ji·had·ica

More Tripoli Action

Two videos, allegedly of Alawi fighters in Tripoli, have been posted online. Minus the guns, these guys look like they’re ready to go clubbing (this kind , not this kind ). The first video is of Alawi youth firing their guns into the air on their home turf of the Jabal Muhsin neighborhood of Tripoli. alawi-youth-in-jabal-muhsin-firing-guns The second is of Alawis firing into the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbana. alawi-youth-fire-on-bab-al-tabbana These clips should give readers a greater sense of what’s boiling in Tripoli. And you can see why Sunni militants in Bab al-Tabbana are worried about the better-armed Alawis.

Read More »
Will McCants July 22, 2008

Jihadi Action Hero Dies in Ayn Hilwa, Lebanon

Over the weekend, Shihada Jawhar was killed in the Ayn Hilwa refugee camp in Lebanon, along with two others, in fighting between Jund al-Sham, a Sunni militant group, and Fatah. Jawhar, who fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq, is best known for a revealing interview with al-`Arabiyya’s program “Death Industry” upon his return to Ayn Hilwa.   As you can see from his exchange with the host, Shihada typifies the Jihadi action hero I wrote about a few days ago.  He’s a little less cocky in later a New York Times interview, probably because he had just burned himself making a bomb. Reaction on the forums is mixed.  Some feel that Shihada was just a loudmouth who got what was coming to him, while others view him as a hero.

Read More »
Will McCants July 21, 2008

Sunni Youth of Tripoli: Keep Your Powder Dry

The motives of the Sunni Muslim youth fighting in the Bab al-Tabbana neighborhood of Tripoli, Lebanon continues to animate discussion on Ekhlaas. One poster, Hafidat Usama (Granddaughter of Usama), claims to live in Bab al-Tabbana and to have witnessed the fighting. Hafidat asserts that the youth only armed themselves after seeing that the Lebanese army was not able to enter the neighborhood. Although the youth could not match the heavy weaponry of their `Alawi opponents, they manged to fight them to a standstill. Hafidat is annoyed with Umm al-Faruq, another female Ekhlaas member, who accused the Tabbana youth a few days ago of fighting for Saad al-Hariri’s Future Movement and of not being properly pious in their appearance or behavior. Hafidat shoots back that the youth were only fighting to protect their religious community and not for political reasons. Another member, Abu Hajir al-Kinani, counsels caution, explaining that Jihadis living

Read More »
Will McCants July 17, 2008

Proof that Sincere Sunnis Are Fighting in Tripoli, Lebanon

Ekhlaas member Abu al-Bara’ al-Shami uploaded this video as proof that sincere Muslim youth are fighting solely to protect their religion and coreligionists in Tripoli.  I don’t think it proves his point at all.  In fact, the video suggests something else: the young men are relishing a chance to play superhero.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t sincere, but it’s hard to believe that there’s not a little bit of this going on.  You be the judge: Video: rpg-attack-in-bab-al-tabbana-tripoli

Read More »
Will McCants July 16, 2008

Trouble in Tripoli

Lebanon that is. Over the past few days, there has been fighting between the Jabal Muhsin and Bab al-Tabbana neighborhoods that has killed a handful of people and injured dozens. The former is predominantly Alawi and the latter is Sunni. The clash has prompted confused speculation on Ekhlaas. No one is sure who is fighting or who to root for. Abu_3ubayda puts it best when he says, “The resistance now is spontaneous and unorganized. What has happened so far is improvised.” One point of contention is the extent of Salafi involvement. Some members say that most of the Sunnis fighting are Salafis, while others deny it. Bab al-Tabbana is said to be a stronghold of Salafism in Tripoli, where the puritanical Sunni movement has become powerful, if fractured, in recent years. Still, not every Sunni taking up arms in the neighborhood identifies as a Salafi. Document (Arabic): 7-10-08-ekhlaas-truth-of-battle-between-sunnis-and-alawis-in-northern-lebanon

Read More »
Will McCants July 14, 2008

Prospects for Jihadis in Lebanon

Mahan Abedin has a revealing interview with Omar Bakri Muhammad in Asia Times Online. Omar Bakri was the head of al-Muhajiroun, a Jihadi group in the U.K. Soon after the 7/7 attacks, he left the U.K. for his home country of Lebanon, where he settled in Tripoli and now directs the Iqra Islamic Trust. Since Omar Bakri is an old hand in the Jihadi movement and plugged into the militant scene in Lebanon, his speculation on the prospects for transnational Sunni militants there is worth considering. Omar Bakri doesn’t think Lebanon is a good environment for al-Qaeda for the following reasons:

Read More »
Will McCants June 15, 2008

Fatah al-Islam Leader Threatens Hezbollah, U.S.-Friendly Sunnis

Shakir al-`Absi, the fugitive leader of Fatah al-Islam, has issued his second audio statement since the defeat of his organization at the hands of the Lebanese Army last year. In it, he claims that the U.S. knows that it cannot directly break the “power” (shawka–a favorite Jihadi term) of the Sunnis in the Middle East, so it is using proxies to achieve the same result. This is particularly the case in Lebanon. Firstly, the U.S. is working through Sunni proxies to take control of the state’s material and media resources. Secondly, it is deliberately empowering Iran and its rejectionist allies in the region. (“Rejectionists” is a pejorative term used for Twelver Shia, who reject the first three caliphs). `Absi goes on to say that the Sunnis of Lebanon have no one to fight for them. Hezbollah is not serious about fighting Jews; they just want control of Lebanon. And the

Read More »
Will McCants June 9, 2008

Jihadi Operations in Northern and Southern Lebanon

On Saturday, an Ekhlaas member asked, “Have Jihadi operations returned to striker the Crusader Lebanese Army?” His proof that it might be so are two pieces of that day’s news: There was an explosion at the intelligence headquarters of the Lebanese Army at Abdeh in northern Lebanon. The army killed a Palestinian suicide bomber at a military checkpoint outside the Ayn Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. The first incident has been claimed by Fatah al-Islam, the Lebanese Jihadi group that was crushed by the Lebanese Army in the nearby Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp last summer. The second incident does not seem to have made news yet in the English-language media, but it has received coverage in the Arabic press.  That the attacks came within hours of each other, one in the far north, the other in the far south, suggests coordination.

Read More »
Will McCants June 3, 2008

Bin Laden Statement Prompts Speculation on AQ Strategy in Palestine (Part 3)

In the final installment of the series, we’ll look at a piece of analysis from Ekhlaas member Abu Hamza 2005 titled, “A Modest Reading of al-Qaeda’s Strategy in the Levant [bilad al-sham]”. Abu Hamza begins by referring to Bin Laden’s 2007 statement, “To Our People in Iraq.” The statement, according to Abu Hamza, indicates that the Islamic State of Iraq is the nucleus of a future caliphate, but the caliphate will not be realized until the countries surrounding Iraq are defeated and Israel is destroyed. For this reason, Al-Qaeda “the Mother” (i.e. al-Qaeda Central) is very keen on expanding into the Levant and the other countries surrounding Israel. It also wants to establish branches in important global capitals, which can put pressure on foreign countries and scatter the focus of the enemy. Abu Hamza says that he is certain that AQ cells are being created in the Palestinian territories, Syria,

Read More »
Will McCants May 24, 2008

New Bin Laden Message

If you read Ekhlaas’ sign-in page that I posted yesterday, you already know that Bin Laden has released a new message. Like his message last week, the new one is inspired by the 60th anniversary of Israel, but this time it is directed to the Muslim community, not the West. Here’s a summary: Muslims, Bin Laden argues, will only reclaim Palestine from the Jews by fighting, not compromising, since the only law that matters today is “the law of the predator.” To fight a wolf, you have to be a wolf. Before the twentieth century, the Ottoman empire protected Palestine from the rapacious Crusaders, but then Arab leaders like Sharif Husayn and Abd al-Aziz Al al-Saud worked with the British to destroy the empire, which removed Palestine’s protection. Since then, Western proxies in the region have prevented Muslims from reclaiming Palestine. To reverse this situation, Muslims need to follow the

Read More »
Will McCants May 19, 2008
Latest Jihadica
Subscribe

Copyright © 2024 Jihadica