NOTE: This interview is from the Afghan Ṭālibān and unedited below. To see the first part click here and second part click here.
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Zul Qadah 26, 1431 A.H, Thursday, November 04, 2010
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
Arghandab district is located to the north of Kandahar city which has also taken center stage in the enemy operation and the enemy has also made bold claims of routing Mujahideen from the area in their recent propaganda reports. These reports have surfaced at a time when they enemy has neither made any considerable progress and neither has the situation of the district seen any change. To shed light on what has taken place in this district and its recent situation, Alemarah interviewed one of the district leaders, Mullah Muhammad Yasir.
Alemarah: Could you please shed light on Arghandab district’s current situation?
Mullah Muhammad Yasir: As you might already know that Arghandab is situated very close to Kandahar city and in the past few years Mujahideen extended their presence and took control of more areas in the district from which the enemy feared a great danger and therefore it also included this specific district in their push for the control of Kandahar but their assaults have been few, sporadic and very ineffective.
They started their campaign from North-Eastern area, where they had already established a huge base, into Khasro and Tarako Kala and similarly in Char Kot and Char Gholbi through Baba Sahib area but their operation did not yield any result in weakening Mujahideen or taking control of any of their strategically important areas but rather the only thing they did achieved was that of harming and causing damage to the lives and properties of civilians however they did build 2 new bases in close proximity to their old ones. The operation in Arghandab was not like that of the other districts as it was carried out for only a couple of days and the situation right now is no different than it was before the operation took place.
Alemarah: What do you say about the claims of the enemy of completely taking control of Arghandab?
Mullah Muhammad Yasir: Like all their other baseless claims this is also false. As a matter of fact, we invite international media journalists to come and check out the district for themselves, so they can see who controls majority of the district. The enemy only controls Baba Sahib, Nagahan and Manara which were also previously under their control but Mujahideen have been carrying out guerilla attacks in it on a regular bases. As for Char Gholba, Tabinan, Khasro, Shahtori, Shinan and the rest of areas, they are fully under Mujahideen control. The enemy only has outposts on the road which comes from Uruzgan then leads to Herat and similarly the road which leads towards the north from Baba Sahib area. All the rural areas are under Mujahideen control, just like how they were under our control before and we have a very powerful presence in those areas.
Alemarah: Can you give us information about what took place in the operation?
Mullah Muhammad Yasir: The enemy started a campaign of heavy bombardment using cruise missiles and other means at night in Khasro’s Tarko Kala village and other places for 3 days. The bombing campaign was continued because their tanks and foot soldiers were hit by IED explosions in every meter of entering from the North and South of the district.
The civilians lost most of their property due to the enemy’s indiscriminate bombings and firing of cruise missiles. More than 20 houses were destroyed in Tarko Kala village alone. Arghandab is also covered with pomegranate trees and since this was the time of harvest, the civilians also faced a huge economic burden as their fields and trees were completely destroyed. The reason why civilians were not killed is because they had either already fled their homes or were forced by the repeated enemy warnings to vacate the district.
The enemy arrested more than 70 civilians in the name of Mujahideen, when in fact these people had only come from the city and surrounding areas to collect some of the pomegranates, so they can feed their families by selling these fruits. Similarly, more civilians were also arrested in the other areas but they were later released. Only 2 of our Mujahideen brothers have been Martyred in these operations but the enemy has suffered major losses due to the deadly IED explosions.
Alemarah: The enemy plans to make militias in the district. Do you see that happening?
Mullah Muhammad Yasir: These are just rumors spread by their propaganda machines. Nearly all the people of Arghandab are Mujahideen and are even helping us right now. The enemy cannot even leave their bases and they have been trying to implement such strategies in the last few years but without any effective outcome. The people of Arghandab hate the enemy and have therefore embraced us with open arms. There is no possibility that the enemy can take control of Arghandab by implementing such useless strategies.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Month: November 2010
As-Saḥāb media presents a new video message from Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī: "Who is going to defend ‘Aāfīa Ṣiddīqī?"
UPDATE 4/23/12 10:19 AM: Here is an Italian translation of the below Arabic video message and transcription and English and Spanish translations:
__________
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UPDATE 4/22/12 3:39 PM: Here is a Spanish translation of the below Arabic video message and transcription and English translation:
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UPDATE: Flashpoint Partners released an English translation of Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī’s recent audio tape titled “Who is going to defend ‘Aāfīa Ṣiddīqī?.” Click the link to download:
Dr. Ayman aẓ-Ẓawāhirī: “Who is going to defend ‘Aāfīa Ṣiddīqī?”
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NOTE: For whatever reason, WordPress/Scribd will not allow me to upload the video or pdf transcriptions of this message in Arabic, Urdu, Pashto, or Farsi. As such, below is an embedded Arabic transcription instead from my colleague Florian Flade’s blog who seems to have somehow gotten it to work. If I am able to upload the above files later I will. If not, and you want a copy of any of the above files mentioned, feel free to email me.
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[scribd id=40990028 key=key-j2xccc20bifpjq3r788 mode=list]
New statement from the Ministry of War of the Islamic State of Iraq [al-Qā’idah in Iraq]
NOTE: Earlier in the week, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) released two other messages regarding Christians. November 1 message: here. October 31 message: here. The below message was originally released yesterday in Arabic, which is under the English translation. Both are unedited from the original form.
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English:
All praise be to the one who has said:
“And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the Cause of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help.”
And may peace and blessings be upon the Prophet of Massacre and Mercy, who has said:
“I have been raised with the sword until the Day of Judgement, until Allah (swt) is worshipped alone without partner. My sustenance has been made under the shade of my spear, and humiliation and subjugation has been written for those who oppose my command. Whoever imitates a people is from them.”
May peace and blessings be upon all his family and companions. To proceed:
The time period given to the Christian Church in the Muslim land of Egypt to clarify the condition of our imprisoned sisters and release them has expired. We have heard nothing from them nor others who were addressed in this warning except things which affirm their co-conspiracy in fighting Islam and their determination in this, and what little regard they hold for the blood of their followers.
Thus, the Ministry of War of the Islamic State of Iraq announces that all Christian centers, organizations, and committees, whether their leaders or their workers, are legitimate targets for the Mujahideen wherever they may be. Let these idolators know, especially the senile Vatican Taghoot, that the sword of death will not rise from the necks of their followers until they announce their disassociation from the doings of the dog of the Egyptian Church, and they show the Mujahideen true efforts that they are pressurizing this war waging Church to free the female prisoners of their Church. Let them stay to their monasteries after this, and stop their attacks against Islam, His Book, and His Prophet (s), and its followers.
If not, then by He who sent Muhammad with the Truth to make it dominant over all other ways of life, we will open for them doors of destruction and seas of blood. We will uproot them and scatter them, and deal with them how Abu Umar Al-Baghdadi, may Allah have mercy on him, dealt with the Satan-worshippers (Ayzeediyyah). At that time they will realize that their chests are more prone to us than the shields of the Crusader soldiers. Let them take care where they place their feet and not be deceived about the Muslims.
As for the blessed operation which took place in the Karaadah district in Baghdad, it was carried out by five heros of Islam who answered the call of the Commander of the Believers, may Allah protect him. They stood in defense of our sisters in religion, and the battle which ensued with the apostate forces was something they deemed inevitable. Whether or not they responded to the call of the Mujahideen in the given time frame to release the imprisoned, the heros were prepared for this.
Poetry
The security apparatus responded with their usual foolishness, jumping to confrontation and giving no regards to the lives of the captives, after of course a media blackout about the demands of the Mujahideen. However the sons of the Sahabah were lying in wait for them. The massacre started by annihilating the first wave of apostates which tried to enter the building through the detonation of an VBIED and a number of IEDs planted around the building, which led to the death and injury of tens of those called the “Gold Team”, their dead body parts flinging far all over the area. They were struck with horror and were terrorized, and thus could do nothing else other than start to shoot blindly with all types of weapons at the building and its balconies. The battle lasted for more than five hours, joined by US jets. Towards the end of the battle, the heros stopped firing in order to lure the enemy, thinking that they had died. They entered the gates and porch of the building in large numbers, and the soldiers of Allah were lying in wait. At that time, they detonated their explosive belts in the midst of the apostates, killing no less than sixty special forces. All praise be to Allah first and last.
O Allah! Revealer of the Books! Swift in Punishment! Mover of the Clouds! Defeat of the Confederates! O Allah defeat them and shake them!
“And Allah is all power over His affairs, but most people know not.” (Yousuf:21)
The Ministry of War/ The Islamic State of Iraq
Source: Al-Fajr Media Center
Arabic:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله ربّ العالمين القائل: {وَمَا لَكُمْ لا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَلْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيّاً وَاجْعَلْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ نَصِيراً}، والصلاة والسلام على نبيّ الملحمة والرحمة القائل: (بُعثت بين يدي السّاعة بالسّيف حتّى يُعبد الله تعالى وحده لا شريك له، و جُعل رزقي تحت ظلّ رُمحي، وجُعل الذّل والصّغار على من خالف أمري، ومن تشبّه بقوم فهو منهم)، وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين، وبعد،،
فقد انتهت المُهلة التي مُنحت للكنيسة النصرانيّة في مِصر المسلمة لتبيان حال أخواتنا المأسورات وإطلاق سراحهنّ، ولم نسمع من هؤلاء ولا من غيرهم ممّن شملهم الإنذار إلا ما يُثبت تواطؤهم جميعا على حرب الإسلام وإصرارهم على ذلك، واستهانتهم بأرواح أتباعهم…
ولذا فإنّ وزارة الحرب بدولة العراق الإسلاميّة تُعلن أنّ كلّ المراكز والمنظمّات والهيئات النّصرانيّة رؤوساً وأتباعاً، أهدافٌ مشروعة للمجاهدين حيثما طالته أيديهم، وليعلم هؤلاء المشركون وفي مقدّمتهم طاغوت الفاتيكان الخرِف، أنّ سيفَ القتلِ لن يُرفع عن رقاب أتباعهم حتى يعلنوا براءتهم ممّا يفعل كلبُ الكنيسة المِصريّة، ويُظهروا للمجاهدين سعيهم الجادّ للضغط على تلك الكنيسة المحاربة لإطلاق سراح المأسورات من سجون أديرتها، وليَلزَموا بعد ذلك صوامعهم، ويكُفّوا عن الإسلام وكتابه ونبيّه صلّى الله عليه وسلّم وأهله أذاهم،
وإلا فوالذي بعث محمداً بالحقِّ ليُظهره على الدّين كلّه: لنفتحنّ عليهم أبواب الخراب وبحور الدّم، ولنستأصلنّ شأفتهم، ولنفرقنّ جمعهم، ولنسيرنّ فيهم سيرةَ أبي عمر البغداديّ رحمه الله في عبدة الشيطان، وليعلمنّ حينها أنّ صدورهم أغضّ لسيوفنا من دروع جند الصّليب، فلينظروا مواطئ أقدامهم ولا يغرنّهم في المسلمين الغرور..
أمّا العمليّة المباركة التي حصلت في حيّ الكرادة ببغداد فقد نفذّها خمسةٌ من أبطال الإسلام الذين استجابوا لاستنفار أمير المؤمنين حفظه الله قياماً بواجب النُّصرة لأخواتنا في الدّين، وكانت مسألة المواجهة مع القوات المرتدّة مسألة محسومة عند الإخوة المنفذّين، بغضّ النّظر عن الاستجابة لطلب المجاهدين في فترة الإمهال وإطلاق سراح المحتجزين من عدمه، وقد وطّن المنفذون أنفسهم لذلك ولسان حالهم:
وحمحَماتُ خُيول الله تُطربني *** الحرْب دائرةٌ والنّاصرُ اللهُ
صهيلُها في دُروب الحقّ يملكُني *** فكمْ أذوبُ بها وجداً وأهواهُ
وتصرّفت أجهزة الأمن الخائبة بغبائها المعهود، فتقصّدت المواجهة السّريعة واستهانت بحياة المحتجَزين بعد أن ضربت تعتيما إعلاميا على مطالب المجاهدين، فكان لهم أحفادُ الصّحابة بالمرصاد، وبدأت الملحمة بإبادة أول موجة للمرتدّين حاولت دخول البناية حيث تمّ تفجير سيارة مفخخة وعدد من العبوات المزروعة في محيط المبنى، مما أدى لمقتل وإصابة العشرات ممّا يسمّى بالفرقة “الذهبيّة”، تطايرت أشلاء جيفهم على مسافات بعيدة في المنطقة، أصيب المرتدّون بعدها بالذّهول ودبّ الرعب فيهم وارتبكت صفوفهم، ولم يجدوا غير الرمي الأعمى بكلّ أنواع الأسلحة على مداخل البناية
New statement from Jaysh al-Ummah: "The Release of Shaykh Abū Ḥafṣ al-Maqdisī – Amir of Jaysh al-Ummah"
NOTE: Jaysh al-Ummah (Army of the Ummah) is a Palestinian global jihadist group based in the Gaza Strip that sympathizes with the al-Qā’idah worldview. Two weeks ago they released a statement pleading with HAMAS to release their Amir Shaykh Abū Ḥafṣ al-Maqdisī. The below statement is from al-Rāyah, the media wing of Jaysh al-Ummah. In it they praise God for releasing their Amir. They are also thankful to the scholars and mujāhidīn who helped secure his release. They finish the message by reminding their followers of the evilness of their true enemy the Israelis and that they are prepared for any future fight against them.
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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على قائد المجاهدين سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه ومن سار على دربه بإحسان إلى يوم الدين تم بحمد الله سبحانه وتعالى مساء هذا اليوم الإفراج عن الشيخ المجاهد أبو حفص المقدسى أمير جيش الأمة فى بيت المقدس وإننا فى مؤسسة الراية الاعلامية نهنئ أميرنا وكافة مجاهدى جيش الأمة ونقول لأميرنا لو اعتقلونا جميعا فلن تسقط راية الجهاد فى سبيل الله طالما بقى فى الأمة مجاهد وهنا نتوجه بالشكر الجزيل لعلماء الأمة ومجاهديها الذين بذلوا جهودا مضنية للإفراج عن الشيخ ونقولهم بارك الله جهودكم ولن تؤتى الأمة ومجاهديها طالما بقى العلماء الصادعين بقول الحق ولا يخشون فى الله لومة لائم ذاكرين حديث المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم (عن أبي هريرة مرفوعا: لا يشكر الله من لا يشكر الناس.) وهو حديث صحيح صححه الألباني . وندعو من اعتقلوا شيخنا بلا ذنب اقترفه تذكروا أن العدو الصهيونى لايفرق بين أحد من أبناء شعبنا فى القدس وأم الفحم وقاطفى الزيتون فى مدن وقرى الضفة الغربية مما يتطلب من الجميع ان يقفوا صفا واحدا للتصدى للهجمة الصهيونى التى عبر عنها قادة العدو بأن كيانهم الغاصب هو دولة لليهود ويعملون على تطبيق سياسة الترانسفير هل أنتم معتبرون بدلا من أن تسجنوا أنفسكم فى سلطة حكم ذاتى هزيل صنعها العدو للحفاظ على أمنهم بأيدى فلسطينية وندعو مجاهدينا المرابطين على الثغور ان يكونوا على جهوزية عالية للتصدى لأى اجتياح صهيونى قادم
Mention in the Washington Post
In today’s Washington Post, Tara Bahrampour writes about Zachary Chesser (aka Abū Talḥah al-Amrīkī) and his usage of the internet as a tool to communicate his ideas and as a force that led him down the path to a more extreme radicalization process. The piece also highlights the interview I conducted with Chesser (via email) two weeks prior to his arrest.
Since that interview, the readership of this blog per month has increased six-fold. I just want to thank all of my dedicated readers from the past and welcome any new readers who first discovered this site through the WaPo article.
Also, I would like to reiterate that this blog is for academic purposes as well as a primary resource tool for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and journalists. I do not endorse any of the global jihadist primary source material that are posted on this site.
New audio message from the Soldiers of the Martyrs' Battalion [Islamic State of Iraq/ al-Qā’idah]: "To the Christians in Egypt"
UPDATE: Here is an English translation/transcript of the Arabic audio message below:
“To the Christians in Egypt”
[scribd id=40906524 key=key-2adp5jx605naiyyaug49 mode=list]
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NOTE: Yesterday, other individuals within the Islamic State of Iraq also issued a warning to Christians in Egypt. The statement released yesterday condemned the Copts for allegedly holding Copts who had converted to Islam against their own will. Today’s statement discusses yesterday’s hostage crisis at the Syrian Catholic Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdād. The message also called out Pope Shenouda III, the leader of the Coptic Church, and Arab Christians in the region and called again for the release of the converts.
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Soldiers from the martyrs battalion To the Christians in Egypt
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Here is an Arabic transcription of the above audio unedited:
The Caucasus Emirate Fitnah – Part 1 – Timeline
NOTE: The below timeline of information was published by a blog that follows the media from the Caucasus Emirate and supports its cause. For those who have missed the leadership struggle that ensued in the Caucasus Emirate between July and October this is a good primer with regard to dates and key information. For more details on the leadership struggle, see Jihadology’s coverage of the events unfold: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. All the information from the blog that follows the Caucasus Emirate media is unedited below.
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Here is the first post of the serie dedicated to the Finah among the Mujahideen of Wilayah Nokhchicho. It’s a simple timeline of the events, as they occured from July until now. In order to be as complete as possible, the references, sources and dates of the events and/or publication are also indicated. Feel free to correct or react in the comments.
Forgive the time, but some things retarded the work on this timeline. One of these things is that I am now engaged in the reading of some books about the Caucasus, especially one about the creation and the existence of the Imamat of the 19th Century (which is a kind of model for the current Emirate) and also of a short ‘fact book’ about the 1991 Chechen revolution. I hope that Insha’Allah I will be able to share here, what I will learn from these books.


July :
– Appointement of Aslambek as the Naib Amir of the CE and appointement of Husseyn as the Wali of Nokhchicho/Chechnya (07.14.2010, published on 07.24.2010, see here andhere, Omra in english here).
August :– Announcement of the resignation of Abu Uthman and appointement of Aslambek as the new CE Amir (published on 08.01.2010, see here, in english here).
– Video statement of Aslambek, Husseyn, Tarhan and Muhannad in which they acknowledge the resignation of Abu Uthman (published on 08.02.2010, see here).
– Retractation of Abu Uthman (08.02.2010, published on 08.04.2010, see here, the statement in english here).
– Publication on Djama1at.com of a video statement of Aslambek, Husseyn, Tarhan and Muhannad in which they withdraw their Bayah (08.10.2010, published on 08.13.2010, seehere, the original page seems to have disapeared from Djama1at, here in english).
– Video statement of Abu Uthman in which he says that Muhannad leads the Fitnah (08.29.2010, published on 09.25.2010, see here)
– Video statement of Abu Uthman and Supyan in which they explain the circumstances of the Fitnah (the resignation video, etc…) (08.30.2010, published on 09.09.2010, see here).
– Video statement of Abu Uthman (with Supyan, Islam and Khamzat), in which he dismiss the 4 Amirs from their postitions (published on 09.22.2010, but the date of the event is for sure the same as the others previous speeches. See here).
– Video statement of the Amirs Aslambek, Husseyn and Tarhan, in which they explain the reasons of their split and in which they announce that they recongnize Husseyn as the new Amir of Nokhchicho (the video has been recorded in September however the exacte date is unknown, published on 10.07.2010, see here, in english here).
October :– Appeal of Sheikh Tartusi to Muhnnad (published on 10.04.2010, see here, in english here).
– Publication by AlKavkaz of an audio speech by Muhnnad as an anwer to Sheikh Tartusi, though his voice is hardly recognizable (published on 10.05.2010, see here).
– Publication by ‘the service press of W.Nokhchicho’, trough Daymohk, of a list of the Amirs who withdraw their Bayah + a video of their Majlis recorded in August 2010 (published on 10.13.2010, see here and here).
– Omra N23 of Amir Dokku Abu Uthman, in which he announces the disbanding of the South-Western and Eastern fronts (10.09.2010, published on 10.15.2010, see here).
– Clarification of Amir Dokku Abu Uthman about the Fitnah (10.09.2010, published on 10.17.2010, see here).
Code :
Date of the event, known for sure
Date of publication