Competing narratives over the death of a Houthi leader
Houthi sources stated Ibrahim al Houthi was killed by the Saudi-led coalition, while Saudi sources state he was killed by a rival faction.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Taliban leader quashes Eid cease fire, urges followers to continue jihad
Mullah Hibatullah also continued to call for the “establishment of a true Islamic system,” which is merely code for the restoration of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Islamic State wages desert-based insurgency in Iraq and Syria
According to a new report released by the Pentagon’s inspector general, ISIS has devised a three-part “overarching strategy” for its “desert-based insurgency” in Iraq and Syria. The three parts are: “sahara” (desert), “sahwat” (meaning awakenings — a derogatory reference to any Sunni Muslims who oppose the group), and “sawlat” (“hit-and-run operations”).
Analysis: Houthi drone strikes in Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Beginning last year, the Houthis have launched dozens of drone strikes inside Saudi Arabia and Yemen. FDD’s Long War Journal has mapped these strikes.
Taliban suicide bomber strikes police HQ in Kabul
The bombing, which leveled a police station and killed and wounded scores of people, is the latest in a series of terror attacks in the capital. The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation continues to claim the Taliban can be an “effective counterterrorism partner”despite the Taliban’s repeated use of terror tactics.
Taliban threatens Panjshir province
While the common narrative among US military and diplomatic officials is that the Taliban is taking control of districts to boost its negotiating position in so-called peace talks, the reality is that the Taliban has a long term military plan to gain control of strategic areas in order to reestablish its Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Analysis: Houthi missiles against the Saudi-led coalition
Since 2015, the Houthi insurgents in Yemen have launched a myriad of ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and at various sites across Yemen. FDD’s Long War Journal has mapped these missile launches.
UN Security Council continues to report on al Qaeda-Taliban alliance
Since July 2018, the UN Security Council has published at least four reports documenting al Qaeda’s close and longstanding relationship with the Taliban.
Taliban IED blast kills 35 civilians in western Afghanistan
The Taliban has denied responsibility for the deadly attack that killed and wounded scores of civilians. However the Taliban’s denial is not credible. It controls the two districts in the area where the bombing took place.
UN: Islamic Jihad Union operates in Syria
In the UNSC’s new report on the Islamic State, al Qaeda, and affiliated groups, the UN states that the Uzbek jihadist group, the Islamic Jihad Union, operates in Syria. This was not previously known.
UN: Islamic State replaced leader in Afghanistan after visit from central leadership
According to a recently released report submitted to the UN Security Council, the Islamic State’s central leadership replaced the group’s head in Afghanistan earlier this year. The leadership change reportedly occurred after an Islamic State “core delegation” visited the country.
Taliban storms district headquarters in Zabul province
Mizan district was under siege for more than one year before it fell. Security in Zabul province, which is a known haven for al Qaeda and straddles the border with Pakistan, has deteriorated over the past five years. Al Qaeda operated a base in Mizan as recently as Sept. 2016.
Jihadists wound former Afghan intelligence chief in Kabul assault
Amrullah Saleh was responsible for killing and capturing thousands of Taliban commanders and fighters during his tenure as NDS chief and during his brief stint as interior minister.
Iranian killed at PMF base in Iraq
Both Iranian media and media linked to Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces have reported different narratives surrounding the events of a purported explosion at an Iraqi base last week. However, Iranian media has confirmed at least one Iranian was killed at the base.
Taliban suicide bomber kills Croatian soldier in Kabul
The Taliban has ramped up its suicide operations over the past month. It has claimed six suicide operations. Two more have gone unclaimed.
Taliban justifies 9/11 attack, blaming America’s ‘interventionist policies’
The Taliban describes al Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the US as a “heavy slap on their dark faces,” claiming it “was the consequence of their interventionist policies and not our doing.” Additionally, the Taliban says it will not talk to the Afghan government, will fight Afghan security forces to the end, rejects the presence of foreign forces on Afghan soil, and calls western culture uncivilized.
Trump caves to Pakistan on Afghanistan
Trump’s acquiescence to Pakistan, which has backed the Taliban’s deadly insurgency in Afghanistan, occurs less than two years after he accused Pakistan of providing “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror”. Trump also said Pakistan returned billions of dollars in US aid with “nothing but lies & deceit.”
Taliban seizes remote district in Afghan north
Security in Badakhshan has gradually worsened over the past five years since the Afghan military and police took full control of security in the province. Al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist groups have a significant presence in the northern province.
Female Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber hits hospital
The Taliban has used female suicide bombers in the past. Years ago, a wanted commander known as Qari Zia Rahman established training camps to indoctrinate women and young girls to carry out the gruesome attacks.
Taliban suicide team kills a dozen policemen in Kandahar
US military and diplomatic officials have claimed that attacks such as these are designed by the Taliban to increase its leverage in so-called peace talks with the US. In reality, the Taliban has all the leverage it needs. The Taliban is preparing the ground for the next stage in the war by targeting and weakening Afghan forces in major cities and outlying areas.
Taliban kills 25 Afghan commandos
The commandos are the most effective Afghan military formation and are at the tip of the spear in the fight against the Taliban. Yet they often take heavy casualties while battling the Taliban.
Pakistan again arrests Lashkar-e-Taiba emir Hafiz Saeed
Pakistan is a state where those who push the bounds of what is acceptable to the military and Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, including jihadists, politicians, journalists, and activists, end up missing or are found murdered. Pakistan has weathered nearly two decades of international condemnation over Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, yet he and his terrorist entities have not only survived, but thrived.
US sanctions leaders of al Qaeda in Mali
Two leaders of al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), a Moroccan national and a local Malian, were designated as terrorists today.
Taliban overruns district in eastern Afghanistan
Afghan officials confirmed the Taliban took the district after security forces retreated. Paktika is in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, the influential Taliban subgroup that is closely allied with al Qaeda as well as Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.
Taliban suicide team strikes hotel
A Taliban suicide assault team attacked a hotel in the northwestern Afghan province of Badghis earlier today, killing six police officers and two civilians. The attack took place just days after the Taliban reportedly committed to protect residential areas in order to limit civilian casualties. Afghan officials said five Taliban “suicide bombers” launched the attack […]
Kismayo hotel raided by Shabaab
The al Qaeda branch continues to utilize the suicide assault to target popular hotels and government buildings across Somalia.
Pakistan charges 13 Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders under Anti-Terrorism Act
If history is any guide, Laskahr-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed and his cadre will dodge the charges and continue to provide support to a wide range of terrorist groups, including al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban.
Al Qaeda leader threatens India, criticizes Pakistan in message on Kashmir
Ayman al-Zawahiri has released a new message entitled, “Don’t Forget Kashmir.” He criticizes the Pakistani Army and intelligence services at length, saying they can’t be trusted to support the jihad against Indian forces. He also calls upon Muslim scholars to explain that it is “individual duty” to support the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate.
New head of al Qaeda group in Kashmir calls for independent jihadist council
Abdul Hameed Lelhari, the new emir of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), claims that a Pakistani agency recently tried to rein in the jihad in Kashmir by cutting a deal with his group. AGH and al Qaeda have repeatedly argued that Pakistani-backed jihadist groups are pursuing nationalist goals, as opposed to a supposedly purer ideological vision.
Taliban suicide bomber strikes intelligence facility in Ghazni
A suicide bomber dispatched by the Taliban detonated his explosives-laden vehicle outside of a facility run by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Ghazni earlier today. Preliminary casualty reports indicate that upwards of 200 people were either killed or wounded, including schoolchildren.