The National Directorate of Security (NDS) claimed that the US killed Hafiz Saeed Khan, the Islamic State’s leader for its Khorasan province in an airstrike in Nangarhar. The US has killed top leaders of jihadist organizations in the past, only to watch these groups expand.
Salahuddin Shishani, the former emir of the Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar who now leads a group of jihadists from the Caucasus in Syria, swore allegiance to the new leader of the Islamic Caucasus Emirate, giving a small boost to a group that has been plagued by defections.
Qasim al Raymi, the new head of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), reaffirms his allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri in a newly-released audio message. It is al Raymi’s first message as AQAP’s emir.
AQIM has issued a pair of statements backing the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) in Derna against its rivals in the Islamic State. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s men picked a fight with the MSC last month, but have sustained significant losses since then.
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security claimed that the US killed Shahidullah Shahid, the Islamic State’s spokesman for its Khorasan province, in a recent airstrike in eastern Afghanistan. The death of Shahid, the former spokesman for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, has not been confirmed.
The claim of responsibility for last month’s suicide attacks in Chad comes after the jihadist group killed more than 200 people in Nigeria last week.
Supporters of the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, think that the hand of Allah can be seen in footage of a recent suicide bombing. Jihadists have marketed supposedly divine miracles for decades. Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden’s mentor, was an early innovator in this genre of propaganda.
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Intelligence said that “Gull Zaman,” his deputy, and five fighters were killed in a US drone strike in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.
The raid occurred in the Tigharghar mountains and comes just months after French special forces killed two al Qaeda leaders in Mali.
The Al Nusrah Front claims to control “several buildings” in a key neighborhood in Aleppo after a “martyrdom operation” cleared the path for its fighters. Separately, the US-led coalition struck a group of seasoned al Qaeda operatives near Aleppo.
The Islamic Caucasus Emirate (ICE) publicly recognized Muhammad Abu Usman as its new emir earlier this month. The ICE, which is affiliated with al Qaeda, has suffered a string of defections to the Islamic State since last year.
The Islamic State has released a new video showing the execution of 25 Syrian soldiers in the ancient city of Palmyra. The executioners appear to be teenagers, or even younger. Days earlier, the jihadist group released images of statues from the city being destroyed.
The Islamic State’s Sinai “province” has claimed responsibility for three failed rocket attacks on Israel earlier today. The attacks came just days after the group launched a massive operation against Egyptian security forces in the Sinai.
Ansar al Din, an al Qaeda-linked group that is part of the Ansar al Sharia coalition, has posted images from the early fighting in the new offensive against Bashar al Assad’s forces in Aleppo.
Jihadist groups have announced the creation of Ansar al Sharia, a new alliance for the battle of Aleppo. Ansar al Sharia is the latest of several coalitions formed by the Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham this year.
In its latest attacks, the Nigerian-based terrorist group Boko Haram targeted Muslims celebrating Ramadan.
The incident in northern Mali comes just days after jihadist attacks in the central and southern portions of the country.
The images released by Shabaab buttress its claims of a high death toll.
The Islamic State’s Sinai “province” launched a massive assault on more than 15 Egyptian security locations earlier today. The coordinated raids involved 3 suicide bombers and dozens of other fighters.