Remote district in northwestern Afghanistan falls to the Taliban
The Taliban regain control of Ghormach district in Faryab province. The district has been contested since the Taliban controlled it one year ago.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Taliban promotes yet another jihad training camp
The Taliban’s “Real Men” video contradicts many of its public statements where the group claims it only seeks to liberate Afghanistan from occupation. Instead, it makes it clear that the Taliban views itself as a defender of Islam and part of the global jihad.
US steps up attacks against AQAP
The US has targeted AQAP’s network in Yemen at least four times in September, and 28 times so far this year, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal.
‘Tomorrow we take the White House,’ Taliban fighter in Kunduz threatens
“I say to Obama, today we take Kunduz, tomorrow … we will take the White House,” a Taliban fighter at a checkpoint in Kunduz threatened. The US military claimed Kunduz was cleared three days ago.
Islamic State claims it killed US soldier in Afghanistan
Achin district in Nangarhar remains a hub for the Islamic State’s Khorasan province. US and Afghan forces, as well as the Taliban, have fought to wrest areas of Nangarhar from Islamic State control.
Resolute Support claims Nawa district is ‘under government control’
Like in Kunduz, Resolute Support’s claim that Nawa district is under government control does not match press reporting from Afghanistan.
Press reports contradict Resolute Support’s claim that Kunduz is under ‘ANDSF control’
Resolute Support appears to be putting the best possible spin on the Taliban’s latest incursion into Kunduz City. Accounts from the city indicate that half of it is still occupied by the Taliban.
Taliban overruns another district in Helmand
Taliban forces killed Nawa’s police chief while seizing the district center. The Taliban now controls six of Helmand’s 14 districts and heavily contest another seven.
AFRICOM masks military operations in Somalia as ‘self defense strikes’
The US military continues to classify combat operations against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, as “self-defense strikes,” even though many of the incidents reported, such as the targeting of training camps and raids in Shabaab-held territory, are clearly offensive in nature.
UNAMA ‘condemns killing of at least 15 civilians’ in Coalition airstrike
The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, issued a strongly-worded statement that “condemns” a US airstrike on Sept. 28 which targeted Islamic State fighters in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. United States Forces – Afghanistan is investigating reports that an airstrike in the Taliban controlled district of Achin in Nangarhar killed 15 civilians. […]
Indian commandos strike terrorists inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
India said it killed “up to 38 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers” in cross-border strikes against seven different targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India claimed it recorded the raids via drones. Pakistan denied Indian troops entered its territory.
2 AQAP leaders reported killed in latest US strikes in Yemen
CENTCOM announced the two strikes in Yemen, and noted that al Qaeda remains “a significant threat.” Press reports indicate that a “regional commander” known as Abdallah al Sanaani and a local commander known as Abu Khaled al Sanaani were among the AQAP operatives killed.
US lists Italian rapper turned Islamic State jihadist as global terrorist
Anas El Abboubi was briefly in Italian custody in June 2013, and fled to Syria after he was released. He is one of more than 50 Italians thought to be waging jihad in Syria.
US launches ‘self-defense strike’ against Shabaab in southern Somalia
The Obama administration and US military leaders continue to attempt to hide direct combat operations behind the mission of advising and assisting the “counterterrorism operations” of foreign governments and militaries.
US military hits another Islamic State chemical weapons facility in Iraq
US warplanes bombed an Islamic State chemical weapons factory near the town of Qayyarah. US forces based at Qayyarah Airfiled West, or Q-West, have been recently targeted with a shell containing a mustard agent.
Pakistani Taliban, Haqqani Network, and al Qaeda operatives targeted in eastern Afghanistan
US and Afghan forces struck a group of leaders and operatives from the Pakistan-based Movement of the Taliban in South Waziristan, the Haqqani Network, and al Qaeda in the province of Paktika, according to reports from the region. At least one senior leader, known as Azam Tariq, is thought to have been killed in the strike.
US commander in Afghanistan downplays Taliban control of 10 percent of population
General John Nicholson said that while the Taliban control 10 percent of the Afghan population and contest another 20 percent, “the enemy is primarily in more rural areas that have less impact on the future of the country.”
Taliban promotes ‘Special Group’ training in northwestern Pakistan
The video of fighters purportedly training and firing RPGs in the open in Swabi indicates that the Taliban have returned.
Iraqi troops advance on key town south of Mosul
Iraqi forces retook control of Shirqat in order to secure its supply lines south of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul. The Islamic State is also thought to have fired a shell filled with a mustard agent at US troops nearby.
Afghan intelligence service destroys al Qaeda base in Zabul
The National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan intelligence agency, raided an al Qaeda encampment and killed five Pakistani terrorists in the southeastern province of Zabul.
Suspect in New York area bombings captured after shootout
The FBI has identified Ahmad Khan Rahami as a suspect in the Sept. 17 bombing in New York City that injured 29 people. Rahami was arrested after he was wounded in a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey. Officials believe the bombings in New York City, Elizabeth, and Seaside Park may be linked.
India accuses Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed of attacking army base in Kashmir
Jihadists killed 17 Indian troops and wounded dozens more in a suicide assault on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir. Jaish-e-Mohammed is thought to have carried out a similar attack on an Indian air base in January.
US military kills Islamic State’s ‘Minister of Information’
The US military announced today that it killed Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, the Islamic State’s “Minister of Information” and central shura member, in an airstrike near Raqqah, the jihadist group’s capital in Syria, ten days ago.
TTP commander for North Waziristan touts operations in Pakistan
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan counters the Pakistani military’s claims that Operation Zarb-e-Azb has succeeded in defeating jihadists of all stripes in North Waziristan.
US confirms it killed Islamic State’s spokesman and external operations chief
The US military’s announcement discredits claims from Russia’s Ministry of Defense that one of its warplanes killed Abu Muhammad al Adnani, who served as the group’s top spokesman, recruiter, and head of its external operations branch, in an airstrike at the end of August.
Taliban threatens second provincial capital in Afghan south
Tarin Kot is the second provincial capital in the south that is under direct threat of a Taliban takeover. Lashkar Gah in neighboring Helmand province is also contested by the Taliban.
US military kills 13 AQAP fighters in latest strikes in Yemen
All three strikes took place in the province of Shabwa, where AQAP remains entrenched despite an offensive spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates to dislodge the group from southern Yemen.
‘Blood will be spilled’ if Anas Haqqani is executed, Taliban threatens
The Taliban threatened to attack “judicial installations” if the Afghan government follows through on executing Anas Haqqani, the brother of the group’s deputy emir who is also the operational leader of the Haqqani Network.
Taliban claims Kabul suicide assault near Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense
The Taliban claimed credit for today’s suicide assault near the Afghan Ministry of Defense in Kabul that killed more than 20 people, including Army and police officials. The attack is the latest in a string of deadly assaults in the capital city over the past several months. The attack began as the Taliban detonated “a […]
Another district in eastern Afghanistan falls to the Taliban
The Taliban continues to press its offensive in all regions of Afghanistan. Omna district in Paktika province fell to the Taliban after four days of fighting.