Abdullah Azzam Brigades is an Islamist militant group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the global jihad movement. The group, which began operating in 2009, has local networks in various countries.[1] It is named after the late Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian from Jordan who was among the first Arabs to volunteer to join the Afghan jihad against the forces of the then Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s.[2]
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A Pakistani network of the group, affiliated with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the Pearl Continental hotel bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan.[2] A spokesman for the group, Amir Muawiya, phoned media organizations claiming responsibility for the attack and promised more attacks were on the way, notably at the BBC offices in Islamabad.[3] He further stated that the bombing was in retaliation for Pakistan army operations in Swat and Malakand division of the North West Frontier Province and the tribal areas of Darra Adam Khel and Orakzai Agency at the "behest of United States."[4]
The group also claimed responsibility for a 2005 rocket attack on American warships on port call in Aqaba, Jordan. [5]
On August 3 2010, a man who claims to be a spokesman of the brigade made a video statement that the brigade was involved in the attack on the Japanese oil tanker M. Star in the Strait of Hormuz in July 2010, although some analysts are skeptical about the claim.[6]
A BBC correspondent asserted that the Abdullah Azzam Brigades is a "name of convenience rather than an actual organisation."[6]
| Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel |
|---|
| By year |
| 2001 · 2002–2006 · 2007 2008 · 2008 cease-fire Gaza War · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 2012 |
| Groups responsible |
| Fatah · Hamas · Islamic Jihad Popular Resistance Committees Ansar al-Sunna · Force 17 Army of Islam · Tawhid wal-Jihad Abdullah Azzam Brigades |
| Rocket types |
| Mortar · Qassam · Al-Quds Katyusha · Grad |
| Cities hit |
| Ashdod · Ashkelon · Beersheba Gedera · Kiryat Gat · Kiryat Malakhi Netivot · Sderot · Ofakim · Yavne |
| Regional Council areas hit |
| Settlements hit (evacuated) |
| Atzmona · Dugit · Elei Sinai Gadid · Ganei Tal · Katif Kfar Darom · Morag Netzarim · Netzer Hazani Neve Dekalim · Nisanit Rafiah Yam · Slav |
| Actions by Israel |
| Civil defense in Israel Red Color · Iron Dome · ZAKA |
| Related topics |
| Israeli-Palestinian conflict Palestinian political violence Palestinian suicide attacks Palestinian animal bomb attacks Lebanese rocket attacks on Israel |
On 10 April 2011, according to Ma'an News Agency, a Gazan group calling itself "Marwan Haddad division of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades in the Levant" claimed responsibility for firing a Grad missile at the Israeli city of Ashkelon and two other projectiles at the Zikim military base. The group said in a statement: "The shelling is part of ongoing retaliation to the crimes committed by the Zionists who were known for killing prophets. This will continue until the Palestinian land is liberated and Tawhid flag is raised."[7][8]