Sayyid Imam has some surprising things to say about Sayyid Qutb and some interesting speculation on Zawahiri’s tenuous position in al-Qaeda. He also observes that Libyan and Mauritanian students serve as Zawahiri’s primary research assistants. I don’t know about their nationalities, but there’s no doubt Zawahiri has research assistants (as do many productive academics). […]
Archive for the ‘Iraq’ Category
The Denudation Of The Exoneration: Part 12
Posted: 1st December 2008 by Will McCants in AQ Leadership, Egypt, Iraq, ZawahiriTags: Sayyid Imam, Zawahiri
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The Denudation Of The Exoneration: Part 8
Posted: 28th November 2008 by Will McCants in AQ Leadership, Bin Laden, Egypt, Hamas, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, WMD, ZawahiriTags: Bin Laden, Sayyid Imam, Zawahiri
In part 8, Sayyid Imam continues to hammer al-Qaeda for bringing disaster to the Middle East and for the hypocrisy of its leaders. He puts forward the odd claim that AQ lied to the U.S. about WMD in Iraq and about AQ ties with Iraq to push the U.S. to invade observes that Iran and […]
Zawahiri the XO
Posted: 11th September 2008 by Will McCants in AQ in Iraq, AQ Leadership, Bin Laden, Iraq, Islamic State, Jihadi media, Recruitment, tactics, ZawahiriTags: Abu Ayyub al-Masri, al-Qaeda Central, al-Qaeda in Iraq, Bin Laden, Islamic State of Iraq, Zawahiri
The US military has given CNN letters that Zawahiri wrote in March 2008 to senior al-Qaeda commanders in Iraq (hat tip SK). Much of the content has been filtered through an MNFI spokesman so it’s hard to use CNN’s summary to assess al-Qaeda’s fortunes in Iraq. Nevertheless, since the summary fits with the bleak picture […]
Major Contributor to Ekhlaas Killed in Iraq
Posted: 24th August 2008 by Will McCants in AQ in Iraq, Iraq, Islamic State[Scott Sanford] Abu Kandahar (أبو قندهار) reported on Ekhlaas that coalition forces, “crusaders,” killed Ekhlaas member Abu Hurayra 2 (أبو هريرة 2), a major contributor to Ekhlaas, in northern Iraq’s Ninawa province on 21 August 2008. Abu Kandahar is a main contributor to Ekhlaas and Ekhlaas has given him the title of “distinguished pen (قلم […]
The Adventures of Sinam
Posted: 15th August 2008 by Will McCants in AQ in Iraq, Iraq, Islamic State, Travel RoutesTags: al-Qaeda in, Haditha, Haqlaniya, Islamic State of Iraq, martyrdom
On August 9, a member of the Islamic State of Iraq announced–via an intermediary on the Ekhlaas forum–the death of Sinam al-Ramadi. Sinam was an al-Qaeda member who operated in Ramadi and who participated on a number of forums, including Faloja. On the day of the announcement, an Ekhlaas member named Halima posted an eyewitness […]
New Issues of Two Jihadi Journals
Posted: 14th August 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, Hamas, Iraq, Islamic State, Jihadi journals, Strategy, training campsTags: Hamas, Iraq, Islamic State of Iraq, Jihadi journals, Strategy, training, Zawahiri
Issue 28 of Sada al-Jihad is out. Articles include, “Hamas Responds Negatively to the Invitation of Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri” and “The Intellectual Pollution of the Followers of the Salafi-Jihadi Method.” A new journal, Qadaya Jihadiyya (Jihadi Issues), has also be released. The production quality is better than most of the Jihadi journals and the articles […]
Spinning the Failure of the Islamic State of Iraq
Posted: 13th August 2008 by Will McCants in AQ in Iraq, Iraq, Islamic StateTags: Iraq, Islamic State of Iraq
More evidence that the failure of the Islamic State of Iraq is severely demoralizing Jihadis, at least in the Arabic-speaking world. Asad al-Jihad2, a popular commentator, has written a new booklet, “The State of Islam Remains Defiant.” In it, he seeks to assuage growing doubts about the viability of the Islamic State of Iraq: Upon […]
Jihadis Apprehensive About the Future
Posted: 7th August 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, AQ in Iraq, Iraq, MotivationsTags: Afghanistan, Iraq, morale
Jihadica reader Jallen asks some good questions about the pessimism of Jihadis regarding Iraq: How long have forum members been pessimistic over Iraq? Is the pessimism widespread or just a few members in one forum? Is pessimism over Iraq matched by increased optimism over Afghanistan or are these independent? It depends which forum you read. […]
Ekhlaas Members Travel to Somalia, Iraq
Posted: 27th July 2008 by Will McCants in Iraq, Somalia, Travel RoutesTags: foreign fighters, Iraq, Somalia
Under_cover2, a member of Ekhlaas, announced two weeks ago that two of his fellow forum members have made the transition from forum fighters to foreign fighters. One went to Somalia, the other to Iraq. Iraq makes sense, particularly for Jihadis living nearby. But Somalia? I don’t see it mentioned much as a destination anymore. Document […]