Author Archives: Thomas Joscelyn

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Ghana falsely claims 2 former Guantanamo detainees were ‘cleared of any involvement’ in terrorism

| January 7, 2016

Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration said in a statement that it has accepted two Guantanamo detainees who “have been cleared of any involvement in terrorist activities, and are being released.” But that is not true. Neither one of the detainees was “cleared” by President Obama’s Guantanamo Review Task Force. One of the two was previously deemed a “high risk” by Joint Task Force – Guantanamo.

YPG claims to have killed nearly 6,000 enemy fighters in 2015

| January 5, 2016

The Kurdish YPG (or People’s Defense Units) has released a summary of its operations for 2015. The YPG claims to have killed nearly 6,000 “enemy” fighters, most of whom likely belonged to the Islamic State, while losing just 680 of its own members in combat. The statistics provided by the YPG imply a kill ratio of nearly 9 to 1, which obviously seems high.

Baghdadi claims ‘infidel nations’ are afraid of ‘final war’

| December 27, 2015

In a new speech, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi claims that all Muslims are confronted by an alliance that includes much of the rest of the world. And he says the Islamic State is “the spearhead in the conflict between the camp of belief and the camp of non-belief,” meaning all Muslims should rally to its cause.

Jihadists eulogize prominent rebel leader killed near Damascus

| December 26, 2015

Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham have issued eulogies for Zahran Alloush, the leader of Jaysh al Islam, who was killed in an airstrike outside of Damascus on Dec. 25. Alloush portrayed himself and his organization as “moderate” in comparison to the Islamic State, but that was not an apt description for him.

An al Qaeda commander comes out from the shadows

| December 16, 2015

Ibrahim Abu Salih (also known as Abu al Hassan al Hashimi) was featured in a video posted online by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) earlier this month. He has been a jihadist for more than 35 years and, in the early 1990s, al Qaeda’s leaders ordered him to build an arm for their organization in Yemen. Abu Salih later cofounded AQAP. He is currently the group’s security official, as well as a member of its shura council.

Al Nusrah Front leader refuses to break with al Qaeda

| December 14, 2015

Abu Muhammad al Julani, who heads al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front in Syria, gave an interview that was aired by Orient News TV on Dec. 12. Julani defended his organization’s relationship with al Qaeda and discussed the Free Syrian Army, among other topics.

Al Nusrah Front announces press conference with its leader

| December 9, 2015

Abu Muhammad al Julani will appear at a press conference “soon,” according to Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria. The timing of his appearance was likely influenced by the Syrian opposition’s meeting in Saudi Arabia this week. Al Nusrah is not represented at the gathering.

British Prime Minister highlights Islamic State’s threat to UK, West

| November 28, 2015

In a memo submitted to the UK parliament, British Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that seven terrorist plots have been broken up in the UK in the past 12 months, the number of terrorism-related arrests is up 31%, and the Islamic State has an “external operations structure in Syria” that is devoted to planning attacks in the West.

Graphic promotes the Islamic State’s prolific media machine

| November 25, 2015

An Islamic State supporter on Twitter released a graphic summarizing the “caliphate’s” annual media output. The Islamic State’s various “provinces” produced 710 videos, 1787 photo reports, and 14,523 other images from late 2014 to late 2015. While The Long War Journal has not independently verified these statistics, the graphic is consistent with previous reports released by the Islamic State and its predecessor organizations.

Islamic State ‘province’ bombs hotel in the Sinai

| November 24, 2015

The Islamic State’s Sinai “province” claimed responsibility for a bombing at a hotel in the Sinai earlier today. The group continues to run a prolific insurgency and has proven it is capable of committing mass casualty terrorist attacks against civilians as well.

Russians say improvised explosive device brought down jet in Sinai

| November 17, 2015

Russian officials say an improvised explosive device with a “capacity of up to 1 kg [2.2. pounds] of TNT” brought down an airliner in the Sinai on Oct. 31. Between the apparent Sinai jet bombing and the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, the Islamic State has killed more than 350 civilians in high-profile terrorist operations since the end of October.

The Islamic State claims responsibility for Paris attacks

| November 14, 2015

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s coordinated terrorist attacks throughout Paris. The group has released a statement and an audio recording of the claim in several languages. The Islamic State says “eight brothers equipped with explosive belts and assault rifles attacked precisely chosen targets in the center of the capital of France.”

Terrorists strike throughout the city of Paris

| November 13, 2015

Terrorists struck several locations throughout the city of Paris this evening. Initial reports say more than 150 people were killed. The coordinated assaults are similar to the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, which paralyzed an entire city.