yes..
they are fighting for their freedom against whoever has invaded their country and killed their people. They are fighting in defence against aggression. They are fighting for their lives and their land being taken over by invaders
check this link out
http://islamqa.com/en/ref/20214/jihad
Thanks I have read that link and it is quite unequivocal (albeit that he doesn’t say that jihad mean holy war).
(I'll skip the fact that we have two 'scholars' giving two different answers!)
This author says . . . . .
Physical jihad against the kaafirs becomes obligatory in four cases, which are:
1 – When the Muslim is present in a jihad situation.
2 – When the enemy has come and attacked a Muslim land.
3 – When the ruler mobilizes the people, they must respond.
4 – When a person is needed and no one else can do the task except him.
Again, someone might argue that because this interpretation doesn’t specify that this type of jihad is a ‘holy war’ it is difficult to argue that it is not when it is ‘holy men’ citing from ‘holy’ scriptures.
The problem with this interpretation is that it presumes that ‘Muslim land’ is something given to Muslims by God and as Muslims didn’t exist until the 7C and the land and the people did, how do you define Muslim lands?