Periodical Review: Summary from the Jihadi Forums - The First Half of November 2013

This report summarizes notable events discussed on jihadist Web forums during the first half of November 2013. Following are the main points covered in the report:

• The killing of Hakimullah-Mehsud, leader of the Taliban-Pakistan, provokes calls from jihadist elements to launch reprisals against the United States. At this stage, it is unclear if his replacement will continue talks with the Pakistani government or increase the organization’s terrorist activities.
• The rivalry between jihadist groups in Syria continues, including reciprocal killings by each side. Evidence from the arena of jihad in Syria indicates that violence is also being used against civilians. Each group, including opposition forces and Islamic organizations, emphasizes the corruption of the others, sometimes with regard to the West’s support of some of the groups.
• The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham threatens to launch reprisals against Kurdish members of secular movements, such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and against Kurdish security and intelligence officials, because of their cooperation with Bashar al-Assad’s regime and their role in the war against terrorism. In addition, the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham announces that it is going to launch reprisals against the Badr Martyrs Brigade because of its operations against the mujahideen and Sunni civilians in Syria.
• The discourse among visitors to jihadist Web forums concerns the current operational strategy of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Al-Sham, which is to expand an Islamic state by acting against three strategic threats – the Crusaders, the Shi’ites and the secular camp.
• Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula vows to launch reprisals against the Houthis, a Shi’ite minority in Yemen, for their aggression against Sunni Salafists in Dammaj.
• As a result of the crisis in Egypt, Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, a senior member of the Salafi-jihadist movement in Jordan, criticizes the campaign of oppression being carried out by the military regime in Egypt against the Muslim Brotherhood, and calls on Salafi-jihadist activists to help them. He emphasizes that the Muslim Brotherhood cannot be labeled a heretical organization, and that the Salafi-jihadist movement sees their members as Muslims despite their differences of opinion.
• The battle and jihadist discourse between jihadist organizations and the Egyptian army in the Sinai Peninsula continues. Meanwhile, intelligence is being collected and disseminated regarding potential targets in Israel.
• The Somali Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen launches the fourth edition of the periodical, Gaidi Mtaani, which focuses on the terrorist attack that took place at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi on September 21, 2013.
• The discourse surrounding al-Zawahiri’s leadership crisis, and the way in which he handled the public defiance shown by the emir of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, seems to have disappeared from open jihadist Web forums.