Item 1: “Relying on Violence,” chapter four of al-Qaeda (Group Profile)’s new book Managing Savagery.

Item 2: Global Islamic Media reports on clashes with Saudi security forces that killed crucial leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Item 3: Al-Qaeda in the Land of the Two Rivers (Group Profile) announces the “Abu Anas Al-Shemi Expedition,” a country-wide offensive.

Item 4: A rough week for the “Electronic Jihad.”

The Terror Web Watch collects intelligence through active monitoring of Jihadist and other threat group web sites, forums, and other communication environments. Terrorists and their supporters call it Jihad electroni, the electronic Jihad. For them, exploiting the Internet is considered a vital part of raising money, spreading their ideology, building up support, and inspiring others to become terrorists. To a lesser extent, the Internet is also used for training, by circulating training manuals and videos, for discussing targets, and for planning and organizing operations.

Given how important the Internet is to terrorists and to the greater radical Islamist movement that supports them, monitoring the activities of terrorists and suspected terrorists in cyberspace should be nearly as paramount as monitoring their activities on the ground.

Terror Web Watch for April 8 2005