France reports killing Al Qaeda commander in Mali
France has claimed it killed Bah Ag Moussa, an important JNIM commander, in a recent military raid in northern Mali. JNIM has not yet commented on the news.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Analysis: Islamic State official critiques Al Qaeda in the Sahel
In an interview with the Islamic State’s Al-Naba newsletter, Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, attempts to paint al Qaeda’s efforts in the region as rife with internal squabbles and disunity.
Ep. 32 – What Will Biden Do?
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the decisions awaiting the incoming Biden administration with respect to the ongoing conflicts in several countries. They also discuss the State Department’s decision to delist al Qaeda’s Uighur affiliate. Powered by RedCircle Take a look around the globe today and you’ll see jihadists fighting everywhere from West Africa […]
Veteran Al Qaeda leader killed in western Afghanistan
Mohammad Hanif was involved in the 2002 assassination attempt on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and the suicide attack on the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that same year. He was killed in Farah province. But the Taliban somehow continues to maintain that Al Qaeda isn’t in Afghanistan.
Analysis: One year after the targeted killing of PIJ commander Baha Abu al-Ata
A year after the killing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Baha Abu al-Ata, Israel continues to come under attack from Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.
Islamic State claims terrorist attack in Vienna
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency claims that the terrorist who carried out an attack in Vienna, Austria yesterday was a “soldier of the caliphate.” Amaq identifies him as Abu Dujana al-Albani. He was imprisoned in 2019 after he attempted to join the Islamic State in Syria, but was released early.
Ep. 31 – Al Qaeda’s Media Chief Killed in Taliban Country
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the demise of Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, al Qaeda’s media chief. Afghan forces hunted him down in a Taliban-controlled village nearly eight months after the U.S. State Department trumpeted the Taliban’s supposed counterterrorism assurances.
Analysis: U.S. confirms senior al Qaeda leader killed in Afghan raid
The U.S. has confirmed that Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior al Qaeda leader, was killed in Ghazni province earlier this month. The head of the National Counterterrorism Center touts his death as a “major setback” for al Qaeda and one of its “strategic losses,” but that is doubtful.
Afghan forces claim senior al Qaeda lieutenant killed in Ghazni
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) claims that Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior al Qaeda leader, was killed in Ghazni province. FDD’s Long War Journal has not confirmed his death and the NDS provided conflicting details throughout the day.
Taliban kills 24 soldiers, capture 6 in attack in Afghan west
The Taliban continues to press its offensive nationwide. Over the past 48 hours, the Taliban has launched strikes in 24 of the country’s 36 provinces.
Israel’s military steps up campaign against Iran and its proxies in southern Syria
IDF military operations continue in southern Syria against Iranian military entrenchment near the Golan border.
Taliban kill 47 policemen in northern Afghan province
Takhar province’s deputy chief of police is among 47 security personnel killed overnight in the restive northern province. Taliban attacks persist throughout the country.
Islamic State links prison break in DRC to speech from its spokesman
Both the Islamic State and its local affiliate, the Allied Democratic Forces, have linked yesterday’s prison break in DRC to a recent speech by the official Islamic State spokesman.
Generation Jihad Ep. 30 – The Would-be Caliph was a Snitch
Craig Whiteside joins hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio to discuss the biography of the Islamic State’s leader. Recently released files show that he snitched on his fellow jihadists during his time in U.S. custody. Powered by RedCircle
Islamic State claims prison break in the DRC
At least 1,300 inmates were freed in an operation conducted by the Allied Democratic Forces, the Islamic State’s local affiliate.
U.S. Marine charged for allegedly ‘providing material support’ to Hamas
The FBI arrested a Marine veteran for ‘providing material support’ to Hamas, a Gaza-based Islamist militant group.
Designated al Qaeda facilitator operates gemstone business based in Australia
The U.S. government has designated Ahmed Luqman Talib as a terrorist, saying he uses his gemstone business to help move people and money for al Qaeda.
Analysis: The IRGC runs for high office in Tehran
63-year-old IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan is eying the Iranian presidency. If his candidacy is approved and he is elected in 2021, Dehghan will be the Islamic Republic’s first military president, a development with significant implications for Iranian domestic politics and foreign policy.
Taliban assaults Helmand capital as U.S. officials plead for a ‘reduction in violence’
U.S. officials continue to maintain that the Taliban committed to a “reduction in violence” as part of the withdrawal agreement. The deal says no such thing, and the Taliban continues to mount attacks.
Generation Jihad Ep. 29 – An Interview with Edmund Fitton-Brown
Edmund Fitton-Brown joins hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio to discuss his work for the United Nations Security Council.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad threatens conflict over Palestinian prisoner
Maher al-Akhras, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative in administrative detention and on a hunger strike, sparks threats of conflict against Israel from the Iran-backed militant group.
Analysis: JNIM celebrates prisoner swap in Mali
In exchange for the release of dozens of imprisoned members from Mali’s prisons, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has freed four hostages, three of them foreign. JNIM has since celebrated the prisoner swap, including a personal appearance by its overall emir, Iyad Ag Ghaly, in northern Mali.
Taliban parades forces in Logar province
In Logar province, a large Taliban convoy that carried the Taliban’s shadow governor paraded through a town unopposed by Afghan and Coalition forces.
Generation Jihad Ep. 28 – Our Review of the Outpost
Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn review The Outpost, a new movie based on a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Hamas admits senior official Salah al-Arouri has contracted COVID-19
U.S. Department of the Treasury Specially Designated Global Terrorist, Salah al-Arouri, tests positive for COVID-19 according to a Hamas publication.
Hezbollah’s Precision Guided Missile project under renewed scrutiny
An arms depot explosion and an accusation of operating ‘missile factories’ in Beirut has renewed the focus on the Iran/Hezbollah missile project.
Jihadist ideologues argue over Turkey’s Erdogan
Two prominent jihadist ideologues, Sheikh Abdullah al-Muhaysini and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, are engaged in a war of words over Erdoğan’s Turkey. The relationship between the jihadists in Syria and Turkey has long been a point of contention and the heated rhetoric reveals that it isn’t likely to subside soon.
Generation Jihad Ep. 27 – Counting Al Qaeda
Senior U.S. officials claim there are fewer than 200 al Qaeda members in Afghanistan. Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn explain why that estimate, like all others before it, isn’t credible.
Analysis: Don’t trust estimates of Al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan
The U.S. government, military, and intelligence services have provided inaccurate assessments of Al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan for more than a decade. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued that tradition by recent regurgitating that Al Qaeda has fewer than 200 fighters in the country. This estimate, like previous ones, should not be trusted.
Bulgarian court convicts two Hezbollah-linked men with 2012 Burgas bus bombing
Two dual Lebanese nationals with ties to Hezbollah have been convicted of being involved in the 2012 Burgas bombing that killed six, including five Israelis.