Taliban takes key district in Helmand province
Afghan forces withdrew from Sangin’s district center, then bombs government buildings, military bases, and the police headquarters. Seven of Helmand’s 14 districts are now under Taliban control.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Taliban claims US drones killed commander from North Waziristan
Commander Yusuf Wazir, the slain Taliban leader, also lost a father and a brother in previous US drone strikes, according to the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. Three Taliban commanders are reported to have been killed in US drone strikes along the Afghan-Pakistani border since the beginning of March.
Al Qaeda commander believed to be killed in US airstrike
The death of Qari Muhammad Yasin, an experienced Pakistani jihadist, has not been confirmed by the US or jihadists operating in the region. He was targeted in an area of Afghanistan known to serve as an al Qaeda safe haven.
67 Taliban fighters ‘graduate’ from camps in Afghan north
One of the training facilities is in a contested district in Faryab province. The Taliban has publicized 12 camps since late 2014.
Afghan soldier wounds 3 US troops in insider attack
The shooting, which took place as US troops were training their Afghan counterparts on a base in Helmand province, is the first recorded insider attack since Oct. 2016.
US blitzes AQAP in Yemen with an unprecedented 30 airstrikes
The large number of strikes, more than 30 over the course of two days, indicates the US is changing its tactics in fighting AQAP in Yemen.
Taliban rejects US general’s call for reconciliation
When US leaders plead with the Taliban to make peace, they provide it with all of the fodder it needs to score a propaganda victory.
Another northern Afghan district falls to the Taliban
The security situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. The Afghan press has confirmed that the Tala Wa Barfak district in Baghlan province is now under the Taliban’s control.
Taliban suicide assault teams strike Afghan security services in Kabul
The Taliban claimed credit for complex suicide assaults in Kabul earlier today. The jihadists hit military, police, and intelligence buildings in the Afghan capital.
US military confirms death of Taliban commander, calls for ‘reconciliation’
The commander of US Forces in Afghanistan used Mullah Abdul Salam’s death to encourage the Taliban to reconcile with the Afghan government, but the Taliban has no desire for peace.
Taliban confirms death of Kunduz shadow governor
As shadow governor for Kunduz, Salam has succeeded in making the province one of the most unstable in all of Afghanistan. His forces overran the provincial capital in 2015 and then again in 2016.
Taliban claims it downed Afghan helicopter
The Afghan Ministry of Defense claimed the helicopter made an emergency landing due to a technical issue. In the past, the Afghan military has been less than forthcoming about attacks on its aviation assets and has even attempted to cover up the loss of its helicopters.
Taliban overruns Afghan district where al Qaeda ran training camps
The Taliban claims it now controls four of Kandahar’s 18 districts, and that others are contested. Shorabak was the location of an al Qaeda camp that was described by a US general in 2015 as “probably the largest training camp-type facility that we have seen in 14 years of war.”
Afghan intelligence confirms top al Qaeda leader killed in raid
Qari Saifullah Akhtar’s waged jihad for four decades. He has been directly linked to Osama bin Laden and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.
Islamic State targets Sufi shrine in Pakistan suicide bombing
The Islamic State’s Khorasan province claimed credit for today’s suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in Sindh province, Pakistan that killed at least 70 people and wounded scores more.
Pakistani Taliban faction targets police in Lahore
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed that attack, which killed at least 10 people and wounded scores more, under Operation Ghazi. The operation targets all factions of the Pakistani state.
Afghan Taliban denies involvement in murder of Red Cross workers
The Taiban claimed the murder of six Red Cross workers and the abduction of two more in Jawzjan province is “the work of kidnappers.” But the group has attacked NGOs in the past.
Islamic State claims suicide attack outside Afghanistan’s supreme court
The attack was executed by a Tajik fighter, who may have been a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan faction that merged with the Islamic State’s Khorasan province.
Mehsud faction rejoins the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan
The Khalid Mehsud Group, which commands Taliban fighters in South Waziristan, has rejoined the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan after breaking away in 2014.
US military says AQAP leaders killed in Yemen raid
FDD’s Long War Journal has previously identified Abdulrauf al Dhahab, one of the senior jihadist operatives killed in the raid, as a member of a family with strong ties to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Afghan government ‘has lost territory to the insurgency’
An estimated 15 percent of Afghanistan’s districts have slipped from the government’s control since the fall of 2015, SIGAR reported. The assessment is based on figures provided by the US military.
Pakistan places Jamaat-ud-Dawa emir under house arrest
Hafiz Saeed, who runs a state within the Pakistani state that is akin to Lebanese Hezbollah, has been placed in protective custody in the past, only to be freed.
Senior AQAP leader killed in US raid in central Yemen
One US soldier was killed and three more were injured during a raid in central Yemen. Adbulrauf al Dhahab, a senior Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader, and 13 other fighters were reportedly killed in the operation.
US kills 5 AQAP operatives in Yemen airstrikes
The strikes in Yemen are the first reported against jihadist groups in what the Obama administration has described as “areas of active hostilities,” meaning Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and sometimes Libya, since President Donald Trump took office.
LeJ, Pakistani Taliban likely behind deadly Pakistan bombing
While the operational tempo of jihadist groups based in Pakistan has decreased significantly, they are still capable of executing horrific attacks and remain a major threat to the Pakistani state.
Don’t close the book on the Osama bin Laden’s documents
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence wants to close the book on Osama bin Laden’s documents, but the public has been given access to only 620 items in a cache of more than one million documents and files.
US kills more than 100 al Qaeda operatives in strike on Syrian training camp
A B-52 bomber and a number of remotely piloted aircraft pounded an al Qaeda camp in Syria. The US has already launched five attacks against al Qaeda’s network in Syria since the beginning of 2017.
Afghan Taliban seek ‘to establish an Islamic state on earth’
While promoting its Al Farouq Training Camp, a speaker said that Taliban’s ultimate goal is the establishment of a global Islamic state.
US kills al Qaeda facilitator and external ops planner in Syrian airstrikes
Abd al-Jalil al-Muslimi waged jihad in Afghanistan and Yemen, and had “extensive and long-standing ties to numerous al Qaeda external operations planners and terrorists” before he was killed, according tot he US military. Mohammad Habib Boussadoun al-Tunisi was an external operations leader who plotted against the West.
Taliban remains on defensive over bombing that killed 5 UAE dilomats
In what looks to be an act of desperation to distance itself from the attack, the jihadist group has now issued three separate statements of denial of involvement.