Al-Qaeda’s official website has reportedly opened its first account on microblogging site Twitter.
The Shamukh al-Islam website, restricted to members of the terrorist group and used as an official clearing house to communicate and issue propaganda statements, opened its @shomokhalislam Twitter account on Tuesday, which US officials said is an effort to resolve a major split over Syria’s Islamist rebels.
According to Fox News, the first posts of the account focused on divisions between two al-Qaeda rebel groups in Syria, al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL).
The account posted 29 tweets, followed one account, and attracted 1,532 followers including some of the high-profile jihadists .
Counterterrorism analysts consider it as an indicator that terrorist groups are stepping up their use of social media over traditional Internet sites and internet is fast becoming a tool for online jihad, the report added. (ANI)