Jihad Media Battalion

Jihad Media Battalion is a terrorist organization active in South America. The group is among a number of Jihadi groups active in the Tri-Border Area (TBA) of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.[1]

Founding

The group was founded following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and is understood to be an offshoot of the Islamic State of Iraq. The group's primary aim was to disseminate videos of insurgents in Iraq, including videos suicide bombings as well as messages from leaders of the insurgence. The group's video messages are understood to have been of somewhat better quality than the videos produced in Iraq.[2]

Leadership

According to the Brazilian Federal Police, the head of the group is a Lebanese national named K H A who was arrested by the Brazilian authorities in 2009.[3] Ali, who was based in Brazil, was suspected of financing terrorism.[4] According to the Brazilian magazine Veja, Ali ran an internet cafe in São Paulo while running what is described as "Al-Qaeda's online communications arm" having a reach in 17 countries, disseminating communications from Al-Qaeda's leadership and publicizing terror attacks.[5]

References
  1. Trevisi, A. F. "Assessing the terrorist threat in the Tri-Border area of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina." International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. (2013).
  2. Nauta, Arjen. "Radical Islam, Globalisation and Social Media: Martyrdom Videos on the Internet¹." Margaret and Frank (2013): 121.
  3. Tavares, Rodrigo. "South America." Handbook of Governance and Security (2014): 228.
  4. Zaia, Sophia Luiza. "Autonomy and Foreign Policy: the Brazilian Case on the Fight Against Terrorism in the Lula administration." Meridiano 47-Journal of Global Studies 19 (2018).
  5. Robin Yapp (3 April 2011). "Brazil latest base for Islamic extremists". The Telegraph.
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