Read Osama bin Laden’s handwritten journal
The CIA has released Osama bin Laden’s handwritten, 228-page journal, which is available to the public in this post.
Yearly Archives: 2017
Analysis: CIA releases massive trove of Osama bin Laden’s files
The CIA is releasing hundreds of thousands of documents, images, and computer files recovered during the May 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The newly-available material provides invaluable insights into the terrorist organization that struck America on September 11, 2001.
CIA releases video of Hamza bin Laden’s wedding
The US has released a video from Hamza bin Laden’s wedding, providing a more recent image of Osama’s heir than was previously available. The video was recovered during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. FDD’s Long War Journal assesses that the wedding likely took place inside Iran, where Hamza was detained until being released sometime in 2010.
SIGAR: ‘Afghan government district control deteriorated’
The Afghan government’s ability to control its territory has “deteriorated” as the Taliban has gained control of additional districts, according to SIGAR. This tracks with an analysis of Afghanistan’s districts conducted by FDD’s Long War Journal, which tracks Taliban controlled and contested districts.
Islamic Jihad Union showcases ‘special forces’ training camp
The IJU joins a list of jihadist groups that have publicized its training camps inside Afghanistan, including the Taliban, the Turkistan Islamic Party, and the Imam Bukhari Jamaat.
training camp joins similar training camps in Afghanistan advertised by the Taliban, the Turkistan Islamic Party, Imam Bukhari Jamaat, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen and others.
Taliban fighters mass in western Afghan province
Hundreds of Taliban fighters in the western province of Farah paraded their vehicles and then stood in formation for a lengthy period of time, without fear of being targeted by Afghan or Coalition forces, to listen to an official give a speech recently.
Shabaab claims coordinated suicide bombings in Mogadishu
Two suicide car bombs were detonated in Mogadishu earlier today. The twin attacks were carried out just two weeks after a massive bombing killed more than 300 people.
JNIM claims string of attacks across Mali
These assaults serve as a reminder of al Qaeda’s vast capabilities to strike across the region. This comes even with both a French counter-terrorism operation and a UN peacekeeping operation in Mali. Al Qaeda’s operational capacity in Mali and the wider West African region has largely remained intact.
US military hits Islamic State in Yemen
An estimated 60 Islamic State fighters are thought to have been killed in three US strikes that have targeted the group over the past two weeks.
Kurdish and Iraqi forces, militias clash in northern Iraq
Today’s clashes in Ninewa and Erbil are just the latest in a recent series between Iraqi forces, Iranian-backed Shia militias, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces over disputed areas in northern Iraq.
US and Gulf nations sanction 8 jihadists in Yemen
The US Treasury Department and several Gulf States announced today that eight jihadists in Yemen have been designated as terrorists. The newly-sanctioned terrorists serve either the Islamic State’s Yemeni branch, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or both.
SIGAR: Alarming rate of Afghan trainees in the US are going AWOL
Afghan forces account for just one percent of the total number of foreign military personnel trained in the US since 2005, but account for nearly 50 percent of the AWOL cases in the same time frame.
Leader of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar emerges after reports of his death
Omar Khalid Khurasani, who was reported to have died on Oct. 19 after a US drone strike, is alive. However, he confirmed the death of Khalifa Umar Mansour, the group’s military leader who was killed in a US airstrike back in Afghanistan in July 2016.
Taliban suicide bomber kills 15 Afghan army cadets
Resolute Support, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, claimed that today’s bombing in Kabul “shows the insurgents are desperate and cannot win.” However the Taliban has sustained offensive operations in all areas of the country and has had battlefield successes against a struggling Afghan military.
US kills influential al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban leader in Afghanistan
Omar Khalid al Khurasani was closely allied with al Qaeda and its emir, Ayman al Zawahiri. In the past Khurasani has called for the imposition of sharia law, the establishment of a global caliphate, and the seizure of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. He was killed in a drone strike in Paktia province.
Taliban overruns Afghan army camp in Kandahar
Afghan forces suffered 97 percent casualties during the suicide assault. The attack is the latest in the southern province, where the Taliban has stepped up its attacks on Afghan military outposts.
Russia and Iran help capture Syria’s al Mayadin from Islamic State
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Russia have spearheaded the operation to capture the Islamic State-held city of al Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria.
Taliban suicide assault teams kill Paktia police chief
Taliban suicide teams hit the police headquarters and a training center in the provincial capital of Gardez City. Twenty-two policemen and 20 civilians were killed and scores more were wounded.
Taliban overruns 3 districts in southern Afghanistan
Taliban forces have overrun two district centers in Kandahar and Farah provinces over the past two days. The jihadist group continues to gain ground in Afghanistan despite a change in US strategy that has reduced restrictions on local commanders to launch airstrikes against the group.
US kills ‘dozens’ of Islamic State members in Yemen
The Pentagon announced today that “dozens” of Islamic State jihadists were killed during a strike on two training camps in Yemen. The Islamic State regularly advertises its presence in Yemen, including a camp named after the group’s deceased spokesman.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens the US over terrorism designation
Before President Donald Trump levied a terrorism designation against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC and the Islamic Republic threatened the US over the move. One senior Iranian official initially called it a “declaration of war” and then he tampered it down.
CJTF-OIR: Kirkuk a ‘misunderstanding’ attributed to ‘limited visibility conditions’
CJTF-OIR made the statement despite the fact that it was abundantly obvious that the Iraqi government sought to seize Kirkuk from the Kurdish Peshmerga, and had signaled its intentions days before.
US drones target Taliban commander in Pakistan’s tribal areas
The strike took place just days after Pakistan freed two westerners and their children from Taliban custody in the same tribal agency.
Iraqi forces recapture contentious Kirkuk in overnight offensive
The Iraqi government quickly capitalized on its victory against the Islamic State in the adjacent city of Hawija and turned its energy on the secessionist Kurds in Kirkuk. The rapid offensive exposes deep fault lines in the anti-Islamic State coalition and within Kurdish politics.
Islamic State-loyal group calls for people to join the jihad in the Congo
The video reportedly shows a nascent Islamic State-loyal group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its authenticity cannot be independently verified by FDD’s Long War Journal.
Taliban claims to have shot down US drone
The Taliban has made claims like this in the past, only to have them be proven false. No official US or coalition spokesperson has confirmed the loss of a drone or verified the Taliban’s claims.
Jihadists hit Mogadishu with car bombs, suicide assault
Somali officials estimate that more than 200 people were killed in a pair of bombings and a suicide assault on a hotel in the Somali capital. Neither Shabaab nor the Islamic State has claimed credit for the deadly attacks, but Shabaab has targeted many hotels in Mogadishu using the same tactics.
Indian forces kill Jaish-e-Mohammed commander in Kashmir
The commander, who went by the alias Abu “Khalid,” or Shahid Showkat, was highly sought by Indian security forces for his role in orchestrating attacks targeting Indian military positions and personnel.
Iranian-linked bomb kills American soldier in Iraq
An explosively formed penetrator (EFP) killed an American soldier in Iraq on Oct. 1. The US and Iraqi governments haven’t conclusively fingered a perpetrator, but EFPs have been used by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq in the past.
Pakistan announces release of couple held captive by Taliban since 2012
The Pakistani and American governments announced today that Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle, along with their three children, have been released from the Taliban’s custody. The couple was abducted in Afghanistan in 2012.