IMU frees Top-Terrorist Adnan Rasheed

by Florian Flade

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On April 14 2012 a group of about 150 Islamists fighters attacked the Bannu prison in the Southern District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In total 384 prisoners were able to escape during this operation. One of them is Adnan Rasheed. The high-profile terrorist was imprisoned for eight years because of his involvement in an assassination attempt targeting former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Rasheed was a former member (joined in 1997 as a junior technician) of Pakistan´s Air Force and had joined Islamist militancy while still serving in the military. In December 2003 several terrorists including Adnan Rasheed planted explosive devices under a bridge Musharraf´s convoy was passing regularly. The plot was foiled. Rasheed was arrested in Balochistan Province for his involvement in the terror plot.

After eight years in prison Adnan Rasheed is now a free man roaming the tribal region of Waziristan. Fighters of the Tehrik e-Taliban (TTP) and the „Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan“ (IMU) attacked the Bannu prison in a suprise assault operation and freed him. Eight months prior to the raid Adnan Rasheed had been moved from Kohat to Bannu.

A new German-language propaganda video released by the IMU´s media wing „Jundullah Studio“ lengthly features Adnan Rasheed speaking in English about his time in prison and the night he was freed by fellow Jihadists.

„I saw my release in a dream about 20 days ago before the operation“, Rasheed says in the video, „I saw in the dream that some Uzbek mujaheddin will come and will take me out of the prison.“

The terrorist also says: „My only sin was nothing but Jihad. Jihad against the Murtadin regime of Pakistan.“

When Rasheed escaped Bannu prison Pakistan´s Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik suspected the attackers had inside knowledge of the prison. He said it was likely the whole operation was conducted with the aim of freeing Adnan Rasheed.

„We will find out about who had kept Adnan Rashid in Bannu jail“, Malik said.

According to the German IMU member Yassin Chouka aka „Abu Ibrahim al-Almani“ the imprisoned top-terrorist Rasheed had sent a letter to the mujahidin in which he wrote about his situation and the Jihad in Pakistan.

 

Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb Demands Release of Abu Qatada

by Florian Flade

Last November Islamist militants of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) kidnapped three Europeans in the Mali desert city of Timbuktu. Among them British-South African national Stephen Malcolm.

Today AQIM released a statement offering the release of the Briton in return for the release of Palestinian cleric Abu Qatada. If the British government agrees to deport Abu Qatada to a country of his choice, Stephen Malcolm will be freed, the statement by AQIM reads.

Britain has been trying to extradite Abu Qatada to Jordan for more than six years now. In the Arab country the cleric has been sentenced in absentia for the involvement in terror attacks. Now the European Court of Human Rights is about to decide wether or not the British government is allowed to extradite Abu Qatada.

In today´s statement AQIM says that Britain will „open the doors of evil“ if the Palestinian cleric will be send to Jordan.

Syrian Insurgents Announce „Martyrdom Brigade“

by Florian Flade

The footage seems oddly similar to what was released from Iraq in 2003 soon after the American invasion. Masked gunmen posing with their weapons in front of an Al-Qaida flag. But this is not the scene of a Iraqi Al-Qaida video – it is recent footage coming out of Syria.

A group of the so-called „Free Syrian Army“ in the occupied city fo Homs has – according to the new video – formed a martyrdom battalion, a special unit committed to carry out suicide bombings in the country.

One Syrian militant explains that the „Al-Baraa Ibn Malik Martyrdom Brigade“ will fight the Assad regime and its military with all needs, especially suicide bombers.

The video emerges just days after U.S. officials claim Al-Qaida does and will play a bigger role in the Syrian insurgency. According to U.S. intelligence officials Al-Qaida militants from Iraq have infiltrated the Syrian resistance and are now fighting against the Syrian regime. Some of the opposition groups are not even aware of the Jihadi militants amongst them, the U.S. intelligence analysts are stating.

Al-Qaida in Iraq (officially „Islamic State of Iraq“) is suspected of being the mastermind of recent suicide bombings inside Syria, the U.S. claims.

Other media reports seem to confirm the U.S. analysis of Al-Qaida infiltrating the Syrian insurgency. Weapons from Iraq are allegedly being sold back to Syria by the Iraqi Jihadi groups. The price of these arms has doubled or even tripled in recent weeks. An AK-47 assault rifle is available for the price of 1400 $-US, before it was as low as 400 to 500 US-$.