Al Qaeda’s JNIM remains a potent threat to both Malian and UN forces inside Mali. In addition, Ansaroul Islam, a Burkinabe jihadist group linked to JNIM, continues to terrorize Burkina Faso’s northern Sahel region.
Abdul Hakim al Tatari, a Russian Tatar member of the former Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, joined the Islamic State’s Wilayat Khurasan before migrating to Syria. He was later killed in the battles around Baiji, Iraq, just days after arriving to Islamic State-held territory.
The footage of the convoy is undated, but it offers a good look into the Turkistan Islamic Party’s strength, size, and importance on the battlefield.
Two suicide car bombs were detonated in Mogadishu earlier today. The twin attacks were carried out just two weeks after a massive bombing killed more than 300 people.
These assaults serve as a reminder of al Qaeda’s vast capabilities to strike across the region. This comes even with both a French counter-terrorism operation and a UN peacekeeping operation in Mali. Al Qaeda’s operational capacity in Mali and the wider West African region has largely remained intact.
Today’s clashes in Ninewa and Erbil are just the latest in a recent series between Iraqi forces, Iranian-backed Shia militias, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces over disputed areas in northern Iraq.
The video reportedly shows a nascent Islamic State-loyal group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its authenticity cannot be independently verified by FDD’s Long War Journal.
The battles between the jihadist forces come as both are also engaged in wider battles with the regime in Hama province.
US AFRICOM has confirmed that three US Special Forces troops have been killed in an ambush near Mali. The three are the first American soldiers to die in combat in the country.
The attacks represent a significant increase in jihadist attacks in northern Burkina Faso. In addition, the use of improvised explosive devices, previously unknown to the country, is on the rise.
After almost one month of media silence, al Qaeda’s JNIM returns to social media to claim responsibility for a complex assault on UN forces near the northern Malian city of Kidal.
This year has seen at least 32 car bombings in Mogadishu, which represents an increase in this type of attack. Shabaab has claimed the vast majority, which have killed or wounded at least 242 people.
Hezbollah forces and its militia allies can be seen parading in the streets of Deir Ezzor after lifting the siege of the city. Syrian regime soldiers, who had been under the siege since 2014, praise Hezbollah and Hassan Nasrallah for their role in the operation.
Suspected jihadists laid siege to a popular restaurant with Westerners in the capital of Burkina Faso. Two UN bases were also attacked by jihadists in Mali.
The Shiite jihadists were freed as part of a ceasefire deal with Sunni jihadists in the Lebanon-Syria border region.
The al Qaeda group continues to target French forces in northern Mali, as well as conduct attacks on Malian and UN troops elsewhere in the country.
Today’s launch comes less than a week after a similar ballistic missile launch directed at Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
The ceasefire comes just one day after Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah touted his forces imminent victory in the Jurud Arsal region of Lebanon.
The video offers more visual confirmation of Hezbollah’s capabilities for armed commercial drones.
The Shiite jihadist group offers safety to the Sunni militants in Arsal if they “throw down their weapons and surrender.”
Kata’ib Imam Ali and Kata’ib al Sabriun join other IRGC-controlled Iraqi Shia militias training inside Syria.
Saturday’s launch shows that ballistic missiles launched from Houthi-held territory in Yemen continue to be a threat to Saudi Arabia and the wider area.
The insurgent leader said that his forces will take part in any future conflict with Israel alongside Hezbollah. The statement comes on the heels of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah pledging Shiite forces from around the Middle East and South Asia would be involved.
As the offensive enters its third day, Hezbollah has claimed several advances on both sides of the Lebanon-Syria border.
While Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri claims that the Lebanese military is not coordinating with Syria or Hezbollah near Arsal, various reports from on the ground say otherwise.
The video serves as both a warning to foreigners and foreign governments in Mali, as well as a proof of life video for each of the six foreign hostages currently held by JNIM in Mali.
Al Muhajirun, a jihadist media front in Syria, recently released a video highlighting how jihadists, especially foreign jihadists, view the West.
Johan Gustafsson was reportedly released by al Qaeda militants in Mali and has arrived back in Sweden. Another person abducted alongside him, South African Stephen Malcolm, remains in captivity.
Yesterdays assault near Bamako is yet another instance of the jihadist group targeting popular resorts in West Africa.
The raid shows that while Shabaab is largely focused in central and southern Somalia, it continues to be a threat in the north as well.