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| Abu Bakr al Almani. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group. |
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan recently announced the death of a previously unknown jihadist from Germany.
The announcement of the death of Abu Bakr al Almani (the German) was made by another German who calls himself Abdul Matin al Almani. Abu Bakr's death was disclosed at the end of a martyrdom statement titled "Thoughts of a Mujahid." The statement was released on jihadist forums on Nov. 5, and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
The lengthy martyrdom statement describes the apprehensions of Abu Bakr, who is said to have "anxiety" and "fear" about combat. Abu Bakr, according to Abdul Matin, then recognizes the feelings are "a test by Allah."
"Yes, death is not a shame, but it is a test to determine the nature of a created weak human being," the statement reads.
The apprehension and fear felt by a jihadist in battle is "like the wedding night, the golden night of the bridegroom, a night of love, affection and happiness," according to the martyrdom statement. Abu Bakr is then killed after "the scary bullet hit."
The martyrdom statement does not say when or where Abu Bakr was killed. Nor is Abu Bakr's real identity known. According to Jih@d, a website that closely tracks European and German jihadists, Abu Bakr and Abdul Matin have not shown up in propaganda released by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and affiliated jihadist groups such as the Islamic Jihad Union, the German Taliban Mujahideen, and the Taifatul Mansura (Victorious Sect). These terror groups are affiliated with al Qaeda and the Taliban, and are based in Pakistan's tribal agencies of North and South Waziristan.
Germans are known to flock to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Union, the German Taliban Mujahideen, and the Taifatul Mansura. The German Taliban Mujahideen have even set up a "village" somewhere in the Waziristans, where fighters are trained.
Two German jihadists, the brothers known as Mounir and Yassin Chouka, serve as prominent members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and are based along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Mounir, who is also known as Abu Adam, may have been wounded in a US Predator airstrike last summer. Mounir is also a senior member of Jundallah Media, the IMU's media production arm. Yassin, who is also known as Abu Ibrahim, released a report last February that described his travels from Europe to Pakistan, which included a stop in Yemen and several meetings with Anwar al Awlaki, the wanted American-born terrorist who served as a senior ideologue and operational commander for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula before he was killed in a Predator strike.
Other prominent German jihadists have been killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bekkay Harrach, also known as Al Hafidh Abu Talha al Almani, was killed while leading an assault on Bagram Airbase in May 2010. Harrach led a team of 20 fighters made up from the ranks of al Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, according to his martyrdom statement. Before his death, Harrach produced propaganda for al Qaeda in which he threatened to attack Germany.
Eric Breininger, a German member of the Islamic Jihad Union, was killed while fighting Pakistani security forces during a clash near Mir Ali in North Waziristan on April 30, 2010. Breininger was wanted for plotting to attack US military personnel in Germany.
"Abdullah from Essen," a German citizen from Afghanistan who was known as Miqdad, was killed while fighting US forces in Baghlan province, northern Afghanistan in March 2011. Miqdad, who was nicknamed "Afghan Lightning," first arrived in Pakistan's tribal area of Waziristan in November 2010. "In 2011, he concluded his training in a training camp, and traveled shortly after that to northern Afghanistan," the IMU said.
Abdul Fettah al Almani, the leader of the German Taliban Mujahideen, is rumored to have been killed sometime this year in a US airstrike in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. The report has not been confirmed.
Last fall, several Germans were reported to have been killed by the US in Predator airstrikes in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan. The Germans were thought to be training for attacks in Europe. Both the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Jihad Group are known to run camps in the area.
Germans have also been captured in Afghanistan. In July 2010, Ahmed Siddiqi, a German from Hamburg, was captured in Kabul, Afghanistan. Siddiqi disclosed a plot to carry out Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. And on May 9, ISAF captured a "Germany-based Moroccan al Qaeda foreign fighter facilitator" in Zabul in southeastern Afghanistan.