Jund al Khilafah, or Soldiers of the Caliphate, an al Qaeda and
Haqqani Network-linked terror group that is based along the
Afghan-Pakistan border, claimed credit for one of the shootings
attributed to Mohamed Merah, a French citizen and resident of Toulouse
who was killed in a shootout by French police earlier today after a
two-day-long standoff. The terror group released a statement today that
was published on several jihadist web forums. A portion of the
statement, translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, is below:
On Tuesday, 19 March, one of the knights of Islam, our
brother Yusuf al-Firansi [the French], we ask Allah to accept him, went
out in an operation that shook the foundations of Zio-Crusaderdom in the
whole world and filled the hearts of the enemies of Allah with fear.
While we claim our responsibility for these blessed operations, we say
that the crimes that Israel is committing against our people in the pure
land of Palestine, and in Gaza in particular, will not pass without
punishment. The mujahideen everywhere are determined to retaliate for
every drop of blood that was spilled unjustly and aggressively in
Palestine, Afghanistan, and other Muslim countries.
The Jund al Khilafah statement said the French must reconsider its
"hostile tendency towards Islam and its Shariah" - a reference to its
deployment of forces in Afghanistan as well as the ban on the veil for
women in public places in France. The Jund al Khilafah did not take
credit for the other shootings carried out by Merah that killed three
French soldiers.
Interestingly enough, SITE noted that the Shumukh al-Islam forum,
which is linked to al Qaeda and is a primary means of distribution for
al Qaeda and other jihadist materials, pulled statement from its
website. "The communiqué offered no evidence to substantiate the claim
of responsibility but was posted by the same user who posted prior
messages from the group," the SITE Intelligence Group stated.
Merah is known to have spent time in both Afghanistan and Pakistan,
and is said to have attended training camps in Waziristan, so it is
possible that he interacted with Jund al Khilafah in the past. However
there is no evidence available to confirm that this has happened, nor
has there been any indication at this time that Merah went by the name
Yusuf al Firansi.
Jund al Khilafah has claimed credit for three attacks in Kazakhstan
last fall, and has also released two videos of attacks against ISAF
forces in Khost province, Afghanistan last year. For more information on
the Jund al Khilafah, see
LWJ report,
Kazakh jihadi leader seeks restoration of Islamic caliphate.
Last November, Rawil Kusaynuv, the emir of the Zahir Baibars
Battalion, one of the units that comprises the Jund al Khilafah, said
his battalion has "a group of mujahideen of different nationalities" but
is primarily made up of Kazakh nationals.
"As for us in the Battalion, more than 90% of us are from Kazakhstan,
and we have many military activities on the fighting lines in
Afghanistan in collaboration with the rest of the battalions," he said.
"We are also interested in the military, faith, intellectual, and
political support for our brothers in order for them to rise to an
acceptable level of ability to wage the fight."
Washington Time
Kabul Time
London Time
