Two videos, allegedly of Alawi fighters in Tripoli, have been posted online. Minus the guns, these guys look like they’re ready to go clubbing (this kind , not this kind ). The first video is of Alawi youth firing their guns into the air on their home turf of the Jabal Muhsin neighborhood of Tripoli. [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Lebanon’
Jihadi Action Hero Dies in Ayn Hilwa, Lebanon
Posted: 21st July 2008 by Will McCants in LebanonTags: Ayn Hilwa, Lebanon
Over the weekend, Shihada Jawhar was killed in the Ayn Hilwa refugee camp in Lebanon, along with two others, in fighting between Jund al-Sham, a Sunni militant group, and Fatah. Jawhar, who fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq, is best known for a revealing interview with al-`Arabiyya’s program “Death Industry” upon his return to Ayn Hilwa. [...]
Sunni Youth of Tripoli: Keep Your Powder Dry
Posted: 17th July 2008 by Will McCants in LebanonTags: Lebanon, Salafis, Tripoli
The motives of the Sunni Muslim youth fighting in the Bab al-Tabbana neighborhood of Tripoli, Lebanon continues to animate discussion on Ekhlaas. One poster, Hafidat Usama (Granddaughter of Usama), claims to live in Bab al-Tabbana and to have witnessed the fighting. Hafidat asserts that the youth only armed themselves after seeing that the Lebanese army [...]
Proof that Sincere Sunnis Are Fighting in Tripoli, Lebanon
Posted: 16th July 2008 by Will McCants in Lebanon, MotivationsTags: Lebanon, Salafis
Ekhlaas member Abu al-Bara’ al-Shami uploaded this video as proof that sincere Muslim youth are fighting solely to protect their religion and coreligionists in Tripoli. I don’t think it proves his point at all. In fact, the video suggests something else: the young men are relishing a chance to play superhero. That doesn’t mean they [...]
Lebanon that is. Over the past few days, there has been fighting between the Jabal Muhsin and Bab al-Tabbana neighborhoods that has killed a handful of people and injured dozens. The former is predominantly Alawi and the latter is Sunni. The clash has prompted confused speculation on Ekhlaas. No one is sure who is fighting [...]
Prospects for Jihadis in Lebanon
Posted: 15th June 2008 by Will McCants in LebanonTags: Lebanon, Palestinian camps
Mahan Abedin has a revealing interview with Omar Bakri Muhammad in Asia Times Online. Omar Bakri was the head of al-Muhajiroun, a Jihadi group in the U.K. Soon after the 7/7 attacks, he left the U.K. for his home country of Lebanon, where he settled in Tripoli and now directs the Iqra Islamic Trust. Since [...]
Fatah al-Islam Leader Threatens Hezbollah, U.S.-Friendly Sunnis
Posted: 9th June 2008 by Will McCants in Hezbollah, LebanonTags: Fatah al-Islam, Hezbollah, Lebanon
Shakir al-`Absi, the fugitive leader of Fatah al-Islam, has issued his second audio statement since the defeat of his organization at the hands of the Lebanese Army last year. In it, he claims that the U.S. knows that it cannot directly break the “power” (shawka–a favorite Jihadi term) of the Sunnis in the Middle East, [...]
Jihadi Operations in Northern and Southern Lebanon
Posted: 3rd June 2008 by Will McCants in Lebanon, UncategorizedTags: Fatah al-Islam, Lebanon
On Saturday, an Ekhlaas member asked, “Have Jihadi operations returned to striker the Crusader Lebanese Army?” His proof that it might be so are two pieces of that day’s news: There was an explosion at the intelligence headquarters of the Lebanese Army at Abdeh in northern Lebanon. The army killed a Palestinian suicide bomber at [...]
Bin Laden Statement Prompts Speculation on AQ Strategy in Palestine (Part 3)
Posted: 24th May 2008 by Will McCants in Israel, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, StrategyTags: Aqaba, Eilat, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Levant, Palestine, Strategy, Syria
In the final installment of the series, we’ll look at a piece of analysis from Ekhlaas member Abu Hamza 2005 titled, “A Modest Reading of al-Qaeda’s Strategy in the Levant [bilad al-sham]“. Abu Hamza begins by referring to Bin Laden’s 2007 statement, “To Our People in Iraq.” The statement, according to Abu Hamza, indicates that [...]