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Chart: "Al-Qaida's Online Couriers: The Al-Fajr Media Center and the
Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF)"
[May
2009]: The NEFA Foundation has released a new interactive chart by
NEFA Senior Investigator Evan Kohlmann titled, "Al-Qaida's Online
Couriers: The Al-Fajr Media Center and the Global Islamic Media
Front (GIMF)." The chart maps out in detail the multi-step process
by which multimedia recorded by mujahideen organizations in the
field is distributed online--including the critical roles played by
the pre-eminent Internet logistical service providers (namely Al-Fajr
and the GIMF). As indicated by the chart, the Al-Fajr Media Center
has official "contractual" partnerships with the As-Sahab Media
Foundation, Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI), Al-Qaida in
the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen), Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM),
Ansar al-Islam in Iraq, and the Islam Awazi Information Center (the
media wing of the Turkestan Islamic Party). Conversely, at present,
the GIMF boasts its own active service relationships with Jaish
al-Islam and Tawheed wal-Jihad in the Gaza Strip, and the Shabaab
al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia. |
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Expert Witness Report from United States v. Oussama Kassir (Southern
District of New York)

[May
2009]: The NEFA Foundation has released the expert witness report
and PowerPoint slideshow presented by NEFA Senior Investigator Evan
Kohlmann during the recent trial of Swedish national Oussama Kassir
in federal court in New York. On May 12, 2009, Kassir was convicted
on all eleven counts he faced, including conspiracy to provide
material support to Al-Qaida and conspiracy to kill or maim persons
overseas. Kassir allegedly served a key role in the notorious online
jihad media organization known as the "Islamic Media Center" (IMC).
In 2003, the IMC published detailed instructions for how to set up
underground terrorist training camps in Western
countries--instructions which were attributed to "Abu Khadija", a
known alias of Kassir. |
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"Shabaab al-Mujahideen: Migration and Jihad in the Horn of Africa"

[May
2009]: The NEFA Foundation has released a new report by NEFA Senior
Investigator Evan Kohlmann titled, "Shabaab al-Mujahideen: Migration
and Jihad in the Horn of Africa." The report is a comprehensive
analysis of the Shabaab al-Mujahideen ("Mujahideen Youth") Movement
in Somalia, including sub-chapters on "The Early Years - Al-Ittihad
al-Islami (AIAI) and 'Blackhawk Down'"; "Ethiopia and the Ogaden War
(1993-1997)"; "The Islamic Courts Union (ICU)"; "Rise of the Shabaab
al-Mujahideen Movement"; "The Current Status of Shabaab and its
Islamist Rivals"; "The Role of Foreign Fighters"; "Shabaab's
Propaganda Strategy and Media Infrastructure"; and, "Shabaab al-Mujahideen
and the Issue of Ocean Piracy". |
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Chart: "Jihad Media Organizations in Central
Asia"

[March 2009]: The NEFA Foundation has released a new roster created
by NEFA Senior Investigator Evan Kohlmann charting the eight most
prominent jihad media organizations active in Central Asia--namely,
Al-Qaida's "As-Sahab Media Foundation", "Labayk Media Productions",
"Ummat Studios", the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan's "Jundullah
Media", the Islamic Jihad Union's "Badr at-Tawheed Media", the
Turkestan Islamic Party's "Islam Awazi Information Center", "Manba
al-Jihad Media", and the official media wing of the Islamic Emirate
of Afghanistan (the Taliban). Taken together, these various
underground organizations are responsible for producing the vast
majority of mujahideen propaganda videos that have originated from
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and western China over the past
five years. |
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'The Eleven': Saudi Gitmo Veterans Returning
to the Fight

[February 2009]: The NEFA Foundation has released a new report by
NEFA Senior Investigator Evan Kohlmann titled, “The Eleven: Saudi
Guantanamo Veterans Returning to the Fight.” The report includes
in-depth profiles of eleven former Saudi detainees in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, who are now listed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s
roster of its 85 “most wanted” terrorist suspects. The NEFA
report notes, “for all the brimming confidence in their “Afghan”
credentials, the detailed accounts of these men offer credible
reasons to doubt their actual military capabilities… These men now
face somewhat of a daunting challenge to prove their military
capabilities in the face of their relatively young age and their
lack of sustained frontline combat experience… In fact, the major
distinction between men like al-Shehri and al-Harbi versus previous
generations of Al-Qaida leadership in Saudi Arabia is that they have
chosen to launch their operations from a lawless Bedouin-style
sanctuary just beyond Saudi borders in Yemen—instead of the risky
urban warfare model adopted by Abdelaziz al-Muqrin and his
contemporaries… It remains to be seen whether the intriguing
decision to move the central Al-Qaida leadership beyond the reach of
the Saudi Interior Ministry—and away from urban areas tightly packed
with Muslim civilians—will have a significant long-term strategic
impact in terms of addressing the group’s litany of setbacks.” |
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Inside As-Sahaab: The Evolution of Al-Qaida
Propaganda

[December 2008]: The NEFA Foundation has released a new report by
NEFA Senior Investigator Evan Kohlmann titled “Inside As-Sahaab: The
Story of Ali al-Bahlul and the Evolution of Al-Qaida’s Propaganda.”
The report is based upon previously unseen evidence presented during
the recent Guantanamo Bay military commissions trial of Yemeni
national Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul. In November 2008, a
military jury convicted al-Bahlul of conspiracy, solicitation, and
providing material support to terrorism. During questioning
conducted by FBI and NCIS agents, Al-Bahlul admitted that he had
been “personally appointed” by Usama Bin Laden to take charge of As-Sahaab,
allegedly writing the final “martyrdom” wills of 9/11 hijackers and
producing one of Al-Qaida’s most enduring terrorist propaganda
films, “The Destruction of the U.S.S. Cole” (otherwise known as
“State of the Ummah”). The report also analyzes the significance of
another exhibit submitted by prosecutors in their case against Mr.
al-Bahlul – the rough-cut recorded “martyrdom” will of 9/11 hijacker
Ziad Jarrah. According to the NEFA report, "clearly, this revealing
video footage seems to suggest that the theatrical ‘martyrdom’ wills
of Al-Qaida suicide operatives are much more carefully scripted and
deliberately orchestrated than the As-Sahaab Media Foundation would
otherwise wish to acknowledge."
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PURCHASE
ONLINE VIA AMAZON.COM
"About [Al-Qaida's]
operations in Europe, Evan F. Kohlmann has written an illuminating
book... Kohlmann is at his best in exhaustively reporting the
details of such terrorist episodes. He has compiled prodigious
research about the perpetrators and their support networks.
Moreover, he never loses sight of the strategy behind the individual
attacks... [a] genuine historical analysis."
- Political Science Quarterly (PSQ)
"This book is a
pathbreaking piece of research… Kohlmann addresses the issue in
unprecedented detail, exploiting a wide variety of available sources
to piece together a largely neglected segment of contemporary
Bosnian history… [which] provide critical insights into terrorist
preferences, motives, and interests… The book… is descriptive and
empirically rich."
- Studies in Conflict and Terrorism
"Written by a genuine
expert in the subject... this is a lucid and informed account of the
involvement of the mujahedin in Bosnia, one that lays the myths to
rest... This excellent book is essential reading for anyone wishing
to understand the truth about an episode of the Bosnian war that is
so frequently misrepresented by those with a political motive for
doing so."
- Dr. Marko Hoare,
History Faculty, University of Cambridge
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