Army of Islam (Gaza Strip)
Encyclopedia
Army of Islam also known as Tawhid
and Jihad
Brigades, is the name used by the Doghmush
Hamula (clan
) for their Islamic militant activities. It is located at the Tzabra neighborhood in the center of the Gaza Strip
bordered by Israel
and Egypt
. It is a designated terrorist organization.
and the kidnapping
of BBC
reporter Alan Johnston
, Army of Islam, which appears to draw inspiration from, or is linked to, al-Qaeda
, have also conducted at least one bombing of a Palestinian civilian target (an empty school) and a number of other kidnappings. The group has been previously closely related to Hamas
, but has been since shunned by both Hamas and Fatah
. The group has also been known as The Organization of al-Qaeda in Palestine and is linked to Abu Qatada
, the British-based Palestinian-Jordan
ian extremist Sheikh
who they demanded be released in exchange for Johnston.
On 3 November 2010 senior Army of Islam leader Mohammad Namnam was killed in a targeted killing
when the car he was driving in Gaza City was hit by a missile fired from an Israeli military helicopter. Israel killed Namnam after Egyptian authorities reportedly tipped-off Israel that Namnam was helping plan a future attack on multinational security forces in Sinai. Following the November 3 air strike, the Israeli Air Force
killed two other members of the group. Mohammed and Islam Yassif were killed in an air strike, fired from an unmanned drone
, on 17 November 2010. The attack, coordinated with Israeli security services, Shin Bet, came around dawn on a busy street in Gaza City, and cited the same security issues as that in the killing of Namnam.
that resulted in 23 deaths. Egypt's Interior minister said on 23 January that evidence proved that the group planned and executed the attack. The group quickly denied responsibility, while also reportedly expressing support for the bombing.
Tawhid
Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God is one and unique ....
and Jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
Brigades, is the name used by the Doghmush
Doghmush
The Doghmush are a Palestinian family from the Gaza Strip. They became known mostly due to calling themselves the Jaysh al-Islām , and being behind the kidnapping and holding of the British journalist Alan Johnston for four months in 2007...
Hamula (clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
) for their Islamic militant activities. It is located at the Tzabra neighborhood in the center of the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
bordered by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It is a designated terrorist organization.
Activities
Notorious for their capture of Israeli soldier Gilad ShalitGilad Shalit
Gilad Shalit is an Israeli – French citizen and Israel Defense Forces soldier. On 25 June 2006, he was captured inside Israel by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via underground tunnels near the border with Gaza. The Hamas militants held him for over five years, until he was released on...
and the kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reporter Alan Johnston
Alan Johnston
Alan Graham Johnston is a British journalist working for the BBC. He has been the BBC's correspondent in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip, and is currently the correspondent in Rome...
, Army of Islam, which appears to draw inspiration from, or is linked to, al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, have also conducted at least one bombing of a Palestinian civilian target (an empty school) and a number of other kidnappings. The group has been previously closely related to Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, but has been since shunned by both Hamas and Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
. The group has also been known as The Organization of al-Qaeda in Palestine and is linked to Abu Qatada
Abu Qatada
Abû-Qatâda al-Filisṭînî , sometimes called Abû-Omar is an Islamist militant. Under the name Omar Mahmoud Othman , he is under worldwide embargo by the United Nations Security Council Committee 1267 for his affiliation with al-Qaeda...
, the British-based Palestinian-Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian extremist Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
who they demanded be released in exchange for Johnston.
On 3 November 2010 senior Army of Islam leader Mohammad Namnam was killed in a targeted killing
Targeted killing
Targeted killing is the deliberate, specific targeting and killing, by a government or its agents, of a supposed terrorist or of a supposed "unlawful combatant" who is not in that government's custody...
when the car he was driving in Gaza City was hit by a missile fired from an Israeli military helicopter. Israel killed Namnam after Egyptian authorities reportedly tipped-off Israel that Namnam was helping plan a future attack on multinational security forces in Sinai. Following the November 3 air strike, the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
killed two other members of the group. Mohammed and Islam Yassif were killed in an air strike, fired from an unmanned drone
Drone
-Nature:The male sex of social Hymenopterans, such as a* Drone * male wasp* male ant-Chemicals:An abbreviation referring to one of two psychoactive drugs:* Mephedrone* 4-Methoxymethcathinone, commonly known as methedrone-Vehicles:...
, on 17 November 2010. The attack, coordinated with Israeli security services, Shin Bet, came around dawn on a busy street in Gaza City, and cited the same security issues as that in the killing of Namnam.
Kidnapping of Alan Johnston
In 2007 the group kidnapped the BBC correspondent Alan Johnston. On June 25, 2007 a video was released by Army of Islam showing Johnston with an explosive belt around his waist, with a demands for the release of Muslim prisoners in British custody. The group, which also kidnapped ten members of Hamas, had claimed that they would have killed him if there had been an attempt to rescue him by force. On July 4, 2007, after Gaza authorities arrested several members of Army of Islam including its spokesman, Abu Muthana, and following threats of execution, Johnston was handed over to Hamas officials and released after 114 days in captivity.Alexandria bombing
The Army of Islam has been linked with the 2011 bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria2011 Alexandria bombing
The 2011 Alexandria bombing was an attack on Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, on Saturday, 1 January 2011. Twenty three people died as a result of the attack, all of them Coptic Christians. Some 97 more people were injured...
that resulted in 23 deaths. Egypt's Interior minister said on 23 January that evidence proved that the group planned and executed the attack. The group quickly denied responsibility, while also reportedly expressing support for the bombing.