The State Department has announced that Ansar al Sharia in Yemen is simply an “alias” for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is attempting to “rebrand itself.” The Ansar al Sharia brand is being employed by al Qaeda-linked groups elsewhere, including in Tunisia and Libya.
The Sept. 14 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis was orchestrated by Seifallah ben Hassine, a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi, who has longstanding ties to al Qaeda. Hassine currently heads Ansar al Sharia Tunisia.
ISAF has released its monthly data trends report for August 2012. ISAF’s data show that the number of attacks by insurgents in Afghanistan has decreased slightly this year, by 5 percent when compared to the first eight months of 2011. However, the overall level of violence remains greater than prior to the surge and the number of civilian casualties has increased in recent months.
The Obama administration has released a list of 55 Guantanamo detainees who have been approved for transfer, but remain in custody. The Long War Journal finds that 34 of the 55 detainees listed were previously deemed “high risk(s)” by Joint Task Force Guantanamo.
A report published by the federal research division of the Library of Congress highlights al Qaeda’s clandestine strategy for Libya. Working under orders from senior al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, al Qaeda operatives in Libya are in the final stages of creating a fully operational network.
Sufyan ben Qumu was transferred from Guantanamo to Libya in 2007, and then freed in 2010. He leads a brigade in Ansar al Sharia and is a key al Qaeda operative in Libya, according to a Congressional report.
MEMRI has published excerpts of Al Jazeera’s interview with Mohamed al Zawahiri, the brother of al Qaeda’s emir. Mohamed al Zawahiri justified 9/11 and al Qaeda’s terrorism in general during the interview. An Egyptian military court acquitted him earlier this year.
The US Treasury Department designated eight Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders today, including the point man for the November 2008 attack on Mumbai. Also designated was the son of LeT chieftain Hafiz Saeed.
Relying on translations from the SITE Intelligence Group and other publicly-available information, The Long War Journal has counted 25 reported or suspected suicide bombings in Syria since December 2011. The al Qaeda-linked Al Nusrah Front has claimed responsibility for 18 of these attacks.
Al Qaeda has released a biography of Atiyah Abd al Rahman, a senior al Qaeda operative who served as Osama bin Laden’s chief-of-staff. Rahman “engineered” the December 2009 terrorist attack on Combat Outpost Chapman that killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.
A Yemeni official cited in an account by the Yemen Times earlier this month said that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is rebuilding its presence in Jaar after losing control of the city.
Spanish authorities announced the arrests of three suspected al Qaeda operatives who had allegedly amassed enough explosives to destroy a bus, or do even more damage.
The Egyptian government has requested the release of Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed al Sawah from Guantanamo. Al Sawah was a top al Qaeda explosives expert before his capture, and designed the prototype of the shoe bomb used by Richard Reid, as well as magnetized limpet mines. He was originally a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the leaked JTF-GTMO file for his case notes that the US government has been spying on the Brotherhood.
CNN interviewed the brother of al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri. Mohamed al Zawahiri is just one of many known and suspected terrorists to be freed from Egyptian prisons since the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime.
An ex-Gitmo detainee named Adnan al Sayegh has reportedly turned himself into Saudi authorities. Al Sayegh was a member of al Qaeda’s 55th Arab Brigade, which fought alongside the Taliban in pre-9/11 Afghanistan. He joined al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula after his release from Guantanamo.
During testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security on July 25, National Counterterrorism Center director Matthew Olsen provided his organization’s view of the ongoing fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.
The 2004 Madrid train bombings were not carried out by “lone actors” with no ties to al Qaeda’s international terrorist network, as an FBI commission recently claimed. The terrorists responsible had extensive ties to al Qaeda.
Assef Shawkat, a top Syrian official killed in a bomb blast last week, was a key ally of al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Leaked State Department cables show that General David Petraeus repeatedly warned of the collusion between Syrian officials, including Shawkat, and AQI’s top foreign fighter facilitator.
The Webster Commission released its final report on the FBI’s handling of evidence regarding Major Nidal Malik Hasan prior to the Nov. 5, 2009 Fort Hood shootings. Hasan sent a number of emails to al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki prior to the attack.
Ibrahim al Qosi served Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda for years in a variety of capacities. Leaked and declassified files portray him as an experienced combat veteran who fought in Chechnya and Afghanistan. As a courier, he may have delivered money to the operatives who attempted to kill Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in 1995.
Abu Hafs al Mauritani, a senior al Qaeda ideologue, has been set free in Mauritania. Until earlier this year, Abu Hafs was held under a loose form of house arrest in Iran. His sudden extradition to Mauritania and subsequent freedom worries some US intelligence officials.
An al Qaeda suspect detained in the UK after visiting the site of the Olympic Games was trained by and fought with Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia. Leaked US government files show that Shabaab has sought to use its recruits in al Qaeda’s plots against the West.
Two Eritrean intelligence officials were designated by the US Treasury Department for supporting Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia. One of the two men is an explosives expert who has allegedly provided training to Shabaab operatives in Eritrea.
The man suspected of being a key facilitator for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks has reportedly told authorities that the attackers were trained by al Qaeda operatives.
During a speech in Tahrir Square, the new Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, called for Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman to be freed. Rahman is a longtime ally of al Qaeda and was convicted by a US court for his involvement in terrorist plots.
Saudi authorities arrested Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari, a key operative in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, earlier this month. Ansari has reportedly implicated Pakistani officials in the attacks.
An al Qaeda operative named Naamen Meziche has been reportedly detained in Pakistan. Meziche had extensive ties to the 9/11 plotters and was part of a 2010 plot to launch Mumbai-style attacks in Europe. That plot also had significant links to al Qaeda’s Iran-based network.
A newly-announced terrorist organization claimed responsibility for yesterday’s cross border attack in Israel, which killed one Israeli civilian. The group, which calls itself Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC), features al Qaeda-style flags in its videos and says the attack is dedicated to Osama bin Laden.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta chastised Pakistan last week for its ongoing support for the Haqqani Network.
An audio message from Guantanamo detainee Fayiz al Kandari to the Syrian people was reportedly released online. US officials have identified al Kandari as an al Qaeda propagandist who was close to Osama bin Laden.