Category: Indonesia

The Islamic State’s Bayat Campaign

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

In the aftermath of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death, I noted that the Islamic State (IS) was likely to start a bayat campaign for its new Caliph Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Beginning November 2, IS’s official Telegram channels began posting such bayat.

There are two main reasons for this: 1. pledges are leader-specific rather than group-specific and thus need to be renewed with each succession and 2. it is a way to legitimize al-Qurashi’s rule and create a media event so that the group can promote itself as it transitions to a new phase.

The first reason is also something that IS pointed to when it began to overtly feud with al-Qaeda (AQ) in 2013, by saying that following Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi’s death, his successor Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir gave baya to the newly created Islamic State of Iraq’s leader Abu ‘Umar al-Baghdadi and even after Abu ‘Umar was killed, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took over in 2010 and then Usamah Bin Laden was killed in 2011, Abu Bakr never publicly gave baya to Ayman al-Zawahiri, even if al-Zawahiri claims he gave it to him privately. Therefore, from the perspective of IS this whole process is not trivial, but important for legitimacy of its leadership and to potentially weed out any insubordination before it manifests into something larger as it already did in the past vis-a-vis AQ.

This post will be updated with the latest official pledges.

November 2, 2019:

Wilāyat Saynā’

al-Binghāl

November 3, 2019:

Wilāyat al-Ṣūmāl

November 4, 2019:

Wilāyat Bākistān

Wilāyat al-Yaman – al-Bayḍā’

November 5, 2019:

Wilāyat al-Shām – Ḥawrān

Wilāyat Khurāsān

November 6, 2019:

Tūnis

November 7, 2019:

Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyyah – Nījīrīā

Wilāyat al-Shām – Ḥimṣ

Wilāyat al-Shām – al-Khayr

Wilāyat al-Shām – al-Raqqah

Wilāyat Sharq Asīā

Wilāyat Wasaṭ Ifrīqīyyah

November 8:

Wilāyat al-Shām – Ḥimṣ

November 9:

Wilāyat Sharq Asīā

Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyyah – Mālī and Būrkīnāfāsū

Wilāyat al-Shām – al-Barakah

November 12, 2019:

Wilāyat al-Shām – Ḥalab

November 14, 2019:

Wilāyat al-‘Irāq – Shamāl Baghdād

November 15, 2019:

Wilāyat Lībīyā

November 16, 2019:

Wilāyat al-‘Irāq – Dijlah

November 17, 2019: 

Wilāyat al-‘Irāq – Diyālā‎

November 18, 2019: 

Wilāyat al-‘Irāq – Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn

November 19, 2019: 

Wilāyat al-‘Irāq – Karkūk

November 22, 2019: 

Wilāyat Sharq Asīā – Indūnīsīyā

November 29, 2019:

Adhirbayjān

New statement from the Islamic Emirate of Aghanistan’s Zabīh Allah Mujāhid: “Delegation Attended An Important Conference in Indonesia”

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

l_DzlA8Q

This afternoon, the Islamic Emirate delegation led by the Political Deputy of the Islamic Emirate, Mullah Baradar Akhund, attended a joint conference with a number of scholars and experts at the headquarters of the Majlis-e-Ulema of Indonesia.

The conference was held at the Majlis-e-Ulema conference hall in Jakarta, where respected Mullah Barader Akhund and his colleagues highlighted the current situation of Afghanistan, policy and achievements of the Islamic Emirate.

The leaders of the Indonesian Ulema Council and other prominent leaders of the country appreciated the sacrifices of the Islamic Emirate and the Afghan Mujahideen, offered their views and suggestions and also prayed for further success. Later the delegation of the Islamic Emirate attended a lunch prepared by the Majlis-e-Ulema.

*Spokesman of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan*

*Zabihullah Mujahid*

*27/11/1440 Hijri Lunar*

*8/5/1398 Hijri Solar*

*30/07/2019 Gregorian*

________________

Source: Telegram

Surabaya Church Suicide Bombing

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

For an archive of other Attack and Plot Dossiers click here.
—
May 12, 2018: 
Family of IS-inspired suicide bombers attack Indonesian churches, at least 13 dead – Reuters
May 13, 2018: 
Indonesia links church attacks to local ISIL-inspired group – Al Jazeera
Surabaya church attacks: One family responsible, police say – BBC News


Indonesia Church Bombings Carried Out by Family With Children in Tow – The New York Times

Check out my new edited volume for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy: "How al-Qaeda Survived Drones, Uprisings, and the Islamic State"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin


Over the past eight years, al-Qaeda’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed. Drones, uprisings, and a challenge from the Islamic State have forced the core al-Qaeda organization—historically based in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region—and its various branches to adapt and migrate outward.
In this new Policy Focus, Washington Institute fellow Aaron Y. Zelin compiles case studies demonstrating how each part of al-Qaeda’s network has evolved and survived the various challenges it has faced roughly since the Obama administration took office. Written by eminent scholars, practitioners, and government officials from the United States and abroad, the chapters are informed by a recent workshop in which the participants gave candid, off-the-record assessments of numerous key issues, including al-Qaeda’s current strategic outlook, a close examination of its branch in Syria, its branches outside of Syria (AQAP, AQIM, al-Shabab, and AQIS), and its current financial situation.
Contributors include: myself, Bruce Hoffman, Charles Lister, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Samuel Heller, Katherine Zimmerman, Andrew Lebovich, Christopher Anzalone, Don Rassler, Hans-Jakob Schindler, Katherine Bauer, and Matthew Levitt.
Click here to read the full publication (124 pages).

New release from Forum Islam al-Busyro’s Tak Dikenal: “Ink of Jihād #12: MIT, The Forgotten: Evaluation and Rebuke of Anṣār Dawlah"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

For prior parts in this series see: #10.
—
banner
Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Tak Dikenal — “Ink of Jihād #12- MIT, The Forgotten- Evaluation and Rebuke of Anṣār Dawlah”
__________________

To inquire about a translation for this release for a fee email: [email protected]