Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters today that David Drugeon, a French bombmaker who belonged to al Qaeda’s so-called “Khorasan Group,” and Abu Bakr al Turkmani, a senior Islamic State leader, have been killed in airstrikes. Drugeon was killed in July, while al Turkmani perished earlier this month.
Al Qaeda has released the third installment of its long-delayed “Islamic Spring” series, which features long-winded speeches by Ayman al Zawahiri. As in past editions of the series, Zawahiri argues that the Islamic State’s “caliphate” is illegitimate.
Pro-al Qaeda jihadists on Twitter are claiming that an al Qaeda veteran known as Abu Hassan al Tunisi was killed while fighting in Syria. The jihadists say he was a companion of Osama bin Laden and survived the Battle of Tora Bora in 2001. These details are unconfirmed.
The Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, Jund al Aqsa, and the Turkistan Islamic Party have launched significant operations targeting two Shiite villages in the Idlib province of Syria. Their attacks are a response to the siege of Zabadani, a southern Syrian city, by Bashar al Assad’s regime and its allies.
Five veteran jihadists, including three members of al Qaeda’s management council, have reportedly been released from custody in Iran as part of a hostage exchange. The details of their detention and release from Iranian custody are murky.
A senior al Qaeda leader known as Sanafi al Nasr recently claimed on his Twitter feed that David Drugeon, an alleged al Qaeda bombmaker from France, had been killed in Syria. But there are good reasons to take Nasr’s testimony with a grain of salt.
Al Qaeda has released the second installment in the “Islamic Spring” series, which features lectures by Ayman al Zawahiri. The al Qaeda leader again calls for jihadist unity in Iraq and Syria. He also encourages young jihadist recruits to follow in the footsteps of successful terrorists.
The Islamic State’s newest edition of Dabiq magazine features an interview with Abul Mughirah al Qahtani, who is identified for the first time as the head of the “caliphate’s” Libyan “province.” Qahtani complains bitterly about the Islamic State’s jihadist and Islamist rivals. He notes, for example, that Ansar al Sharia has failed to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and says the group is close to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
AQAP’s latest edition of Inspire magazine includes an article by Ibrahim Ibn Hassan al Asiri, who describes al Qaeda’s plan to attack Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
Earlier today, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khorasani denied reports that his group was going to join Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s Islamic State. Khorasani said that these reports are “false” and based on “lies.” There are multiple indications that al Qaeda helped reorganize the current Pakistani Taliban coalition this year.
The latest editions of AQAP’s Inspire and the Islamic State’s Dabiq were published online today. Both English-language magazines praise the 9/11 attacks.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in the Levant, posted a series of images from its successful raid on the Abu Duhour airbase. Al Nusrah and its allies had long fought the Syrian regime for control of the airbase, which is located in the Idlib province of Syria.
In an audio message released today, al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri argues that Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s Islamic State is illegitimate. Zawahiri says Muslims are under no obligation to swear allegiance to Baghdadi, and al Qaeda does not recognize the Islamic State as a “caliphate.” Despite their differences, Zawahiri says that if he were based in Iraq or Syria he would cooperate with the Islamic State in the fight against the West and other common enemies.
Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, claims to have overrun the Abu Duhour airbase in Idlib. Al Nusrah also says that more than 100 of Bashar al Assad’s fighters were killed and an additional 60 or so captured during the fighting.
In a speech before the UK parliament today, Prime Minister David Cameron said that two British nationals recently killed in airstrikes carried out by the US and UK were plotting attacks in Britain. Both were members of the Islamic State. One of the two was well-known for computer hacking and online recruiting.
The fifth installment of the Taliban’s “Army of Badr” video series highlights the oaths of loyalty sworn by Ayman al Zawahiri and Siraj Haqqani to the Taliban’s new emir, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour. The video is the latest piece of evidence that the jihadist “syndicate” continues to threaten Afghanistan 14 years after the US-led invasion of the country.
The “caliphate’s” men have once again struck a mosque in Sanaa, Yemen. Unlike al Qaeda, the Islamic State deliberately targets Houthi civilians.
The Islamic State’s Caucasus “province” has claimed responsibility for an attack on Russian forces. It is the first official claim by the group since it was established in June.
The Islamic State has brutally executed four men who belonged to the Iraqi and Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The executions are a response to the PMF’s own slayings of Sunnis, the Islamic State says.
Al Qaeda-linked Twitter feeds, including one attributed to a senior al Qaeda leader, are claiming that Idris al Balushi was killed during a counterterrorism raid by Pakistani forces. Balushi is purportedly the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. His death has not been confirmed.
The Islamic State’s supporters in Libya have added Mokhtar Belmokhtar to their “wanted dead” campaign. The Islamic State’s loyalists have released dozens of online posters targeting their pro-al Qaeda opposition in North Africa. Some of the men have been killed. The campaign was launched as a response to the Islamic State’s losses in Derna, Libya. The poster for Belmokhtar was quickly disavowed by some Islamic State social media accounts.
The White House announced today that Fadhil Ahmad al Hayali (a.k.a. Hajji Mutazz), the deputy leader of the Islamic State, was killed in an airstrike on June 18. US military officials previously reported that he had been killed in December 2014. Al Hayali was one of the most senior leaders in the “caliphate,” and had wide-ranging responsibilities.
The Islamic State’s so-called Sinai “province” has claimed responsibility for a car bombing outside of a Cairo courthouse and an Egyptian national security building earlier today.
In his third media appearance this month,the al Qaeda emir discusses the Battle of Tora Bora and the value of a united jihadist media. The video is the seventh installment in Zawahiri’s “Days with the Imam” series, in which he recounts episodes from Osama bin Laden’s life. The first video in the series was released in November 2011.
The Islamic State’s supporters in Libya have released dozens of “wanted dead” posters online. The images are part of a campaign targeting the “caliphate’s” jihadist and Islamist opposition in Derna and elsewhere in Libya. If the information in the graphics is accurate, then the Islamic State is offering up valuable intelligence on its pro-al Qaeda adversaries in North Africa.
During the last months of his life, Osama bin Laden worried about the fate of his son, Hamzah. In a newly-released audio message, Hamzah picks up his father’s banner.
A statement released online today confirms that Mokhtar Belmokhtar is now the emir of Al Murabitoon, which calls itself “Al Qaeda in West Africa.” Another Al Murabitoon emerged in Egypt last month and it is also loyal to al Qaeda.
In an audio message released today, Ayman al Zawahiri pledges allegiance to the new emir of the Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.
The Islamic Caucasus Emirate (ICE) has lost its third emir in just over a year and half. Magomed Suleimanov, also known as Abu Usman Gimrinsky, was publicly announced as the group’s leader on July 1. Just over a month later, Russian counterterrorism forces killed him.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, says that it is turning over the territory it controls in the northern Aleppo province to other rebel groups. The move is a response to Turkey’s proposed buffer zone in northern Syria.