US military fails to ‘decimate’ Islamic State leadership despite thousands of airstrikes
A US military spokesman touted the strikes that killed the three Islamic State leaders as “an example of how we’re able to decimate networks.”
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Taliban overruns district in southern Afghanistan
Khanashin district in Helmand province was a Taliban haven long before the district center fell earlier today. The Taliban now controls 37 districts in Afghanistan and contests another 39.
Taliban suicide squad kills dozens in assault on Kandahar airport
A Taliban suicide assault team killed more than 30 people in an attack on Kandahar International Airport in southern Afghanistan that lasted for more than a day before Afghan forces backed by the US military could regain control.
Rival Taliban factions clash in western Afghanistan
Fighters loyal to Mullah Mansour battled followers from Mullah Rasul’s splinter Taliban faction in Shindand in Herat province. Shindand is a stronghold of Rasul.
US kills jihadist leaders in airstrikes in Somalia and Libya
The two leaders were identified as Abdirahman Sandhere from Shabaab, al Qaeda official branch in Somalia, and Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, from the Islamic State’s province in Libya.
Taliban emir denies reports of his death
In a new audio message, Taliban emir Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour denies that he was killed in a shootout in Pakistan. Afghan officials and other sources recently said that the Taliban leader was slain by a rival commander. But Mansour dismisses these reports as mere “propaganda.”
Fate of Taliban’s new leader uncertain after conflicting reports of a shootout in Pakistan
The Taliban released two statements denying that Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour was injured or killed in a firefight. But the Taliban also hid Mullah Omar’s death, so its denial cannot be accepted at face value.
Taliban claims hundreds of military personnel, government officials defect in Nuristan
The Taliban claimed that 338 security personnel and government officials defected to the jihadist group in the district of Waygal, which is in the embattled northeastern province of Nuristan.
Taliban denies children serve ‘in jihadi ranks’
The Taliban issued a statement denying that it uses children in its paramilitary and suicide operations. The denial is contradicted by the group’s own propaganda, including a recent video that showed a young boy standing next to a commander as he addressed his suicide attack unit. The boy was dressed in military fatigues and armed with an assault rifle.
Taliban suicide assault squad pledges allegiance to emir Mullah Mansour
The Muaskar ul Fida is likely loyal to the Haqqani Network, an al Qaeda-linked Taliban group that is backed by Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment.
The Taliban approves of Paris suicide assault
While western officials still seek to negotiate with the Afghan Taliban, the group continues to support attacks in Western countries. The Taliban said France’s “colonial policy” justified the murders in Paris.
Islamic State releases photograph of bomb that brought down Russian airliner
The Islamic State released a photograph of the bomb as well as what it claims are images of passports of Russians who were killed in the explosion and subsequent crash, in issue number 12 of its English language magazine, Dabiq.
Female suicide bomber, attack mastermind killed during raids in Paris
A woman detonated her vest as French special police raided an Islamic State safe house in a Paris suburb. Police were searching for Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian national who is suspected of plotting the Nov. 13 suicide assault that killed at least 129 people in the French capital. Abaaoud was killed during the raid.
US airstrikes target Islamic State leaders in Libya and Syria
The strikes that targeted “Jihadi John” and Abu Nabil should serve as a reminder that 14 years after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, the military and intelligence establishment remain hyper focused on targeting individuals in the hopes of causing the collapse of jihadist groups.
Dozens of Afghan troops surrender to Taliban in Helmand
Sixty-five Afghan soldiers and several of their officers laid down their weapons and surrendered to the Taliban in the embattled district of Sangin in the southern province of Helmand.
Deputy emir of ‘moderate’ Taliban faction oversaw ‘massacre of thousands of Shiites’
Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, the deputy leader of the so-called “High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate,” was accused by Human Rights Watch of inciting and supporting the murder of thousands of Afghans, mostly from the minority Shiite Hazara sect, after the Taliban seized Mazar-i-Sharif in August 1998. He also sheltered Khairullah Said Wali Khairkhwa, one of five dangerous al Qaeda-linked Taliban leaders who were exchanged for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl.
Rival Taliban factions clash in southeastern Afghanistan
At least 80 fighters from both sides are reported to have been killed during clashes between fighters loyal to Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour and those from Mullah Mohammad Rasul’s dissident Taliban faction in Zabul province.
Senior IRGC officers killed during fighting in Syria
A brigadier general and a colonel from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were killed while fighting jihadists and rebels. Nine other IRGC members, including two lower-level officers, were also killed in Syria over the past three weeks.
Al Qaeda confirms death of ‘Khorasan’ military emir
“People such as these you do not hear a sound from them, they work in silence and leave in silence,” a prominent jihadist said of Sufyan al Maghribi, al Qaeda’s former military emir for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Maghribi was also a frequent contributor to Vanguards of Khorasan, al Qaeda’s magazine, under the nom de guerre Abu Isam al Andalusi.
Al Qaeda commander reported killed in northeastern Afghanistan
The US is thought to have killed Bilal al Tayibin, an Arab al Qaeda “key leader,” in an airstrike on the evening of Oct. 29 in Darin in Kunar’s Ghaziabad district. Two of Tayibin’s Afghan bodyguards are also said to have been killed in the attack.
Popular Mobilization Committee militia threatens to ‘strike and destroy’ the Saudi government
Sayyid al Shuhada said it would “strike and destroy” Saudi interests, not just in Iraq, but inside the kingdom. The militia, which operates as part of the Iraqi government, Iran, and the US-backed Popular Mobilization Committee, is led by Abu Mustafa al Sheibani, a dangerous commander who is listed by the US as a global terrorist.
Hekmatyar denies Hizb-i-Islami supports the Islamic State
“Hizb-i-Islami neither has relations with the Islamic State, or any commitment to the group, nor has it announced any support of that group,” Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said in mid-October.
Taliban overruns district, loses control of 2 others in Afghan north
The jihadist group overran the district center of Darqad in Takhar province, but lost control of Dasht-i-Archi in Kunduz and Ghormach in Faryab.
Taliban threatens provincial capital of Helmand
The Taliban continues to press its offensive in southern Afghanistan and is reported to have advanced within miles of the city of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand.
US Special Forces, Kurdish troops raid Islamic State prison in Iraq
The military’s claim that the US troops who participated in the operation were military advisers and not engaged in a combat mission is implausible, given the involvement of Delta Force operators. One US soldier was killed.
Taliban seizes another district in western Afghanistan
The Afghan Taliban claimed it overran the district center of Ghoryan in the western province of Herat. Afghan forces later retook the district. Thirteen districts have fallen to the jihadist group in the past several weeks.
US adds Taliban leader linked to ‘groups of Arab fighters’ to terrorism list
Torek Agha is “a long-standing Taliban member [who] has been central to spearheading brutal military attacks and raising millions of dollars to support the Taliban’s ruthless acts of terrorism,” Treasury stated.
Another Afghan district falls to the Taliban
The jihadist group continues to fight for control of the northwestern Afghan province of Faryab, where two other districts fell to the Taliban over the past 10 days.
US drone strike kills mufti of Islamic State Khorasan Province
Jalaluddin, the former mufti for Khorasan Province, rose thought the jihadist ranks in the Afghan-Pakistan region and was mentored by Sheikh Aminullah, an influential Taliban leader and al Qaeda facilitator, before defecting to the Islamic State. He taught at the Ganj Madrassa, which is listed by the US as a terrorist facility.
Taliban overruns district in Farah province
The district of Bala Buluk fell to the jihadist group after more than a week of fighting. The fate of dozens of policemen who were surrounded for days is unknown.