Globalterroralert.com

An Information Clearinghouse for Counterterrorism Researchers, Analysts, and Policymakers

Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network

"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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Globalterroralert.com Archive
(April 2004 - November 2007)

Israel / Lebanon

4/29/04	Hamas Suicide Car Bomb Video Hamas releases a video showing a suicide car bomb attack on an Israeli military checkpoint in the Gaza Strip. Hamas identified the driver as 23-year old Tareq Hmeid.
9/11/04	Hamas Video of RPG Attack on Israeli Tank in Gaza The Palestinian group Hamas has released new video of a Sept. 9 Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack on an Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip near the Al-Jabaliya Refugee Camp. The Israeli Army has just ended 3-day "large scale" incursion into the northern Gaza strip aimed at deterring Hamas rocket attacks. Eight Palestinians were reported killed.
12/24/04	Hamas Releases Video of Tunnel Bombing in Gaza The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas has released video of a December 12 tunnel bombing attack on an Israeli military outpost in the Gaza Strip. Five Israeli soldiers were killed and six wounded near Rafah when a booby-trapped tunnel blew up underneath the outpost. This attack marks the second major effort in the last six months by Hamas operatives to video-record the mining and detonation of makeshift tunnels under Israeli army outposts.
7/26/05	"Tawheed wal-Jihad" Claims Recent Sinai Bombings In a new communiqué posted online and verified as authentic by sources close to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the "Egyptian Tawheed wal-Jihad Movement" has claimed responsibility for recent suicide bombing attacks in the Sinai resort towns of Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh. The statement justified the latest carnage in Sharm el-Sheikh as the "response to the orders of Allah and his Prophet to fight the infidels everywhere [and] to demonstrate our loyalty to the commanders of the mujahideen, Usama Bin Laden and Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri." Only hours after the latest bombings in Egypt, Zarqawi's Media Wing released a video showing Al-Qaida interrogators questioning former Egyptian Ambassador to Baghdad Ihab el-Sherif concerning the location of Jews in the Sinai Peninsula--to which an obviously distressed Sherif responded, "From Taba to Sharm al-Sheikh."
8/6/05	Al-Qaida Faction Claims Attack in Gaza Strip A previously unknown group calling itself the "Al-Qaida-Palestine Frontier Jihad Brigades" has released a video allegedly depicting an August 1 Sajil rocket attack on Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. According to a statement read by a masked militant, "we confirm that this operation comes as a part of the global Islamic Jihad that has been initiated by our brothers from Al-Qaida’s Committee against the Jews and the crusaders... these brigades [have]... a faithful spirit pushing forward the mujahideen in Palestine to be decisive and unite behind faithful commanders who do not negotiate or surrender... It is a spirit that saves the mujahideen from falling for the tricks of some of our politicians… who seek status and prestige under the banner of kufr [disbelief], treason, and corruption." - Click to view English translation of communiqué - Click to view video released by "Al-Qaida-Palestine"
8/16/05	Palestinian Al-Qaida Swears Oath to Mullah Omar A previously unknown group calling itself the "Al-Qaida-Palestine Frontier Jihad Brigades"--responsible for at least one rocket attack on Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip--has issued a detailed political platform and has sworn a bayat (oath of allegiance) to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. According to a statement issued by the group, "we also pledge our allegiance to the leader of the Islamic army and the global jihad Abu Abdullah Usama Bin Laden. Should he order us to join him, then we will and we will not abandon him until we reach the heart of America. Let him order us—the commanders and the soldiers—to do whatever he desires and we shall obey his orders." - Aug. 9 political platform of the Frontier Jihad Brigades - Aug. 15 oath of allegiance to Mullah Mohammed Omar
10/8/05	"Al-Qaida's Jihad in Palestine" Distributes Flyers An organization calling itself "Al-Qaida's Jihad in Palestine" has reportedly been distributing leaflets from the Salahudeen al-Ayyubi Mosque in the Gaza Strip on the occasion of Ramadan. One document--urging Muslims to "restore the era of the first Islamic empire"--described how "[t]he West appointed governments that are loyal to their interests, and attack those who stand up for Islam... The Westerners have forced us to taste shame and humiliation... We call upon all the factions to grasp our hands and join forces under one raised banner: the banner of Islam and al-Tawheed."
4/11/06	Al-Qaida Cell Claims Rocket Attack in Israel A previously unknown group calling itself "Al-Qaida's Committee in Palestine" has claimed responsibility for an alleged rocket attack on a "strategic target" in Israel. According to a statement from the group, "The operation was kept in secret until now in order to insure the safety of our mujahideen brothers. We proudly declare the initiation of our attacks and we inform the Zionist enemy to expect more innovative operations. Let the world realize that jihad in the cause of Allah will not be stopped by borders and walls. We inform our brothers that we keep our doors open to all brothers who want to declare jihad in the cause of Allah."
7/31/06	Sunnis Divided Over Hezbollah War in Lebanon After days of Israeli military attacks on targets in South Lebanon thought linked to the Shiite Hezbollah militia, sentiment among Sunni extremists remains divided over the proper response to events in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. While the Taliban and Al-Qaida's deputy commander Ayman al-Zawahiri have emphasized the importance of broadly confronting Israeli forces across sectarian and nationalist lines, other Sunni Muslims have reacted more cautiously--among them, the Al-Fatihin Army in Iraq, which bluntly warned in a new statement, "the war in Lebanon weakens the jihad in Iraq." - Communiqué from the Taliban on the War in Lebanon - Communiqué from the Al-Fatihin Army on Lebanon - Video of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri on Gaza and Lebanon - Training video of Hezbollah fighters in South Lebanon See also: [CTBLOG]: "Zawahiri's Message: Landmark Call for Unity?"
2/10/07	Palestinian Militants Hail the "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI) On February 2, the Salahudeen Brigades in Palestine--an Islamic militant faction associated with the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC)--released a new statement on behalf of commander "Abu Abir" (a.k.a. Mohammed Abdul Aal). In the communique, Abu Abir directly endorsed Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" as "a symbol of dignity that every Arab Muslim is proud of." Moreover, according to Abu Abir: "...we are proud of what you are achieving in the righteous land of Iraq, which is both ours and yours... We have been fighting the same battle and it extends all the way from here—the Land of Ribat [Palestine]—to the Tigris and the Euphrates, and to all of the righteous rivers. The forces of oppression have together pounced upon us. The conspiracy [in Iraq] is the same conspiracy [in Palestine] and infidelity is infidelity, regardless of its various names and types. All of us are blessed with the honor of crushing the tyrants in this world under the hooves of the steeds of the mujahideen and the sandals of our warriors."
6/1/07	Al-Qaida Threatens Lebanon Over Fatah al-Islam On May 25, 2007, copies of a new video recording were publicly distributed over password-protected Al-Qaida Internet websites after being authenticated by the pre-eminent Al-Fajr Media Center. The seven-minute recording contains a speech by a masked individual identifying himself only as the “military commander of Al-Qaida’s Committee in Al-Shams” (“Greater Syria”). This is the first known occasion that any individual or organization inside of Lebanon has explicitly identified themselves as part of the international Al-Qaida terrorist network. The speaker addresses a message directly to the Patriarch of the Christian Maronite church in Lebanon: "pull back your dogs from our people, and cease your artillery fire—or else, from today onwards, there will be no safe place for any crusader in Lebanon, and as you strike, we will strike... If you do not stop, we will tear your hearts out with explosives, and surround your every post with our bombs. We will target your entire economy, starting with tourism and ending with all the incoming resources you [received when you] launched this new crusader war... We have ignored you previously, but we give you this final warning that from now on, an ocean of blood will be spilled.” See also: - [CTBLOG]: "Fatah al-Islam: Al-Qaida or Not?"