Suspected Boko Haram fighters launched attacks across Nigeria’s north and east and ventured into neighboring Cameroon, kidnapping the deputy minister’s wife and a local religious leader. In separate attacks over the past two days, three female suicide bombers detonated in the capital of Kano state.
The destruction of the mosques housing the tombs of Jonah and Seth is only the latest in the Islamic State’s campaign to purge minority religions from Mosul.
A periodic review board has determined that Fayiz al Kandari, a Kuwaiti held at Guantanamo, should remain in US custody.
A periodic review board has recommended that Fouzi Khalid Abdullah Al Awda, a Kuwaiti held at Guantanamo since 2002, be transferred to his home country. Jihadists on Twitter celebrated the ruling before it was released to the public.
As Boko Haram continues its offensive across northeastern Nigeria, the Nigerian government and other players are taking steps to combat the group.
Pakistani officials have said there was a “mix-up” and an al Qaeda explosives expert, and not Rasheed, was captured during a raid two weeks ago in South Waziristan.
The Islamic State’s media office in Homs province released a report earlier this week detailing the terror group’s takeover of a large gas facility in central Syria.
The Islamic Front, a coalition of several leading insurgent groups in Syria, has issued a statement rejecting any attempt by its fellow insurgency groups to unilaterally create a new government.
In one tweet earlier this month, Ansar al Islam implied that it had a hand in the killing of a top Iraqi general. But this claim cannot be independently verified and the few details offered by the group conflict with published reports based on Iraqi government sources.
Launching more attacks, Boko Haram hoisted its flag in a northeastern Nigerian town where it recently killed over 100 civilians.
The images are the latest in a propaganda effort by various terror groups in both Iraq and Syria to promote their training camp infrastructure.
In the first edition of its new online newsletter, Al Nafir, al Qaeda renews its oath of allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. The move is likely a response to the Islamic State’s claim that it rules over a caliphate with its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, serving as the new caliph. Last week, al Qaeda released a video of Osama bin Laden discussing his oath of allegiance to Mullah Omar.
Sanafi al Nasr, a top al Qaeda leader based in Syria, named three jihadists killed in the “Khorasan.”
The large military base was attacked two days after the retreat of the Iraqi military and allied militias following their failure to recapture Tikrit.
The US has launched three strikes in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan in the past 10 days, indicating that a top jihadist leader is thought to be operating there.
The Baghdad Division of the Islamic State claimed that Abu Bakr al Australi detonated his vest at a Shia mosque in the Shorja district.
Iraqi military units, SWAT units, and Shia militias withdrew from Tikrit after facing heavy fire. It is the second failed attempt to retake the city.
The strike is the second in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan in the past week.
Al Qaeda has posted a video featuring Osama bin Laden from mid-2001. Al Qaeda is attempting to undermine the legitimacy of the Islamic State’s announced caliphate by highlighting bin Laden’s testimony. Bin Laden spoke of the “pillars” necessary for building a “strong Islamic state.”
In a new video claiming responsibility for recent attacks, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau mocked the campaign to bring the kidnapped girls back, while threatening local leaders and calling for the release of Boko Haram members currently held in Nigerian prisons. A Nigerian military airstrike attempted to counter the latest Boko Haram attack in Borno state.
Anders Cameroon Ostensvig Dale, a Norwegian who joined al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in 2008, is thought to have been trained under AQAP bomb maker Ibrahim al Asiri or one of his lieutenants.
In a statement attributed to AQIM’s propaganda arm, the al Qaeda branch rejects the Islamic State’s caliphate and reaffirms its loyalty to Ayman al Zawahiri. The statement also reveals that AQIM has played a role in the mediation efforts between the Islamic State and its jihadist rivals in Syria.
The Al Nusrah Front has released a statement saying that it has not “yet” announced the creation of an Islamic emirate and it will only do so after other jihadist groups agree with the decision.
Several M1A1 tanks and M113 armored personnel carriers were destroyed. The ambush highlights the deteriorating state of the Iraqi security forces.
An alleged audio recording featuring Al Nusrah Front emir Abu Muhammad al Julani was leaked online. Julani discusses the creation of an Islamic emirate, or state, in Syria as a counterweight to the Islamic State and other actors.
The Taliban’s statement avoids any explicit mention of the Islamic State or its announced caliphate, even though the Islamic State has claimed that all Muslims must pledge allegiance to its leader.
The strike took place in an area of North Waziristan that has served as a command center for al Qaeda’s military.
Hani Sibai, a longtime ally of Ayman al Zawahiri, has called on al Qaeda to issue a statement regarding the Islamic State’s announced caliphate.
A district center in Ghor province was overrun by hundreds of Taliban, while the group sent more than a dozen fighters to attack the governor’s compound and police headquarters in Kandahar City.
Nasir al Wuhayshi, who is the emir of AQAP as well as al Qaeda’s general manager, has released a poem praising Ayman al Zawahiri as the “Sheikh father.” A video from two leading AQAP ideologues decrying the “slander” of jihadist leaders was released shortly afterwards. Al Qaeda members are trumpeting the messages as rebuttals to the Islamic State and its newly announced caliphate.