Abdul Hameed Lelhari, the new emir of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), claims that a Pakistani agency recently tried to rein in the jihad in Kashmir by cutting a deal with his group. AGH and al Qaeda have repeatedly argued that Pakistani-backed jihadist groups are pursuing nationalist goals, as opposed to a supposedly purer ideological vision.
A suicide bomber dispatched by the Taliban detonated his explosives-laden vehicle outside of a facility run by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Ghazni earlier today. Preliminary casualty reports indicate that upwards of 200 people were either killed or wounded, including schoolchildren.
The State Department’s latest terrorist designations include a Hizballah operative who serves as the “Chief of Hizballah Unit 200” and the Balochistan Liberation Army, which targets Pakistani forces and civilians. State also amended its previous designation of Jundallah, which targets Iranian forces, to include Jaysh al-Adl as an alias for the group.
CENTCOM says the U.S. targeted a group of al Qaeda operatives in Syria who were “responsible for plotting external attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians.” According to jihadists online, the operatives belonged to Hurras al-Din (the “Guardians of Religion” organization).
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan is the latest province of the so-called caliphate to release a video as part of the “And the Best Outcome is for the Righteous” series. Fighters in Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kashmir, and Pakistan are shown renewing their oaths of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. One speaker blasts the Taliban, encouraging its fighters to defect.
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), an al Qaeda-affiliated group, has released a series of images showing a large number of fighters preparing for battle in Syria. The TIP has been a key jihadist group within the insurgency for years.
Shabir Ahmad Malik (also known as Abu Ubaidah) was killed on June 26 in Kashmir. He was the spokesman for Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an al Qaeda group. Prior to joining AGH, Abu Ubaidah was a member of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.
As part of its “And the Best Outcome is for the Righteous” series, the Islamic State has released videos of jihadists from the Caucasus and the Philippines renewing their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Saudi and Yemeni special forces captured the leader of ISIS in Yemen, as well as the group’s chief financial officer, earlier this month. The raid was backed by the US.
An AQIS Member known as Abdul Haseeb al-Kashmiri was recently killed in Ghazni, according to jihadists online. His death was reported on a Telegram channel that supports Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an al Qaeda-linked group in Kashmir.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack outside the home of Chechnya’s leader in Grozny. Security sources claim the terrorist was stopped for a routine ID check. The so-called caliphate’s men have carried out a string of operations in or near Grozny.
According to a recently released report by a UN Security Council monitoring team, the Taliban is the “primary partner for all foreign terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan,” including al Qaeda. The only exception is the Islamic State, which opposes the Taliban.
The Islamic State’s Sinai Wilayah has released a short video showing a cadre of fighters renewing their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Their ringleader is a masked man identified as Abu Jafar al-Ansari.
On June 15, the Islamic State’s West Africa province released a video featuring a masked jihadist known as Abu Salmah al-Mangawi. Along with foot soldiers in Burkina Faso and Mali, al-Mangawi renewed his pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Asim Umar, a senior al Qaeda official, has released a statement praising the Taliban’s “victory” in Afghanistan over the US. He also criticizes ISIS for dividing the jihadists’ ranks, praying that Allah ends the “fitnah.”
Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent’s spokesman has released a glowing eulogy for Zakir Musa, who led Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH) until his death in May. AQIS has also released a video calling on jihadis to join its cause in Kashmir. And AGH has named Musa’s successor.
The Islamic State’s Afghan arm detonated three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Kabul earlier today. The first bomb struck a bus carrying civilians, while the second two were detonated after security forces and journalists made their way to the scene.
The Taliban has released a statement attributed to its leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
A Taliban suicide bomber struck a convoy in Kabul earlier today. The Taliban claimed that 10 “invaders” were killed, but independent reports say that Afghans perished, while four Americans were wounded.
An Islamic State suicide bomber struck outside the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul earlier today. It is the second time the so-called Khorasan province has attacked the academy. According to UNAMA, the jihadists launch more “suicide and complex attacks” in the Afghan capital than in any other area of the country.
Indian forces have killed Zakir Musa, who led the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH). Musa and his men have attempted to poach from Pakistani-backed jihadist groups, while also competing with an upstart Islamic State presence. Musa’s motto was “Sharia or Martyrdom.”
Although John Walker Lindh is commonly known as the “American Taliban,” he was actually trained by al Qaeda and belonged to Osama bin Laden’s pro-Taliban fighting force.
A jury in a Manhattan federal court convicted Ali Kourani of various terrorism and other charges last week. Kourani surveilled prospective targets in New York City on behalf of Hizballah’s Islamic Jihad Organization, which has plotted terrorist attacks since the 1980s.
The Turkistan Islamic Party, “Incite the Believers” operations room and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham are all battling Bashar al-Assad’s loyalists in Latakia, Syria.
On May 14, the UN Security Council added the Islamic State’s so-called Khorasan province to its list of sanctioned terrorist entities. The group has recently rebranded operations in Kashmir and Pakistan as the work of supposedly new “provinces.”
Ayman al-Zawahiri has released a eulogy for Jalaluddin Haqqani, a key figure in the Taliban-al Qaeda axis. The Taliban announced Haqqani’s death last year. Zawahiri offers his condolences to the Taliban and its overall leader, the “Emir of the Faithful,” Hibatallah Akhundzada.
In a new audio address, Shabaab’s Abu ‘Abdurahman Mahad Warsame warns jihadists that they should avoid spilling the blood of innocent Muslims. However, he justifies the assassination of a Muslim cleric and the murder of civilians.
Al Qaeda has released a new video emphasizing its unity with the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The video features a joint Taliban-al Qaeda ambush on an Afghan army convoy in Paktika province.
A team of Taliban jihadists attacked Counterpart International, a USAID-backed NGO operating in Kabul. The Taliban claims that Counterpart’s work is “anti-Islamic” and criticizes the NGO for promoting “western culture,” as well as the “mixing” of men and women.
The Assad regime and Russia have stepped up their bombing campaign in northwestern Syria in recent weeks. The al Qaeda-linked “Incite the Believers” operations room has counterattacked with a series of operations.