An internet statement made at an Islamist bulletin board claimed that a recent fire at a Texas oil refinery was the work of terrorists. The same group had earlier announced that it had carried out a suicide bombing in a Qatar movie theater last Saturday. That blast killed one Briton and wounded at least 12 others.

Let me just make the disclaimer that I am extremely skeptical. However, as Robert Spencer has been reminding readers of late, this is exactly the type of thing we ought to be on the lookout for. Via M.H. King this AFP report:

A shadowy Islamist group which claimed it carried out last weekÂ’s suicide bombing in Qatar said in an internet statement it was responsible for an oil refinery explosion in Texas that left 15 people dead.

“It was a new kind of operation as we promised before,” said the ”Jund al-Sham Organisation” (Organisation of Soldiers of the Levant) in the statement posted on an Islamist website and dated March 24.

“Jund Al-Sham is able to attack with an iron fist all the enemies of Allah wherever they are,” added the statement, whose authenticity could not be verified.

“This operation was a big surprise, which we spoke of in other statements, and we will continue our suicide operations inside and outside America, and we will attack the economy of America as America did the economies of the Muslims,” it added.

The group also threatened to carry out attacks in Britain and Italy, and said these would continue “until the last soldier of the Crusaders or Jews is no longer in an Islamic country.”

The communiqué, which has not been corroborated by any other source, also states that the attack was a follow up to a promise made by Abi Hamza “the American” who had declared that “He will turn your streets red, covered with blood.” It seems that the communiqué refers to Abu (abi) Azzam the American, a purported al-Qaeda member who in a videotape broadcasted on October 26, 2004 had threaten to carry out attacks in the United States.

The communiqué also promises that “This announcement will be followed by a detailed and illustrated announcement of this blessed operation in Texas’ main refinery.”

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A top leader of the Taliban Islamist rebels has been killed along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Of course, al-Reuters runs this headline for the same story: Woman, Children Die in U.S. Attack on Taliban

I'll run with the Stars and Stripes version of events:

A “high-level” commander of the insurgency in Afghanistan was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces along the rugged border with Pakistan, according to an Army announcement.

Officials said Raz Mohammed, “implicated in many of the attacks against coalition forces in Paktika Province,” was killed alongside two other enemy fighters March 22 when Afghan and U.S. forces clashed with militants during a raid to capture Mohammed.

Mullah Hakim Latifi, a purported Taliban spokesman, in a satellite telephone conversation with The Associated Press from an undisclosed location said the clash occurred when U.S. troops surrounded the tents where Mohammed was living in Waza Khwa, an impoverished district on the Pakistani border.

He confirmed the death of Mohammed, who he said was a senior military commander in eastern Laghman province before the TalibanÂ’s ouster in 2001.

He said MohammedÂ’s wife and six of his children also were killed.

Latifi claimed that eight American soldiers died in the battle, but the American military said coalition forces suffered no casualties.

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I dropped a link earlier to a story about Iraqi forces taking out 80 terrorists. But Confederate Yankee writes and tells me that I need to emphasize the story more. He's right.

It turns out that there were 85 pieces of terrorist shit that were splattered by our Iraqi allies today, not 80. Hey, five more dead mujahidin going to meet their 75 white grapes is a good numerical adjustment in my book.

The great part about this story, as Confederate Yankee rightly notes, is that it was the Iraqi forces themeselves that flushed these pieces of turd. We Americans, apperenlty, just sat back and held the toilet paper.

Confederate Yankee has a good roundup on how the MSM is under-emphasizing the importance of this story. Go read it.

Interesting enough, Evan Kohlmann of the Counterterrorism blog, e-mailed me yesterday with some interesting photos of what appear to be a terrorist training camp in Iraq. Hmmm, mujahidin make mistake of taking photos of terrorist training camp....Evan releases the photos to the public....the next day terrorist training camp raided......Maybe just a coincidence?

Chad Evans at In the Bullpen notes that since there were foreign fighters at the camp, it was most likely one of the various al Qaeda linked groups. I ditto the sentiment especially in light of Evan's findings.

Hyscience has some interesting factoids about the area in which the human diarhea were training. Apparently, Lake Tharthar was Saddam Hussein's favorite fishing spot. The good doctor also notes that there has been a significant decline in terrorst activities in the Sunni triangle in the past month. *Excellent* (read in Mr. Burns voice)

Goldstein, of course, one ups the insiders who follow the jihadi message boards with some insider information of his own. He has his own Mosad agent deeply rooted in a Tikrit bunker.

Others: James Joyner more...

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A new video by the al Qaeda linked Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC) praises Osama bin Laden and the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The group also promises that 'Allah will destroy America'. Evan Kohlmann has a partial translation here and a link to a video clip. I have posted several images from the video below.

The full video may be downloaded here. (see 0323200503) more...

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The Yemeni dissident journalist Abd al-Karim al-Khaiwani has been freed. Jane Novak of Armies of Liberation was at the forefront of freeing the man. She led an online effort to pressure the government in Yemen, wrote articles published in Middle East Newspapers, and was the impetus behind the Journalists Without Borders campaign.

Score one more for the Pajamahidin! Al Jazeera:

Yemeni President Ali Abd Allah Salih has pardoned journalist Abd al-Karim al-Khaiwani who was put behind bars for criticising his regime.

Salih told a government-named dialogue commission that he was pardoning al-Khaiwani, whose one-year jail sentence was upheld by an appeals court on Tuesday, a member of the committee said, requesting anonymity.....

Al-Khaiwani, who has been in jail since early September, is editor of the opposition weekly Al-Shura, which was ordered to suspend publication for six months. The period has elapsed, but the weekly has yet to resume publication....

Al-Khaiwani's case is linked to an armed struggle waged by a Zaidi preacher, Shaikh Husain Badr al-Din al-Huthi, in northwest Yemen last year....

Al-Khaiwani, himself a member of the Zaidi sect, a moderate Shia Muslim group dominant in the northwest but in the minority in the mainly Sunni country, defended al-Huthi throughout the conflict and was bitterly critical of the government's handling of the rebellion.

He went so far as to lash out at the family of the Yemeni president.

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This would be the second bomb in a Christian area of Lebanon in the past week.

UPDATE: Lebanese blogger reacts:

Yet another bomb! Events on the ground are proving that the Syrians have not left Lebanon. They have withdrawn some of their troops and ostensibly closed their "intelligence offices" in Beirut and a few towns, but they still control Lebanon.

Reuters:

Three people were killed and several more wounded early on Wednesday when a bomb exploded at a commercial center in a Christian town north of the Lebanese capital Beirut, police and local television said.
Television footage showed the roof of the center in the coastal town of Kaslik had collapsed and emergency services workers were searching through the rubble for other victims.

Police said blast had been caused by a bomb, but gave no more details.

Three people have been killed and two injured in an explosion at a shopping centre near Lebanon's port of Jounie, north of Beirut, according to local media reports.

Private television station LBC reports that the explosion took place in a mainly Christian area.

Television footage showed the roof of the centre in the coastal town of Kaslik had collapsed and emergency services workers were searching through the rubble for other victims.

Police said the blast had been caused by a bomb but gave no further details.

Shortly after midnight tonight, an explosion rocked a predominantly Christian area north of Beirut. Lebanese media carried reports of three dead and two wounded in the blast. The cause of the explosion was not immediately confirmed.

The Christian community has been heavily involved in the anti-Syrian activities that followed the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in mid-February. Lebanese supporters of Syria from the Shi'ite Hizbullah terrorist organization have carried out random shootings at buildings in Christian neighborhoods during the turmoil that ensued. On Saturday, a car bomb exploded in a Christian suburb north of Beirut, injuring nine people.

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The Australian:

IRAQI police have seized 30 men linked to terror groups and involved in three beheadings, the rape and murder of three women, and the separate murders of 40 other people, General Adel Molan said today.

Some of the men belonged to al-Qaeda and some to its sister group Ansar al-Islam and were caught in Baladruz, 60km north-east of Baghdad, the general said.

He said police had divided the detainees into three groups: the first was wanted for beheading three people; and the second for the separate murders of 40 people, including some Diyala provincial council members and Iraqi security forces.

The third group raped and then murdered three women, Gen Molan said.

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UPDATE: This is an archive page. For the latest information about communiques and videos being released by terrorists in Iraq, please visit the MAIN PAGE HERE. Updated Daily.
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The General Headquarters of the Mujahadin Army in Iraq has made the following statement addressed to the American people. The communique is written in English. The letter is published in its entirety below, with brief commentary and analysis.

A propaganda video was also put out with the message. The video may be downloaded here (see 'communique7.wav).

The video shows IEDs being made and used, while the letter is read as a voice over. The voice over on the video is more extensive than the printed letter. Part of the video shows insurgents digging up previously buried ordinance, which is then converterd to use as IEDs. The video is desinged to show a strong insurgency in order to sway American public opinion. It paints a Vietnam like picture in exactly the same way the American left portrays Iraq.

[ UPDATE and NOTE TO SELF: Insurgents digging up previously buried ordinance....they know where to find weapons that are covered with dirt.....buried weapons are then converted to use on the masses.....video shows previously buried weapons then used for destruction.....and this video was probably made by Saddam loyalists who might know where to find buried weapons......I know there is something to this, but my mind is just unable to connect the dots.....]

Notice the heavy use of Leftist media reports, including the allegation made by Giuliana Sgrena that chemical weapons were used in Fallujah, to justify ongoing efforts to kill Americans. Also notice the heavy use of anti-Semetic imagery and the major theme of a global Jewish conspiracy. Hat tip Infovlad. more...

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It's not just in Iraq, but in the entire Middle East where Christians have been persecuted for a thousand years. However, as civil society breaks down the threat to Christians increase. This MEMRI report puts the whole thing into context. Here's a taste:

Shortly after the fall of Saddam, Islamists, who took control of the streets of many Iraqi cities, began to target Christian owners of liquor stores. They first ordered the owners to close their businesses; if the owners failed to comply, the Islamists gutted the stores and often killed the owners. An example is liquor merchant Bashir Toma Alias, who was shot in the head in the center of a bazaar in Basra while on his way home to celebrate Christmas....

The report goes on to warn that unless these "Islamic terrorists" are brought to justice, "Iraqi Chaldeans will continue to be an easy target for such criminals who are bent on imposing their distorted version of Islam by force." It was reported that in the southern city of Basra, the second largest city in Iraq, armed Shi'ite groups with names such as "The Revenge of Allah," "Hizbullah," and "The Organization of Islamic Doctrines," roam the streets to mete out "Islamic punishment" on traders and users of alcohol, as well as on prostitutes. Four hundred Christian stores were closed. According to Faysal Abdullah, the head of the Organization of Islamic Doctrines, Islam "rewards those who seek martyrdom and who were designated by Allah to uproot vice."

Often the police stand idly by in the face of crimes committed in their presence because they are afraid of the armed Islamists or because they sympathize with their aims.

I would only add that Christians have never been allowed to fully practice their religion. Islamic law forbids conversion to Christianity (or any other religion) and prescribes the death penalty for those who would openly attempt to proseletyze Muslims. Not a single Muslim country--whether it be 'moderate' or not--allows true freedom of religion in that regard.

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Now that would be justice. Instead, the Saudis give a liberal muslim scholar 200 lashes for making fun of a conservative muslim scholar. His offence was mocking 'long beards', a euphemism for salafist and wahhabist Muslims who have a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

The Australian:

A SAUDI academic has been sentenced to 200 lashes and time in jail for insulting an Islamist colleague, a Saudi-owned newspaper reported today.

Hamza al-Muzaini, a lecturer in linguistics at King Saud University, was accused by Abdullah al-Barak, a lecturer of Islamic culture at the same university, of defamation and insult, the London-based Al-Hayat reported.

Barak, who is described as a radical salafist - a strict form of Sunni Islam - reportedly accused Muzaini of "mocking long beards" and questioning his knowledge in an article published a few months ago, other reports said.

Muzaini was sentenced to 200 lashes, four months in prison and banned from publishing, a verdict he immediately appealed, the newspaper said.

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Evan Kohlmann sent me a link to a translation of a communique between al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia to other al Qaeda network affiliates in the Middle East a couple of days ago. In the communique, Saleh al-Aoofi orders the jihadis to begin striking the infidel. It looks like they are following orders well.

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Hizballah responsible? Probably.

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Yoda's last words: "There... is... another... Shackleford......"

Rusty: "Rachel Corrie!!"

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Payback is a bitch, eh Zarqawi?

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This is an archive page. For the latest news on The Army of Ansar al-Sunnah and other terrorist groups in Iraq please go to the MAIN PAGE HERE.

UPDATE 5/10: Army of Ansar al-Sunna website releases images of Japanese hostage Akihiko Saito. Images, story, and link to website.
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The Army of Ansar al Sunna has released a video of what it claims to be an attack against a 'CIA' vehicle. The video may be downloaded here (see Mar 1 . Images from the video are posted below. Images are not graphic.

Update: Evan Kohlmann has more. and it looks like Infovlad is finally going to a more blogger friendly format. more...

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WaPo waxes nostalgic on the good old days when bin Laden had free reign in Central Asia and women were beaten for showing too much cheek bone:

A wave of crime in this southern Afghan city -- including Mohammed's killing two months ago and a bombing Thursday that killed at least five people -- has evoked a growing local nostalgia for the Taliban era of 1996 to 2001, when the extremist Islamic militia imposed law and order by draconian means.

Residents reached their boiling point last week, after a second kidnapped boy was killed. Hundreds of men poured into the streets, demanding that President Hamid Karzai fire the provincial governor and police chief. Some threw rocks at military vehicles and chanted, "Down with the warlords!" Witnesses recalled some adding, "Bring back the Taliban!"

Both provincial officials are former militia leaders -- commonly called warlords in Afghanistan -- whose fighters reportedly preyed on residents before they were driven out by the Taliban. They regained power, like a number of other current officials, by joining the U.S.-led military forces that defeated the Taliban in late 2001.

"We are savage, cruel people"

Barbara OÂ’Brien *shock* argues that this is another sign of Shrimp-Chub-Bush's failure.

Parenthetically, I had the misfortune of recieving a copy of Ms. O'Brien's book and mistakingly read it. The shocking thing was that the publisher sent it to me hoping I would adopt it for a text in my Mass Media and Politics class. This is not an academic work by any standard. Stick to blogging Barbara.

Tim Graham notes that this is on the front page. Nice.

Nick Gillespie and Ranting Profs also chime in (via meme random)

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I remember reading the Scarlet Letter as a freshman in high school. Our English teacher assigned the class to wear a letter on our chests to symbolize a vice we wish we could give up. Throughout the day we were supposed to wear the thing to get us to feel compassion for Hester Prynne.....You know, those New England Puritans aren't looking so bad any more.....Gulf News (via Tigerhawk):

A maid was sentenced to 150 lashes yesterday for getting pregnant out of wedlock. A Sharia Court official said the maid's UAE national sponsor filed a case with police accusing N.S.T of committing adultery and being pregnant.

Her case was referred to the public prosecution department and she was ordered to take a pregnancy test, which came back positive.

She refused to reveal the name of the child's father, despite being interrogated by the police and the public prosecutor.

The public prosecution department referred her to the emirate's Sharia Court.

She refused to identify her lover again.

The court sentenced her to 150 lashes, to be administered in two stages. She will then be deported.

The Gates of Vienna (via Bill's Comments) notes that the poor woman is probably a national of the Philippines.

If you want to see pictures of what this form of punishment is like click here. (WARNING: Graphic) or scroll down. more...

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UPDATE 3/17 pm: Publius Pundit has word from Syria that everything seems normal and that this information is probably false.

I've no idea how reliable a source the Lebanese Foundation for Peace is, but I thought you might want to read this (via Evariste at Discarded Lies):

DAMASCUS REBELLION UPDATE:

No newspapers are getting in or out of Syria, the media is controlled very tight, and the Syrian scene witnessed a dramatic, security deterioration the last 24 hours.

Precise Intelligence reports coming from Syria indicated massive army troops deployment around the capital Damascus. Most of the military Barracks of the Syrian Army around Damascus gave allegiance to the dissidents: Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan and General Ali Safi. These people in the Syrian Army were against the withdrawal from Lebanon.

It is known that President Bashar Assad is in the city of Alleppo, assessing the internal situation within Syria and trying to organize a "forced" return to Damascus.

We will provide you with additional details as soon as we have them.

[NOTE: The Syrian military General backing Ghazi KanaanÂ’s movement is General Ali Safi and not Madi as originally reported by error.
The Lebanese Foundation for Peace apologizes for this error of publishing.]
The Intelligence Hour for Syria and Lebanon
Special Flash: Damascus, Syria

A Coup d' Etat took place in Damascus late last night. Intelligence reports coming from within the Syrian Military Command indicate the following:

A rebellion split The Syrian Army in two factions .

Since yesterday , Damascus is under the de facto control of the Syrian Army, under the command of Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan, and supported by Syrian Intelligence General Rustom Ghazaleh, Syrian military General Ali Safi, and Firas Tlass son of former Minister of Defence, Mustafa Tlass. The group rebelled against the decision of President Bashar el Assad to withdraw from Lebanon and seized the Damascus military yesterday.

Around 3 am, Damascus time, the Syrian Air Force bombarded two military airfields around Damascus, the Air force base of Dumair, and the Air force base of Katana. Also, late night around 3 am, the Syrian Air force bombarded military positions of the Syrian Army west of the city of Homs.

President Bachar el Assad retreated secretly to the city of Aleppo where he is temporarily holding ground. He is massing special forces troops loyal to him and preparing himself to take back Damascus by force .

The Syrian President left in Damascus his brother in Law, Syrian Military Intelligence Chief General Assef Shawkat to negotiate a settlement with the dissidents. The situation within the Syrian military was very tense for a week and exploded yesterday. The dissident group took control of Damascus as they were very upset at the Lebanon withdrawal for they left behind a billion dollar industry.

UPDATE: Very late....getting slammed (for this time of night) with Google hits for word combinations of "military coup Syria" "Syrian coup" "Damascus coup" etc......

....something is afoot.

UPDATE II: No confirmation. Perhaps this is just a case of rumors flying and we're simply reinforcing those rumors by publishing them?

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UPDATE: This is an archive page. For the latest information on terrorist communiques and videos, please go to the MAIN PAGE here.

UPDATE 4/22/05: Islamic Army in Iraq shoots down civilian helicopter, murders American hostage. Information, images, and video here.

****EXCLUSIVE****MUST CITE JAWA REPORT****

The Jawa Report has obtained exclusive* footage of a plane shot down by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq. Shown below are several screenshots of the US warplane. more...

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INQ7 News reprints this Philippine Daily Inquirer
story:

AFTER a long silence, the captors of Roberto Tarongoy have released a video of their Filipino hostage which was aired by the Al-Jazeera Arab television network on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, however, would not comment on reports that the video showed Tarongoy in an orange outfit -- a sign that he is nearing execution -- and that it conveyed the two conditions given for his release which the Philippines should meet in four days.

The hostage takers have reportedly demanded that the government recall all Filipino workers in Iraq and stop whatever cooperation it is giving to the United States military in Iraq.

Once more, the Arroyo government is claimed to be negotiating the release of hostaged Filipino accountant Roberto Tarongoy by his captors, with a counter offer of $6 million, or $4 million short of the earlier $10 million demanded by the Iraqi rebels, a reliable source from the Department of Foreign Affairs told the Tribune yesterday.

It was not known whether President Arroyo will again be tapping Libya for the ransom money, although the source pointed out it is likely for her to seek the help of Saudi Arabia in raising the funds, as Mrs. Arroyo was reported to have done the Saudi government a “big favor” by ordering the release from immigration detention of suspected al-Qaeda financier, Mohammed al-Sughayir...

The Philippine government also yesterday claimed to have identified the kidnappers of the Filipino accountant, but insisted it has only been negotiating with them through intermediaries.

Digger reports that on "July 2004 the Philippine government reportedly paid $6 million for hostage Angelo De La Cruz. Of the $6 million for De La Cruz, $5 million is said to have come from Libya". This becomes very important in light of the statement made by Roy Hallums in a video released on January 25th (I transcripted the video here):

I am asking for the help of Arab rulers, especially President Muammar Gaddafi because he's known for helping those who are suffering.

So the Philippine government a) has identified the kidnappers b) is paying ransom.

a) If the kindappers have been identified then the Fillipino government has a moral obligation to turn that information over to the coalition forces. Coalition forces have freed a number of hostages in the past.

b) By paying ransom the Fillipino government funds terrorist activities which will lead to more death and destruction in Iraq and only encourage more hostage taking.

In related news friend of The Jawa Report and ex-wife of Roy, Susan Hallums was reminding the President of the plight of her husband and of American hostage Thomas Hamill. Susan is said to be in contact with both the Hamill family and the wife of Roberto Tarongoy. In response, the White House issued this statement:

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hallums family. We are aware of the situation. Any time there is an American held hostage, it is a high priority for the U.S. government.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin. Digger has a lot more as well.

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