You´ve Got Awlaki-Mail – E-Mail From The Al-Qaida Cleric?

by Florian Flade

Several weeks have passed since a U.S. drone strike in Yemen killed one of the most prominent terrorist suspects out there – US-Yemeni national Anwar al-Awlaki. As many of my blogger and journalist colleagues have lengthy written about the impact of Awlaki´s death on Jihadism or the Al-Qaida network itself, I don´t want to go into this topic again.

Instead I want to share an e-mail with the readers that I got back June. Via a vital contact I asked the editors of „Inspire“- magazine published by „Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula“ (AQAP) about the risks of „hijrah“ (migrating to an Islamic country) to Yemen and joining Al-Qaida.

The „Inspire“ staff responded to the e-mail. Due to the perfect English I suggest this e-mail might indeed have been written either by Anwar al-Awlaki himself or by Samir Khan, a US-raised Jihadi militant who worked as the chief-editor of „Inspire“ until he was killed in the same drone strike that killed Awlaki.

Of course there is also the possibility another, unknown English-speaking Jihadi militant answered my e-mail question. As for now, there is no way to confirm this indeed was written by Awlaki or Khan.

„I Renounce My German Passport“ – Letter by German Jihadi Widow „Ummu Safiyya“

by Florian Flade

Two years ago her husband died fighting the Pakistani military in the tribal region of Waziristan, now she calls upon German Muslim women to join the Jihad in Pakistan – „Ummu Safiyya“ the German widow of Jihadi Javad S. „Abu Safiyya“).

In a new letter signed by the Jihadi widow, Luisa S. from Bonn claims that she and the women and children of the „Islamic Movement Uzbekistan“ (IMU) are doing well and all fine. She explains that returning to Germany is not an option and that the role of the women in Jihad is an important one fulfilled in the villages of Waziristan also by the foreign Mujahidin wives.

„At first I want to say the following about the rumours that I became a shaheeda (female martyr)“, Luisa S. begins her letter, „Unfortunately Allah did not present me with this gift.“

Very often IMU receives letters from women, Luisa S. writes, in which the women ask wether or not it is risky and dangerous for women and their families to join the Jihad and travel to a country like Pakistan.

„Twenty years ago the first members of IMU migrated from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan. The journey went on to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In these 20 years more than 500 men became martyrs but only two women died. The first woman died two years ago in a car crash, the other one only recently from a liver desease that she suffered from even before she came to Pakistan.“

„What is worse than living unarmed, humiliated and abused amidst the enemies of Islam and under these infidel laws with your children?“, Luisa S. asks, „When you are living in Germany as a devout Muslim, you are put under their infidel legislative, executive and judiciary. You pay the tax to the enemies of Islam. A percentage of the taxes goes to the Jews. You buy the products and a part of your payment will be invested in the war against Muslims (…) Your neighbors and colleagues are kuffar.“

„We women live far away from the places where the war is taking place, we live in the conquered and secured areas of the Mujahidin. We spend our time to fulfill our Islamic duties, we seek getting closer to Allah and educate our children and Allah willing the future Mujahidin.“

„I have renounced from our laws, our democratic system and from my German passport“, the letter by the German Jihadi widow reads, „I follow my Prophet Muhammad and call the Taliban and all Muslims wordwide my brothers and sisters. Unity, Law and Freedom (German „Einigkeit, Recht und Freiheit“) I did not find at your place, because Unity, Law and Freedom do exist in the true religion of Allah only.“

Luisa S., converted to Islam several years ago and married a German-Afghan named Javad. The couple left Germany with their baby daughter Safiyya in Spring 2009 and traveled to Egypt first before making the journey to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region where they joined the IMU.

Javad S.  akas „Abu Safiyya“ was the first German IMU member to die fighting in Afghanistan when he was shot by Pakistani troops in September 2009. IMU praised the Islamist from Bonn as a martyr in a propaganda tape shortly after Javad S.´s death. In the video widow Luisa S. appears all covered in black, speaking about the virtue of martyrdom and her commitment to Jihad.

German intelligence officials know that Luisa S. is alive, still living in the Waziristan region alongside other German and Uzbek women. It is believed she again married another German Jihadi militant shortly after the death of her first husband.

American Carries Out Suicide Bombing in Somalia

by Florian Flade

Two suicide bombers attacked an African Union (AU) base in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday, October 29. According to the AU the assault which also involved several armed fighters failed. Both suicide bombers have detonated their explosives too early, the AU claims.

Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab on the other hand claims to have killed more than 80 Ugandan soldiers.

„In a fierce battle that lasted over two hours, the Mujahideen have yet again dealt another fatal blow to the African Crusaders“, a statement by Al-Shabaab reads, „Two martyrdom seekers infiltrated the AMISOM compound – the former metal factory – situated along the Industrial Road, near Mogadishu Stadium, and where divisions of the Ugandan soldiers and TFG militia were based, successfully killing the commander as he addressed the Ugandan forces along with several other soldiers.“

Two audio tapes of the alleged suicide bombers – Aden al-Ansari and Cabdi Salaam al-Muhajir – have also been released. Al-Muhajir („the immigrant“) speaks in fluent English and is described by Al-Shabaab as an American citizen.

„My brothers and sisters, do jihad in America, do jihad in Canada, do jihad in England, anywhere in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, in China, in Australia – anywhere you find kuffar. Fight them and be firm against them!“, the suicide bomber says on his farewell tape.

He urges Muslims living in the West to join the Jihad abroad instead of „sit around and be a couch potato and just chill all day“.

Meanwhile in Minneapolis (Minnesota) Muslim community leaders say they have identified the suicide bomber as 22-year old Abdisalan Hussein Ali, one of 20 Somali men who left the city in November 2008 and traveled to Somalia. Abdisalan Hussein Ali´s voice on the audio tape was recognized by his friends.

If confirmed to be from the U.S., Cabdi Salaam al-Muhajir, would be the third American suicide bomber who carried out an attack in Somalia as a member of Al-Shabaab. Shirwa Ahmed from Minneapolis became the first American suicide bomber when he and four other bombers blew themselves up in October 2008 killing 28 people in the Somaliland and Puntland region.

Mohamad Beledi known as „Abdullah Ahmed“ is said to have carried out a suicide bombing against a AU base in Mogadishu in May. Two AU and one Somali soldier died as a result of the attack.

For years know U.S. counter-terrorism officials monitored the travel movements of young Somali-American men, especially from the Twin City Region (Minneapolis) who have joined the Jihad in Somalia. Dozens of men, many of them U.S. citizens and the children of refugees who have fled the Somali civil war in the 1990s, left the U.S. to participate in the fight against Ethiopian occupation forces or African Union troops in Somalia.

A number of these American Jihadis – including a White convert to Islam – died in Somalia, most of them were shot during gun battles. One of those Americans who joined Al-Shabaab is Omar Hammami aka „Abu Mansour al-Amrikki“, a Syrian-American born and raised in Alabama. He is believed to be a high ranking commander in the „Muhajirun“ unit of Al-Shabaab, consisting of foreign Jihadis.