The Pakistani Taliban’s P.R. Offensive

The Pakistani Taliban’s P.R. Offensive - Huma Yusuf, NYTimes.com: "A joke has been circulating among Pakistanis on Twitter: “How to negotiate with the Taliban: Blast. Condemn. Blast. Condemn. Blast. Condemn. #Fail.” It mocks the government’s swiftness at denouncing terrorist attacks while doing too little to stop them."

Op-ed - 'Banning the Book'

Irfan Husain, Dawn, Banning the book [opinion piece] "We in Pakistan do not have to look very far for instances of this kind of backwardness. Hundreds of schools have been blown up, barber shops attacked and DVD outlets forced to close. The ostensible reason is that they promote Western values. In the minds of many Muslims, the equation is straightforward: ‘modern’ equals ‘Western’ equals ‘sinful’.

"And yet these same barbarians have no problem with other products of modern education: witness their harnessing of the Internet and cellphone technologies for their purposes."

Taliban, IMU form Ansar al Aseer to free jihadist prisoners

longwarjournal.org, Taliban, IMU form Ansar al Aseer to free jihadist prisoners, 5 Feb 2013"In a recent video, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan announced the formation of the Ansar al Aseer, a unit tasked to free jihadist prisoners and support their families. The video features Adnan Rasheed, a dangerous Pakistani jihadist who was freed in a jailbreak last year; Yassin Chouka, a wanted German commander in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; and Abdul Hakeem, a Russian IMU member." Draws on other sources

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi publishes beheading video - The Long War Journal "The al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) published a gruesome video on jihadist internet forums that shows the beheading of two Shiites. In a statement that accompanied the video on one of the forums, a jihadist said the Pakistani terror group is part of al Qaeda and the Taliban."

‘Badar’s death a major setback to al-Qaeda’

thenews.com.pk, Badar’s death a major setback to al-Qaeda

“The confirmation of Badar’s death came on March 10 in a video statement released by al-Qaeda on a Jihadi Internet forum, saying that commander Badar Mansoor was killed on February 9, 2012 in an American drone attack which targeted him close to the Pak-Afghan border.”

Taliban video incident

The Express Tribune, Cycle of death, 19 Jul 2011 "The Taliban have proven by their acts and misdeeds that there is not much of a difference between them and animals. What else is one to make of a video of the execution of over a dozen captured policemen in a remote part of Dir, allegedly by Taliban operatives, following fierce clashes in the area."

'Twenty Guidelines for Jihad'

Syed Saleem Shahzad, AsiaTimes, Broadside fired at al-Qaeda leaders, 10 Dec 2010

"A number of senior al-Qaeda members who had earlier opposed the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and some of whom were recently released from detention in Iran, have produced an electronic book critical of al-Qaeda's leadership vision and strategy ..."

" ... On November 15, some members of this group released Twenty Guidelines for Jihad on the Internet site www.mafa.asia. The author is cited as Suleman, saying he was "al-Qaeda's official spokesperson in 2001," indicating a distancing from al-Qaeda's organizational structure."

This is a very interesting article, with lots of detail. Syed Saleem Shahzad is author of Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban 9/11 and Beyond which is to be published by Pluto Press next year.

NYPD Analytic Unit

Alan Feuer, NYT, The Terror Translators, 17 Sep 2010 "The unit’s linguists monitored jihadist Web sites for useful hints or boastful chatter. Others searched the Internet — sometimes using methods as basic as typing “Times Square car bomb” into Google, but filtering the results through eyes trained to see obscure tidbits. Eventually, they came across a YouTube video posted by the Pakistani Taliban, claiming responsibility for the plot."

Lahore attacks

BBC News, Deadly blasts hit Sufi shrine in Lahore, 2 Jul 2010 "Two suicide bombers have launched a deadly attack on a Sufi shrine in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

"At least 42 people died in the blasts at the popular Data Darbar shrine late on Thursday evening, officials say."

"The shrine is largely frequented by members of the majority Barelvi sect, who are seen as heretics by the Taliban."

Details on the mosque are here: wikimapia, Shrine of Hazrat Data Gunj Bakhsh (Ali Hujwiri) (Lahore)

Times Square bomb

Numerous theories on this:

Reuters, Failed New York bomb puts Pakistan under spotlight, 4 May 2010 "Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Taliban Movement of Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the failed bombing and its leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, appeared in videos on the Internet on Sunday threatening suicide attacks on major U.S. cities."

USA Today, Car bomb was 'response to 'South Park'?, 3 May 2010 "The offices of Viacom, the parent company of South Park's Comedy Central network, may have been the target of the New York Times Square car bomb, reports have suggested."

Farhan Bokhari & Matthew Green, Pakistan Taliban leader threatens US, 3 May 2010 "The leader of Pakistan’s Taliban movement, who was reported to have been killed in a US drone strike, has appeared in a video threatening to launch suicide attacks in the US."

'Taliban flogging video'

Alex Rodriguez, LA Times, 'Taliban flogging video may show different girl, but message is the same: The Taliban did beat Chand Bibi publicly, and whether or not her ordeal was the one shown in a notorious video, the footage awakened Pakistan to the extent of the militant group’s reach', 29 Apr 2010.

"That video, made famous in the age of YouTube and cellphone downloads, stunned the country and gave the world a disturbing view of the plight of Pakistanis trapped in Taliban-controlled regions such as the Swat Valley.

"Did the video show another flogging, or was it even staged? And if so, does it matter?"

Taliban propagation strategies

Abdulhadi Hairan, huffingtonpost.com, A Profile of the Taliban's Propaganda Tactics, 1 Feb 2010 "Online internet forums and social networks are also used as part of this propaganda network. All the content posted on official websites is subsequently posted on Pashto and Dari forums for a wider audience and lengthy discussions. Videos are shared on youtube and other information on facebook, etc. As certain members of these online networks forward the videos and information to other groups and people, the propaganda content reaches to hundreds of thousands of people inside and outside Afghanistan and Pakistan and becomes part of the global campaign for jihad and, as a result, attract youths to join the insurgent forces or support it financially." This is a very detailed report on an under-represented area.

al-Balawi

aljazeera.net, CIA attack 'revenge for Mehsud', 9 Jan 09, "In a video released to Al Jazeera on Saturday, Hammam Khalil al-Balawi is shown shooting a gun as he describes how the attack would target US and Jordanian intelligence agents."

CBS News, CIA Bomber in Video With Taliban Leader, 9 Jan 09

CBS News, Brother: CIA Bomber Under "Huge Pressures", 7 Jan 09

Jarret Brachman, The Al-Balawi Martyrdom Tape Hits Al-Jazeera (with Haikimullah Mehsud) [to see copy of al-Jazeera report]

The full clip can be found on YouTube

Karachi arrests: update

Rafia Zakaria, Dawn, Climate of suspicion, 16 Dec 09

"The most damning evidence they left behind, a farewell video using the familiar format of interspersing Quranic verses with images of atrocities being committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, was what made the father of one of the five contact the authorities. One member of the group, Ahmed Minni, left laudatory comments on YouTube videos featuring jihadists. This YouTube connection has, in fact, become central to the whole investigation. Pakistani authorities have since alleged that the group was using social networking sites such as Facebook to search for jihadist contacts with groups such as Lashkar-i-Taiba and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi."

also see Washington Post, Combating homegrown terrorism, 16 Dec 09 (editorial)

Also this blog piece (drawing on/linking to other sources as well) by Mollie Ziegler, getreligion.org, The long arm of Sayyid Qutb, 16 Dec 09 "“This is indeed a wake up call,” Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, told reporters outside the mosque.

"“We are determined not to let religious extremists exploit the vulnerability of our young children through slick propaganda on the Internet,” Bray added."

Also see: Bobby Ghosh, Time.com, Most Domestic 'Jihadists' Are Educated, Well-Off, 16 Dec 09"The idea that mosques are the favored hunting ground of extremists and propagandists is a myth too. Since 9/11, law enforcement and national security agencies have maintained a close scrutiny of Muslim places of worship; equally, Muslim community leaders have grown more alert for any radical preaching. As a result, terrorist groups seeking American recruits now tend to propagandize mainly online. This also means that relatively wealthy Muslims are much more likely than poorer ones to be exposed to extremist views. "You need a computer, an Internet connection — poor Muslims don't have that kind of access," says [Scott] Stewart."

muslimmatters.org, Interview with a “Taliban-trained” Suicide Bomber

muslimmatters.org, Interview with a “Taliban-trained” Suicide Bomber, 15 Dec 09 "Below is a chilling video of an interview with a young man, who has no qualms about killing innocent men, women and children. This is because he believes that everyone who isn’t participating in Waziristan or other “jihad” can be considered justified collateral. His “ameer” told him so."

Do see the comments from the post's writer Amad on this video, which I've also linked to below:

Baitullah Mehsud

CNN, Latest al Qaeda message eulogizes deceased leader, 28 Sep 09 "A purported audio message from Al Qaeda's second-in-command appeared on radical Islamist Web sites on Sunday eulogizing Baitullah Mehsud, the former leader of the Pakistani Taliban."

Lahore bombing

Dawn, TTP claims Lahore bombing, threatens more attacks, 28 May 09 "Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility on Thursday for a suicide gun and bomb attack in Lahore the previous day that killed 26 people and wounded over 100 ...

" ... Another group calling itself the Tehrik-i-Taliban Punjab also claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The group took the blame in a Turkish-language communique posted on Turkish militant websites through an organisation called Elif Media on Wednesday, the SITE Intelligence Group said."

Swat

Yaroslav Trofimov, WSJ, Taliban's Reign of Fear Spreads in Pakistani City, 20 May 2009 "Spreading outside the lawless tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistani frontier, Taliban groups have shut down video stores and Internet cafés in much of the North West Frontier province. In the Swat Valley, in particular, they focused on eradicating girls' education, blowing up some 200 schools and branding female teachers "prostitutes.""

Swat

CBS News, Online Jihadi Tell TTP: “Strike in India To Ease The Pressure in Swat”, 8 May 09 "A member of a militant Islamist website suggested Taliban militants in Pakistan should launch attacks in India to get some relief from the attacks waged against them by Pakistani forces in SWAT valley."

Taliban report

Channel 4 ran this on the Taliban (which I picked up via The Lede)