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.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
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.
Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani rallies Iranian officers, Hezbollah in Syria
Photographs show the notorious Qods Force commander addressing Iranian officers and Hezbollah forces in Latakia. Iran is reported to have deployed significant forces, estimated at thousands of troops, to support the Assad regime’s offensive in northwestern Syria.
Taliban claims control of district in Kandahar
The Taliban control or contest a belt of districts in the south spanning from Farah to Helmand, Uruzgan, and now Kandahar, and may use this to threaten Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand, or Kandahar city.
Iraqi military targets Islamic State emir’s convoy in Anbar
The Iraqi military claimed it targeted Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the emir of the Islamic State, as he was traveling to meet with other commanders of his organization at a location on the border with Syria. The fate of Baghdadi, who has been reported killed or wounded several times in the past, is unknown.
Islamic State kills Iranian general in Syria
Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani is the third senior Iraqi military adviser who has been killed in the Syrian-Iraqi theater since the beginning of the year.
US adds Islamic State, Caucasus Emirates operatives to terrorism list
The designations include three jihadists from the Russian Caucasus, including Omar al Shishani’s deputy and a Turkey-based “overseas emissary.” A recruiter from the United Kingdom was also designated.
Taliban’s shadow governor for Badakhshan denies reports of his death
Qari Fasihuddin, the “Jihadi-in charge” of Badakhshan, is the second shadow governor to deny reports that he was killed in a US airstrike since the Taliban took control of Kunduz and several districts in the Afghan north.
Taliban overruns another 2 districts in Afghan north
Wardoj and Baharak are the latest districst to fall to the Taliban since the provincial capital of Kunduz was overrun on Sept. 28. The Taliban has seized control of 10 districts in five provinces.
Taliban shadow governor for Kunduz denies reports of his death
Mullah Abdul Salam, the Taliban’s shadow governor for the embattled Afghan province of Kunduz, denied NDS reports that he was killed in a US airstrike. Salam is directing the fighting in Kunduz. Afghan soldiers are reported to have retaken the center of the city of Kunduz city and are battling the Taliban in several neighborhoods.
District in western Afghanistan falls to Taliban, group claims
If the Taliban’s takeover of Khaki Safid in Farah province is confirmed, the jihadist group has seized five districts in three provinces and the provincial capital of Kunduz in the span of three days.
US Special Forces engage Taliban in fighting at Kunduz airport
A senior Afghan military official confirmed that US Special Forces engaged the Taliban outside of Kunduz Airport. Maintaining control of the airport is vital if Afghan security forces hope to regain control of Kunduz city.
Taliban claims it seized 3 districts in Takhar province
The Taliban reports cannot be independently confirmed as media reporting in the Afghan north has focused on Kunduz. But the Taliban has been accurate in its reporting of districts it has taken in the past.
Taliban emir seeks to reassure residents of Kunduz
The Taliban’s statements as well as its speedy offensive indicate that the effort to take Kunduz city was planned and coordinated in advance at the Taliban’s highest levels.
Taliban storms Kunduz city
Reports from Afghan officials, residents and Taliban fighters inside Kunduz indicate that Afghan forces have been driven out of the city and the Taliban is in full control.
Islamic Jihad Union claims to control areas along Afghan-Tajik border
The IJU claims it is “controlling many territories bordering Tajikistan,” and released photographs purporting to show a small unit crossing into northern Afghanistan.