Al-Qaeda releases English-language jihad manual, encourages attacks in the West

Al-Qaeda’s English media affiliate, Al-Malahem Media, published a 16-page online English-language jihad manual on Wednesday entitled “Expectations Full,” which contains advice and instruction for Muslims who wish to wage holy war in the name of Islam.

Much of the focus is on the day-to-day practicalities of waging jihad in countries such as Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan, but the author also devotes attention to encouraging Western-based Muslims to carry out attacks in the countries where they are living.

The writer, Samir Khan, a British-born Pakistani al-Qaeda operative who was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen last year, strongly recommends “all the brothers and sisters coming from the West to consider attacking America in its own backyard. The effect is much greater, it always embarrasses the enemy, and these type of individual decision-making attacks are nearly impossible for them to contain.”

Khan died in the same US strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki on September 30, 2011. Al-Awlaki was an American-Yemeni imam and al-Qaeda recruiter — the so-called bin Laden of the Internet. Both were major contributors to “Inspire,” al-Qaeda’s English-language magazine.

The document does not contain technical advice on how to build a bomb or plan attacks, but rather is a series of notes on how to conduct oneself during jihad activities, interspersed with photoshopped pictures of what are presumably al-Qaeda members going about their activities.

Among other topics, the manual covers personal hygiene, moving from base to base, living outdoors, injuries, how to deal with aerial bombardment, life in training camps, and the possibility of bringing one’s family along for jihad (not recommended).

The manual includes a discussion of jinns (genies) and their nature, noting that although the “Apostates of Yemen” (the Yemeni government) use evil jinn and magic against al-Qaeda, there are also good jinn that defend the jihad warriors.

Khan concludes by saying he hopes he has provided adherents with an effective briefing on “everything you should expect when on jihad. There might be a few things left out both intentionally and unintentionally; for those things that are left out intentionally, it is because we don’t want our enemy to know what we do.”

He says he did not write “to scare my readers or to make them think twice.” Rather, he notes, “I want to prepare them for the reality so that they don’t commit the major sin of leaving jihad when Allah has blessed them with it. Also, now that you know what to expect, you can compare that with doing jihad in the West, weigh the pros and cons, and make your decision.”