The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has released a statement claiming to have captured US-trained rebels belonging to a group called “Division 30.” The Pentagon denied reports earlier this week that US-backed fighters had been captured by al Qaeda’s jihadists.
The Taliban’s new emir is Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour. His top two deputies are Moulavi Haibatullah Akhunzada and Siraj Haqqani. Both Mansour and Haqqani are allied with al Qaeda.
The Taliban’s spokesman has confirmed that Mullah Omar, the so-called “Emir of the Faithful,” is dead.
The fall of Now Zad is the latest in a string of defeats for Afghan security forces in the southern Afghan province.
Malik Ishaq has been in and out of Pakistani custody over the years, despite the fact that he was the head of one of the most violent jihadist groups in Pakistan and directed numerous terror attacks.
The district of Kohistanat in once-peaceful Sar-i-Pul is the latest to fall to the Taliban. Kohistanat is a known gathering place for Arab, Uzbek, and Pakistani jihadists.
The Jaysh al Fateh coalition, which includes the Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, and other allied-organizations, has launched a new offensive targeting the Al Ghab plain. The alliance claims to have already made significant gains.
It is unclear when the photo was taken, but the al Qaeda-affiliated group is touting its ownership of at least one US-made TOW missile.
Sunday’s attack is not the first time the jihadist group has been able to target the popular hotel in the Somali capital.
At least seven suicide attacks perpetrated by the Islamic State West Africa (formerly known as Boko Haram) in the last three weeks have been conducted by women.
The Taliban have remained on the offensive in Badakhshan province, where Afghan security forces are struggling to maintain security.
The al Qaeda and Taliban-linked jihadist group has operated under the radar of Western officials in Afghanistan, but continues to wage jihad alongside its allies.
Abu Khalil al Sudani worked with Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri for years. He was a member of al Qaeda’s shura council and directed suicide operations. Osama bin Laden’s files reveal that he was one of al Qaeda’s most trusted leaders. The airstrike that killed Sudani took place in the Bermal district of the Paktia province, where the US operated a base before withdrawing its forces.
A group called Al Murabitoon has released a video featuring its emir, a former Egyptian special forces named Hisham Ali Ashmawi. He is wanted for a string of attacks in Egypt, including the assassination of Egypt’s chief prosecutor in late June. Al Murabitoon makes its loyalty to al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri clear in the video.
The Islamic State West Africa (formerly known as Boko Haram) has utilized dozens of women and girls as suicide bombers over the last two years.
The Defense Department says that Muhsin al Fadhli was killed in an airstrike on July 8 in Syria. Al Fadhli was a leader in the so-called “Khorasan Group,” a cadre of al Qaeda veterans who have been plotting attacks agains the West. Prior to relocating to Syria, al Fadhli headed al Qaeda’s network inside Iran.
A Twitter feed operated by Al Nusrah’s “correspondent” in the Latakia province posted four photos of the drone after it was downed.
Sixteen jihadists, including 11 from the Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham, have issued a statement on behalf of the “muhajireen” (foreign fighters) saying they will continue to fight the Islamic State throughout Syria.
Jihadist groups in Syria, including the Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham, have established “Al Muhajirun” as a new front for foreign fighters. The alliance is intended to unite foreign jihadists and serve as a counterbalance to the Islamic State.
The suicide bombers mean at least four have been used by the al Qaeda-affiliated Uighur jihadist group in Syria.
The large attack, which happened as the Algerian troops were traveling back to their barracks for Eid festivities, is a rare occurrence in the North African country.
A video released by the Taliban shows its fighters in the northern Helmand district of Kajaki operating US-made equipment, including Humvees, overrunning a military base, and parading through the district center.
The Islamic State released photographs purporting to show a “frigate” being struck by a guided rocket launched from the coast near Rafah. The Egyptian military said a coast guard vessel was hit during a firefight with “terrorists.” The Islamic State’s Sinai province has used Kornet anti-tank rockets as recently as two weeks ago.
No date was given for the ambush, but it was likely recent as the jihadist group has promised to step up attacks during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Taliban has released a new statement attributed to Mullah Omar saying that his men have been ordered to “forcefully prevent” anyone from sowing dissent in the jihadists’ ranks in Afghanistan. Although the statement doesn’t mention the Islamic State or its followers by name, the Taliban clearly has Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s organization in mind.
The spokesman for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan said it “will avenge” the death of Shahidullah Shahid “from the Americans and its allies.” He also claimed a peace council was formed to mediate the dispute between the Islamic State and the Afghan Taliban.
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost said that Hafiz Saeed Khan is alive, but did confirm that Khorasan province’s deputy emir and spokesman were killed last week in US airstrikes.
The attack, which comes after coordinated assaults in the Sinai earlier this month, was claimed by the “Islamic State in Egypt” and not its “Sinai Province.” The Islamic State warned Muslims to avoid similar locations as they are “legitimate targets.”
A Badr fighter also displays an AT4 anti-tank rocket. US equipment that has been supplied to the Iraqi military continues to fall into the hands of Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
The attack in N’Djamena is the third in Chad in less than a month. Boko Haram, which now refers to itself as the Islamic State’s West African province, continues to pose a significant threat to regional security despite losing ground in Nigeria.