| The Encyclopedia of the Afghan Jihad | |
| Title Orig: | موسوعة الجهاد الأفغاني |
| Country: | Pakistan |
| Language: | Arabic |
| Genre: | Reference work |
| Pages: | 8,000+ |
The Encyclopedia of the Afghan Jihad (Arabic: موسوعة الجهاد الأفغاني, tr: Mawsuat al-Jihad al-Afghani) is a multivolume encyclopedia describing diverse weapons in Arabic.[1] It was first published in Pakistan in late 1992 or early 1993.[2] The encyclopedia consists of more than 8,000 pages[2] —an abridged version has been reduced to approximately 1,000 pages[1] —and has been divided into 11 volumes.[3]
An electronic version of the original, full-length encyclopedia was discovered in the possession of a group of Muslim militants in Belgium in the 1990s.[2] Since then, several copies have been found; one was found in the possession of Abu Hamza al-Masri, a Muslim cleric who controlled the Finsbury Park Mosque in London,[4] and another was recovered from Osama bin Laden's headquarters in Kandahar.[1]
The first volume deals with explosives, the second with first aid, and the last volume teaches the use of small arms, including anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank arms, and artillery. such as: