May 2015

Libya

Bill Ardolino | May 4, 2015

The Islamic State crucified three brothers in Derna after accusing them of supporting the Libyan government. Three people were killed when a rocket hit a medical center in Benghazi.

The National Defense Ministry announced that three terrorists were killed by troops in Ain Defla and Bouira in the past 24 hours. The Algerian Premier froze a document “liberaliz[ing] alcoholic beverages” after protests from salafists.

Mali

Bill Ardolino | May 4, 2015

Tuareg rebels attacked the Malian army in the town of Dire in northern Mali. The President of the High Islamic Council of Mali called on rebels to lay down their arms and sign a peace agreement. A French ex-pat captured in Mali went on trial in Paris for collaborating with al Qaeda.

Nigeria

Bill Ardolino | May 4, 2015

Some of the women and girls recently rescued from Boko Haram by the Nigerian military say the jihadist group began brutally murdering captives as rescue forces neared. Local leaders in Plateau state accused the Nigerian military of murdering civilians and torching homes in revenge for the deaths of six soldiers killed by tribesmen. The military arrested […]

Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent leader says attacks on ‘blasphemers’ ordered by Zawahiri

Thomas Joscelyn | May 3, 2015

The leader of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent says that attacks by al Qaeda’s branches against supposed “blasphemers” were ordered by al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri. He claims that several murders in Bangladesh and Pakistan were part of this campaign, which also includes the Charlie Hebdo massacre earlier this year.

Muqtada al Sadr threatens to ‘unfreeze the military wing,’ attack US interests

Bill Roggio | May 3, 2015

“If America persists” in advocating for a Sunni and Kurdish state outside of Iraq, “then it will cease to exist,” the Iranian-backed cleric threatened.

An al Qaeda front group in Syria

Thomas Joscelyn | May 2, 2015

In a tweet last month, Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Syria, identified Adel Radi Saker al Wahabi al Harbi as its fallen military commander. Al Harbi was wanted by the US government, had previously served as the deputy leader of al Qaeda’s Iran network, and was a member of al Qaeda’s so-called “Khorasan Group.”