The Taliban has announced the “interim” leadership of its newly restored Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. FDD’s Lpng War Journal profiles 22 of these figures, many of whom were sanctioned by the U.N. in 2001, are designated terrorists, or are former Guantanamo detainees. Multiple Taliban leaders have worked with al Qaeda.
The mountainous fortress province of Panjshir fell only seven days after the Taliban launched its assault. The Taliban is now in complete control of the country, and is set to declare its Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
In a newly released video, “Victorious Force 3,” the Taliban blames America for the 9/11 hijackings while celebrating its own suicide squads. For the past 20 years, the Taliban has consistently blamed U.S. “policy” for 9/11 and has never accepted any responsibility for its own deep relationship with al Qaeda.
The Taliban launched attacks on three mountain passes that lead to Panjshir province, the last bastion of resistance in Afghanistan. The National Resistance Front repelled the assault.
Under the guise of civilian protest, Palestinian factions have waged a military campaign at the Gaza border for more than three years in order to pressure Israel into financial concessions.
Al Qaeda’s central media arm, As Sahab, released a two-page statement praising the Taliban’s “historic victory” in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda fought alongside the Taliban to resurrect its Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The video of Dr. Amin al Haq is evidence that Al Qaeda commanders now feel secure enough to appear publicly in a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The Islamic State’s Khorasan province has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing outside of the Kabul airport earlier today. 12 U.S. service members were killed and 15 others wounded in a pair of attacks inside the capital. Dozens of others were killed or wounded as well.
Taliban-affiliated social media accounts claim that men from the Badri 313 special forces unit are providing “security” at the Kabul airport. Badri 313 is responsible for some of the Taliban’s key battlefield successes and has also conducted complex suicide missions.
While the Panjshir resistance’s odds remain long, it stands a chance to not only divert and disrupt Taliban operations but create a groundswell of interest that could lead to a larger campaign with more sustainable momentum.
Noor Wali Mehsud has renewed the TTP’s allegiance to the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the wake of the jihadis’ victory. The Taliban has released numerous TTP and al Qaeda figures from the former government’s prisons in recent weeks, including Faqir Mohammed.
Prospects for this resistance, lead by Amrullah Saleh, are dim. He has a formidable task ahead of him and his prospects are bleak. The Taliban will seek to crush this last bastion of resistance.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the need for accountability after 20 years of failures. Powered by RedCircle Take a look around the globe today and you’ll see jihadists fighting everywhere from West Africa to Southeast Asia. They aren’t the dominant force in all of those areas, or even most of them. But jihadism […]
The Taliban took control of the provinces of Paktika, Paktia, Faryab, Laghman, and Kunar today, as well as Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan’s second largest city. It is consolidating its control of the east in preparation for its final assault on Kabul.
The Taliban seized control of four more provincial capitals, and cemented it control of the strategic south with the capture of Zabul and Uruzgan provinces. The road to Kabul is now open.
With Helmand and Kandahar provinces in the hands of the Taliban, the rest of the south will go under Taliban control in short order.
Kandahar City, the country’s second largest city collapsed after Taliban forces besieged it for more than two months. It is the third major city to and the fourth provincial capital fall to the Taliban today.
Herat City is the Taliban’s biggest victory since it began taking control of provincial capitals in late July. With the fall of Herat and Qala-i-Naw, the Taliban now fully controls the west.
Ghazni is the tenth Afghan provincial capital to fall to the Taliban in the past week. Al Qaeda has deep roots in Ghazni. Osama bin Laden identified the province as a key safe haven for his men.
The Taliban seeks to consolidate recent gains in Kunduz and Jawzjan provinces, and deny the Afghan military the ability to counterattack
Israel finds itself in an escalation with Hezbollah after a string of rocket attacks from southern Lebanon.
Terrorists haven’t launched major attacks in Somaliland in more than a decade. However, this does not mean it doesn’t face any real threats from Shabaab or the Islamic State.
The north, where many Afghan power brokers are base, is now in a state of general collapse. Seven of the nine northern provincial capitals are under Taliban control.
Eight of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban in less than a week. The Taliban now fully controls four provinces; Farah, Jawzjan, Nimruz, and Takhar.
The Taliban is sweeping up northern capitals. Aybak is the fifth northern capital to fall to the Taliban in three days, and and the sixth in four days.
The Taliban took control of the provincial capitals of Kunduz and Sar-i-Pul cities, while Taloqan, the capital of Takhar, is under direct threat. Four provincial capitals have now fallen under Taliban control in the past three days.
Shibirghan, the capital of the northern province of Jawzjan and the home of warlord Marshall Abdul Rashid Dostum, fell to the Taliban today.
The Taliban took control of Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz province, without a fight. The western locale is the first provincial capital to fall under Taliban control since it launched its offensive across the country in May.
The Taliban assassinated Dawa Khan Menapal, the head of the Afghan government’s information and media center. The group vowed to continue targeting officials in the Afghan capital after failing to kill the acting defense minister earlier this week.
The Taliban’s martyrdom unit assaulted the home of Afghanistan’s acting Defense Minister, Bismillah Mohammadi, yesterday evening. Mohammadi survived the assassination attempt, but the Taliban vowed to continue targeting Afghan officials.