The Abdullah Azzam Brigades and the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon have claimed credit for joint rocket attacks on Hezbollah “strongholds” in Hermel, Lebanon. The attacks are part of the spillover from the war in Syria.
Sanafi al Nasr heads al Qaeda’s “Victory Committee” and has relocated to Syria. He has become a vocal critic of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) and has been allied with ISIS’ main jihadist rivals, including the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.
The Ibn Taymiyya Media Center (ITMC) has published a banner honoring the “martyrdom” of Abu Khalid al Suri, who was one of al Qaeda’s top men in Syria. The ITMC is the propaganda arm for Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC) and also publicizes propaganda on behalf of Ansar Jerusalem.
Hassan Abboud has posted a series of pictures of himself with Abu Khalid al Suri, al Qaeda’s top operative in Syria until his demise this past weekend. Al Suri was a founding member of Ahrar al Sham, which Abboud leads.
Ayman al Zawahiri’s chief representative in Syria, a longtime al Qaeda operative known as Abu Khalid al Suri, has been reportedly killed in a suicide attack in Aleppo.
Members of the Nasr City cell proudly display their loyalty to al Qaeda as they await trial in Egypt. The cell has multiple ties to al Qaeda. And one of its leaders, Muhammad Jamal al Kashef, trained some of the fighters who participated in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.
Testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security on al Qaeda’s network in Egypt and the threat it poses to the US
A close look at Ansar Jerusalem’s attempted assassination of Egypt’s interior minister on Sept. 5, 2013 reveals multiple connections to al Qaeda’s international network.
The Treasury Department confirmed today that the head of al Qaeda’s Iran-based network, known as Yasin al Suri, is operational once again. Treasury also designated an additional “associate” of al Suri’s.
Influential al Qaeda-linked jihadists have denounced the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) in recent weeks and are now calling on its members to defect. They have supported Ayman al Zawahiri and al Qaeda’s senior leadership in their dispute with ISIS.
Al Qaeda’s general command has disowned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), which has been fighting with other jihadist groups in Syria and pursuing its own agenda.
Al Jazeera reports that Yasin al Suri, the head of al Qaeda’s Iran-based network, is facilitating the terror network’s operations from Iranian soil once again. Al Suri was detained by the Iranian government after the US government exposed his network, and the deal between Iran and al Qaeda, in 2011.
Hassan Abboud, a top official in Ahrar al Sham and the Islamic Front, has issued a stinging rebuke of ISIS emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Earlier this week, ISIS rejected a reconciliation effort that would have put an end to the infighting between jihadist groups in Syria.
Saudi cleric Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini offered a reconciliation initiative for the jihadists in Syria to end their infighting. His proposal mirrored a message issued by Ayman al Zawahiri. Although the initiative garnered much support, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has rejected it.
Ayman al Zawahiri’s message concerning the infighting in Syria has been picked up by various jihadist websites, including a Facebook page operated by Ansar al Sharia Tunisia.
Ayman al Zawahiri has released an audio message addressing the infighting between various jihadist factions inside Syria. Although Zawahiri does not address any group or individual by name, his message was clearly aimed at the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), one of al Qaeda’s two official branches fighting inside Syria.
An ex-Guantanamo detainee, Ibrahim Sen, was arrested in Turkey on Jan. 14. Sen is accused of being an important al Qaeda facilitator and leader.
A statement posted by Abu Khalid al Suri, Ayman al Zawahiri’s main representative in Syria, criticizes the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). The statement was posted on Twitter. Al Suri is a senior leader in Ahrar al Sham, a Syrian rebel group that is directly linked to al Qaeda.
A message allegedly written by Abu Khalid al Suri has been posted online. The message cannot be authenticated. It is directed at the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), which has been fighting with other jihadist groups inside Syria.
A newly released report by the Senate Intelligence Committee notes that terrorists “affiliated” with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Muhammad Jamal Network, and Ansar al Sharia took part in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.
The State Department has designated three Ansar al Sharia organizations. Two of them were involved in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya and the third was involved in the Sept. 14, 2012 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia. The State Department says Ansar al Sharia Tunisia is “tied” to al Qaeda’s affiliates, including al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
More than one year after the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, a former Guantanamo detainee remains a key suspect.
An ex-Guantanamo detainee, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifah, has reportedly traveled from Bahrain to join the jihad in Syria. According to a leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo threat assessment, Sheikh Salman had ties to senior al Qaeda and Taliban officials prior to his detention in Pakistan and transfer to Guantanamo.
Left out of the Times‘ account of the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi are the many leads tying the attackers to al Qaeda’s international network.
Tayseer Allouni aired the first televised interview with Abu Muhammad al Julani, the head of the Al Nusrah Front, earlier this month. Allouni was controversially convicted by a Spanish court on terrorism charges in 2005. A Spanish court alleged that Allouni assisted the al Qaeda operative who now heads al Qaeda in the Levant, among other charges.
For the first time since the Libyan revolution, a suicide bomber attacked Libyan security forces. At least several Libyan soldiers were reportedly killed. No group has claimed responsibility, but the Libyan Army has blamed Ansar al Sharia.
A newly released terrorist designation by the Treasury Department highlights the extent and cohesion of al Qaeda’s global fundraising network. Treasury reports that Ayman al Zawahiri’s main representative in the Levant, Abu Khalid al Suri, has been funneling cash from Gulf donors to al Qaeda.
The State Department added Usamah Amin al Shihabi to the list of specially designated global terrorists. Al Shihabi is the head of the Al Nusrah Front’s “Palestinian wing in Lebanon.” Leaked State Department cables reveal that the Jordanians previously accused him of training a terror cell that targeted Americans.
Abu Khalid al Suri, Ayman al Zawahiri’s representative in the Levant, also serves as a senior leader in Ahrar al Sham, a Syrian rebel group that often fights alongside al Qaeda’s two official branches. According to the Spanish government, al Suri was one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted couriers and may have delivered surveillance tapes of the World Trade Center to al Qaeda senior leadership in Afghanistan prior to 9/11.
Both detainees were approved for transfer “subject to appropriate security measures” by President Obama’s Guantanamo Review Task Force. Previously, Joint Task Force Guantanamo deemed both detainees “high” risks to the US and its allies and recommended that they be retained in US custody.