| Jund Ansar Allah | |
|---|---|
| جند أنصار الله | |
 | |
| Leader | Abdel Latif Moussa † Abu Abdullah al Suri † |
| Dates of operation | November 2008 – 15 August 2009 |
| Allegiance |  Al-Qaeda (Alleged)Islamic Emirate of Rafah |
| Headquarters | Rafah,Gaza Strip |
| Ideology | Salafi jihadism |
| Size | 100+ |
| Opponents |  Hamas Israel |
| Battles and wars | |
Jund Ansar Allah (Arabic:جند أنصار الله,romanized: Jund ʾAnṣār Allāh,lit. 'Army of the Supporters ofGod',abbr.JAA) was an armedPalestinian Salafi-jihadist organization operating in theGaza Strip. It was founded in November 2008 by SheikhAbdel Latif Moussa. On 14 August 2009, Moussa announced the establishment of theIslamic Emirate of Rafah in theGaza Strip. The group criticized the ruling power,Hamas, for failing to enforceSharia law. In response,Hamas attacked the organization, resulting in 24 people killed and a further 150 wounded. The group disbanded after the battle.[1][2]
Jund Ansar Allah was established in November 2008 by Sheikh Abdel Latif Moussa, who had headed aSalafi organization in Gaza since the 1980's, and Khalid Banat (Abu Abdullah Suri), who claimed to have fought with leading al-Qaeda figures includingOsama bin Laden andAbu Musab al-Zarqawi.[citation needed]
Jund Ansar Allah was an organization ideologically affiliated with the movement for globaljihad.[3][4] Moussa, an "Egyptian-educated physician-turned-cleric," was the group's spiritual leader.[5] He left his medical practice inRafah to become one of the most influential preachers in the southern Gaza Strip.
On 8 June 2009 the group carried out a raid on theKarni border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Ten individuals from the group rode into battle on horses laden with large quantities of explosives, with at least three of them being shot dead by Israeli troops. Five Jund Ansar Allah operatives in total died in the operation.[3] Israeli officials said several of the men had been wearing explosive belts, and suspected they had been attempting to kidnap a soldier.[5]
The organization also clashed with Hamas. On 22 July 2009, three Jund Ansar Allah militants holed up in a building inKhan Yunis surrendered in a standoff with Hamas police.[6] Hamas officials also blamed the group for the bombings of several internet cafes, seen as a source of immorality, and of a wedding party attended by relatives of the West Bank-basedFatah leader,Mohammed Dahlan, in which fifty people were injured. Jund Ansar Allah denied any responsibility for the latter attack, and Fatah leadersblamed Hamas.[5] In August 2009, a senior Hamas official toldThe Jerusalem Post that Jund Ansar Allah received its weapons from former Fatah policemen and security officials in the southern Gaza Strip and that the aim of its attacks were to "defame" Hamas. On 14 August 2009, theIzz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades attacked theIbn Taymiyyah mosque in Rafah and other bases in Rafah. The fighting lasted 7 hours. It was reported that when Hamas reached the positions of Moussa and Abu Abdullah al Suri, they detonated themselves. About 13 Jund Ansar Allah fighters were killed, 40 were captured, 5 civilians were killed, including 6 Hamas militants. al-Qassam brigades commander Abu Jibril Shimali, was also killed during the battle. The group was virtually destroyed after the fighting, having both of its leaders killed, and its bases captured. It was reported that Hamas later released some of the captured.[5][7][8][9][10][11][12]
TheIslamic Emirate of Rafah (Arabic:إِمَارَةُ رَفَحُ ٱلْإِسْلَامِيَّةْ), founded by Jund Ansar Allah, was ashort-lived unrecognizedIslamic state located inRafah. It was founded when they declared independence in 2009, two years after theHamas takeover of Gaza. It collapsed after the2009 Battle of Rafah.[13] On Friday, 14 August 2009, the leader of Jund Ansar Allah,Abdel Latif Moussa, unexpectedly declared the creation of an Islamic emirate in the Gaza Strip before 100 of his armed followers at theIbn Taymiyyah mosque inRafah after theFriday prayersermon.[14] During his sermon, theSalafist Moussa condemned thenationalist-IslamistHamas for failing to implement properSharia law and "not being any different from aSecular government".[15][16][17][18][19]
Regarding the sermon as a challenge to theirgovernance of the Gaza Strip,Hamas forces surrounded the mosque and demanded those inside tosurrender. Exchanges of gunfire erupted into a seven-hour battle in which Hamas fighters sealed off the entire neighbourhood and firedrocket-propelled grenades at the mosque.[14] During the firefight, 24 Palestinians were killed and more than 130 injured. The dead included twelve Jund Ansar Allah members, six Hamas members and six civilians, including three young children aged 8, 10 and 13. AnEgyptian National Security Agency official said a three-year-old boy fromEgypt, across theEgypt–Gaza border, was critically wounded by a bullet which reached him from the fighting inGaza. A Hamas fighter later went to Moussa's house to arrest him, and Moussa killed himself and the Hamas fighter by detonating hissuicide belt after being cornered.[14] His house was rigged with explosives by Hamas forces. Abu-Jibril Shimali, head of Hamas'Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in the southern Gaza Strip, died in the fighting.Israel believes that Shimali orchestrated the abduction of Israeli soldierGilad Shalit in a June 2006 cross-border raid.[15][16] Hamas did not permit media coverage of the event, barring journalists from entering Rafah or interviewing the wounded.[15][16][20][21][22]
Following the clashes, a number ofAl-Qaeda-affiliatedSalafi jihadist groups condemned Hamas as anapostate movement that committed "massacre" and stated that Hamas' actions was made to "serve the interest of theIsraeli settlers ofPalestine and theChristians who arepersecutingMuslims inAfghanistan,Chechnya,Iraq, andSomalia".[23] The anti-Hamas sentiment among Salafists was carried on byISG.[24][25]
Websites associated withFatah later released cellphone footage of what appeared to be Hamas executing Jund Ansar Allah fighters during the clash. The video showed Hamas militants gathering several Jund Ansar Allah fighters in the courtyard of theMosque, and then mowing them down in a fierce burst of gunfire. Some of the Jund Ansar Allah men were shown lying motionless and bleeding on the ground. In two scenes, Hamas militants appeared to be shooting captives execution-style at close range, and bodies were seen falling to the ground. In another scene, a group of Jund Ansar Allah captives were seen standing motionless against a wall a few meters away.Israeli Channel 10 also broadcast a recording of what it said was the Hamas military communication channel, ordering Hamas forces toexecute everyone. There was no immediate comment from Hamas officials. However, Hamas had previously denied that an execution took place at the site, or that members of Jund Ansar Allah were "massacred."[26][27]
The last known attack by remmants of Jund Ansar Allah was a bombing of the French cultural center in Gaza on 11 December 2014.[28][29][30]
Following the battle, Jund Ansar Allah vowed to attack Hamas compounds and pro-Hamas mosques in revenge. On 29 August, bombs exploded inside a security compound and near a Hamas-affiliated mosque inGaza City, according to security officials. Nobody was injured in the attacks. Jund Ansar al-Jihad wal Sunna, a previously unknown group, claimed responsibility for the attack, declaring: "We urge ourjihadist brothers to join forces to conduct painfuljoint warfare against those miscreantmurtadeen [Hamas] and end their reign."Associated Press said that "the two explosions appear[ed] to be revenge attacks against Gaza's Hamas rulers," and suggested a link with Jund Ansar Allah.[31]
On its website, the group says it has vowed to God to "fight a jihad for his sake" until the "banner of unity is hoisted" andMuhammad "is made victorious".[5] Then on Friday, Jund Ansar Allah announced on its website and jihadist forums its allegiance to the "Islamic emirate in the heart ofBeit al-Maqdis [Jerusalem]".[5] The website also stated on the day of the clash with Hamas stated:[5]
The soldiers of Tawhid [unification] will not rest ... until all Muslim lands are liberated and until our imprisoned al-Aqsa [mosque] is purified from the desecration of the accursed Jews.
Jund Ansar Allah also demanded that Hamas "cease its aggression against Salafis" and warned of a confrontation if security forces interfered.[5]
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