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Peshawar: Producing propaganda videos for Al Sahab is a three-step process, says Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, a US terrorism research centre.
The first is to shoot the video. The second step - the most time-consuming - is to edit and produce the material, a process which requires skilled technicians but can be done in a simple mud hut anywhere in Afghanistan or the rugged border area of Pakistan.
Once the material is ready, step three is transmitting through an internet cafe. "The Al Sahab man doesn't have to lug his computer on his back into the cafe," Katz said. "All he needs is a small USB stick and the high-speed internet connection."
Al Qaida technicians have also become skilled at evading American detection techniques. Katz said they often use techniques such as "proxy servers" to disguise the point of origin. Documentaries are sent in multiple files to improve security.
"The Al Sahab people know and study technology, the latest law enforcement techniques," Katz said. "They know they can transfer files and they know not to transfer the entire file, to divide it into small pieces that eventually is stored in a single location."
Yousuf said Al Qaida maintains its own cyberspace library, storing material in a secret server or servers so that the Al Sahab members do not have to keep incriminating material on their own laptops.
"There is a plan to make Al Sahab very big," Yousuf said. "It is part of the strategy. There are two parts. One is the fighting and the other part of the war is the media. We should carry out the media war because it inspires our people to come and fight."
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