‘Foreigners’ reported killed in US drone strike in Pakistan
The unmanned Predators or Reapers destroyed a compound in the Mir Ali area, which is known to host top al Qaeda and other jihadist leaders and operatives.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Reports of Israeli drones operating in Azerbaijan spark Iranian condemnation, threats
Iran claims Israel is operating three separate drone platforms from Azerbaijan to conduct “secret spy missions” into Iranian territory. Iranian officials threatened that any drone crossing into Iranian airspace would receive a “sharp counterblow.”
Al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front denies reports of death of its emir
The group said that Abu Muhammad al Julani is alive and well, and also confirmed that two Zarqawi associates, Abu Anas al Sahhaba and Abu Julaybib, are senior commanders.
Shabaab rebukes American commander Omar Hammami
Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia has broken its nearly year-long silence on the American jihadist who has claimed that deep divisions exist between foreign fighters and local jihadists.
Taliban suicide bomber attacks US contracting company in Kabul
Contrack International, the target of the attack, supports US military operations in Afghanistan.
Hitherto unreported insider attack in Afghanistan raises questions
A newly reported green-on-blue attack from October 2011 appears to show a US command structure slow to recognize and grapple with the problem.
Zarqawi’s brother-in-law reported killed while leading Al Nusrah Front unit
Iyad al Tubasi is thought to have been killed in Daraa. He is believed to have been replaced by Abu Anas al Sahhaba, another associate of former al Qaeda in Iraq emir Abu Musab al Zarqawi.
Syrian jihadists form ‘Supporters of the Khilafah’ Brigade
Five units in Western Aleppo that are linked to the Al Nusrah Front vowed “to establish the Islamic Khilafah state, and to use it to end decades of colonization and enslavement.”
Al Qaeda’s emir calls on Egyptian Salafi leader to continue revolution
A video showing Ayman al Zawahiri calling on Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to restart the Egyptian revolution is circulating on Egyptian web sites. The video is actually a clip from al Qaeda’s Oct. 24 video. Zawahiri urges Abu Ismail to work toward the implementation of sharia law.
Syrian jihadists, including al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front, form Mujahideen Shura Council
The establishment of the Mujahideen Shura Council in Deir al-Zour is a step in the unification of jihadist groups in Syria. Syrian opposition groups rally around the Al Nusrah Front after the terrorist designation by the US.
2 Somali Islamists arrested in suspected pipe bomb attack at Bonn train station
Yesterday two known extremists were arrested after a bag containing explosive materials was found on a platform at the main train station in Bonn, Germany.
US adds Al Nusrah Front, 2 leaders to terrorism list
The US government called the Al Nusrah Front “a new alias” for al Qaeda in Iraq, and said Al Nusrah is under the direct control of the emir of the Iraqi terror group.
Al Nusrah Front, foreign jihadists seize key Syrian base in Aleppo
Foreign fighters, including an Uzbek commander, played a key role in taking the Sheikh Suleiman base outside of Aleppo. The base is thought to be involved in Syria’s chemical weapons program.
ISAF kills another al Qaeda commander in Kunar raid
An al Qaeda leader known as Numan was killed during a raid in the Nari district on Dec. 4. Numan supported senior “insurgent leaders” and moved weapons and fighters into the province.
US drone strike kills another al Qaeda commander in North Waziristan
Mohammad Ahmed al Mansoor, a midlevel Pakistani al Qaeda commander, is reported to have been killed in the attack. He is the fourth mid-to-senior-level al Qaeda leader reported killed since the US stepped up strikes since the end of November.
Egypt arrests al Qaeda-linked Benghazi suspect
Egypt has arrested Muhammad Jamal al Kashef (a.k.a. Abu Ahmed), a terrorist with direct, longstanding ties to al Qaeda’s leadership. Some of the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya were trained in his camps. He is also part of the jihadist network that incited protesters in Cairo earlier that same day.
Al Qaeda religious leader thought killed in US drone strike
Khalid bin Abdul Rahman al Husainan, a senior religious scholar for al Qaeda who is also known as a Abu Zeid al Kuwaiti, is believed to have been killed in a recent drone strike in Pakistan.
US adds West African group, 2 leaders, to terrorism list
The US government has added the al Qaeda-linked Movement for Tawhid [Unity] and Jihad in West Africa and two of its leaders to the list of global terrorists and entities. The group has named one of its units fighting in Mali after Osama bin Laden.
Islamic State of Iraq denies its emir captured
The al Qaeda political front said that Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi “is in the best state of being among his family and his brothers.”
Taliban assassination attempt injures Afghan spy chief
Asadullah Khalid, the chief of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, was wounded in an attack at an NDS guesthouse today by a Taliban suicide bomber posing as a peace envoy.
US drones kill 3 ‘militants’ in North Waziristan strikes
The drones hit a compound near Mir Ali, an area known to shelter al Qaeda’s military and external operations councils, as well as a host of regional terror groups.
ISAF launches 2 raids targeting al Qaeda-linked commanders
Special operations forces killed an al Qaeda leader in Kunar and captured an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator in Kunduz.
Pakistani Taliban group denies targeting Mullah Nazir in suicide attack
The top spokesman for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan denied his group was involved in the assassination attempt that targeted Mullah Nazir, an al Qaeda-linked Taliban leader in South Waziristan.
Al Nusrah Front claims yet another suicide attack in Syria
The suicide attack is the 50th in Syria in the past 12 months; 41 of them have been claimed by the Al Nusrah Front.
ISAF kills IMU/Taliban district commander in Afghan north
Shukrullah “was the senior IMU/Taliban leader in the Almar district of Faryab province” and the “other two individuals killed with him were known Taliban insurgents.”
Taliban suicide assault team attacks US airbase in Jalalabad
Nine Taliban fighters, three Afghan security guards, and four civilians were killed as the Taliban attempted to storm Forward Operating Base Fenty in Nangarhar province.
Al Qaeda commander thought killed in South Waziristan drone strike
Abdul Rehman al Zaman Yemeni, a mid-level leader, is reported to have been killed in today’s attack. Sheikh Abdul Bari, another mid-level al Qaeda commander, is thought to have been killed in another strike in the same town on Nov. 29.
Boko Haram emir praises al Qaeda
Abubakar Shekau said he and his fighters support jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Algeria, Libya, and Mali.
Al Qaeda-linked South Waziristan Taliban commander wounded in suicide attack
Mullah Nazir was wounded in a blast at a market in Wana that killed six people and wounded 12 more. No group has claimed credit for the attack.
US drones kill 3 ‘militants’ in 1st strike in Pakistan in more than a month
The strike ends a 36-day-long pause in attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The pause is the second longest since the program was ramped up in 2008.