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Terror Networks
Hidden killers driving Al-Qaeda recruitment
2008-01-31
IMAGES of deadly and mysterious insurgents – including Baghdad sniper "Juba" - are replacing notorious terrorists as the spearheads of online jihadi recruitment drives. The move comes as Allied forces kill top al-Qaeda commanders and force the terror groups to create anonymous personas to spread their message of hate. And according to one of the world’s foremost internet terror experts the mythic status of these underground figures is becoming even more effective than videos from Osama bin Laden. Washington-based researcher Evan Kohlmann, a consultant to the US and British Governments, told NEWS.com.au that under this system anyone could become a “star”.

“(Jihadi groups) are trying to create this idea of mystique of these shadowy, mysterious, almost anonymous, figures,” Mr Kohlmann said. “I think that fits into their recruitment strategy - that anyone can become the next (al-Qaeda in Iraq’s figurehead) Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.”
Whoa! Sign me up to become a figment of somebody's imagination!
Mr Kohlmann said after the death of top US target Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who led al-Qaeda’s operations in Iraq, the terror group could not afford to publicise real insurgents. “When these guys pop up for these kind of visibility sessions (the videos), most of which are disseminated across the internet, they’re putting themselves at risk,” he said. “I don’t think it necessarily helped al-Zarqawi, that everyone knew everything about his life and his face was such a marketable thing. After a while it became a liability for him.”

While purported terror chiefs like al-Baghdadi and al-Qaeda general Abu Hamza al-Muhajir keep a lower profile, arguably the most powerful figure used in jihadi propaganda - Baghdad sniper Juba - has resurfaced with another graphic video.

The first Juba video, featuring what appear to be the marksmanÂ’s attacks on US troops, appeared in 2005 and quickly became a cult classic among jihadis. US authorities claimed they captured the feared sniper in June 2005 but the following year the anonymous assassin was back. The latest video, created by al-Qaeda rivals the Islamic Army in Iraq, and released last month can be downloaded in nine languages in a variety of formats.

Mr Kolhmann said: “Juba the Baghdad Sniper has become a classic… for supporters of jihad everywhere. There was a guy in Spain who was last year arrested for using the internet to allegedly spread al-Qaeda propaganda… in his spare he was designing his own logos for Juba Sniper and propaganda posters of Juba Sniper.”

Mr Kolhmann said other popular jihadi propaganda included al-QaedaÂ’s video The Winds of Victory released in 2004 which shows a suicide bomber preparing for martyrdom.
Posted by:Fred

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