The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated that 553 people have been killed in airstrikes since the start of the US campaign on Sept. 23. The total includes 464 Islamic State fighters, 57 members of the Al Nusrah Front, and 32 civilians. Turkey’s president revealed that a deal has been struck for 200 Iraqi Kurdish […]
A new anti-terrorism bill that “would boost the powers of security officials and police” was submitted to Somalia’s Federal Parliament yesterday and is slated for debate.
The militant group Ajnad Misr, or Soldiers of Egypt, has claimed responsibility for the bombing at Cairo University on Oct. 22. Six police officers and five civilians were wounded in the attack.
Two shootouts with “suspected militants” just prior to Tunisia’s national election left two people dead, including a policeman and a bystander, and one policeman injured.
Libyan Army troops and militia forces under retired Major General Khalifa Haftar moved to retake Benghazi for the first time in two months. A special forces brigade and a tank brigade are meeting resistance from Islamist forces in the western portion of the city. The Libya Herald reported that Mohammed Al-Zahawi, leader of Ansar al-Sharia, […]
Despite a reported ceasefire brokered between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram that would include the release of 219 school girls kidnapped in April by the terrorist group, an explosion killed 5 and wounded 12 near a bus station in northern Nigeria today. On Oct. 22, Boko Haram raided Waga Mongor and kidnapped an additional […]
Shabaab stoned an 18-year-old male to death after convicting him of rape in southern Somalia. On Oct. 21, Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers killed seven Shabaab fighters who ambushed their food convoy in the Beledweyne area. Three SNA soldiers were wounded.
In the wake of recent political freedom in Tunisia, the country has “sent more foreign fighters than any other country to Iraq and Syria to join the extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State.” Elections and security in the western city of Kasserine are imperiled by the growth of jihadist groups in the area. […]
Libyan government forces allied with rebel militia forces under General Khalifa Haftar are mounting an offensive to retake Tripoli from Islamist forces that captured the capital in August. On Oct. 21, Libyan special forces halted an offensive by Islamist militias aiming to take the airport in the city of Benina.
The Algerian Army arrested two terrorists last week, including a Mauritanian member of a terror group affiliated with the Islamic State. On Oct. 20, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal rejected the idea that the Islamic State has a presence in Algeria.
On Oct. 19, French forces captured three men and seized an arms cache in a raid in the town of Kidal in northern Mali. The suspects are believed to be tied to a rocket attack on a UN base there on Oct. 7. The following day, French counterterrorism forces “issued a firm warning to the […]
The murder of Sunni worshipers at a mosque in Diyala imperils the formation of a new government.
The Long War Journal’s assessment of Ms. Harf’s press briefing was entirely accurate and her response actually validates our key points.
State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf emailed this response to the Long War Journal after we criticized her characterization of al Qaeda.
Marie Harf wrongly claims Zawahiri is the only senior al Qaeda leader left standing and that he exercises zero operational control over the jihad in Syria.
In an Eid al-Fitr statement, the Afghan Taliban leader attempts to softly spin the Islamic Emirate’s aims.
Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliates again attempt to put on a benevolent face.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant attempts to woo Syrian civilians with “family festivities.”
Evaluating Afghan claims of foreign support for Afghanistan’s insurgency requires an understanding of the local context of history, nationalism, and xenophobia.
Recent coverage of the grassroots uprising against the Taliban in Kandahar province fails to account for a long-running tribal feud.
District Chief of Police Lieutenant Colonel Sultan Mohammad discusses the roots of the insurgency, the Kandahar massacre, poppy eradication, and Panjwai’s improvement in security.
As US forces draw down from southern Afghanistan, the evolving IED tactics race enters its final stages.
Officers with the 2/1/205 Afghan National Army assess their capability, local politics, and the prospects for the Taliban and the uprising against insurgents in Panjwai district.
An examination of the factors that lead to insider attacks and tensions in the volatile district and across Afghanistan.
Abdullah Wakil was ISAF’s top priority target in the district, and he was responsible for a number of high profile attacks in Kandahar province.
The DG of Panjwai district in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province outlines the nature of the insurgency and the local uprising against the Taliban, his desire for continued international assistance, and the limited resources provided by the national and provincial Afghan governments.
Long War Journal correspondent Bill Ardolino is currently embedded with US soldiers from the 4-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Panjwai, Afghanistan.
The operations are part of the “third wave” of al Qaeda in Iraq’s “Destroying the Walls” campaign.
Dueling statements reflect the deepening sectarian political crisis in Iraq.
Sheikh Aifan Sadoun Aifan al-Issawi, an Iraqi parliamentarian and one of the leaders of the Sunni tribal “Awakening,” was assassinated while inspecting a road construction project near Fallujah.