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.
Hurras al Din, an al Qaeda group in Syria, has claimed responsibility for a bus explosion in Damascus. The Syrian state-controlled media says the explosion was caused by a “short circuit” near the bus’s fuel tank.
Israel and its allies mull a response after an Iranian attack against an Israeli-operated ship off the coast of Oman.
The Taliban has advanced on Lashkar Gah from the north and south, and is trying to squeeze Afghan forces in the city center. Lashkar Gah is in danger of falling to the Taliban.
The Taliban is fighting inside Herat City, has seized control of a key district, and has taken control of the road that connects the provincial capital with the airport.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss a new message from Shabaab’s emir. They also discuss their reluctance to report on a video, titled “America Burns,” produced by Al Qaeda’s main propaganda arm. Powered by RedCircle Take a look around the globe today and you’ll see jihadists fighting everywhere from West Africa to Southeast Asia. […]
The U.S. Treasury Department announced today that two money men working for al Qaeda and Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS) have been designated. The designations are part of a broader U.S. effort to sanction individuals and entities taking part in the Syrian war. Other extremists and parts of Bashar al-Assad’s regime were also designated and sanctioned as part of the campaign.
The Taliban’s rural insurgency strategy is clearly seen in Kandahar province, where the provincial capital of Kandahar City is now under direct threat of falling under Taliban control.
The U.S. transferred Abdul Latif Nasir from Guantánamo to his home country of Morocco. Nasir allegedly led forces during the 2001 Battle of Tora Bora and was a member of an al Qaeda training subcommittee.
The Taliban directly threatens 17 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals, while 18 of the provinces are under direct threat of falling under Taliban control, according to an assessment by FDD’s Long War Journal.