Jihad Terms and Terminology

Harb al-Isabat: Guerrilla Warfare

(Literally War of Gangs) — an area of military science of primary interest to the Islamist militants. Former leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Abd al-Aziz al-Muqrin (killed in June 2004) gives a detailed treatment of this in the first four issues of the online magazine Mu’askar al-Battar.

Al-Taftish al-Sirri: Covert Reconnaissance

Commander Sayf al-Adal authored a detailed treatment of the aims and structure of the functions of the jihadi reconnaissance groups in vol. 12 of Mu’askar al-Battar. The aims of the function are five:

1) information gathering (photographing or studying documents)

2) development of technical capabilities

3) knowledge of the enemy’s methodology (his security precautions)

4) obtaining funds from cash depositories

5) fostering of alliances or planting of documents aimed at destroying trust among members of the organization

Al-Istidraj: Enticement

Extraction of information from an unsuspecting interlocutor (detailed in Vol 16 of Mu’askar al-Battar as part of the section on Security and Communications, authored by Sayf al-Adal).