Afghan Army abandons another district in Helmand
In addition to Musa Qala, the Afghan National Army withdraw from its base in Now Zad. Afghan officials said both districts are now fully under the control of the Taliban.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Afghan military abandons district in Helmand
The Afghan Army commander in charge of the fighting in Helmand characterized the Army’s withdrawal from Musa Qala as a redeployment of forces.
Afghan intel, Taliban spar over captured commander ‘dressed like a woman’
The government and the Taliban are waging an information war as security in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate.
Taliban, Islamic State clash in eastern Afghanistan
The Taliban and al Qaeda have a vested interest in halting the spread of the Islamic State in Paktika, given the province’s importance to the two jihadist groups.
Al Qaeda seizes more territory in southern Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula expanded the territory under its sphere of influence after capturing five towns in southern Yemen over the past two weeks.
Senior Taliban leader dies of cancer
Mullah Hassan Rahmani, a member of the Taliban’s Quetta Shura, had previously opposed the appointment of Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour as the jihadist group’s new emir. Rahmani reconciled with Mansour just weeks before his death.
AQAP confirms military commander killed in US airstrike
Jalal Bala’idi, a prominent AQAP field commander khow is also known as Hamza al Zinjibari, “was killed in a Crusader strike that targeted him while he was amongst the sons of his tribe in Abyan province,” the jihadist organization confirmed.
US strikes Pakistani Taliban faction in eastern Afghanistan
The US is reported to have killed 18 Taliban fighters from Sajna Mehsud’s Taliban faction in an airstrike in an area in Paktika province known to serve as a safe haven for several terrorist groups, including al Qaeda.
Senior al Qaeda ‘hidden commander’ thought killed by US in 2014
Abu Dujana al Basha is a son-in-law and trusted aide to Ayman al Zawahiri and is known as the “hidden commander” for his organization behind the scenes, including the establishment of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. Al Qaeda has not officially confirmed Basha’s death.
Taliban does not want ‘a share of the power’
“The Islamic Emirate [of Afghanistan] has not readily embraced this death and destruction for the sake of some silly ministerial posts or a share of the power,” the Taliban stated.
Taliban claim to not ‘use our soil to harm others’ is patently false
The Taliban’s actions do not match its words, as it continues to shelter, support, and encourage al Qaeda.
Taliban demands prisoners released, sanctions removed before joining peace negotiations
In the past, the Taliban has adeptly manipulated the West’s desire for peace negotiations to extract concessions at little to no cost.
US officials ‘strongly suspect’ Iranian-backed militia of kidnapping 3 Americans in Baghdad
The League of the Righteous, which has threatened Americans in Iraq and also carried out several kidnappings, is the prime suspect. The Shiite militia has denied any involvement in the abduction of the three Americans.
Suicide team sent by Pakistani Taliban faction assaults university
The attack was claimed by Khalifa Umar Mansour, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan’s leader for Peshawar and Darra Adam Khel, who is also responsible for attacking a military school in Peshawar in 2014 and an airbase near the same city in 2015.
Pakistan again puts Jaish-e-Mohammed leader under ‘protective custody’
Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed emir, has been placed under house arrest and in protective custody at least three other times in the past.
State Department lists Islamic State’s ‘Khorasan Province’ as Foreign Terrorist Organization
The US has treated the Islamic State Khorasan Province as a terrorist organization long before officially listing it. Four senior Khorasan Province leaders have been killed in US airstrikes over the past year.
Islamic State launches suicide assault in Indonesia’s capital
Indonesian police have linked the attack to a jihadist based in Syria. Two jihadists factions in Indonesia, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid and Mujahidin Indonesian Timur, have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.
Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber detonates at polio vaccination center
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan said that a “Special Unit” from the Mujahideen Special Group “successfully targeted” and killed Pakistani security forces guarding the vaccination center. The Taliban has targeted the anti-polio drive in the past, accusing it of being a vehicle of Western intelligence services.
US questioned Kuwait’s ability to deal with Guantanamo detainee for good reason
A Guantanamo detainee who was transferred to Kuwait in 2006 had quickly returned to the battlefield. He killed 13 Iraqi soldiers in a suicide truck bomb at a combat outpost in Mosul, Iraq in 2008.
US charges American citizen with conspiring to kill soldiers in Afghanistan
Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, a member of al Qaeda’s paramilitary force in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was involved in a double suicide attack in Khost, Afghanistan in 2009.
US soldier killed while fighting the Taliban in Helmand
The reintroduction of US and British forces in Helmand has not prevented the districts of Nowzad, Musa Qala, and Sangin from falling to the Taliban.
Afghan forces raid Taliban ‘jail’ in Helmand
While the operations against the Taliban prisons in Nahr-i-Sarraj and Now Zad highlight potential capabilities of Afghanistan’s Special Security Forces, they also emphasize the worsening security situation in Helmand province.
Jaish-e-Mohammed suspected in assault on Indian airbase
The assault on the airbase is thought to have been executed by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based jihadist group with close ties to al Qaeda. Jihadists reportedly said they were going to avenge a Jaish-e-Mohammed operative who was executed for his role in the 2001 assault on India’s Parliament.
Iraqi military retakes center of Ramadi from Islamic State
The loss of Ramadi is a major blow to the Islamic State, which seized the provincial capital and raised its flag over the government center on May 15 after launching a coordinated assault on Iraqi units stationed in the city.
Taliban kills 6 coalition troops in suicide attack at Bagram
“Six Resolute Support service members died as a result of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in Bagram, Afghanistan,” the international coalition confirmed. Bagram is a high priority target for the Taliban.
Taliban controls or contests nearly all of southern Afghan province
Sangin district is the latest to fall under the Taliban’s control. The Taliban now controls five of Helmand’s 13 districts, and contests another seven.
Pakistani Taliban says Islamic State leader Baghdadi ‘is not a Islamic Khalifa’
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan again rejected the Islamic State and said its emir, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, is illegitimate and his followers kill “innocent mujahideen.”
Taliban lose control of district in southern Afghanistan, gain another in northeast
Afghan security forces claimed it ejected the Taliban from the Khanashin district center in southern Helmand province, while the Taliban claimed it seized control of Marawara in Kunar.
Pentagon report on Afghanistan excludes al Qaeda’s pledge to the Taliban
The failure to mention al Qaeda’s renewed oath to the Taliban in the military’s latest report on Afghanistan is no accidental omission.
US military insists al Qaeda is “concentrated” in Afghan east and northeast
The US military continues to claim that al Qaeda is “primarily concentrated in the east and northeast” of Afghanistan, despite a major operation two months ago that targeted the jihadist group at two established training facilities in Kandahar province in the southeast.