US drones target AQAP near eastern stronghold in Yemen
The US continues to target al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s network in the eastern city of Mukallah. The city fell to AQAP in April.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Taliban raise flag over captured district in Helmand province
The Taliban took control of Now Zad in Helmand province in late July even though Afghan forces were backed by US air support, video from the fighting shows.
Taliban continues terror attacks in Afghan capital
The attacks in Kabul and elsewhere over the weekend have caused top Afghan officials to accuse the Pakistani government of continuing to back the Taliban even while hosting peace talks.
US drone strike targets Haqqani Network in North Waziristan
Five suspected jihadists were killed in the strike, which took place in the al Qaeda and Taliban haven of Datta Khel.
Jalaluddin Haqqani supports new Taliban emir, calls for unity
The influential veteran jihadist leader has endorsed Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour as the new emir of the Taliban, and urged others to pledge to him, according to the Taliban.
Former Guantanamo detainee Mullah Zakir supports new Taliban emir
According to a letter attributed to Mullah Adbul Qayoum Zakir, the former Quantanamo Bay detainee denied reports that he is at odds with new Taliban emir Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.
Taliban deny reports of Jalaluddin Haqqani’s death
Reports surfaced that veteran jihadist leader Jalaluddin Haqqani died in 2014, but the Afghan Taliban have gone on the record stating that the patriarch of the Haqqani Network is alive.
Taliban seize district in Helmand province
The fall of Now Zad is the latest in a string of defeats for Afghan security forces in the southern Afghan province.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi emir killed in shootout with Pakistani police
Malik Ishaq has been in and out of Pakistani custody over the years, despite the fact that he was the head of one of the most violent jihadist groups in Pakistan and directed numerous terror attacks.
Taliban overruns another district in northern Afghanistan
The district of Kohistanat in once-peaceful Sar-i-Pul is the latest to fall to the Taliban. Kohistanat is a known gathering place for Arab, Uzbek, and Pakistani jihadists.
Taliban overrun base, capture and release 100 Afghan security personnel
The Taliban have remained on the offensive in Badakhshan province, where Afghan security forces are struggling to maintain security.
Islamic State strikes Egyptian naval vessel off Sinai coast
The Islamic State released photographs purporting to show a “frigate” being struck by a guided rocket launched from the coast near Rafah. The Egyptian military said a coast guard vessel was hit during a firefight with “terrorists.” The Islamic State’s Sinai province has used Kornet anti-tank rockets as recently as two weeks ago.
Pakistani Taliban confirms death of Khorasan province spokesman, calls for Afghan Taliban and Islamic State to ‘end their dispute’
The spokesman for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan said it “will avenge” the death of Shahidullah Shahid “from the Americans and its allies.” He also claimed a peace council was formed to mediate the dispute between the Islamic State and the Afghan Taliban.
Islamic State says emir for Khorasan province is alive
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost said that Hafiz Saeed Khan is alive, but did confirm that Khorasan province’s deputy emir and spokesman were killed last week in US airstrikes.
Afghan intelligence claims US killed Islamic State’s emir for Khorasan province
The National Directorate of Security (NDS) claimed that the US killed Hafiz Saeed Khan, the Islamic State’s leader for its Khorasan province in an airstrike in Nangarhar. The US has killed top leaders of jihadist organizations in the past, only to watch these groups expand.
Chechen commander in Syria pledges to Islamic Caucasus Emirate
Salahuddin Shishani, the former emir of the Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar who now leads a group of jihadists from the Caucasus in Syria, swore allegiance to the new leader of the Islamic Caucasus Emirate, giving a small boost to a group that has been plagued by defections.
Islamic State’s spokesman for Khorasan province thought killed in US airstrike
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security claimed that the US killed Shahidullah Shahid, the Islamic State’s spokesman for its Khorasan province, in a recent airstrike in eastern Afghanistan. The death of Shahid, the former spokesman for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, has not been confirmed.
Deputy emir of Islamic State’s Khorasan province reported killed in US drone strike
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Intelligence said that “Gull Zaman,” his deputy, and five fighters were killed in a US drone strike in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.
Wanted Saudi al Qaeda leader reported killed in Afghanistan
Mansur al Harbi, a Saudi who served as a senior al Qaeda military leader, trainer, and facilitator is said to have been killed by the US in an airstrike in Afghanistan over the past several days. His death has not been confirmed.
Taliban assault Afghan parliament, take two districts in Kunduz
Afghan forces have been unable to contain the Taliban offensive in Kunduz; the jihadist group raised its white banner over Dasht-i-Archi district and also took control of Chardara. The Taliban have also stepped up operations in Helmand.
Iraq’s PM introduces US-designated terrorist to Iran’s President
During yesterday’s meeting in Tehran between Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al Abadi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the former introduced the latter to Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, the operations chief for the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Committee and a US-listed Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Islamic State’s Khorasan province beheads former shura member who defected back to the Taliban
Sa’ad Emarati, a senior jihadist commander as well as a member of the “Khorasan Shura,” was executed for leaving the Islamic State and rejoining the Taliban.
Taliban chastise Islamic State for dividing jihadist ranks in Afghanistan and beyond
While making the argument that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is the rightful representative of jihadist activities in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s deputy leader notes that top al Qaeda and jihadist leaders over the past decades have based their activities in the region.
AQAP emir rumored killed in latest drone strike in Yemen
Reports of the death of Nasir al Wuhayshi, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s emir and al Qaeda’s general manager, are unconfirmed. The US launched a drone strike in Hadramout province last week.
Iraqi Prime Minister photographed with SDGT Abu Mahdi al Muhandis
Leading Iraqi political and religious leaders such as Prime Minister Haidar al Abadi and Grand Ayatollah Sistani have been reduced to cozying up to what John Allen, the US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition To Counter ISIL, or the Islamic State, described as the “extremist elements” of the Popular Mobilization Committee.
Turkistan Islamic Party emir thought killed in 2010 reemerged to lead group in 2014
US intelligence agencies thought that Abdul Haq al Turkistani, a member of al Qaeda’s executive council, was killed in a drone strike in February 2010. But according to a jihadist media outlet, he was badly wounded but recovered and assumed command of the Turkistan Islamic Party in 2014.
Iraqi Shiite militia commander threatens to attack US
Akram Abbas al Kabi, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and the leader of the Harakat Nujaba, said his group and others “will seek revenge” for what he claimed was a US airstrike that killed 10 members of the League of the Righteous.
Suicide bomber kills 7 Pakistani troops in North Waziristan
The attack took place in a section of Pakistan’s tribal agencies where the the US is concentrating its drone campaign in North Waziristan.
US kills Afghan Taliban fighters in drone strike in Pakistan
Five of the eight strikes that have taken place in Pakistan so far this year have targeted jihadists operating in the Shawal Valley, which spans both North and South Waziristan.
Sistani representatives laud Imam Ali Brigades commander
Simply because Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and his representatives are endorsing the Popular Mobilization Committee or Iranian-supported militias such as the Iman Ali Brigade doesn’t make them any less radical.