Periodical Review: Summary from the Jihadi Forums - The First Half of March 2012

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.