BRIEFS

EGYPTIANS SEIZE BAGS FULL OF TNT IN THE SINAI

Egyptian security forces announced on November 10 the seizure of 600 kilograms of TNT, hidden in bags near the village of al-Rathian, in the north of the Sinai Peninsula (Asharq al-Awsat, November 11). The seizure comes after security forces discovered a ton of explosives in the same area two weeks before, on October 29 (Asharq al-Awsat, November 11). In the past two years, several significant terrorist attacks have occurred on the peninsula; since then, Egyptian authorities have been searching desert areas and the mountains, where authorities believe that militants are in hiding. The targets in the string of attacks in the Sinai have been vacation resorts, police officers and members of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) peacekeeping operation in Dahab, Sharm el-Sheikh and Taba. The attacks peaked in May in an assault in Dahab, leaving more than 20 people dead. Officials suspect the al-Tawhid Wal Jihad organization as being behind the attacks, which allegedly has ties to al-Qaeda (Daily Star Egypt, November 8; Terrorism Focus, May 2).

ELECTRONIC JIHAD RALLIES ITS SUPPORTERS AND ANNOUNCES NEW ATTACK

A statement released on a recently launched jihadi website announced calls for a one-day electronic attack on the website of the Holy See on November 9. The electronic operation was to consist of a coordinated attack with a special computer program that can be downloaded from the website. The website, known as Electronic Jihad and located at https://al-jinan.org, was created with the purpose of leading an “electronic jihad against websites that insult Islam and Islamic sacred figures” (Terrorism Focus, October 3). In addition, the group calls on all supporters to download the hacking program along with a reminder program that automatically provides the user with the attack details; it also provides updates on upcoming electronic jihad operations. The website is registered to “Ahmad Adel” and has a mailing address in Iraq, even though it is not clear if the name and address is legitimate (Terrorism Focus, October 3). At the end of the new call for attack, credits are given to a man called Abu-Khalid al-Hijazi, who is supposed to be the author of the new statement (https://al-jinan.org, November 7).

YEMENI APPEALS COURT CONFIRMS ACQUITTAL OF 19 AL-QAEDA SUSPECTS

In Yemen, an appeals court on November 4 approved a lower court’s previous acquittal of 19 al-Qaeda suspects who were jailed for plotting an attack on Westerners in Yemen (al-Bawaba, November 4). Five of the suspects were from Saudi Arabia. Even though several of the subjects had fought in Iraq, the judge stated that fighting in Iraq is not a crime prosecuted under Sharia in Yemen since jihad can be a duty for Muslims. The presiding judge then claimed that there was not enough evidence proving that the men composed an armed unit geared toward attacks in Yemen. Many analysts argue that the Yemeni government sees the Iraq conflict as an outlet for militant Islamists residing within their own borders. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, for instance, may be trying to sustain or increase support for his government from militant organizations inside Yemen (Terrorism Focus, July 11). By allowing them to fight in Iraq, it deflects the jihad away from home. Six of the suspects, however, were sentenced on lesser charges for possessing forged official documents (Asharq al-Awsat, November 11).