Abdullah Azzam Brigades

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Abdullah Azzam Brigades
كتائب عبد الله عزام
Part of Al-Qaeda[7]

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades (

Sunni Islamist militant group, and al-Qaeda's branch in Lebanon.[8][9] The group, which began operating in 2009, was founded by Saudi Saleh Al-Qaraawi and has networks in various countries,[10] mainly in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, the Gaza Strip
and Lebanon.

It is named after the late

Palestinian from Jordan and a well-known preacher and organizer who was among the first Arabs to volunteer to join the Afghan jihad against the forces of the then-Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s.[11]
Some other nonrelated terrorist organizations have been known to use the name "Abdullah Azzam Brigades" as a "name of convenience" for their operations.

After grave injuries Al-Qaraawi received as a result of a drone attack in Pakistan, and his eventual capture upon his return to Saudi Arabia by Saudi authorities, the leadership of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades was assumed by Majid al-Majid, a Saudi affiliated with Fatah al-Islam and al-Qaeda. Al-Majid was declared the leader and emir of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades in June 2012, until his capture by Lebanese authorities on December 27, 2013, and eventual death from kidney failure on January 4, 2014. Al-Majid was succeeded by Sirajuddin Zureiqat.

History

The Abdallah Azzam Brigades was formed by the Saudi national

85 most-wanted terrorists
that was issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry in 2009. The group formally announced its establishment in a July 2009 video statement claiming responsibility for a February 2009 rocket attack against Israel.

After attacks by the Ziad al Jarrah Battalion, a Lebanese affiliate of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a communique was released clarifying that the Brigades operated on a wider scale. The communique said: "[The Abdullah Azzam Brigades] are not confined to Lebanon but there are targets that our fires will reach Allah‐willing in the near future...the Brigades are formed of a number of groups that are spread in numerous places...and the groups of 'Ziad al‐Jarrah' in Lebanon are only some of our groups, and we rushed to create these groups and announced them because of the urgency of the battle with the Jews and the priority of the initiative at the time and the place, but the rest of the groups are outside Lebanon." [citation needed]

In an interview to

Gaza War that the Abdullah Azzam Brigades organization was established.[12]

Branches

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades has branches active in multiple countries:

Aliases

The group has used a number of aliases including:[15][16]

  • Martyr Abdullah Azzam Brigades / Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigades / Kataeb Shuhada' Abdullah Azzam
  • Al-Qaeda in Lebanon
  • Abdullah Azzam Brigades of the Land of Al-Sham
  • Al-Qaeda in the Levant / Al-Qaeda in the Levant and Egypt / Al-Qaida in Syria and Egypt
  • Al-Qa'idah organization – The Land of Al-Sham and Al-Kinanah / Tanzim al-Qaida fi Bilad ash-Sham wa Ard al-Kinanah
  • The Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin

Name of convenience

The name has been used by other non-related organizations as a name of convenience in a number of operations and in various countries.

Egypt

Even prior to the actual formation of the organization in 2009, a group calling itself Abdullah Azzam Brigades carried out devastating attacks in 2004 in the

Sharm el-Sheikh bombings
.

  • On 7 October 2004, the
    Al Qaeda
    in the blasts.
  • On 23 July 2005, the Egyptian resort of
    War in Iraq.[22]

Jordan

In 2005, again much earlier than the official formation of the organization, its name appeared in relation to a series of rocket attacks from Jordan. Several Katyusha rockets were fired from within the Jordanian territory, some hitting near the Eilat Airport and two others hitting very close to two United States Navy ships docked in Aqaba, the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), and the USS Ashland (LSD-48).[23] A group linked with al-Qaeda claimed to have made that attack.[24][25] One of the rockets hit a Jordanian military hospital, killing a Jordanian soldier.[26] The attack is regarded as having been perpetrated by the al-Zarqawi branch of Al Qaeda.[27] A self-styled Abdullah Azzam Brigades also claimed responsibility.[28]

Pakistan

A little-known Pakistani militant group,

Orakzai Agency[30] However, on 11 June 2009, a previously unknown group calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the attack was in response to attacks by Pakistani military forces on Taliban insurgents in the Swat Valley.[31] On 8 December, the head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Zarteef Khan Afridi (had been working with tribal leaders to trying to pacify the region) was shot dead by armed militants in Jamrud, Khyber. The Abdullah Azam Brigade claimed the murder.[32][33]

On 24 February 2012, this alleged group equipped with suicide bombers blew themselves up in an attack on a police station "C Division" in the heart of

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supply truck in Jamrud, Khyber Agency. The driver was killed and one other civilian was injured in the attack. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening more attacks on drivers who provided supplies to NATO.[37][38][39]
On 16 January, explosive device blasts at a Khasadar Forces checkpoint in the Sadokhel area, Landi Kotal, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. At least one Khasadar officer was killed and another wounded, and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.[40]

The Persian Gulf

There are also other operations claimed by the Brigades, but strong doubts whether they were actually involved. For example, on 3 August 2010, a man claimed to be a spokesman of the brigade made a video statement that the Brigades were involved in the attack on the Japanese oil tanker

M. Star in the Strait of Hormuz in July 2010. But many analysts are skeptical about the claim that it was the Abdullah Azzam Brigades.[41] A BBC correspondent asserted that the perpetrators were using the name as a "name of convenience"."[41][42]

Syria

The group denied all involvement in the 23 December 2011 suicide attack in the Syrian capital that killed 40 people. The terror group accused the Syrian government of attempting to deflect attention from its brutal crackdown on protesters that has killed more than 5,000 people. In a statement released on jihadist websites on 27 December 2011, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades denied responsibility for the suicide attacks.[43]

In a statement issued by the group's

Salafist Jihadist group active in the Syrian Civil War, the Al-Nusra Front.[1]

Lebanon

An improvised device blasts outside of the Fakhereddine Army Barracks in Beirut, leaving one soldier wounded. A man claiming to be a member of Al-Qaida called the Lebanese newspaper Al Balad and claimed responsibility for the attack before and after the blasts.[44][45]

During 2013, the group start a string of attacks in 2013.[46][47][48] On 19 November 2013, the Brigade claimed responsibility for a

double suicide bombing outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut, which killed at least 23 people and wounded over 140.[49][50] The group said the bombing was retaliation for Iranian support of Hezbollah, which fights on the Syrian government's side in the current Syrian civil war, and warned of further attacks should Iran's government not acquiesce.[51] In 23 December the Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed a rocket attack in Hermel, Lebanon.[52][53]

During the firsts weeks of 2014, Abdullah Azzam claimed a string of rocket attacks in the south of Lebannon.[54][55][56] On 19 February 2014, the brigade carried out an attack on the Iranian Cultural Center in Beirut's southern suburb of Bir-Hasan, killing 11 and wounding 130, their motive was the support of Iran in the Syrian war.[57][58] Three days later, a car bomb blasts at a Lebanese Army checkpoint on Al-Assi Bridge at the entrance to Hermel city, Beqaa Governorate. In addition to the bomber, two soldiers and one civilian, were killed and at least 15 people were wounded. The authorities blamed to the Abdullah Azzam Brigades or Al-Nusrah Front for the attack.[59][60] After this attack, the group continued with its rocket attacks against israeli cities.[61][62]

Arrest and death of Majid al-Majid

On 27 December 2013, Lebanese authorities captured Majid bin Mohammad al-Majid, the Saudi leader of the group.[63][64][65] Al-Majid had undergone kidney treatment at the Makased hospital in

Lebanese army on the Beirut-Damascus highway.[66]

On 3 January 2014, DNA tests confirmed that the man detained by Lebanese army intelligence is Majid al-Majid, the chief of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades. The DNA samples belonging to relatives of Majid in Saudi Arabia matched those of the suspect who remained in custody of the Lebanese Armed Forces, Lebanon's state National News Agency reported.[67] On 4 January, Majid died of kidney failure in a military hospital in Beirut.[68]

Reactions
  •  Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister of Iran, appreciated Government of Lebanon for arrest of Al-Majid[69] and requested information about investigations by the Lebanese authorities with Al-Majid on the Iranian Embassy bombing.
  •  Saudi Arabia Adnan Mansour, foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, rejected a request by Government of Iran to participate in the investigation of Majed al-Majed.[70]
  • Abdullah Azzam Brigades said their fight will continue, with or without their leader.[71]

Listing as a terrorist organization

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades has been designated as a

terrorist organization by the United Nations,[4] Bahrain,[72] Iraq,[73] New Zealand,[5][6] the UAE, the United Kingdom,[74] the United States,[75] Canada[76] and Israel
.

See also

  • List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War

References

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