Al-Qaeda Ideologue Describes Alleged Spread of Al-Qaeda in the Levant

Via The Jamestown Foundation -

A leading jihadi ideologue known as “the Spearhead of the Mujahedeen” claims that al-Qaeda already exists in Palestine and soon there will be “huge good news” to prove its existence. In an internet question and answer session, “Assad al-Jihad 2” concentrated on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the shadow of last December’s Gaza conflict. Assad al-Jihad 2 is a regular contributor of articles written on behalf of al-Qaeda and affiliated groups, which are usually posted on jihadi web-forums and are highly regarded by their users. The question and answer session was published by al-Qaeda’s Global Islamic Media Front and posted on several jihadi websites (al-faloja.info, February 7).

Assad al-Jihad 2 focused on the so-called “al-Qaeda in the Levant,” claiming that this organization is “well-established and firm in the region, like the Levant’s mountains. [The organization] has studied every inch of the Levant, sent their reports to the leaders of al-Qaeda, and discussed them with the geniuses of the organization. [Al-Qaeda] has penetrated the Levant states and infiltrated them. I think the reason for the delay in announcing the presence of the organization is due to waiting for the completion of preparations.”

The ideologist stated that the goal of al-Qaeda in the region is to fight against Israel, alleging that the organization was already behind missile strikes on “the north of so-called Israel” on June 17, 2007, and again in January 2008; “one day before [ex-President] Bush’s visit to the region.” Assad al-Jihad 2 also claimed that the weapons the Lebanese army announced they discovered stored in the south of the country on December 25, 2008 belonged to al-Qaeda in the Levant. He claimed that these Russian pattern Grad rockets were stored for use in attacks on Akka (Acre) and the northern Israeli cities of Nahariya and Shlomi. Nahariya was targeted by hundreds of Hezbollah rockets in 2006; Shlomi was struck by Hezbollah rockets in 2005 and 2006.

Assad al-Jihad 2 asserted that al-Qaeda started to attack Israel from Lebanon in December 2005, when the late leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for launching missile attacks on northern Israel (Daily Star [Beirut], December 20, 2005; Jerusalem Post, December 30, 2005). Assad al-Jihad 2 also claimed Osama Bin Laden has sent some al-Qaeda leaders to create bases in Lebanon. One of these leaders was Salih al-Qablawi (Abu Ja’afar al-Maqdesi) from Ain al-Hilwa, who was the mastermind behind an attack against Israel in 2002. Al-Qablwai later became friends with al-Zarqawi and appeared with him in a video in 2006 before being killed in Iraq the same year.