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Special Dispatch No. 4949
In New Al-Qaeda Clip, Al-Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Tells Arabs To 'Take Advantage Of U.S. Weakness To Purge Muslim Lands Of Corrupt Rulers,' Presents 9/11 Hijackers Reading Their Wills, Calls For Kidnapping Citizens Of Countries Fighting The Muslims
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). Subscription information is available athttp://subscriptions.memri.org/content/en/member_registr_jttm.htm.
The Global Jihad News website is a supplement to MEMRI's JTTM project, which translates and analyzes material from sources monitored around the clock – among them the most important jihadist websites and blogs. An annual subscription to the GJN costs $360. Subscribe by visiting the MEMRI E-Store.
A 35-minute video clip by the Al-Qaeda media company Al-Sahab, posted on the Internet on September 13, 2012, featured an audio address by Al-Zawahiri marking the anniversary of 9/11. In it, he called on the Arabs to "take advantage of the U.S.'s weakness to purge the Muslim lands of corrupt rulers." In a 2001 segment not previously seen, Osama bin Laden states that a group of men had "set out to harm the interests of the Jews and the Christians."
Also in the video, Al-Zawahiri presented newly released clips of two of the 9/11 hijackers reading their wills, and emphasized, "We urge Muslims to capture citizens of countries that fight the Muslims"
The following are excerpts from the section of the video in which Al-Zawahiri presents the two 9/11 hijackers and refers to hostage Warren Weinstein.
Al-Zawahiri: "The Reason For The Launching Of Those Blessed Raids... Is The Zionist-Crusader Occupation Of Muslim Lands, And Especially Of Palestine"
Ayman Al-Zawahiri: "These days, we are commemorating the 11th anniversary of the blessed raids in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. You are all aware of the defeats the U.S. has incurred during these years. America was defeated in Iraq, it is being defeated in Afghanistan, and four of its collaborators in the Arab world have collapsed.
"Today, however, I would like to focus my talk on some of the more serious aspects of those blessed raids. The most important of the aspects I want to discuss is the reason for the launching of those blessed raids: It is the Zionist-Crusader occupation of Muslim lands, and especially of Palestine."
 
Special Dispatch No. 4948
Using TwitLonger, Taliban Call For Attacks On U.S. Troops In Afghanistan In Revenge For Film On Prophet Muhammad
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM).
On September 12, a day after the 9/11 anniversary attacks on the U.S. embassy and consulate in Egypt and Libya, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's leadership organization) accused the U.S. government of a role in a controversial film on Prophet Muhammad and urged the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan to "avenge these actions of the American government by dealing a heavy blow to its invading troops on the battlefield."
The statement, titled "Statement by Islamic Emirate regarding insult of the great Prophet (SAW) of Islam in America," was published on TwitLonger by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid and linked from the micro-blogging site Twitter from his account. The Taliban websites have been hacked in recent days, forcing the Taliban to use Twitter to publish their statements.
Special Dispatch No. 4947
'Ultras' Groups Involved In September 11 Demonstrations Outside U.S. Embassy In Cairo In Protest Of American Movie Insulting Prophet Muhammad
On September 11, 2012, thousands of Egyptians protested outside the U.S. embassy in Cairo in outrage over segments from an American movie that defames the Prophet Muhammad. The masses that surrounded the embassy included people from various political streams, but supporters of Salafi and Salafi-jihadi parties and movements were especially dominant, including supporters of Al-Nour, Al-Da'wa Al-Salafiyya, Islamic Jihad, sheikh Hazem Abu Isma'il. Also prominent were members of various 'Ultras' groups, namely organized groups of extremist soccer fans who became a political pressure group after the Egyptian revolution. Ultras members scaled the embassy walls, and some of them managed to take down and rip apart the U.S. flag. It should be noted that members of Ultras groups were also among the leaders of the attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo in September 2011. Following the publication of the film segments, statements supporting terrorism against the U.S. began appearing on the Facebook page of the "Al-Tahrir Square Ultras," including a quote by Osama bin Laden and a photo of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. "Demonstrations of millions" are also planned to take place tomorrow (September 14) outside the U.S. embassy in Cairo.
The Egyptian Ultras are members of various soccer fan clubs such as Zamalek, Al-Ahly, and Al-Masry. They were known to have tense relations with Hosni Mubarak's interior ministry and security forces, who saw them as anarchists that inflamed the spectators at football matches and were involved in incidents of vandalism and violence. They took an active role in the protests to topple the Mubarak regime in January 2011, and dozens of their members, fans of Al-Ahly, were killed in the February 2, 2011 "Battle of the Camel" when mercenaries on camelback hired by the regime attacked protestors in Al-Tahrir Square. Since then, the Ultras have been utilizing their recruitment skills to organize protests in Egypt, mainly in demand to take power from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), such as the anti-SCAF demonstrations of November 2011. In January 2012, they participated in demonstrations marking the anniversary of the revolution, and later also took part in protests outside the courtroom during the trial of Mubarak and his sons.
In February 2012, some 70 Ultras were killed in the Port Said soccer stadium during a knife fight between fans. The fans claimed that it was the SCAF's way of punishing the Ultras for calling to remove it from power, since security at the stadium was lax. Since then, the Ultras have continued functioning as a pressure group. For example, in May 2012, they held a protest in Al-Tahrir Square, demanding retribution for the killers of protestors.
It should be mentioned that the name "Ultras" does not refer to a unified broad movement in Egypt with a defined leadership or platform. It is a blanket term for various fan clubs, who sometimes have a common agenda, such as objection to the continuing rule of the SCAF. Occasionally, various groups within this movement have agendas of their own. For example, a recent report mentions a group calling itself "The Abu Isma'il Ultras," which held protests outside the Syrian embassy in Cairo in solidarity with the Syrian people.
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