Soldiers of the Caliphate threaten to attack Kazakhstan

Members of the Jund al Khilafah, from their latest videotape. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A little-known group called the “Kateeba Jund al Khilafah,” or the Brigade of the Soldiers of the Caliphate, released a videotape in which its members threaten the government of Kazakhstan if it fails to retract a law banning women from wearing the veil. The translation below is from the SITE Intelligence Group:

We call upon you to abolish these laws, and we also demand that you offer an apology to the people for that mistake. We demand complete freedom for Muslims to carry out their rituals of worship. In the event you insist on your position, then we will be forced to make a move against you. Know that the policy that you are following is the same that was applied in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt; however, as you have seen, it only caused loss to those who exercised it.

As SITE notes in its update, the Jund al Khilafah Brigade has recently released two videos of attacks on US bases in Khost province, Afghanistan. The attacks took place in June and July, and the videos were released in September and October, respectively. Prior to the release of these tapes, there has been no mention of the group.

One other note: The Al Zahir Baibars Battalion, apparently a subordinate command of the Jund al Khilafah Brigade, took credit for releasing the latest tape. It will be interesting to see if other “battalions” of the Jund al Khilafah Brigade begin releasing propaganda, and if so, where their propaganda is directed.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Jund al Khilafah