“Cut Off The Dead Body´s Head”- Al-Qaida Strategy Papers Discovered In Berlin

by Florian Flade

In Berlin two suspected Islamist terrorists are standing trial since January. Austrian Maqsood L. and Berlin resident Yusuf O. met in a Al-Qaida training camp in Waziristan and were tasked to recruit fellow Islamists in Europe to form terrorist cells.

In 2011 Yusuf O. and Maqsood L. left Pakistan´s tribal region and traveled to Hungary. Yusuf O. of Berlin then traveled to Maqsood´s home town of Vienna to make contact with Maqsood´s old friends. Maqsood himself traveled to Berlin to search for recruits in Yusuf´s former community.

The two men thought they were able to outsmart German and Austrian intelligence by not returning to their original home town. They were wrong. Maqsood L. was arrested in Berlin on May 16 2011 and Austrian police arrested Yusuf O.  in Vienna on May 31 2011.

Former Austrian soldier Maqsood L. was carrying USB sticks and a SD memory card in his underwear when police arrested him. The hardware was intensifly checked by German federal police BKA. It took IT experts several weeks until they were able to recover and unpack the files. Most of them had been hidden in movie and image files using camouflage and cryptic software. The RAR-Archive files had curious names, for example: “sexytanja.rar”.

Some of the original files were bearing the names of porn movies and pop songs. One movie file contained 142 hidden document files. Among them: PDF terrorist training manuals in German, English and Arabic.

Five documents presumably written by Al-Qaida officials were of great interest for Germany´s intelligence. They are a true treasure trove for counter-terrorism officials as none of them found on the Internet as open propaganda material.

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“Future_Work.docx”

Author: Sheikh Younis Mohammad al-Mauretani

Appears to be an Al-Qaida strategy paper aiming at improving the plotting of future terrorist attacks in the West. Main content was: using only a few attackers to carry out numerous small attacks. The aim, the authors writes, should be to create panic in Western societies, so the government would use more repressive measures against their own people.

At the same time Al-Qaida should try to carry out a “9-11 2.0″, a second huge attack with devastating effect on Western society. This is necessary, the paper states, to prove Al-Qaida´s commitment and capability.

According to German intelligence the author of the strategy paper is now captured Al-Qaida leader Sheikh Younis Mohammad al-Mauretani.

“Lessons_Learned_From_previous_operations.docx” , “Report_On_Operations.docx”

Author: likely Rashid Rauf

Both documents are listing Al-Qaida attacks of recent years including the London 2005 subway bombings and the failed “UK Airliner Plot”. The author is then commenting on mistakes made during the plotting process and realization.

When German federal police was asked who the possible author of the two papers was their analysis was: the documents were most likely written by British citizen Rashid Rauf – an Al-Qaida operative who is suspected to have been killed in a US drone strike in November 2008 – yet here has not been any confirmation for his death.

“mujahid”

Author: unknown

The file whose author is unknown is regarded as a chilling religious justification for the fighting and killing of infidels.
Main points are: Citizens (civilians) of countries which are in a state of war with Muslims are allowed to be attacked, killed, taken hostage and tortured. Muslims can use fire and poison to kill infidels. Even the enslavement of infidel women is allowed according to the paper.

Mujahidin tasked to carry out attacks in a Non-Muslim country are permitted to smoke cigarettes, have girlfriends, buy alcohol and tell jokes to blend into the Western society.

“serien_killing.txt”

Author: likely Yusuf O. or Maqsood L. wrote it in Pakistan

This German-language document was probably written by either Maqsood L. or Yusuf O. themselves during a training lesson in Waziristan. The content of these notes is a chilling one: it explains how a Mujahid is supposed to behave prior and during a operation in the West. “Use fake passports, use different cars, if your behavior seems suspicious try to act like a criminal”

The document further explains ways to carry out kidnappings. After the enemy is captured the hostages should be dressed in a orange jumpsuit (similar to the ones worn by the prisoners in Guantánamo Bay), the paper reads. Then the hostages shall be killed while a camera is recording the execution – “Cut off the head of the dead body, be careful because of the infidel´s blood” The video of the beheading shall then be send to Al-Qaida via the internet so As-Sahab Media can create a proper propaganda tape.

For further information on the Al-Qaida papers discussed in the Berlin terror trial check Yassin Musharbash´s blog post.

British Jihadi Killed By U.S. Drone In Somalia

by Florian Flade

They are Al-Qaida´s hidden force, joining Al-Shabaab, fighting and training in a country that has suffered from civil war, occupation and drought for decades – foreign Jihadi militants in Somalia.

Hundreds of foreign fighters are actively training and fighting in Somalia, Western intelligence agencies and Somali government officials are estimating. Most of these so-called “Al-Mujahiroun” are suspected to be from other African countries like Sudan, Kenya, Chad or Eritrea followed by the Arab fighters, some of which are Pakistan/Afghanistan-trained and experienced.

The real concern for Western intelligence services are the Jihadis holding Western passports. The threat these Islamists from Europe and North America are posing has long been underestimated according to various European counter-terrorism officials. Dozens of young men from the Somali communities of Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and the United States have joined Al-Shabaab in recent years, turning the group into an international terrorist organization.

Nevertheless Al-Qaida has successfully established its own branch in Somalia, regularly cooperating with Al-Shabaab. One of these Al-Qaida members in Somalia was killed today by what local sources believe to be a U.S. drone strike on a car.

“At around 2 p.m., a U.S. drone targeted our Mujahidin. One foreigner, a Lebanese with a British passport died”, the chief spokesman for Al-Shabaab, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, told news agency Reuters, “Bilal Al-Barqawi, a great Mujahid brother who was in Somalia for a long time was killed today. He was in a car in Elasha. This foreigner is a martyr.”

The British-Lebanese is Bilal Al-Barqawi known as “Abu Hafsa”, a Islamist who grew up in West-London and came to Somalia in 2006 and served as the deputy to Fazul Abdallah, Al-Qaida´s most senior commander in Somalia killed in June 2011 by Somali troops in a Mogadishu shoot-out.

When a U.S. airstrike targeted Lower Jubba region in Southern Somalia in July 2011 Bilal Al-Barqawi was injured on his head and later received treatment in Kenya according to Al-Shabaab.

British intelligence officials have warned about the emerging threat of Western Jihadi militants trained as terrorists in Somalia – especially those holding Western passports. Numerous of these foreigners have died in Somalia, most of them during gun-battles, others became suicide bombers. If the news of Bilal Al-Barqawi is confirmed, this shows: a Western Jihadi was for some years Al-Qaida´s No.2 man in the country.

Al-Qaida in North Africa Warns Of European Military Action

by Florian Flade

The Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has threatened European countries if they are launching a military operation in order to free kidnapped European tourists held by the terrorist group.

A written statement released by AQIM today on the Internet forums says there is information about a planned military operation by a joined force of European countries headed by France to rescue five Europeans abducted by Al-Qaida last year.

“That signals their definite preparation to launch a military operation to target the Mujahidin in an attempt to rescue the Western hostages held captive by the organization (…) And it clearly appears that France and her agents did not learn from the past lessons. They have no intention to avoid repeating the previous stupidity that caused the death of the French hostages in Niger and Mali.”

The Islamists are warning European governments of any attempt to engage with the Al-Qaida hostage takers.

“We send a clear warning to the government of the following countries; France, Britain, Holland and Sweden, that a military attack on the Mujahidin in north Mali will be taken as their approval for executing their citizens”

Al-Qaida further states it will not take any responsibility for the death of hostages if they are killed during a military confrontation.

“The Mujahidin do not wish for such a tragic ending. They are careful to find a peaceful and just resolution for the affair of the hostages. And based on it, we direct an urgent call to the families of the hostages. We say to them: you must pressure your governments to avoid a military operation that will surely cause the death of your relatives”

At this point AQIM is holding at least nine European citizens, including five tourists kidnapped last year. Two French geologists were kidnapped by AQIM on November 24 2011 from their hotel in eastern Mali. AQIM claims the two men are spies of the French intelligence agency.

The following day AQIM gunmen kidnapped three European tourists – a Swede, a Dutchman and a South African with British citizenship – in the historical city of Timbuktu. The group of tourists was having launch at a restaurant in the city when the Islamists attacked. A 58 year-old German national who resisted the kidnappers was shot dead in the incident.

Images of the hostages have been released by AQIM in December 2011.