take place in Sale. Three other bands of alleged Islamic terrorists have been apprehended in the past three months, a Justice Ministry official said. Morocco has stepped up its counterterrorism measures following the five near-simultaneous terrorist attacks in Casablanca. Salafiya Jihadiya is believed to be a general name or description of various militant groups, including the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.

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Africa North

Dahab bombers were inspired by al-Qaeda

2006-04-30

Egyptian Security officials and a number of fundamentalists have stated that the recent bombings in the Dahab resort of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on 24 April 2006 were linked to the attacks in Taba 2004, and Sharm Al-Sheikh 2005 carried out by an Islamic group called Al Tawhid wa Jihad (Monotheism and Jihad). Major General Fouad Allam, former director of Egypt's State Security Investigation Department, told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are similarities between the methods used in all three operations, as simultaneous or successive bombings occurred targeting civilians and attempting to undermine tourism. Allam believes that there are perhaps terrorist cells in Sinai that are not known to each other or that a new organization has started operating. He pointed out that the suspects who were detained by the security services and who belong to the so-called Tawhid wa Jihad group are perhaps not directly connected to the Dahab bombers. Allam added that it was Al-Qaeda that introduced the method of simultaneous bombings, which was first used in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi, and Dar al-Salam. Major General Allam stated that limited resources were used in the Dahab bombings, with most of the casualties caused by fragments of glass from the damaged shops and restaurants. The attacks caused 62 injuries in Dahab, a popular diving resort. Egyptian police have detained two men they said drove people suspected of involvement in bomb attacks in the resort of Dahab and north Sinai, the state MENA news agency reported. In a report published late on Friday, MENA quoted security forces as saying they were questioning two drivers whose passengers could have been involved in the blasts. Considering that the Dahab bombings followed closely the Taba and Sharm al-Sheikh bombings, Allam said that he believes this has been caused by negligence and complacence on the part of the security forces, which allowed the culprits to infiltrate the resort. He pointed out that this requires a revision of the country's security plans. He recalled that another unknown group carried out two other attacks on the Red Sea coast during the past two years. Security experts, meanwhile, have played down the likelihood that the groups responsible for the recent attacks are linked to extremist foreign organizations such as Al-Qaeda. They point out, however, that these foreign organizations might be a source of inspiration for local Egyptian groups. Islamists in London said that those who carried out the simultaneous attacks probably embrace Al-Qaeda's ideology and methods. Abdullah Uns, son-in-law of Abdullah Azzam, the spiritual leader of the Arab Afghans, argued that a state of resentment exists because of the events in Iraq and Palestine. He added that although the new groups accept Al-Qaeda's ideology, they use different names. Other fundamentalists also living in London expressed their beliefs that the Dahab attackers are no strangers to the Sinai Peninsula and are probably native to the area where the attacks occurred. Shortly after the Dahab blasts, police said they had formally detained at least 10 people and taken in about 70 local Bedouin for questioning. Egypt has since said the Dahab and north Sinai attacks could be linked. Egyptian Islamist Dr Hani Al-Sibai, director of the London-based Al-Maqrizi Research Center, said that Osama Bin Laden's most recent recorded message had no connection with the attacks in the Dahab resort, as this message may have reached Al-Jazeera, the Arabic news channel that received the video, a long time ago. In addition, he said, a terrorist attack requires much preparation and research in the location's weak points and the most suitable time to carry out the operation. He noted that there is a strong similarity between the Sharm Al-Sheikh bombing for which Tawhid wa Jihad claimed responsibility, and the Dahab attack. He added that Al-Qaeda might be a source of inspiration for the local terrorist organizations. He did not rule out the possibility that Bedouin from the Sinai Peninsula could have been involved in the attack as an act of revenge for the earlier imprisonment of hundreds of Bedouin in the wake of the Taba and Sharm Al-Sheikh bombings. In agreement with General Allam, Al-Sibai said that Al-Qaeda invented the method of simultaneous bombings when it attacked the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar al-Salam in August 1998. The Dahab resort has been the third target to be attacked in the Sinai Peninsula after Sharm Al-Sheikh in July 2005, and Taba in October 2004. Egyptian courts announced earlier that the Islamist group Tawhid wa Jihad was responsible for the Taba attack, which killed 34 people in October 2004, and the Sharm Al-Sheikh operation, which killed 70 people in 2005. Three leading members of the group that carried out the earlier bombings, namely, Nasser Khamis Al-Milahi, Id Salamah Al-Tarawi, and Muhammad Abdallah Jarjar operated within the organization. During interrogation, they confessed that they targeted tourist areas in southern Sinai. In the statement issued after the Sharm Al-Sheikh bombing in July 2005, the group said: "We, Tawhid wa Jihad in Egypt, are continuing our war to expel the Jews and Christians from the land of Islam. Our war has begun by targeting the axis of Zionist evil and immorality in Sinai, where Moses spoke to God, in Taba, Ras Shaytan, and Nuweiba. May God accept our martyrs who fell in this blessed raid." Al-Zayyat, an Egyptian lawyer who usually represents Islamists said, "We appear to be seeing the birth of a new generation of Jihadist Salafism in Egypt. However, it is not true that Gamaat Salafiya Jihadiya is behind this operation." He explained that this generation adopts Al-Qaeda's ideology, which is spreading fast. He pointed out that the recent bombings are linked to what is happening in Palestine and the attempt to pressure Hamas and to remove the movement from power.

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Africa North

Court postpones trial of Moroccans accused of involvement in terror group

2006-04-29

A Moroccan court on Friday postponed the trial of 19 Moroccans who face charges of involvement in an Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group that is blamed for the 2003 bombings in Casablanca. Hearings were not due to start again until June 16, to give some defendants time for medical exams, court officials said. Proceedings originally opened in September. Prosecutors say the men formed an armed cell of Salafiya Jihadiya, a North African terrorist group that seeks to overthrow Morocco's monarchy and replace it with Islamic rule. The 19 suspects include six who were returned to Morocco recently by authorities in Algeria, which they entered secretly and where they are alleged to have undergone terrorist training with Algeria's GSPC, or Salafist Group for Call and Combat. The Moroccan investigation into those six men uncovered the existence of a large Salafiya Jihadiya cell in Sale, a city near Rabat widely reputed to be a center of militant Islam. The trial is due to take place in Sale. Three other bands of alleged Islamic terrorists have been apprehended in the past three months, a Justice Ministry official said. Morocco has stepped up its counterterrorism measures following the five near-simultaneous terrorist attacks in Casablanca in May 2003 that killed 45 people, including 12 suicide bombers. Moroccan authorities blame the bombings on Salafiya Jihadiya, believed to be a general name or description of various militant groups, including the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.

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