It’s late, I know, but I couldn’t let Mustafa Abu al-Yazid’s interview with al-Jazeera go uncommented. I found it absolutely fascinating. My hat is off to Ahmad Zaydan for finding Mustafa and asking him excellent questions. International media focused on the A-bomb remark, but this was neither a very significant or surprising part of the […]
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Abu al-Yazid Mending Fences with Hamas
Posted: 10th July 2009 by Thomas Hegghammer in Arab media, Hamas, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, propaganda8
Abu al-Yazid Alive
Posted: 18th August 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, AQ Leadership, PakistanTags: Mustafa Abu al-Yazid
That’s the claim of Zamjari, which Ekhlaas ranks as “a major author” on the forum. He writes: We proclaim to the supporters of the mujahids everywhere that our beloved shaykh is alive, prosperous, fighting, moving about freely, and leading battalions of mujahids. Martyrdom has not yet been decreed for him. That’s quite a claim for […]
Abu Ghaith and al-Qa’ida’s Dissident Faction in Iran
Posted: 11th March 2013 by Vahid Brown in AQ Leadership, Bin Laden, IranWith the recent arrest of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith (Abu Yusuf Sulayman Jasim Bu Ghayth), al-Qa’ida’s former spokesman and Bin Ladin’s son-in-law, there has been much speculation in the press about a group of senior al-Qa’ida figures who have spent much of the last decade in Iran. In this post I will revisit the writings of these […]
Al-Qaeda’s Top Scholar
Posted: 25th September 2014 by Kévin Jackson in Afghanistan, AQ CentralTags: Abu Walid al-Ansari, ابو وليد الانصاري
If the Bahraini jihadi ideologue Turki al-Bin`ali personifies “the caliphate’s scholar-in-arms” for the Islamic State, one would find difficult to name a similar leading figure in al-Qa`ida’s ranks. Indeed, although most of the senior jihadi scholars sided with Ayman al-Zawahiri in his conflict with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, none of them actually belong to the organization. […]
Virtual safe havens and the war of ideas
Posted: 31st March 2009 by Thomas Hegghammer in Afghanistan, Pakistan, propagandaAbu Muqawama has a great piece in the New Republic today. Given his very kind words for Will and myself, I am biased, but the article makes an extremely important point about the importance of virtual safe havens. Although I just posted and don’t really have the time to blog, I felt compelled to add […]
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Posted: 26th March 2009 by Thomas Hegghammer in AQ in Iraq, Bin Laden, China, Islamic State, Jihadi media, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, propaganda, Somalia, Yemen, ZawahiriI have been busy the past two weeks, but the jihadis have been busier. Bin Ladin has issued two audio statements, one proposing practical steps to liberate Palestine and the other about the treacherous government in Somalia. Al-Zawahiri warned against the forthcoming Crusader attack on Sudan, while Mustafa Abu al-Yazid has addressed the people of […]
New Issues of Two Jihadi Journals
Posted: 5th October 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, AQ Leadership, Jihadi journals, SomaliaTags: Afghanistan, Somali
Issue 12 of the Tala’i` Khurasan (Vanguards of Khurasan) is out. Several big names have written pieces, including Atiyyat Allah (we have to learn from our mistakes), Abu al-Walid al-Ansari (how past jihads failed), Abu Yahya al-Libi (fighting to restore the Sharia is the only way forward in Palestine), and Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (the meaning […]
Map of Recent Strikes on al-Qaeda Leadership in Pakistan
Posted: 12th August 2008 by Will McCants in AQ Leadership, PakistanTags: Abu Khabab, Abu Layth al-Libi, Abu Sulayman al-Jaza'iri, al-Qaeda, leadership, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, Pakistan
Reuters reports, on the authority of a Pakistani security official, that an “Abu Saeed al-Masri” was killed. The official said Masri is “among the top leadership of al Qaeda.” The identity of Masri is unknown, but the news media is claiming that it’s Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a close Egyptian friend of Zawahiri’s from the Sadat […]
Death of a Sulayman
Posted: 13th May 2008 by Will McCants in UncategorizedTags: Abu al-Yazid, Abu Sulayman al-`Utaybi, Afghanistan, Iraq, ISI
Abu Sulayman al-`Utaybi that is. On May 11, al-Fajr Media Center (one of the main distribution points for AQ material) posted a statement on the forums by Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a senior AQ leader in Afghanistan. Abu al-Yazid announced the death of al-`Utaybi, who was killed fighting U.S. forces in Paktia Province, Afghanistan. A sympathetic […]