This report summarizes the most prominent events brought up in the Jihadi online forums in the first half of March 2012. Following are the main issues raised in this report:
• Given what he calls the Iranian-Shiite conspiracy to attack and take over Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abu Sufyan Al-Azdi Al-Shari, the deputy head of Al- Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), urges Sunnis to wage jihad against the Shiite population of Saudi Arabia.• Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) takes responsibility for assassinating an American military intelligence officer in Aden, Yemen.• Ansar Al-Sharia declares Shabwa Province the Islamic Emirate of Yemen.• Ahmad Faruq, Al-Qaeda’s head of the propaganda department of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, calls for jihad against the Pakistani Army. He confirms the death of Ilyas Kashmiri, the operations officer of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan.• Al-Balagh, a new jihadist magazine that focuses on events in Syria, is published.• Majlat Al-Salafiyya, a new electronic Tunisian Salafi-jihadist weekly, is published.• Leading jihadist forums embark on a massive campaign advocating Ansar Al- Sharia in Yemen.
Periodical Review: Summary from the Jihadi Forums - The First Half of March 2012