NEW AQIM VIDEOS ON THE INTERNET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALGIERS 000448 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2018 TAGS: PGOV PTER ASEC AG SUBJECT: NEW AQIM VIDEOS ON THE INTERNET REF: A. 07 ALGIERS 997 ¶B. 07 ALGIERS 1147 Classified By: Ambassador Robert S. Ford. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: After an absence of more than nine months, the AQIM video series "Shadows of the Sword" has made a return to the jihadi website community. On April 14, AQIM released a new video showing two attacks on Algerian targets in Dellys and Boumerdes (Kabylie region),demonstrating AQIM prowess in those areas. Ayman al-Zawahiri opens the video, addressing all Muslims in the Islamic Maghreb (which he calls the "Maghreb of Jihad") and calling on them to restore the Iberian peninsula to the Muslims and referring to AFRICOM urges jihad against the "Zionist Crusaders and their agents." Footage of the attackers walking towards the attack site with uncovered faces and saluting civilians nearby appears calculated to demonstrate that AQIM has civilian support and cooperation in fighting the Algerian government, and that AQIM is not killing innocent civilians as reported in the Algerian press. Two weeks earlier, another video dedicated to AQIM's suicide bombers was released on jihadi websites. It contains material on all the bombers, but covers in detail the preparations of a 15-year-old who attacked a coast guard base in Dellys in July 2007. End Summary. AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI: THE GODFATHER -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In his message opening the April 14 video, al-Zawahiri asserts that the joining of the forces of jihad in the Maghreb against the "Crusaders" has scared the "Caesars" in Washington into trying to set up a new command in the region (i.e., AFRICOM). He exhorts mujahideen in Morocco and elsewhere in the Maghreb to fight to regain their lost Andalusia (ie. the old Muslim states in the Iberian peninsula). He also tells the mujahideen that they are directly responsible for regaining the Maghreb and "cleansing it of the sons of Spain and France." Al-Zawahiri closes his message by asking the mujahideen to remain loyal to their religion and the nation of their Prophet, and calling upon them to unite against the "Crusaders" in the Maghreb. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In the video that follows, a group of seven terrorists dressed in civilian clothing and armed with AK-47s and RPGs are shown walking in a neighborhood in Dellys with their faces uncovered in broad daylight. When the terrorists approach a housing area, several of them wave to the citizens sitting in an apartment in a two-story building, giving the impression that the terrorists know them well. The terrorists appear to be relaxed and comfortable with their surroundings, as if familiar with the neighborhood and its people. Once the seven arrive at their designated attack site, they conduct a quick survey of their target (an Algerian police station),then check their ammunition and take positions. Several minutes later, a fusillade of gunfire breaks out and several RPGs are fired towards the station. An unidentified civilian walking on the road nearby appears to take cover. In the attack, a voice claims, three soldiers were killed and the police station was largely destroyed. THE PERFECT AMBUSH -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The second attack shown in the video is an ambush targeting a military unit on foot patrol in Bounad (province of Boumerdes). Six soldiers are seen walking on a primitive road near their military base. A few minutes later an IED explodes and two soldiers are obviously hit when the bomb detonates in front of them. The remaining soldiers then take cover behind bushes. As other soldiers from the nearby base rush to evacuate their wounded, another IED explodes, causing more casualties. Three other soldiers are seen lying on the road. The video claims that two soldiers were killed and five were wounded in the attack. IN PRAISE OF SUICIDE -------------- ¶5. (C) Separately, on March 29 the al-Bouraq media network ALGIERS 00000448 002 OF 002 (www.al-boraq.info/) and other jihadi websites distributed another AQIM video, entitled "Lovers of Hower," in memory of the suicide bombers who "have sacrificed their lives for the Algerian jihad." (Note: Hower in Arabic means "white." All the suicide bombers were dressed in white at the time of their suicide missions. End Note.) The video opens with a statement from Osama Bin Laden praising suicide attacks and blessing suicide bombers. Each segment of the video features an introduction of each suicide bomber with video captions taken during their lives as jihadis. The longest segment of the video covers the life of Nabeel Belgacemi, aka Abu Musaab al-Zarqaoui, the 15-year-old suicide bomber who struck the Dellys coast guard barracks in July 2007. Belgacemi is seen in the video preparing the bomb he intended to use the next day, while the narrator explains that Belgacemi wanted to prepare the bomb that would take him to heaven himself. On the day of the mission, Belgacemi is seen sitting in the driver's seat heading towards the target. Two cameras positioned at different angles from the barracks record the whole suicide mission. Belgacemi's truck approaches the barracks without any interjection from the security guards at the gate entrance, and a few seconds later the bomb explodes. The only suicide bomber who failed in his mission was Abou Walid al-Assemi, according to the narrator, as al-Assemi died in Tizi Ouzou two days prior to his mission. SUICIDE RECRUITING: WOMEN NEED NOT APPLY (YET) -------------- - ¶6. (C) Abu Naji, an active member of the Dilalseuf jihadi website, wrote a separate message dated March 27 praising the martyrs in the "Lovers of Hower" video. He also appears to have been responding to a woman's inquiry into conducting a suicide attack. In response to the inquiry, Abu Naji said that there was currently no need for women to join the martyrdom caravan since men like Abu Mousaab (the Dellys suicide bomber) were plentiful in Algeria. When these men cease to exist, he wrote, women will be allowed to use not only suicide vests, but also suicide bombs. (Note: Since the video was first posted on March 29 -- two days after Abu Naji's comments were posted - we believe he had a sneak preview of the video. End Note.) COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) Much of these videos is standard AQIM fare - Zawahiri exhortations and IED attacks on soldiers. Two elements were particularly striking, however. First, AQIM clearly wanted to show that at least some of its members know civilians in communities where AQIM operates and are friendly with them. Second, the March 29 video glorifies suicide attacks. This was not the first time AQIM has highlighted suicide attacks, but we interpret this video to mean the group fully intends to launch more such assaults. The apparent interest of at least some Algerian women in participating reminds of Iraq. For now, it appears the money appears to be the chief limitation on the group, not finding men and women willing to blow themselves up. FORD