The Al-Qaeda core operating from tribal areas of Pakistan is keen to compete with its splinter, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) at all levels. To match the magnitude and ferocity of ISIS terrorist attacks, Al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan even attempted to hijack a Pakistan Navy frigate PNS Zulfiqar in September 2014[1]. Just one week before that failed incident the then Al-Qaeda Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the establishment of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, led by Asim Umar a veteran jihadi on September 4, 2014 in a 55-minute video[2].
Since Al-Qaeda wants to spread the tentacles of its Pakistani franchise in the Indian Subcontinent, the most recent Al-Qaeda endeavour in this regard is the launching of its women wing: Al-Qaeda Shaheen (falcon) Force. According to the statement this force would be led by Afinda Bint-e-Ayesha under the tutelage of Umaima Hassan Ahmed Muhammad Hassan[3], wife of Ayman al-Zawahiri[4]. Mrs Zawahiri has remained instrumental alongside her husband, the chief of Al-Qaeda, in mobilizing jihadi women. Time and again she has urged Muslim women to raise children for jihad. While addressing jihadi women inspiring them to participate in active jihad at a web-based jihadi forum, she said:
“I advise you to raise your children in the cult of jihad and martyrdom and to instil in them a love for religion and death. Each woman would raise her child to be a new Saladin by telling him that it is you who will restore the grandeur of the Islamic nation and you will liberate Jerusalem.”[5]
The newly created Shaheen Force appears to work under Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and has plans to train 500 female suicide bombers for striking civil and military installations in Pakistan[6].
The Shaheen Force seems to be just another Al-Qaeda effort to compete with the growing influence of ISIS in Pakistan’s jihadi circles. Scores of jihadi leaders from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have defected to ISIS. The ISIS has also made Hafiz Saeed Khan as its Emir of Pakistan. The ISIS initially considered nominating Muslim Dost Mohammad, an Afghan and former Guantanamo detainee[7], as its Emir for the Khurasan region (Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and Central Asia in jihadi terminology). Despite the fact that Muslim Dost Mohammad remained its interim Emir, he was eventually replaced by Hafiz Saeed Khan from Orakzai District of the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan.
The reason for the creation of Al-Qaeda’s women wing in Pakistan appears simple. In December last year, a group of female madrassa (seminary) students from Hafsa Madrassa in Islamabad, pledged allegiance to ISIS’s Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi[8]. Umme Hassan, the principal of Hafsa Madrassa and wife of Red Mosque prayer leader and jihadi ideologue Abdul Aziz, published a pamphlet in support of ISIS. Umme Hassan wrote in the pamphlet:
“All the Muslim women of the world should raise their children to love jihad and die in the cause of Allah. Besides helping to preserve the Mujahedeen and raise their children in the best way, women could go the extra mile and participate themselves in martyrdom missions as suicide bombers”.[9]
The Hafsa Madrassa was part of the Red Mosque Complex, where the Pakistan military launched Operation Silence in July 2007 to regain the writ of the State over the Red Mosque after a 2-week siege from Islamist militants inside the mosque and seminary. The operation resulted in the death of 102 people including 13 operatives of the Special Services Group of the Pakistan Army[10].
The AQIS has also distributed a pamphlet among the jihadi circles in Pakistan describing important role women could play, it states:
“Al-Qaeda feels that women can perform specialized roles. They need to help the men who are out on the battlefield and also gather intelligence. The women will however not indulge in war on the battlefield. Using arms is a strict no for the women and the chief of the outfit feels that the women will play a secondary but very important role in this long drawn battle. Jihad should be loved and the importance of this should be told. If you have children, tell them the importance of jihad”.[11]
With the establishment of Shaheen Force, the Al-Qaeda appears to be broadening the scope of AQIS. AQIS seems to work independently of Pakistani jihadist groups. It had distanced itself from the recent Army Public School (APS) attack which was claimed by the TTP-Fazlullah faction. AQIS even condemned the killing of 152 students and staffs of the APS, most of the students were 9th graders[12]. The AQIS has already established its media wing headed by Usama Mehmood, whereas the overall organization is headed by Asim Umar, a seasoned and well-connected ideologue within Pakistani jihadi circles.
Conclusion
Female participation in terrorism is not something new. In recent history women have always remained part of many different terrorist movements across the globe. The late 19th century Russian terrorist organization Narodnaya Volya (Peoples’ Will) was known for its female cadre[13]. In the last century, Palestinian terrorist groups used women as assassins, kidnappers, hijackers and suicide bombers. The Paletinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and its bête noire Hamas have competed for using women for suicide bombings against Israel[14]. The Hezbollah also used female bombers to strike against Israeli targets. The Red Army Faction in Germany, during the 1980s, had a good number of women as leaders and as a part of their rank and file. The Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) capitalized on female suicide bombers for hitting Turkish civil and military targets. The Sri Lankan LTTE during the last two decades was at the forefront of using female suicide bombers.
The Al-Qaeda has a history of using female suicide bombers and a number of women have managed to gain prominence from its platform including:
- Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist who was indicted in the New York federal district court in September 2008, on charges of assault and attempted murder of a United States Army Captain in a police station in Ghazni, Afghanistan. She was tried and convicted February 3, 2010 and sentenced later that year to 86 years in prison;
- Wafa Al-Shihri, the widow of former Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Saeed Al-Shihri
- Arwa Al-Baghdadi is the wife of another AQAP member, Anis Al-Baghdadi, who is also currently believed to be hiding out in Yemen;
- Haylah Al-Qassir from Saudi Arabia, better known in the media as Sayida Al-Qaeda[15]; and
- Hayat Boummeddiene, wife of the terrorist involved in the Paris attack[16].
The ISIS also has women in its ranks though at sideline positions. Scores of Muslim women from many different countries decided to join jihadis in Syrian civil war after Fatwa (religious edict) issued by Wahabi cleric Mohamad al-Arefe in 2013. In June 2014, the ISIS put up posters in Mosul urging people to bring their unmarried girls to participate in “jihad al-nikah” or sex jihad. Reportedly more than 150 girls were killed by the ISIS in Fallujah for refusing to participate in sex jihad[17]. The all-female al-Khansaa Brigade assists ISIS fighters in promulgating Sharia laws in Raqqa, the capital of Islamic State. The ISIS spokesperson is on record having stated to “…raise awareness of our religion among women and to punish women who do not abide by the law and to prevent the mixture of men and women.”[18]
Other Islamist terrorist groups also used female bombers in recent past such as the Boko Haram, the Al-Shabab, and the Al-Qaeda. With the emergence of the ISIS on the jihadi scene, the Al-Qaeda appears to feel a bit uncomfortable as all media attention is now towards covering havoc caused by the ISIS.
Terrorist groups across the world, whether Islamist or nationalist/separatist, attempt to seek media attention for highlighting their activities, and to communicate messages in terms of ‘propaganda by deed’[19]. The Al-Qaeda core and its franchise AQIS are trying hard to stay on the jihadi throne and stay relevant, at least in Pakistan. Since the advent of the ISIS on the jihadi scene, the Al-Qaeda has planned and executed several different unsuccessful terrorist plots. The AQIS initiative is another way to lure in more jihadi recruits before they join the ISIS in Pakistan and India. The latest AQIS effort to create a separate female wing for launching successful terrorist strikes in Pakistan is perhaps another endeavour in this regard.
Article is written by Dr. Farhan Zahid
Dr. Farhan Zahid earned his Ph.D. in Counter Terrorism Studies from the University of Brussels, Belgium. Dr. Zahid has authored more than 20 research papers and articles. He writes on counter-terrorism, al-Qaeda, Pakistani al- Qaeda-linked groups, Islamist violent non-state actors in Pakistan, jihadi ideologies and the Afghan Taliban.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] FarhanZahid, “Al-Qaeda’s Future in Pakistan amid the Rise of Islamic State”, Terrorism Monitor, October 24, 2014
[2] “Al-Qaeda leader announces formation of Indian branch”, The Guardian, September 4, 2014, available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/04/al-qaida-leader-announces-formation-indian-branch
[3]Umaima Hassan is one of al-Zawahiri’s four wives. His first wife Azza Ahmed Nowari was killed in a US airstrike in Afghanistan along with two children. Umaima managed to survive remained active in jihadi activities at internet jihadi forums.
[4] Amir Mir, “Terror plans of Al-Qaeda’s women wing exposed”, The News International, Islamabad, January 30, 2015, available at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-35591-Terror-plans-of-Al-Qaeda-womens-wing-exposed
[5] “Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s wife predicts Muslim Spring”, The Telegraph, June 8, 2012, available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/9319131/Al-Qaeda-leader-Ayman-al-Zawahiris-wife-predicts-Muslim-Spring.html
[6] Vicky Nanjappa, “Shaheen Force: Al-Qaeda’s new women’s wing in the sub-continent”, One India, February 3, 2015, available at: http://www.oneindia.com/feature/shaheen-force-the-new-women-s-wing-of-al-qaeda-in-sub-continent-1638735.html
[7] He remained in Guantanamo for five years (2001-2006) and later re-joined Afghan Taliban insurgents immediately after his release. Muslim Dost is an Afghan national, whereas the new Emir Hafiz Saeed Khan is a Pakistani. Apparently the change of leadership is because of the nationality issue as the ISIS seems to be more interested in tapping Pakistani jihadi circles rather Afghan.
[8] Amir Mir, “Capital’s JamiaHafsa declares support for Islamic State”, The News International, Islamabad, December 8, 2014, available at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-288900-Capitals-Jamia-Hafsa-declares-support-for-Islamic-State
[9]Amir Mir, “Terror plans of Al-Qaeda’s women wing exposed”, The News International, Islamabad, January 30, 2015, available at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-35591-Terror-plans-of-Al-Qaeda-womens-wing-exposed
[10] Syed IrfanRaza, “Lal Masjid women, children also killed: G-6 curfew to be lifted today”, Dawn, July 14, 2007, available at: http://www.dawn.com/news/256342/lal-masjid-women-children-also-killed-g-6-curfew-to-be-lifted-today
[11] Op Cit Mir
[12] “Al-Qaeda—Indian Subcontinent condemns attack on Peshawar school”, The Nation, Islamabad, December 21, 2014, available at: http://nation.com.pk/national/21-Dec-2014/al-qaeda-indian-subcontinent-condemns-attack-on-peshawar-school
[13] Some known figures of that movement of Czarist Russia were: Vera Figner, Sophia Perovskaya, Anna Yakimova, and Maria Oshanina.
[14] Radical Islamist jihadi scholars such as Doha-based Yusuf al-Qaradawi even sanctioned the female suicide bombings against Israeli targets in his Fatwa. He said, “committed Muslim women in Palestine have the right to participate and have their own role in jihad and to attain martyrdom.” (for details see, Houriya Ahmed, CTC Sentinal, July 3, 2010)
[15] “The Women of Al-Qaeda”, Asharq al-Awsat, January 5, 2014
[16] Farah Pandit and Sasha Havlicek, “The Female Face of Terror”, The Telegraph, January 28, 2015
[17] “ISIS just executed more than 150 women in Fallujah”, Business Insider, December 17, 2014
[18]RafiaZakaria, “Women watching Women”, Dawn, July 23, 2014
[19] Propaganda of the deed(or propaganda by the deed, from the French propagande par le fait) is specific political action meant to be exemplary to others. It is primarily associated with acts of left terrorism of the late 19th and early 20th century but also had non-violent applications.