SITE Intelligence Group

Last updated

SITE Intelligence Group is an American for-profit consultancy group [1] that tracks online activity of white supremacist and jihadist organizations. It is led by the Israeli analyst Rita Katz [2] [1] and based in Bethesda, Maryland. [3] From 2002 to 2008, Katz headed an organization called the SITE Institute.

Contents

The bulk of the materials on the SITE website are available by paid subscription.

SITE Institute

The Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Institute was an organization that tracked the online activity of terrorist organizations. [4] The SITE Institute was founded in 2002 by Rita Katz and Josh Devon, who had left the Investigative Project, a private Islamist-terrorist tracking group. [5] In early 2008, it ceased its operations, and some of its staff formed the SITE Intelligence Group, a for-profit entity, to continue some of its activities.

al-Qaeda tapes

Controversies

As the institute

As the group

On September 2, 2014, SITE sent the video of Steven Sotloff's beheading to its subscribers before the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant released the video. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda</span> Pan-Islamic Sunni Jihadist terrorist organization (established 1988)

Al-Qaeda is a pan-Islamist militant organization led by Sunni Jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic caliphate. Its membership is mostly composed of Arabs, but also includes people from other ethnic groups. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian, economic and military targets of the US and its allies; such as the 1998 US embassy bombings, the USS Cole bombing and the September 11 attacks. The organization is designated as a terrorist group by NATO, the UN Security Council, the European Union, and various countries around the world.

There were many video and audio recordings released by Osama bin Laden between 2000 and his death in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayman al-Zawahiri</span> Egyptian Islamist militant and 2nd emir of al-Qaeda (1951–2022)

Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until his death in July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saif al-Adel</span> Current de-facto Emir of Al-Qaeda

Mohamed Salah al-Din al-Halim Zaidan, commonly known by his nom de guerreSaif al-Adel, is a former Egyptian Army officer and explosives expert who is widely understood to be the de facto leader of al-Qaeda. Al-Adel fought the Soviets as an Afghan Arab before becoming a founding member of the al-Qaeda organization. He is a member of Al-Qaeda's Majlis al-Shura and has headed the organization's military committee since the death of Muhammad Atef in 2001. He is currently known to live in Iran along with several other senior members of the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maktab al-Khidamat</span> 1984–1989 organization fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan

The Maktab al-Khidamat, also Maktab Khadamāt al-Mujāhidīn al-'Arab, also known as the Afghan Services Bureau, was founded in 1984 by Abdullah Azzam, Wa'el Hamza Julaidan, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to raise funds and recruit foreign mujahideen for the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. MAK became the forerunner to al-Qaeda and was instrumental in creating the fundraising and recruitment network that benefited Al-Qaeda during the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad</span> Jordanian/Iraqi Salafi jihadist militant group (1999–2004)

Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, abbreviated as JTJ or Jama'at, was a Salafi jihadist militant group. It was founded in Jordan in 1999, and was led by Jordanian national Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for the entirety of its existence. During the Iraqi insurgency (2003–11), the group became a decentralized network with foreign fighters with a considerable Iraqi membership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Musab al-Zarqawi</span> Jordanian jihadist (1966–2006)

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh, was a Jordanian jihadist who ran a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings, and attacks during the Iraq War, reportedly "turning an insurgency against US troops" in Iraq "into a Shia–Sunni civil war". He was sometimes known by his supporters as the "Sheikh of the slaughterers".

There have been several videos released showing Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Nine days after Osama bin Laden released his latest video, September 11, 2007 Osama bin Laden video, on the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, he released a new tape on September 20, 2007 called "Come to Jihad" with his voice over previously released footage of him. In the tape, bin Laden called on Pakistanis to overthrow President Pervez Musharraf, promising what he called retaliation for the storming of the Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad, in July.

Rita Katz is a terrorism analyst and the co-founder of the Search International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group, a private intelligence firm based in Washington, D.C.

Osama bin Laden, a militant Islamist and co-founder of al-Qaeda, in conjunction with several other Islamic militant leaders, issued two fatawa – in 1996 and then again in 1998—that military personnel from the United States and allied countries until they withdraw support for Israel and withdraw military forces from Islamic countries. He was indicted in United States federal court for his alleged involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, and was on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan jihadist camp</span> Facility used to train militants in Afghanistan

An Afghan jihadist camp, or an Afghan training camp, is a term used to describe a camp or facility used for militant training located in Afghanistan. At the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001, Indian intelligence officials estimated that there were over 120 jihadist camps operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, run by a variety of militant groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda activities in Europe</span>

The international activities of Al-Qaeda includes involvements in Europe, where members of the group have been involved in militant and terrorist activities in several countries. Al-Qaeda has been responsible for or involved in attacks in Western Europe and Russia, including the 2004 Madrid train bombings, 2010 Moscow Metro bombings, 2011 Domodedovo International Airport bombing, and the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks.

<i>Inspire</i> (magazine) Online Jihadist magazine published by Al-Qaeda

Inspire is an English-language online magazine published by the organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The magazine is one of the many ways AQAP uses the Internet to reach its audience. Numerous international and domestic extremists motivated by radical interpretations of Islam have been influenced by the magazine and, in some cases, used its bomb-making instructions in their attempts to carry out attacks. The magazine is an important brand-building tool, not just of AQAP, but of all al-Qaeda branches, franchises and affiliates.

At around 9:30 pm on September 11, 2001, George Tenet, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) told President George W. Bush and U.S. senior officials that the CIA's Counterterrorism Center had determined that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were responsible for the September 11 attacks. Two weeks after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation connected the hijackers to al-Qaeda, a militant Salafist Islamist multi-national organization. In a number of video, audio, interview and printed statements, senior members of al-Qaeda have also asserted responsibility for organizing the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Islamic Media Front</span>

The Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) is an Islamist propaganda organization that is associated with the terrorist group, al-Qaeda, and other jihadist groups. The GIMF is known by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as an "underground media" organization. The GIMF specializes in production of jihadist material for distribution. It is one of several organizations that jihadists use to spread information via the Internet, including the well-known As-Sahab. Their slogan that is used on their materials is "Observing Mujahideen News and Inspiring the Believers." There is no indication who the leader of this organization is.

The Egyptian Islamic Jihad, formerly called simply Islamic Jihad and the Liberation Army for Holy Sites, originally referred to as al-Jihad, and then the Jihad Group, or the Jihad Organization, was an Egyptian Islamist group active since the late 1970s. It was under worldwide embargo by the United Nations as an affiliate of Al-Qaeda. It was also banned by several individual governments worldwide. The group is a proscribed terrorist group organization in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula</span> Militant jihadist organization

Al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, or AQSP, is an Egyptian militant jihadist organization possibly formed by a merger between al-Qaeda operatives in Sinai and Ansar al Jihad. It was Al-Qaeda's branch in the Sinai peninsula, and is composed of many Al-Qaeda factions in the area. AQSP made international headlines in November 2014 when the organization pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in a nine-minute audio speech released on Twitter.

Al-Fajr Media or Dawn Media is an Al-Qaeda affiliated media organization that was started in 2006 and was used by multiple Al-Qaeda affiliated organizations on Jihadist forums.

References

  1. 1 2 Vincent, James (4 September 2014). "Who are the SITE Intelligence Group that distributed the Sotloff video before the jihadis?". The Independent. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Jihadists appear caught offguard by release of Steven Sotloff video". Telegraph.co.uk. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  3. "Inside SITE Intelligence Group: Steven Sotloff Beheading Discovered By Little-Known Research Organization". International Business Times . 2 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  4. Smith, Craig S. (11 April 2007). "Islamists Bring Fight to Capital of Algeria". The New York Times . Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  5. Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (29 May 2006). "Private Jihad". The New Yorker . Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  6. Sauer, Maddy (4 July 2007). "New Video From Al Qaeda No. 2". ABC News . Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  7. "Al Qaeda's No. 2 seeks to bolster support for terror network in Iraq". The New York Times. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  8. "Al-Qaeda number two slams Hamas for seeking negotiations". Lebanonwire . Agence France-Presse. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  9. "New Usama Bin Laden Video Urges Americans to Convert to Islam". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  10. Warrick, Joby (12 September 2007). "Bin Laden, Brought to You by ..." The Washington Post . Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  11. Harris, Elizabeth A. (6 May 2011). "Al Qaeda Confirms Bin Laden's Death". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  12. Eric Lipton and Eric Lichtblau (September 23, 2004). "Even Near Home, a New Front Is Opening in the Terror Battle," New York Times; see page 2.
  13. Alexander, Leigh (30 May 2008). "Intelligence Group Mistakes Fallout 3 Screens For Terrorist Propaganda". Kotaku . Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  14. Alexander, Leigh (30 May 2008). "SITE Refutes Fallout 3 Goof, Is Not "Red-Faced"". Kotaku. Retrieved 2 September 2014.