Tag: Jihadist

The collapse of the Syrian regime’s military stronghold around Quneitra, the main city in the Syrian Golan height, and border crossing with Israel has caught the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) facing a mission it was not prepared to do - face extremist Syrian Jihadist rebels that have been fighting the Syrian regime for more than two years. Two UN contingent forces from Fiji and the Philippines were involved in the fighting over the weekend.

Terrorists have long exploited the Internet as a means to try and attract recruits to their cause. During the attack on Mumbai in November 2008 the terrorists made extensive use of mobile phones they picked up from those they had killed to look at how the events were being portrayed by the international media. It became a way of emboldening them to continue the fight over the sixty-two hours it lasted. Those involved knew through social media they were having a dramatic impact on the world stage.

Activists and rebel soldiers based inside Syria say a small but growing number of Islamist radicals affiliated with global jihadi movements have been arriving in opposition strongholds in recent weeks and attempting to rally support among disaffected residents.