By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 5 October 2017
A speech by al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was released on 4 October 2017, entitled “We Shall Fight You Until There Is No More Fitna”. An English transcript was released by al-Qaeda’s media apparatus and is reproduced below, with some editions in transliteration and syntax. Some interesting sections have been highlighted in bold. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 3 October 2017
Hassan Hassan wrote in The National on 20 September 2017 about the Islamic State (IS) having issued a public statement on its adaptions to the U.S.-led Coalition air campaign against it in Iraq and Syria. This statement appeared on pages eight and nine of the ninety-seventh issue of Al-Naba, IS’s newsletter, on 14 September. A rough translation is republished below. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 1 October 2017
Manaf al-Rawi
The Islamic State and its supporters release short biographies of their slain leaders. One such profile was released by Manaf Abdul Rahim al-Rawi and is reproduced below. (A fuller profile of al-Rawi is available here.) Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 29 September 2017
The Taliban’s Political Office put out a statement today “concerning opposition to peace process and activities”, which placed blame for the ongoing war in Afghanistan on the Afghan government and the U.S.-led coalition. The statement is reproduced below. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 28 September 2017
The leader of the Islamic State (IS), Ibrahim al-Badri (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), released a 46-minute audio statement today, his first statement for about eleven months. Entitled, “Sufficient Is Your Lord As A Guide And A Helper” or “Your Lord Suffices as Guide and Helper”, it is al-Badri’s twelfth speech since he became leader of the IS movement in 2010 and the seventh since IS declared the restoration of the caliphate. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 23 September 2017
Al-Naba 98, 22 September 2017
The ninety-eighth edition of the Islamic State’s (IS) newsletter, Al-Naba, was released on 22 September 2017. This Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, was evacuated on 17 September due to a bomb scare, and later declared to be a “false alarm”. This edition of Naba claims that an IS operative in fact planted a bomb, causing the chaos at Charles de Gaulle. Al-Naba 98 also contained a further acknowledgement of the “bucket bombing” at Parsons Green tube station in London, Britain, which took place on the morning 15 September 2017. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 22 September 2017
Al-Qaeda’s General Command released a statement on 12 September 2017 on Telegram, entitled “Burma Calling” or “Burma is Calling for You”, reproduced below, which incited jihadists to travel to Burma to protect the Rohingya Muslim minority that has come under assault from the state in recent days. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 14 September 2017
Hamza bin Ladin, son of the late Usama, released an audio message today on behalf of al-Qaeda that placed Syria at the centre of the jihadists’ cause. An English transcript of Hamza’s message, entitled, “The Cause of al-Sham is the Cause of Islam” (or “The Cause of Syria is the Cause of Islam”)—echoing a statement in April by al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, that “The cause of Syria is the cause of the entire umma (Muslim community”—was produced by As-Sahab Media, and is reproduced below, with some important sections highlighted in bold. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 13 September 2017
Ibrahim al-Asiri
Al-Malahim Media Institute, the affiliated media outlet for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released a statement on 13 September 2017, “The March of Victory and the Defeat of America”, as part of al-Qaeda’s “In Remembrance of the Blessed September 11 Raids” series. The statement, attributed to Ibrahim Hassan bin Tali al-Asiri, the infamous AQAP bomb-maker, is reproduced below with some editions for syntax and spelling. Continue reading
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 12 September 2017
Abdallah al-Muhaysini and Muslah al-Alyani, two senior clerics in Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former al-Qaeda branch in Syria, resigned on 11 September 2017 after leaked recordings showed HTS commanders musing about assassinating al-Muhaysini. There is clearly a well-orchestrated campaign underway to weaken HTS by discrediting and dividing it, and the sophistication of the campaign gives every indication of being the work of a state intelligence service, almost certainly Turkey’s. Continue reading
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