Updated: Popular Australian cleric seeks to travel to Syria, join Islamic State
Shortly after the Islamic State declared the formation of the caliphate, Musa Cerantonio, a popular cleric, announced he was planning to travel to Syria.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Southeast Asian jihadist leader and bomb expert is alive, in Philippines
Zulkifli bin Hir, a most-wanted terrorist linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, Abu Sayyaf, and the KMM who was reported killed in 2012, is operating in the southern Philippines.
Analysis: Islamic State’s ‘caliph’ leads prayers in Mosul
The Islamic State’s video of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, now known as ‘Caliph Ibrahim’, is intended to answer critics of the newly-announced caliphate.
Taliban torch hundreds of fuel tankers in Kabul
A police official said more than 400 fuel and supply trucks were destroyed by the Taliban last night in an attack on a trucking terminal just outside the Afghan capital.
Benghazi suspect has ‘extensive contacts’ with jihadist leaders in Libya
In a court filing earlier this week, the US government argued that the only suspect in custody for the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya should remain in pretrial detention. Prosecutors cited his “extensive contacts” with senior members of other jihadist organizations and plans for additional attacks as reasons to keep him behind bars as he awaits trial.
Islamic State consolidates gains in eastern Syria
With the fall of Mayadin as well as Shujail, the home town of the Al Nusrah Front’s emir, the Islamic State controls contiguous territory along the Euphrates River Valley from the town of Jarabulus, which borders Turkey, in Syria’s northern Aleppo province to the town of Anah in Anbar province in Iraq.
Influential Jordanian ideologue argues against Islamic State’s caliphate
Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi fears that the Islamic State will use its recent land grab and claim of ruling over a caliphate to go after its jihadist rivals.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb calls for reconciliation between jihadist groups
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has issued a statement praising the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham’s (ISIS) gains in Iraq and calling for reconciliation between jihadist groups in Syria. The statement was authored prior to the ISIS declaring that it ruled over a caliphate and rebranding itself the “Islamic State.”
The Islamic State’s rivals in Syria reject announced Caliphate
The Islamic State’s jihadist rivals in Syria have rejected its claim to have established a Caliphate. Leading ideologues in the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, have rejected the Islamic State’s announcement as well.
Boko Haram targets Christians in northeastern Nigeria
Over the weekend, Boko Haram launched several attacks on Christian communities in Borno state.
Iraqi troops, insurgents battle for Tikrit
Reports indicate that Iraqi forces have withdrawn from much of the city after heavy fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and allied Baathists.
Taliban battle to regain areas of key southern province
The Taliban have been fighting in Helmand’s Sangin district for the past week, and are said to be in control of many areas.
Pakistani military kills local Taliban leader, captures al Qaeda bomb expert
The military said the Taliban commander is known as “Commander Umer” but did not name the al Qaeda explosives expert.
Ex-Guantanamo detainee arrested in Spain tied to infamous al Qaeda cell
Lahcen Ikassrien, an ex-Guantanamo detainee, was arrested earlier this month in Spain. Leaked State Department cables and a threat assessment authored by Joint Task Force Guantanamo link Ikassrien to an al Qaeda cell run by one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted operatives in pre-9/11 Europe.
Egyptian Al Nusrah Front commander on Syrian border defects to ISIS
Abu Yusuf al Masri, a leader in Albu Kamal, swore allegiance to a senior “Chechen” commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. The move could strengthen ISIS’ hold on the Iraq-Syrian border.
Suspected Boko Haram bombing in Abuja kills 21
Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram is suspected of bombing a shopping center in Abuja, Nigeria.
US adds 2 Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders, several aliases to terrorism list
The Pakistan-based terror group continues to use aliases in an attempt to hide its operations in South Asia. The US also said LeT conducted a suicide assault in Afghanistan as recently as May 2014.
Analysis: A protracted struggle ahead for Iraq
While Sunni Iraqi support of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham is not monolithic, the central government’s security forces are unlikely to decisively uproot the terrorist organization from the more distant provinces of Iraq anytime soon.
ISIS photos show control of command center, execution of prisoners
The Ninewa Division of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham shows its fighters taking control of “The Second Operations Command Center” as well as executing three Iraqi soldiers.
Ansar al Islam releases propaganda photos showing operations in Iraq
Ansar al Islam, a jihadist group founded in September 2001, has released a set of propaganda photos showing its claimed operations in Iraq. The photos purport to show the organization’s control over a highway between Tikrit and Kirkuk, captured spoils, and its willingness to grant amnesty to members of Iraq’s security forces.
Pakistani military claims 257 ‘terrorists,’ no civilians killed in North Waziristan offensive
The Pakistani military claims it has conducted extensive airstrikes without killing a single civilian.
ISIS and the threat to Turkey
The recent hostage crisis in Mosul is only the latest sign that Turkey’s new neighbor, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, poses a serious threat to Turkey’s national security.
Ansar al Islam claims attacks against Iraqi military, police
Ansar al Islam, a jihadist group founded in northern Iraq in September 2001, has claimed a number of attacks against the Iraqi government since the rebel offensive began earlier this month.
ISIS photos show gains and Iraqi support
Photos released by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham to social media sites illustrate the group’s gains in Ninewa as well as public support for the offensive.
Al Qaeda suspect planned to kill returning US troops in upstate NY
Mufid A. Elfgeeh is said to have been inspired by French-Algerian jihadist Mohamed Merah, who was trained in Pakistan by an al Qaeda leader.
US captures Benghazi suspect, but most attackers remain free
Ahmed Abu Khattalah is the first suspect in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi to be held by the US. Most of his accomplices remain free.
US drones strike in North Waziristan, kill 6 ‘militants’
The strike is the second in the village of Darga Mandi in the past week, and just the third in Pakistan this year.
Iran spawns new jihadist group in Gaza
Hesn, a new Shia jihadi group in Gaza, is Iran’s latest effort to maintain influence on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Shabaab launches 2 attacks along Kenya’s coast
Although Shabaab claimed responsibility for two recent attacks in Kenyan coastal towns, the government blamed the attacks on “local political networks.”
US adds AQAP leader involved in embassy plot to terrorist list
Shawki Ali Ahmed al Badani was involved in the 2013 plot to attack US diplomatic facilities throughout the world, as well as the US embassy in Sana’a and a suicide attack that killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers. The US targeted Badani in a drone strike late last year.