Posted on 09/03/2016 6:26:39 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda front group in Syria, has released a video showing one of its small drones dropping a bomb on Syrian regime forces in Hama province. The unguided bomb doesnt appear to have been especially effective, but the video is noteworthy because it documents the Sunni jihadis further experimentation with explosives. Irans chief terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, was reportedly an early adopter of drones for use in its operations.
Over the past year, Al Qaeda-linked groups and others have increasingly used commercial drones and similar technology to record their propaganda videos. The Long War Journal has previously noted that, in addition to Jund al Aqsa, jihadi groups such as Al Nusrah Front (now known as Jabhat Fath al Sham), the al Qaeda-affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party (see here and here), the Mujahideen Shura Council in Derna, the Islamic State and multiple others have used drones to record propaganda scenes.
The overhead footage can provide a dramatic look at the battles being waged, including the use of suicide bombers. The jihadis are also probably using the drones for surveillance purposes, as they can get a better perspective on the targets they seek to assault.
Jund al Aqsa is playing a major role in the rebel offensive in Hama. The group led the charge by dispatching a pair of suicide operatives against Syrian regime positions in late August. In the days that followed, Jund al Aqsa has claimed the capture of various regime checkpoints and towns.
One map posted on the organizations Twitter feed (and seen below) provided an update on the fighting in Hama province. Other groups are taking part in the Hama operations as well. According to Reuters, factions fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), including Jaysh al Nasr, are allied with Jund al Aqsa during the battles.
Jund al Aqsa remains loyal to al Qaedas senior leadership and supports Al Nusrah Fronts relaunch as Jabhat Fath al Sham (Conquest of the Levant Front).
In a carefully worded statement released on July 31, members of Jund al Aqsas general command said they were optimistic about Al Nusrahs new garb, or new appearance. According to the statements authors, Al Qaedas emirs and clerics must have carefully deliberated the move, determining that it was in the best interest of both the people and the jihad in Syria. In so deciding, Jund al Aqsas men said, al Qaedas leaders have once again proven their sacrifice in service of the ummah (worldwide community of Muslims). The jihadists can [use] any name they want, the statement continued, so long as they stay true to the principles of the prestigious first generation of mujahideen and follow the Prophet Mohammeds methodology.
Jund al Aqsas leadership wrote that they hoped Al Nusrahs rebirth as Jabhat Fath al Sham would lead to the creation of a new Islamic authority that governed according to sharia law, protected the lives of the people, and yet remained truly independent. The al Qaeda-linked group did not say that Jabhat Fath al Sham was such a government, but instead that it would hopefully be a prelude to the creation of one.
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