An Inspirational Essay entitled: “Changing the Tides of War: The Strategic Retreat from Mogadishu” - by Abu Qital al-Qarni

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An Inspirational Essay entitled: “Changing the Tides of War: The Strategic Retreat from Mogadishu”.

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The 5th of August 2011 - corresponding to the 5th of Ramadan 1432 - would be a memorable day for the residents of Mogadishu; it all began at the night of Friday 4th of Ramadan when several Toyota Surf 4x4's were seen leaving the city carrying people and household equipment, but none had a clue on what was going on nor what would about to happen. The lackey spies stationed in the city showed little care, rather they were focused on the diversions which the Mujahideen had prepared for them with an “James Lorry” laden with the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft weapon carrying a squadron of Mujahideen who were purposefully shouting 'Allahu Akbar!!', and singing Nasheeds to inspire the Believers and to trick the enemy spies in the city to convey false intelligence to their officials that an attack was eminent.

The Kuffar and their lackey slavessuffered heavy casualties collectively as they tried to launch an offensive with the objective of capturing Mogadishu Stadium. But by the grace of Allah they failed miserably as the Mujahideen launched a severe counter-attack. This resulted in the burning of two of their tanks and with over 40 Ugandan soldiers killed - as it was confirmed by the Defense Minister of Uganda - while the Burundian casualties were hidden, as usual. Furthermore, an American sniper was killed and an counter-attack was launched, which led to the African Crusaders hurriedly carrying his body away, leaving his valuable possessions and his costly weapon to become a nice portion of war-booty which Allah had given as provision to the Mujahideen.

Additionally, a martyrdom-seeking operation was carried out by two heroes of Islam against the enemy command center in Wardigle, which lead to the deaths of five Caucasians - most likely American officials - and over 20 Ugandan officials. This is probably just a touch of what the Crusaders and their allies were going through on that blessed night, the 4th of Ramadan.

Morning came as usual in Mogadishu, only now it was official, what the Mujahideen had carried out was planned months prior - the tactical retreat from all frontlines in Mogadishu and the beginning of the much anticipated guerrilla war. If there was anyone from among the enemy forces who fully comprehend what had just taken place that morning then it is the Ethiopians, they definitely suffered more than anyone else in Mogadishu - even more than the Americans - during the famous and historical 9-day battle when the Mujahideen forces in Mogadishu fought one of the deadliest battles in the history of Jihad in Somalia. The Ethiopians - with over 50,000 troops backed by 20,000 puppet soldiers - were facing a force of a few hundred Mujahideen strategically positioned. The fighting was fierce and bloody and after much consideration by the Mujahideen commanders it was perceived best fitting to retreat and initiate guerrilla warfare. During the 9th night of the battle, the Mujahideen swiftly retreated and the Ethiopians arose the next morning expecting stiff resistance but they were shocked to find empty defenses. As is their custom, they declared victory and started to occupy bases in the city, and as predicted they occupied the Mogadishu Stadium and other obvious places which a conventional minded commander would occupy. The Mujahideen patiently waited for the right time and then the attacks began: armed only with light weapons Mujahideen battalions attacked the Crusader forces spaced out in the city while other battalions carried extensive assassinations which led to the stooge officials fearing to even walk outside or dare to even drink tea at any cafe! Bakara Market saw the most casualties - within a month 4-5 lackeys would be shot dead daily. As for the Ethiopians, they were desperate to find a way out, as the Mujahideen attacked their bases on a daily basis and every night became a nightmare for the Ethiopian Crusaders as mortars and bullets rained down upon them. Their supply routes were also cut off and they could not even manage to make use of their aircraft because special Mujahideen units armed with anti-aircraft weapons were lying in wait for them. The invading Ethiopians became so desperate that they attempted to bring food to their bases with four wheel hand carts, with entire battalions guarding them from the sides, but this also failed miserably as the Mujahideen planted mines for them and blew them to pieces. Finding no way out, the Ethiopian invaders chose to take their anger out against the common Muslims (as all Crusaders do). They pounded the Muslim civilians with heavy artillery in an attempt to break the morale of the Mujahideen or at least to lessen the wave of attacks but their foolishness and spite led only to an increase in attacks, which saw them make a last-ditch attempt by bringing their forces together - they fled from Maslah, Warshada Parfunka, and other areas and came together at the Warshada Bastada, Mogadishu Stadium, Gashaandiga, Kuliyada and the presidential compound. This move concentrated their forces and only led to more slaughter of their troops! Heroes like Abu Sulaim (may Allah have mercy on him) ensured that not a single day passed except for the killing of 10-20 lackey soldiers and dozens of Crusader forces. The end result was clear, the immediate withdrawal of all of the Crusader forces: humiliated, subdued and full of regret - having achieved nothing.

As expected, following the recent strategic retreat from Mogadishu - Sharif Sheikh Ahmed - the agent of the global Crusader force in Somalia, immediately declared victory and arranged for an direct flight to Kampala to meet his master, Yoweri Museveni. Both were happy to appear in front of the Americans and NATO, acclaiming their fictitious victory, in order to pocket their ‘reward’, of an 60 percent increase in funding. Meanwhile in Mogadishu, the Mujahideen had never been happier, as they laid in wait in strategic positions in Mogadishu while the Crusader forces and their puppets moved extremely slowly - in fact in the slowest means possible - forward. For the foot soldiers are the ones who have the least idea when it came to the realities on the ground. They had to be realistic since it was their lives that is on the table, and any wrong turn could mean only one of two things: either a terrible injury or death and their copses being dragged in the streets of Mogadishu by cheering Muslim crowds.

With extreme fear in their hearts, the Crusader forces moved forward extremely cautiously, openly placing the lackeys in front of themselves, so that if anything happens, well, it’s the Apostates who would have to deal with it first. The first clashes took place in Sana’a, where the Apostates who were racing to rob the Muslims in Karaan were met with heavy automatic gunfire from all sides - forcing the few who survived to run away in terror - the beleaguered Ugandan Crusaders informed whomever they met during their retreat that it was all a trap, and that the Mujahideen were waiting to ambush them. The situation was similar in Suuq Bacad and other places, the invading forces moved slowly until they settled in the Mogadishu Stadium. They brought their cameras out and took photos and recorded videos, boasting to the journalists of how they had conquered Mogadishu single-handedly. While the journalists unfortunately left quickly due to several reasons, all pertaining to their own safety, they noticed like everyone else that the Crusaders and their allies were not passing on to the other half of the city. There are many areas that the Crusaders would not go near to, such as Gubta, Arafat, Horwaa and Sos. But the most feared area is the one which the Apostates had given several nicknames: “Little Fallujah”, “The Islamic State” and other names all of which allude to the horrors that they and their Ethiopian masters had experienced during the Ethiopian occupation of Mogadishu. This area was the dreaded Suuq Hoola, it was really despised by all the enemies of Allah, particularly those who had survived and experienced the fighting in this blessed arena. Do not be surprised when I tell you that right up until the date that I am writing this article - the 27th of Ramadan - the Crusader forces are still approximately 4-5 kilometers away from Suuq Hoola.

Night came and the Crusader forces and their Apostate lackeys were attacked in 8 different locations by the soldiers of Islam, leaving them with heavy casualties while the Mujahideen had not suffered even one casualty, and all praise is due to Allah. In fact 6 days after the strategic retreat over 50 Crusaders had been killed with only one hero of Islam being granted Shahada, may Allah accept him.

The following days saw the Crusaders and their lackeys receiving heavy casualties, with the Mogadishu airport suddenly transformed into a busy hub as a constant stream of injured Crusaders and Apostates were brought in to be flown to Nairobi for treatment. This led to a change in the mood of the Crusaders, with the AMISOM spokesman claiming that they needed “more troops to occupy the areas left by the Mujahideen” and that ”this new strategy of the Mujahideen was more deadly”. The U.N representative himself did not waste any time realizing as usual that the Apostate leaders, whom he had already gotten tired of babysitting had once again made a fool of themselves by each racing to get attention in the media, claiming he was the one who had laid out the strategy which had led to the “defeat” of the Mujahideen. Augustine Mahiga, the U.N representative for Somalia, told the media that the “new tactics laid out by the Mujahideen” was even more dangerous than their former tactics. Well, he was not lying this time, as there was a tank burning at the Fagah intersection after the Mujahideen launched attacks against the Crusaders and the Apostates when they attempted to take control of Hotel Ramadan. Three puppet soldiers were captured, with two later slaughtered by the Mujahideen,while one was displayed to the media barefooted and confused in Warshada Baastada - just two kilometers from the Mogadishu Stadium! In addition, several explosions targeting Crusader and Apostate soldiers had taken place around the city while three Apostate officials had been gunned down in Bakaara Market. The Crusaders were perplexed, and the foreign mercenaries who had been sent to instruct them on how best to tackle the Mujahideen were also scratching their heads - not knowing just what to do. This is the reality of the supposed “victory” that Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed had declared - the Crusader leadership in Mogadishu have never been more furious with him!

While the Apostates and the Crusaders were dealing with the heavy blows directed at them, and also facing deep internal divisions, the warriors of Tawheed were smiling and prostrating to Allah (Azza wa Jal), everything was going extremely well for them. The Mujahideen, praise be to Allah, had gained tremendous experience from the years they had fought in Mogadishu; from the days of the Americans, through to the Ethiopians, and now the abnormally coward Ugandan and Burundi soldiers, and every move that was taken is based on this rich experience. The strategic retreat had taken place only after it was unanimously agreed upon amongst the Mujahideen that the current battle plan was giving the enemy more advantage. To clarify better, I would mention a few
points:

• The battle plan in Mogadishu was basically what military strategists would refer to as a siege, the enemy was enclosed in an area of approximately 4 KM with the Mujahideen holding a long defensive line of about 12 kilometers facing the Crusaders and the Apostate defenses. The Crusaders who were too cowardly to attack Mujahideen defenses except in very few cases they were heavily depending on bombardment particularly with mortars and BM rockets. The Crusaders used to fire at least 300 mortars daily, making the Mujahideen joke that maybe every Crusader soldier was equipped with a personal mortar. This led to more Mujahideen being martyred from mortar rounds than bullets. Also, as any experienced military person would agree, this was a conventional tactic which led - for the first time - to the Crusaders having to sit in front of the Mujahideen, knowing that 50 meters ahead there was a Mujahideen defense or in some cases, defenses were only a mere 10 meters away! This means that the situation in Somalia was rather exceptional, as no other Jihadi-front experienced this kind of engagement. This gave the Crusaders an advantage, as this was the kind of war that they preferred. So they built towers of defenses while securing them with hundreds of soldiers and guarding them with tanks. Then they started launching offensives, with none of them being successful, and all ending with them suffering greatly while exaggerating any little achievement they made. They captured the Minister of Defense compound after a week of heavy fighting with hundreds of their soldiers killed and a Burundian soldier captured, at the end they claimed they had secured 70% of Mogadishu. Though the conditions gave an advantage to the enemy, it was amazing that Allah gave the Mujahideen patience, and the lions of Islam would remain steadfast. At times, large-scale attacks would be launched with great pieces of land being captured and the defenses had been turned into Hell for the Crusaders and their lackeys. Guerrilla-like attacks would be carried out by small units of Mujahideen who would attack their defenses and then retreat back, with Bon Dheere, Dabka and Hotel Juba in particular being turned into Hell for the Crusaders. Glory be to Allah! Allah had turned the tables on them, and in a situation where they were supposed to have the advantage they were unable to utilize it.

• As it is in all Jihadi-fronts, the Crusader enemy always relies on airstrikes; unknown to many the situation in Somalia was also about to take a turn and the Crusaders were planning to launch attacks from the air after the African Crusader force was totally unable to push back the Mujahideen from their defenses. If the airstrikes were to begin while the Mujahideen were gathered together in their defenses the result would have been disastrous and would lead to the Crusader force having a swift victory, we seek refuge with Allah from that. The only reason that the airstrikes would have the desired effect on the Mujahideen is due to the sole reason that the enemy knew with 100% conviction the location of the Mujahideen forces. The strategic retreat has confused the Crusaders as now they do not know where the Mujahideen are so they cannot launch an ground attack nor an air assault - and if they did try - the quick and mobile forces of the Mujahideen can attack them from different directions, or even surround them if they want to.

• There is one major principle in the art of warfare, which is that you should never allow your enemy to rule the battlefield, that is, letting him decide when you are going to be on the offensive or on the defensive or how the battle should take place. With this strategic retreat the Mujahideen have ensured that they are the ones who call the shots on the ground so the enemy is forced to always be in a state of fear, as he has no idea when the imminent attack will come.

The reasons are quite numerous and naming them would not fit on this small article and it might make the article rather long. To sum it up, Allah says:

“O you who believe! When you meet those who disbelieve, in a battlefield, never turn your backs to them. And whoever turns his back to them on such a day- unless it be a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own), - he indeed has drawn upon himself wrath from Allah. And his abode his Hell, and worst indeed is that destination!” [Al Anfal: 15-16].

Allah (Azza wa Jal) has clearly allowed the Mujahideen to make strategic retreats in the above-mentioned Ayah. The Mujahideen have read the Qur’an well and follow its instructions strictly, not caring about the blame of the blamers, they follow in the footsteps of their beloved Prophet Muhammad (blessing and peace of Allah be upon him); the Prophet of war and mercy, the genius commander who taught us by his (blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) words “War is stratagem”, and his (blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) statement that “War is deception”. They also follow in the footsteps of the Sahaba, those who stepped on the thrones of the empire of the fire-worshipping Persians, and made the Romans taste all colors of humiliation with their incredible tactics, which are still studied by the intellectuals in warfare till this day. The likes of Khalid ibn Waleed, Amr ibn al-‘Aas, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Saad bin Abi Waqas and the rest of them, may Allah be pleased with them all. They follow the footsteps of the righteous ones who came after them, the conquerors who had spread the light of Tawheed to the east as far as the shores of Indonesia, and to the west to the fields of Andalus; the glory makers like Salahadin al-Ayubi, Tariq ibn Ziad, Sayfudin al-Quds and the rest of the heroes who have filled the pages of history with light, may Allah have mercy on them. Having this rich history behind them, the last thing the Crusaders should expect is an easy victory as they are fighting with men who see war as a way of life - in fact it is the only way of life for us, men who have been bred and raised for war, men who consider death on the battlefield to be a victory and a glorious achievement, men who hate this world and consider everything in it to be cursed except the remembrance of Allah and what is associated with it, men who would rather die honorably than live a life of humiliation, men who won’t compromise on their beliefs no matter what is done to them. “Yes!”, these are the Muslim men, like Tahir Jang, the martyred Amir of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan who simply said, “We either live as true believers or die as true Believers”, so do not expect from us except harshness as our Lord has ordered us:

“O Prophet (Muhammad, peace be upon him)! Strive hard against the Disbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be severe against them; their abode will be Hell, and worst indeed is that destination” [At-Tahrim: 9].

War as it is - is prone to changes and change is inevitable - especially in a place like Somalia and in a war with an enemy who has no shame in his tactics, it is a must to adapt and direct the tides in another direction to lead the enemy in the direction we desire, and force him to enter the abyss and punish him for his crimes.

As for the enemy: know well, that you have chosen war with the men of Muhammad (blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) and they are men who will not sleep until their enemy is destroyed. And what you have suffered is only the beginning, and what is coming is worse and the news is what you will see not what you will hear!

Penned by Mujahid brother
Abu Qital al-Qarni

27th of Ramadan 1432 / 27th of August 2011
“Little Fallujah” (Mogadishu)