[Editor's note: This post was written by Christopher Radler and Behnam Said, who are intelligence analysts based in Hamburg, Germany. For links to the original document, see the comments to the preview post.] On 3 May a message announcing the death of Eric Breininger (b. 3 August 1987) and three of his fellow combatants was [...]
Archive for the ‘Travel Routes’ Category
Guest Post: The Story of Eric Breininger
Posted: 11th May 2010 by Thomas Hegghammer in Afghanistan, Germany, training camps, Travel Routes20
A Brief History of Jihadism in Turkey
Posted: 26th June 2009 by Einar Wigen in Travel Routes, Turkey, Western booksDespite the Istanbul attacks in 2003, the Turkish fight against terrorism has remained largely synonymous with the fight against Kurdish separatists. To my knowledge, there are few if any in-depth academic studies of Turkish jihadism. Not even the 2003 Istanbul attacks have been closely examined by scholars, despite a wealth of available Turkish sources. At [...]
The Adventures of Sinam
Posted: 15th August 2008 by Will McCants in AQ in Iraq, Iraq, Islamic State of Iraq, 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 [...]
Weekend Detritus
Posted: 3rd August 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, art, Travel RoutesTags: Afghanistan, Bin Laden, forum fighter, graffiti
I’ve found a very interesting nugget for tomorrow night, but in the meantime here are two bits of debris: First is a July 31st announcement on the Firdaws forum that one of its members, Khattab al-Thaqafi, traveled to fight in Afghanistan. Thaqafi, we are told, contributed a great deal on the Internet and to Jihadi [...]
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 [...]
Walking the Talk: Forum Members Travel to Afghanistan and Iraq (Pt. 3)
Posted: 6th July 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Recruitment, Travel RoutesTags: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, martyrdom, UAE
Today we continue our look at a Kuwaiti cell and how its members transitioned from forum fighters to foreign fighters. When we left off, Badr al-Harbi and Bawasil had returned to Kuwait from the front in Afghanistan via Iran, entrusted with a special mission by Abu al-Layth al-Libi, a senior al-Qaeda leader. They were delayed [...]
Hamas Hands Over al-Qaeda Commander to Egypt
Posted: 3rd July 2008 by Will McCants in AQ Leadership, Egypt, Hamas, Palestinian Territories, Travel RoutesTags: al-Qaeda, Egypt, Hamas, Palestinian Territories, Qassam
According to Usama al-Asad at Ekhlaas, when the barrier between Gaza and Egypt was destroyed, one of the commanders of al-Qaeda tried to enter Gaza and form a Jihadi group with some disaffected elements of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades. When Hamas found out, they captured him and turned him over to Egypt. Usama [...]
Walking the Talk: Forum Members Travel to Afghanistan and Iraq (Pt. 2)
Posted: 2nd July 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, Iran, Kuwait, Recruitment, Travel RoutesTags: Abu Layth al-Libi, Afghanistan, Iran, Kuwait, Travel Routes
On Monday, we looked at the case of al-Miskin al-Muhajir/asdasd99, who finally made his way to Afghanistan. Miskin had hoped to go to Iraq in April with a group from Kuwait, but unnamed obstacles stood in his way. We don’t yet know the fate of Miskin, but we do know what happened to this earlier [...]
Walking the Talk: Forum Members Travel to Afghanistan and Iraq (Part 1)
Posted: 30th June 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, Iraq, Recruitment, Travel RoutesTags: Afghanistan, Iraq, Recruitment, Travel Routes
On the Firdaws forum yesterday, a member posted a message informing fellow Firdawsians that one of their own, asdasd99, had joined the caravan of jihad in Afghanistan. Asdasd99, who also goes by al-Miskin al-Muhajir (The Lowly Emigrant) on the Ekhlaas forum, had tried to go to Iraq a month ago with a group from Kuwait [...]