Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Tawhid wal Jihad

Al-Taefa Al-Mansoura

Africa North

20060506

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

FSB detains 49 militant accomplices who were sending money to Syria

2024-02-27

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Almost 50 accomplices of Islamists who transferred money to militants in Syria were detained in 22 regions of Russia. The Center for Public Relations of the FSB of the Russian Federation reported this on February 26.

The FSB, in cooperation with Rosfinmonitoring and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, eliminated the international channel of resource support for militants from “Katiba Tawhid wal-Jihad”

Also spelt Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad. The Syrian branch of this Al Qaeda franchise is the Uzbeks/Tajiks/Uighurs section allied to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) in Idlib Province, having pulled together fighters from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Katibat Imam al Bukhari, and Turkestan Islamic Party. It was listed a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in March, 2022. Back home they mostly cause trouble in post-Soviet Central Asia, Russia and Xinjiang of the Uygur Autonomous Region of China.

(a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation), which was coordinated by emissaries located in Syria.

“As a result of the activities carried out on the territory of 22 Russian regions, 49 members of an accomplice terrorist network involved in the collection and transfer of funds for the needs of militants operating in Syria were detained,” the report says.

It is noted that some of them spread radical Islamic ideology in the Muslim Ummah of the Russian Federation via the Internet and justified terrorism.

The department noted that criminal cases have been initiated, operational search activities and investigative actions are ongoing.

As Regnum reported, a student was taken into custody in the Altai Territory for trying to send a parcel of medicines abroad to the militants of the Islamic State (IS, a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation). He established contact with terrorists, and during the conversation expressed a desire to go to Syria and join the ranks of a terrorist organization.

In addition, at the end of 2023, the student purchased a batch of medical supplies needed in real combat conditions. Next, he sent the parcel abroad to the address specified by the “curators” in the interests of a terrorist organization. The mail was promptly seized by FSB operatives. A criminal case has been initiated on this fact.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Dozens of terrorists killed in Syrian offensive in Idlib province

2023-10-05

[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Dozens of foreign-sponsored Takfiri

...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
holy warriors have been killed and maimed after Syrian army forces carried out a string of military operations against terrorist bases and arms depots in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing a statement issued by the Syrian Ministry of Defense on Tuesday, reported that the strikes were in retaliation for the recent terrorist attacks on the positions of Syrian army troops and government-held towns.

The statement said the operations destroyed the headquarters and weapons caches of members of the so-called Ansar al-Tawhid (Supporters of Monotheism) Takfiri group.

Dozens of terrorists, among them high-profile commanders, were among the fatalities, it added.

Syrian government troops also intercepted and shot down two combat drones operated by holy warriors over an area in the neighboring Aleppo province.

The operation came after Russia’s Defense Ministry warned that members of Takfiri terrorist outfits were planning to stage attacks in Syria’s northwestern provinces of Latakia, Idlib and Aleppo against the positions of Syrian and Russian military forces.

Deputy Chief of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria Major General Oleg Yegorov said on Tuesday that the center had received information that the Death Eaters were set to carry out the assaults.

He said Russian and Syrian forces would adopt proper measures to repel the attacks.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Military escalation causes casualties in NW Syria

2023-08-30

[NPASYRIA] The de-escalation zone in the countryside of Idlib, Aleppo and Latakia in northwestern Syria witnessed, for the third consecutive day, a continuation of intensive mutual shelling between the Syrian government forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS — formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front).

"The government forces continued their intensive artillery and missile attacks on the villages and towns of Fatterah, Kafr Aweed, Sfohen, Kansafra and the outskirts of al-Bara in Zawiya Mountain, south of Idlib, amid their attempts to advance and regain posts they lost in al-Malaja area in Zawiya Mountain at the beginning of this week," a military source of the Syrian opposition told North Press.

"The HTS thwarted last night an attempt by Division 25 (Special Tasks) affiliated with the government forces to progress in the al-Malaja, south of Idlib, where the latter tried to progress and regain the posts it lost a few days ago, as the area witnessed ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful festivities that were ended with the withdrawal of government forces to their posts," the source added.

"The government forces also tried this morning to progress in the outskirts of Nahshaba, north of Latakia, amid a preparation of intensive artillery and missile escalation, but the HTS thwarted the attempt and managed to kill and wound more than 12 soldiers", according to the source.

"A military source within the al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room targeted with artillery and rocket shells posts of the government forces in Kafr Nabl, Ma’arat Harmah, Hazarin and al-Malaja, south of Idlib, and managed to destroy a rocket launcher and a cannon in Ma’arat Harmah", a source from the al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room reported.

In Hama, pro-government media reported that two soldiers were killed and two others were maimed by a landmine explosion in a car in Salamiyah countryside, east of Hama Governorate, central Syria.

"Units of our armed forces, in cooperation with the Russian warplanes, carried out air and missile strikes on headquarters of terrorist groups affiliated with what is called "Ansar al-Tawhid Group" and the HTS in the southern countryside of Idlib", the Ministry of Defense of Syria announced.

The Ministry of Defense added, in a statement, that "the strikes resulted in the complete destruction of those headquarters with all their weapons, equipment and ammunition, killing large numbers of murderous Moslems and their leaders, including Mahmoud Sarmini and Mamdouh Alloush from the HTS, and Abu Rayan Muwahh and Abu Qusoura al-Gharbi from Ansar al-Tawhid Group".

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

HTS: Mutual shelling gov’t forces Fri night and Saturday kills 2 kids, HTS kabooms tunnel under gov’t military camp kill 11 soldiers and 2 turbans

2023-08-27

HTS-government forces mutual shelling in NW Syrian causes casualties

Two children were killed and six others were injured on Saturday evening in a mutual shelling on residential neighborhoods in the southern countryside of Idlib Governorate, northwest Syria, between the government forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS -formerly al-Nusra Front).

An administrative source from the Civil Defense team stated that two siblings were killed and their mother was injured, in addition to three others and a woman being injured in the government forces’ shelling on residential neighborhoods in the town of Kansafra, south of Idlib. An old man was also injured in a similar shelling that targeted the village of Deir Sonbol, south of Idlib.

The source told North Press that the shelling also targeted the villages of Majdaliya, al-Bara, and al-Mozara in southern Idlib, as well as the outskirts of the village of Kafr Nouran west of Aleppo, without any reported injuries.

Simultaneously, the HTS targeted government forces’ posts in the town of Kafr Nabl, south of Idlib, Tala al-Malek, north of Latakia Governorate, on the Syrian coast, and the axis of Regiment 46 west of Aleppo, in addition to al-Malaja camp and the village of Hazarin, south of Idlib.

Prior to the shelling, the HTS detonated a tunnel targeting the government forces, which was dug beneath the Malaja Camp, killing and injuring 25 soldiers of the government forces. They also targeted a tank in the village of Hazarin, according to sources

Mutual shelling in de-escalation zone in NW Syria leaves casualties

[NPASyria] Mutual shelling between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS, formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
front) and Syrian government forces resumed on Friday night in the de-escalation zone in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo, northwestern Syria, causing casualties from both parties.

A military source within the Syrian opposition told North Press that the government forces targeted with heavy artillery and missiles the villages and towns of Fatterah, Kafr Oweid, Sfuhen, Kansafra in Zawiya Mountain in the south of Idlib, and Kafr Taal, Kafr Amma, Tadil, al-Wasata, and al-Qasr in the west of Aleppo.

The shelling caused the killing of two HTS Death Eaters and the injury of three others in Kafr Amma in the west of Aleppo, in addition to major material damages, the source added.

Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had been cornered by the banditti...
a military source within the al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room, a group of armed Islamist factions, told North Press that HTS targeted with heavy artillery and rockets the posts of the government forces in Regiment 46 and Basratun in the west of Aleppo.

The HTS also attacked the government forces posts in al-Malaja, Kafr Nabl, Khan Subul in the south of Idlib, killing three Syrian soldiers and injuring four others. The Syrian government has yet to comment on the incident.

Jihadists kill 11 Syria soldiers in tunnel attack, says war monitor

[IsraelTimes] Jihadists killed at least 11 soldiers in northwestern Syria Saturday when they detonated explosives placed in tunnels dug underneath army positions before attacking them, a monitor said.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the Ansar al-Tawhid group, which is allied with al-Qaeda, and the Turkestan Islamic Party

...... Uighur jihadi group based in Badakshan, Afghanistan and listed under Tehrik-e-Taliban in the Al Qaeda organization table. Their Syria subsidiary currently reports to Al Nusra in the Idlib-Latakia region, where the Russians and Americans have been taking turns shooting them — they’re on their third Number 1 in three years......
(TIP) carried out the attack in the south of Idlib province with its members first detonating a massive bomb and then storming the position manned by government troops.

The jihadists "detonated tunnels they had dug beneath army positions and simultaneously launched an assault from other tunnels", said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britannia-based Observatory.

The attack, which also maimed 20 soldiers, came as Syria and its main military ally Russia bombarded the mountainous Jabal al-Zawiya area of Idlib province, the Observatory said, without immediately reporting any casualties.

Other activist collectives, including Amjad News, also reported the attack saying it killed and maimed dozens of soldiers without giving a breakdown.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government or state media.

The White Helmets volunteer emergency service said that two children — a brother and sister — were killed and five other civilians maimed when their home in the village of Kansafra was hit.

An AFP photographer witnessed the funerals of the two children.

On Friday, Russia carried out air strikes on the Jisr al-Shughur region further north, where TIP jihadists are present, the Observatory said.

Both groups involved in the tunnel attack are affiliated with the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS) group, which controls swathes of Idlib province as well as parts of the adjacent provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.

Seven HTS fighters were killed Friday in bombardments by government forces and at least 13 others in Russian air strikes Monday, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground in Syria for its reports.

Two civilians were also reported to have been killed by Russian strikes near Idlib.

The war monitor said "two jihadists took their own lives" in Saturday’s attack and that the corpse count was expected to rise as the "intense festivities are still ongoing".

The TIP is largely made up of jihadists from China’s Uighur Moslem minority who came to Syria after 2011 to assist groups like HTS, which is led by al-Qaeda’s former affiliate in Syria.

Link

Home Front: WoT

Far-Left Philly Lawyer Shocked to Discover His Son Is Accused Terrorist

2023-08-22

The arrest of the son in question was reported here a week ago, when much was made of the fact that the lad had been in contact with the Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad faction of Al Nusra in Syria, which is made up of Uzbeks/Tajiks/Uighurs — nothing at all to do with the spoilt kid of an Moslem African-American politician.

[PJMedia] After an extensive terrorism investigation in Philadelphia, on Friday, Aug. 11, a jihadi was arrested who was, according to the FBI and Philly officials, planning major jihad massacres, not just in Philadelphia, but around the nation. He had access to guns and was building bombs. Adding to the shock of this was the fact that the young man who was arrested was only seventeen years old, and yet he now stands accused of plotting what the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said was "the most serious alleged terrorist activity prosecuted in Philadelphia County court in recent history." Even more shocking, it later came to light that he is the son of one of the most prominent criminal defense attorneys in Philadelphia.

The accused terror plotter was arrested at the home of Qawi Abdul-Rahman,

... lawyer, wannabe judge so he could put his thumb on the scales for his people, father of three teenagers, loudly proud to be a child of the US Air Force and the Philadelphia projects — but he lives in the intersection of activist Islam and Black Lives Matter...

a prominent Philadelphia criminal defense attorney who just ran for a seat as a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge. In a "vote for ten" election on May 16, Abdul-Rahman finished fourteenth, with 3.88% of the vote. In a campaign video, Abdul-Rahman wears a djellaba, a flowing robe that is common in North Africa but usually worn in America only by Moslems who are extremely devout. His forehead also sports a superbly prominent zebiba, a dark mark caused by performing the repeated prostrations that are called for in Islamic prayer, and that is generally understood to be a sign of extraordinary piety.

In a Wednesday report in the Daily Beast, however, Abdul-Rahman admitted that it was indeed his son who had been arrested and professed amazement, staking out the position that he had little or no knowledge of what his son had been up to. He said he was "shocked and devastated" by his son’s arrest; the Beast noted that the young man has been "charged with arson, criminal conspiracy, weapons of mass destruction, and risking catastrophe, among other accusations." Abdul-Rahman insisted, "I didn’t see it coming at all. At all. I go to court because I want people to know that Moslems are out here doing things in the community, for the community. I’m an American like everyone else."

That is exactly what the Philadelphia DA’s office wants people to know as well. In a Monday blurb, it was most concerned with doing all it could to ensure that no one got the idea that this young man’s jihad plot had anything to do with Islam: "The work of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force potentially thwarted a catastrophic terrorist attack in the name of a perverted ideology that in no way, shape, or form represents the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of peace-seeking people of faith, including Moslems."

This kind of thing has become drearily pro forma after every jihad attack and foiled plot, but in this particular case it’s especially unhelpful. Qawi Abdul-Rahman’s judge campaign page features another video that proclaims that "Black Judges Matter." In that video, he complains of judges who don’t give him and his clients the same attention and care they give to his "white counterparts." He complained about judges and court staff "looking at us as if we don’t belong."

Meanwhile,
...back at the cheese factory, there was only one thought in the mouse's mind: I can do this! I can do this! Then the trap sprung...
Abdul-Rahman has adopted a religion that calls for warfare against unbelievers (cf. Qur’an 2:191, 4:89, 9:5, 9:29, 47:4, etc.) and features many prominent global leaders (such as Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei) who view the United States as a hostile power against which Moslems are or should be in a state of war.

Imagine growing up in a household where such views are frequently aired (which is not to say they necessarily are in Abdul-Rahman’s house). We have seen the combination of the left’s hostility toward the U.S. and Islam’s jihad against America before, notably in Urooj Rahman, a Moslem lawyer in New York City who threw a Molotov cocktail into a police car during the Saint George Floyd

...The patron saint of Minneapolis...
riots.

Philadelphia officials are insisting that their young terror suspect was "radicalized on the Internet" and that his plans had nothing to do with Islam, but is anyone there looking into the possibility that his determination to strike against America arose from sources closer to home? Or is such a suggestion so far out of the bounds of our leftist-dominated public discourse today that Philly officials wouldn’t dare even allow themselves to think it? Has no one considered the fact that all the hateful and 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...
rhetoric pouring forth from the left, as well as from some Moslem leaders, is inevitably going to be taken seriously by someone?

Link

Home Front: WoT

Philadelphia teen charged with plotting potentially 'catastrophic terrorist attack'

2023-08-15

[NYPOST] A Philadelphia teenager has been charged with plotting a potentially "catastrophic terrorist attack" after federal authorities discovered the teen had been allegedly communicating with an al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group and gathering bomb-making material.

The 17-year-old was taken into custody by FBI SWAT officers at his home in West Philadelphia on Aug. 11 after an investigation headed by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, officials revealed Monday.

The unnamed teen is suspected to have been in contact with Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad,

...the Syrian branch of this Al Qaeda franchise is the Uzbeks/Tajiks/Uighurs section allied to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) in Idlib Province, having pulled together fighters from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Katibat Imam al Bukhari, and Turkestan Islamic Party. It was listed a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in March, 2022. Back home they mostly cause trouble in post-Soviet Central Asia, Russia and Xinjiang of the Uygur Autonomous Region of China...

an organization designated as a global terrorist group by the State Department in 2022.

The group, which has links to al Qaeda, primarily operates in Syria’s Idlib Province but is also believed to be responsible for the April 2017 metro attack in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and an August 2016 suicide boom-mobileing outside the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The juvenile allegedly received guidance from the terror group on how to construct improvised bombs and FBI agents observed the teen purchasing bomb-making materials and "outdoor or tactical gear" before his arrest.

"The work of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force potentially thwarted a catastrophic terrorist attack in the name of a perverted ideology that in no way, shape, or form represents the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of peace-seeking people of faith, including Moslems," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Monday.

"The charges we have filed against this individual represent the most serious alleged terrorist activity prosecuted in Philadelphia County court in recent history. We intend to pursue full accountability for these crimes and will continue to work vigilantly with our law enforcement partners to protect all of our communities from hateful, ideologically driven acts of violence," he added.

The suspect, who wasn’t named by officials because of his status as a juvenile, will avoid federal charges for now. US attorney offices generally do not handle juvenile cases, even those related to terrorism.

However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie...
the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office will file a motion to prosecute the suspect as an adult and charges could be escalated to the federal level as the investigation continues, Krasner said Monday.

The teenager has been charged with weapons of mass destruction, criminal conspiracy, arson, causing/risking catastrophe, attempt to commit criminal mischief, possession of an instrument of crime, and recklessly endangering another person.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire said Monday that the teenager "appeared to be taking steps to travel overseas for the purpose of joining, or supporting, terrorist activity."

"Most concerning however, was the evidence that he had access to firearms and had purchased items and materials commonly used in the construction of improvised bombs," McGuire said.

In the last few weeks, the suspect had allegedly been surveilled purchasing tactical equipment, chemicals, wiring, and devices that could be used as remote detonators.

On Aug. 8, 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection also provided records to authorities which revealed 14 international shipments of military and tactical gear to the juvenile’s address.

"I think it’s very fair to say that lives were saved because of this investigation," McGuire added.

A 2018 bulletin from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warns that teenagers are "particularly vulnerable" to being radicalized by terror groups that often gear their messaging toward youths, and plots and attacks by minors in the US and abroad are "likely to endure."

"ISIS and al-Qa’ida continue to influence minors through online messaging to plan and conduct attacks," the DNI memo states. "For example, in October 2018, the al-Abd al-Faqir Media Foundation—a pro-ISIS media outfit—launched its first Arabic-language magazine titled ’Youth Of The Caliphate,’ aimed at young supporters."

The missive to law enforcement notes that there were "few identifiable behaviors that raised suspicion or concern" in several terrorism cases involving minors, underscoring the challenge law enforcement face in identifying juvenile terrorists.

"Violent bad boys’ use or encouragement of minors to conduct attacks probably stems in part from their desire to influence impressionable supporters and circumvent CT security measures that monitor for suspicious activities conducted by adults," the DNI note states.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Blast of HTS explosive factory leaves casualties in Syria’s Idlib

2023-07-14

[NPASyria] On Wednesday evening, a krazed killer operating within the military engineering of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS, formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front) was killed and three others were maimed in a kaboom of a warehouse for manufacturing explosives near the city of Jisr al-Shughur in the western countryside of Idlib, northwest Syria.

Exclusive military sources told North Press that the earth-shattering kaboom took place due to a mistake while preparing the filling for a manual artillery shell, resulting in the earth-shattering kaboom of the rest of the manufactured projectiles and the raw explosives.

The explosion also caused destruction to more than half of the factory.

The sources added that the earth-shattering kaboom also killed "Abu Farhan Tafkhikh," specialized in weapons manufacturing and combinations, and maimed three of his assistances amid blackout by the HTS regarding information related to the earth-shattering kaboom.

Early in March, a factory for manufacturing IEDs, belonging to Ansar al-Tawhid, a faction affiliated with the HTS, near Ma’arat Misrin in Idlib northern countryside. Two krazed killers, who operated in the factory, were killed and a third was maimed, while the HTS announced that one krazed killer was maimed only.

Sources from the HTS said at the time that the earth-shattering kaboom took place due to a technical mistake.

Link

Southeast Asia

3 Uzbek turbans blamed for fatal stabbing during escape from Indonesian jail; within hours 2 recaptured, 1 drowned

2023-04-12

I think this is the last time we heard about this bunch of palookas.

[BenarNews] Three suspected Uzbek Death Eaters allegedly fatally stabbed an officer and injured four others when they escaped an immigration detention center in Jakarta before being hunted down, police said on Tuesday.

The trio, allegedly affiliated with al-Qaeda, escaped Monday, with two of them captured later in the day. The third suspect drowned in a Jakarta canal, also on Monday, while being pursued by police, according to Aswin Siregar, a front man for the police counterterrorism unit Densus 88.

"They incapacitated and attacked the officers using a kitchen knife or whatever they could get from the pantry," Aswin said at a news conference.

Officers found the two surviving suspects hiding in a vacant lot near the immigration office, Aswin said.

Police are investigating the case as a murder and a terrorist act, Aswin said, adding that officers seized a knife used in the attack and an autopsy was conducted on the victim.

The trio was among four Uzbek nationals detained by counterterrorism officers on March 24, Aswin said. Police said they had tracked down the suspects after receiving information from Uzbek authorities that they were spreading propaganda and recruiting followers on social media.

The fourth suspect, who did not join the escape attempt, remained in jug.

Aswin said the suspects had tried to flee because they did not want to be sent back to Uzbekistan.

"They did not want to be deported to their home country because they would face heavier punishments there," he said.

The police said the Uzbek suspects — whom they identified only by their initials - had entered Indonesia through Malaysia in February.

Aswin said the suspects were part of Khatiba Tawhid Wal Jihad, a bad boy group added in 2022 to the sanction list of the United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
Security Council for its links to al-Qaeda.

The group is a splinter faction of the Uzbek-led bad boy organization Jannat Oshiklari, which operates under the umbrella of al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
h Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, the U.N. said.

The group has about 500 fighters and operates in the Syrian provinces of Hama, Idlib and Ladhiqiyah, where it cooperates with other terrorist groups such as Khatiba Imam al-Bukhari and the Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
Group, according to the U.N.

The sanctions imposed by the Security Council include a travel ban, an assets freeze and an arms embargo.

Police said two of the suspects previously traveled to Syria and joined a bad boy training camp there.

When they were arrested in March, police seized several items including passports, money receipts, iPads, cellphones and screenshots of their online posts.

Indonesia, the world’s largest Moslem-majority nation, has been grappling with religious extremism for decades and has suffered several deadly attacks by Death Eaters affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems...
These include the October 2002 Bali bombings, in which 202 people were killed.

Link

Southeast Asia

4 Uzbek turbans tied up in Indonesia for propagandizing

2023-04-05

[AfghanDigest] Indonesian authorities say they have arrested 4 Uzbek men suspected of belonging to the Katiba Tawhid Wal Jihad (terror group). The four appear to have financial support and are accused of spreading terror propaganda on social media platforms.

Who is Katibat al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad?

Article dated 4/20/2022

[Syrians for Truth and Justice] The Uzbek jihadi faction based in Idlib recently designated a terrorist organization by the US

On 7 March 2022, the United States declared Idlib-based jihadi faction Katibat al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad (’Tavhid va Jihod’ or KTJ) a terrorist organization. In addition to the US’s Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list Katibat al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad was placed on the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
Security Council’s ’ISIS and al-Qaeda Sanctions List,’ meaning all UN member states are now required to implement an asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo on the organization and its membership. According to the U.S. Department of State this decision was due to the Katibat al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad’s alleged affiliation with al-Qa’idah, its cooperation with several other designated terrorist groups such as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS), and it being linked to several attacks outside of Syria since 2017.

Katibat al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad, also known as "Jannat Oshiklari" (’Lovers of Heaven’), ’Tavhid va Jihod,’ or KTJ, is a small jihadi organization primarily made up of ethnic Uzbeks and other imported muscle from Central Asia. The group was created at some point in 2013 or 2014 out of a jama’at of Uzbeks affiliated with Jabhat al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
and its ally Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari, the largest Uzbek-run jihadi faction in Syria. The reasoning behind Tavhid va Jihod’s initial formation as an independent group is unclear, for it remained close with Jabhat al-Nusra ever since, formally pledging bay’ah to Nusra (and al-Qa’idah) in September 2015.

OPERATIONS
Since Tavhid va Jihod’s formation in 2014 it has operated across opposition-controlled Northwest Syria. Its fighters have participated in numerous battles fought against the regime over the years, from Jisr al-Shughur and Latakia in the west, to various fronts across Idlib and northern Hama, to Aleppo in the east. Most recently Tavhid va Jihod fighters have been seen manning the frontlines in Jebel al-Zawiyah, around the Aleppo-Idlib border near al-Atarib, and in the mountains of Latakia.

As with other small muhajirin factions, many Tavhid va Jihod fighters have combat experience outside of Syria and carry out various specialized tasks such as serving as inghimasi shock troops and or in sniper squadrons.

Like all armed factions in northwestern Syria, Tavhid va Jihod primarily operates Soviet-era Russian and Eastern European-produced weapons, either captured over the years from the Syrian army or bought on the Idlib black market. At times its fighters have been seen using ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish and American made weaponry.

These most likely stem from stockpiles of other groups in Idlib that have since been sold to or seized by jihadi factions. Tavhid va Jihod’s possession of such weaponry, including a plethora of Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) systems implies that it is relatively well funded, likely through clandestine donations by supporters over the internet. On at least one occasion Tavhid va Jihod has been seen operating a Suicide Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (SVBIED). This occurred on 1 March 2020 when a KTJ fighter went kaboom! in a car kaboom targeting a regime position during the defense of Jebel al-Zawiyah.

MEMBERSHIP
According to a source of STJ’s within an Idlib opposition faction, Tavhid va Jihod’s members and largely reside in Jebel al-Summaq and in the Jisr al-Shughur countryside and maintain a distance from local civilian life. The source estimated that Tavhid va Jihod fields approximately 500 fighters, the majority of whom are ethnically Uzbek or Tajik, many from the Fergana valley. Ali al-Hamwi, an expert on Islamic groups in Syria placed the number higher, at 1,200, and told STJ that many of them gained fighting experience in Afghanistan, in support of the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
against the US military. One noteworthy aspect of Tavhid va Jihod’s membership is the group’s repeated claims to attract new recruits from abroad, a quite rare phenomenon since ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
clamped down on cross border traffic in and out of Syria beginning in 2014. These claims correspond with reports of Tavhid va Jihod recruitment networks still active in Central Asia.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Foreign fighters in NW Syria invested by Turkey, HTS

2023-03-24

[NPASYRIA] Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS, formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front) continues to use imported muscle as political leverage in coordination with ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
, as well as a tool against government forces and opposition factions, taking advantage of the large number of foreigners who cannot leave areas under their control.

In 2012, imported muscle from different countries began entering Syria through Turkey. ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish intelligence reportedly guided the bully boyz into different factions, the most prominent of which are the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS), al-Nusra Front, Jund al-Sham, and Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.

LOCATIONS OF DEPLOYMENT
Exclusive sources from HTS’ Office of Foreign Fighters told North Press that there are "over 7,500 fighters" not of Syrian nationality affiliated with HTS in Idlib. "Almost 6,200 — including Uyghurs, Caucasians, Tajiks, Chechens — are the vanguard in the HTS frontlines,

...also known as cannon fodder...

whereas non-Syrian Arabs, mostly from north Africa, hold administrative, security, and military positions."

Foreign fighters who left HTS or refuse to be affiliated with it, whether in combat or ideology, are not included in official statistics. They live with their families in the towns of al-Fu’ah, Kafraya, and Sarmin, in the northeastern countryside of Idlib, as well as in Ariha, Jisr al-Shughur, and various other villages. HTS’ prisons hold 340 imported muscle under charges of joining ISIS or espionage, according to the source.

A military source of HTS, affiliated with the Red Bands, one of the most brutal faction in its ranks, said they hold between 900-1,200 imported muscle from Chechnya, Tajikistan, and East Turkestan [China], in addition to Moroccans, Algerians, Libyans and several from Iraq and Egypt."

The most prominent foreign faction affiliated with HTS is the Bukhari Jamaat, which is composed of Chechens and Uyghurs, as well as Russian Caucasian groups. Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad has Uzbek, Turkmenistani, and Moroccan members. It also harbors fighters from Gulf countries, in addition to numbers of Syrians, and an Uzbek group, which holds over 550 krazed killers.

One of the most loyal foreign factions to HTS is the Turkmen Islamic Party, which holds the largest number of imported muscle, specifically Uyghurs, and is directly supported by Turkey because of their members’ Turkic origins. They also undergo training and security courses within ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish territory and have a hospitalization center in Antakya. Turkey has facilitated their entry into the country, according to the source.

The same source noted that there is also an Iranian faction, named the ’Sunni Youth in Iran’ under the command of ’Abu Muhammad al-Irani’, a former commander of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. ’Abu Yahya al-Asfehani al-Irani’, another high-ranking member of the faction, holds around 150 Iranian fighters, and is affiliated with HTS on the frontlines in Idlib.

HTS also harbors prominent leaders from al-Qaeda in Pakistain and Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, who "have the greatest influence on [HTS leader] al-Jolani’s military approach," according to the source.

Abu Ayub al-Maghrabi is the emir in charge of borders and border crossings and was a former al-Qaeda leader in Pakistain, before heading to Syria. Abu Abdulrahman al-Qahtani, one of Jolani’s top men, was a colleague of Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti, an al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan and the "most distinguished student of [al-Qaeda leaders] the late Osama bin Laden
...... who is now beyond all cares and woe......
and al-Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...
." Additionally, there is Mazhar al-Ways, the most notable member of HTS’ Shura Council, who operated under the command of ISIS between 2013 and 2014 in ISIS’ so-called ’Wilayat al-Khair’ province in Deir ez-Zor.

There is also Musleh al-Alyan, one of the "most famous politicians of HTS from Saudi Arabia

...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
," together with ’Abdullah al-Mehisani’, a Saudi national and "the most prominent jihadi agitator," who currently works covertly from his residence in Sarmada, in north Idlib.

The Uzbek faction within HTS includes Abu Salah al-Turkistani and Khattab al-Shishani, students of Saifullah al-Jazrawi, one of al-Qaeda’s emirs in Afghanistan during al-Zawahiri’s rule. Many of those who fought under al-Qaeda’s banner are currently in the ranks of HTS, but "avoid publicity for fear of liquidation," according to the source.

Link

India-Pakistan

Islamic State praises PFI, SIMI and there is a reason for it

2023-02-12

[OneIndia] The Islamic State

…the latest identity of Pakistan sock puppet National Development Front (NDF) and the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). They’re fond of IEDs, swords, Al Qaeda and Taliban propaganda, the perverse pleasures of Love Jihad, and have surprisingly well-trained connections with jihadis in Bangladesh and Pakistan...

Voice of Khorasan, an English language magazine which is published by the Afghanistan based, Islamic State in Khoisan Province (ISKP) said in its 20th edition also went on to praise the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The article totted 'Crackdown on Popular Front of India: Lessons for Indian Moslems,' was published in a magazine of 45 pages last week. The publication went on to defend the arrests of the members of the outlawed Death Eater organizations, SIMI and PFI. The article also went on to label them innocents.

The paper also criticised the police administration's actions towards the PFI and SIMI. The magazine notes that during the past seventy years, the Hindu governments have targeted Moslems. Following this pattern the PFI ~~activist ~~muppet~~~~s were arrested, the article noted.

The article then went on to praise the PFI by stating that it had made a name for itself as an organization which has been addressing the plight of the Moslems.

The Voice of Khorasan then went on to state that many PFI supporters have embraced the flag of Tawhid (Islamic monotheism) in many parts of the world, and many even gained Shahada (martyrdom).

The PFI was banned in 2022 while the SIMI was proscribed in 2002.

This is however not the first time that the Islamic State has praised the PFI. Even in the aftermath of the ban and recent arrests, the Islamic State has come out in support of the outfit.

The Islamic State by praising outfits such as the PFI and SIMI is looking to take the place of the two. It is appealing to the sympathisers of these groups to join is fold so that it can make its foothold in India. The Islamic State has made many efforts to set its footprint in India, but has failed completely. In this context the outfit is trying to make in-roads in India, an official OneIndia spoke with said.

The agencies had also learnt that many PFI supporters had joined the Islamic State., The PFI would look to make a comeback through its second rung leadership, while the Islamic State will try and take that space which is vacant as of now.

Link

Africa North

Tunisia launches probe into decade-old political killings

2023-02-07

[An Nahar] Tunisia's justice ministry said Monday it had set up a special commission to examine files relating to the investigation and prosecution over the 2013 killings of two prominent left-wing opponents.

The murders of Chokri Belaid and Mohammed Brahmi, coming just two years after the Arab Spring uprisings that began in the North African country, sparked a major political crisis.

Ten years later, the murder of the two, who opposed the policies of the then dominant Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha, remains shrouded in mystery.

An official statement said that Justice Minister Leila Jaffal had decided "in support of the justice process and to reveal the truth, on the formation of a special commission to follow up on the case of the liquidation of the two deaders".

She also authorized "a thorough judicial and administrative inspection" into files relating to the killings.

Belaid, a 48-year-old lawyer, was shot full of holes outside his Tunis home exactly 10 years ago on February 6, 2013.

The Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
jihadist group said it killed him, and also claimed the murder six months later in July of Brahmi.

Brahmi's killing forced Ennahdha to cede power to a government of technocrats, just after the adoption of a new constitution.

The following February, the authorities said that Belaid's alleged killer, Kamel Gadhgadhi, had himself been killed.

Relatives and representatives of Belaid and Brahmi have regularly accused political parties and some judges and lawyers of obstructing those seeking the truth behind the killings.

Relatives of Belaid accuse Ennahdha of being at least "indulgent" towards the often ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful discourse that erupted in the country after the murders.

Ennahdha denies this, saying that after the killings it designated the long-tolerated jihadist Ansar al-Sharia
...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet...
movement a "terrorist" organization.

In June last year, President Kais Saied dismissed dozens of magistrates, some of whom he believed to have put obstructed the investigations into the two killings.

Link

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