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Downloadable
jihad
By Sudha Ramachandran
BANGALORE - With training in terrorism
accessible at the click of a mouse, an increasing
number of wannabe jihadis with martyrdom on their
minds are logging on to the Internet. Experts say
that there has been a sharp surge in dissemination
of online jihadi training in recent weeks.
According to a report on the website of
the Northeast Intelligence Network, a US-based
private organization engaged in analyzing
terrorism, over the past 10 days or so there has
been a "very significant spike in the
dissemination of online terrorist training
originating in Islamic countries in the Middle
East but intended for widespread use." According
to the report, "The amount of instructional
training has risen to unprecedented levels."
The Internet is an important tool of
propaganda and communication for terrorist
outfits, who prefer it for its speed, low cost and
easy accessibility, and above all its anonymity
and difficulty in regulating or policing. The
Internet is also useful for recruitment and
raising funds. As al-Qaeda seeks to expand the
number of its recruits and "trained" operatives,
the Internet provides an avenue to advertise
worldwide its call for jihad.
While the
Internet has always carried information on
guerrilla warfare or know-how on assembling bombs
and grenades, after the fall of the Taliban regime
in Afghanistan and the loss of al-Qaeda training
camps there, cyberspace has become an important
meeting place and training ground for jihadis.
As Randy Taylor, senior analyst and
electronic surveillance specialist at the
Northeast Intelligence Network told Asia Times
Online, the jihadis "have to stay on the move and
the computer enhances the ability to 'train on the
run'."
In its first issue, the al-Qaeda
online periodical al-Battar (The Sword) drew the
reader's attention to this convenience. "Oh
Mujahid brother, in order to join the great
training camps you don't have to travel to other
lands," the magazine states. "Alone, in your home
or with a group of your brothers, you too can
begin to execute the training program. You can all
join the al-Battar training camp."
Various
jihadi websites and forums carry links to the
"jihadi classic", Encyclopedia of Jihad and
the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, as well as
other terrorist "primers" like The Terrorist's
Handbook and The Anarchist Cookbook.
Then there are online magazines and periodicals
like the Sawt al-Jihad, which focuses on the
doctrinal aspects of jihad, and the al-Battar,
which specializes in the practical or military
aspects of jihad.
In an article "Jihad on
the Web" in the Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism
Focus, Stephen Ulph writes that "over its
22-volume history [al-Battar ceased publication at
end-2004] it has published a full sample of
military and ideological preparation, much of
which must have formed part of the curriculum in
Afghanistan. Issues of tactical application
covered by the magazine include: the planning of
special and covert operations, maneuvering skills
in towns and urban warfare, communications
security and the use of codes, surveillance and
covert reconnaissance techniques, intelligence
gathering, camouflage and concealment techniques,
the use of safe houses, the tactical employment of
propaganda and counter-propaganda."
Specific aspects of military preparation
have been tackled in-depth in al-Battar. One issue
examined in considerable detail how to form a
secure operational cell with separate teams
designated for command and control,
reconnaissance, preparation and execution. Another
provided a comprehensive guide to kidnapping,
including various hostage-taking methods,
potential targets, negotiating tactics and
directions on how to videotape the beheading of
victims and post the video on the web.
Incidentally, this online information was posted
last year ahead of the spate of kidnappings and
beheadings in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Al-Qaeda has drawn its material from any
source it can, including military training manuals
of the US and other countries, as well as websites
and educational sites, points out Taylor.
Jihadi message boards frequently post
messages with links to training manuals and
do-it-yourself kits that provide step-by-step
instructions on how to manufacture weapons.
A message posted in December last year
provided a link to a download of a video that
describes how to manufacture an explosive belt for
use in suicide bombings. Commenting on this video,
the SITE Institute says that the video provides
detailed instructions for identifying and
fashioning required materials, manufacturing and
effectively mounting the belt on the would-be
suicide bomber, and testing the belt's destructive
impact."
The video is impressive in its
thorough approach and attention to detail. For
instance, in describing suitable explosive
materials, the video specifies acceptable
dimensions for each and warns that "there are some
explosive materials that do not explode in case
their thickness goes below a certain limit. Hence,
we advise to perform an experiment of any thin
materials before using them." The video further
recommends a back-up trigger, as well as great
care in manufacturing a plate of shrapnel, which
"must be carefully arranged for each one has its
importance during the detonation of the bomb.
Avoid leaving big gaps between the shrapnel." The
video also explains how to mount the explosive
vest on the wearer's body so as to avoid
detection, while also ensuring simultaneous
explosion of both the front and back plates."
In March this year, a message board
posting provided detailed instructions on how to
fire a Stinger missile at civilian aircraft. It
also carried maps showing flight paths and new
security perimeters at New York's John F Kennedy
International Airport.
A posting late last
year on a jihadi message provided a link to a
download of a 12-page booklet which is a tutorial
on assembling a home-made chemical bomb - the
al-Mobtakar al-Fareed (the Unique Invention). In
addition, the booklet provides instructions on who
to target and how. While noting that the weapon
can be used either in open or closed spaces, it
observes that the "fastest way to have the gas
spread in closed spaces is to use the ventilation
and central air-conditioning locations in
buildings - if available - by using a certain
amount of cartridges inside them."
There
are online booklets that provide safety
precautions as well. In May this year, a posting
on a jihadi message board provided a three-page
"List of Hazards of Working with Different
Chemical Substances", which contains a detailed
map of the potential dangers of handling and being
exposed to a range of 24 elements and their
derivatives, including lead, antimony, hydrocyanic
acid and tetrachloroethylene.
There are
interactive programs too. One on sniper training
features a training exercise game called "Who
Would You Shoot?" which is in the form of a
multiple-choice test. "If you had only one shot,"
the site asks, "who should you kill?" The user
picks from several options and can check to see if
he has made the "right" choice.
The
content of the training does not seem to have
changed over time. Taylor says that "al-Qaeda's
original training manual and Jihad
Encyclopedia encompassed the 'best of the
best' terrorist, espionage, insurgency training
from all over the world". There is no reason for
al-Qaeda to change this training. "Although they
continue to produce new training aids, the methods
and basic operational strategies remain the same,"
he points out.
The Internet is now host to
a vast and rapidly expanding virtual library on
the ideological and military aspects of jihad as
well as on the technology of terror.
Counter-terrorism experts have been able to do
little to shut down sites offering online jihadi
training and terrorist know-how as these sites
simply reappear on new servers.
Sudha Ramachandran is an
independent journalist/researcher based in
Bangalore.
(Copyright 2005 Asia Times
Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us
for information on sales, syndication and republishing.) |
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