In 2017, LWJ reported unprecedented levels of airstrikes in Somalia and Yemen. Thus far in 2018, the United States has sustained its high strike tempo in Somalia and improved transparency on its air campaign in Yemen. Strikes in Pakistan have leveled off, however press restrictions make tracking operations there difficult. In Libya, the U.S. has targeted jihadists sparingly.
The NDS unit that was hit is reportedly responsible for targeting Taliban units that operate in the contested provinces of Logar and Wardak, just south of Kabul.
Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) announced yesterday (July 24) that six Islamic State operatives were killed in targeted strikes since April. The jihadists had allegedly plotted attacks inside Saudi Arabia and Sweden, as well as against the US and American interests.
Authorities are investigating whether there are any ties, digital or otherwise, between Faisal Hussain and the Islamic State. The so-called caliphate’s Amaq News Agency issued a short statement today claiming that Hussain was the Islamic State’s “soldier.” The statement mirrors the language used in a series of other claims of responsibility for attacks in the West and elsewhere.
The Taliban takeover of the Paktika districts of Omna and Gayan occur as US generals attempt to put a positive spin on the Afghan military’s capabilities.
The press release also described the Taliban who are being targeted and killed as “Taliban irreconcilables.” However, Resolute Support has yet to identify any reconcilable Taliban.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that struck near the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul only minutes after Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum passed through the area.
On July 15, Israel struck a military position near the Nayrab airport outside of Aleppo city. The latest attack is a component of an expanded Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic’s assets in Syria.
America’s Gulf allies — Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait — still sponsor hate preachers during Ramadan.
The State Department has amended the terrorist designation of Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, to include Al-Hijra, which has served as Shabaab’s “wing” in Kenya. In the past, according to the UN, Al-Hijra has played a key role in Shabaab’s planning of terrorist attacks.
The rise of the Islamic State in Jawzjan province over the past year has threatened the Taliban’s operations in the Afghan north.
Rising communal violence in both northern and central Mali further weakens the already fragile state, which in turn, further helps jihadists exploit these problems for their own gain.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) found that the Taliban was responsible for more civilian casualties than any other party in Afghanistan during the first six months of 2018.
The Islamic State has targeted key jihadist and Islamist leaders in Idlib province in recent weeks. The so-called caliphate’s assassination campaign has focused on prominent figures in Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as well as other groups.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a devastating suicide bombing at an election rally in Mastung, Baluchistan earlier today. More than 100 people were killed and dozens more wounded. The so-called caliphate has identified the bomber as Abu Bakr al-Pakistani and claims that a Pakistani intelligence official was among the victims.
The Red Unit, the Taliban’s version of special forces that operates throughout Afghanistan and is often at the tip of the spear of assaults on district centers, military bases and outposts, is said to have initiated the fighting in Dasht-i-Archi district. At least 30 Afghan soldiers were killed during the assault.
Ansar al-Islam raided an Assad regime military position in the Latakia province yesterday, killing more than two dozen Assad loyalists. The attack was widely celebrated on Sunni jihadist social media channels. Ansar al-Islam is a small jihadist group that originated in Iraq, but has fought in Syria for years.
The deadly bombing is the first major attack executed by the Taliban group since Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud assumed command of the group in late June.
The Islamic State claimed a suicide bombing that targeted the Assad regime and Russian forces in southern Syria yesterday. The group claims that 50 people were killed or wounded, while a pro-regime source reported “scores” of casualties. The operation was conducted by a jihadist dispatched by a new Islamic State “province,” but the group has operated in the area for years under another brand.
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in Afghanistan and Syria has long operated as part of the Taliban-al Qaeda axis. Earlier this year, however, the TIP’s Syrian branch sided with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) during its battles with other rebel groups. This infighting and related events have complicated the picture with respect to the TIP in Syria. One TIP-affiliated outlet claimed earlier this year that the group’s senior management had sent new leadership from Afghanistan to Syria.
The US Department of State added Saraya al Ashtar, an Iranian-supported group that openly flaunts its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps affiliation, to its list of global terrorists.
The Taliban described an upcoming conference of religious scholars that will be held in Saudi Arabia later this week as illegitimate and urged Islamic clerics to boycott the meeting.
The Secretary-General of Kata’ib Sayyid al Shuhada, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, said he is a “soldier” of Abdel Malek al Houthi, the leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement.
The Pentagon and the US intelligence community have been consistently wrong about al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan, and evidence of strategic ties between the two groups does indeed exist.
The Islamic State announced today that Hudhayfah al-Badri, the son of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, has been killed during a raid on Syrian and Russian forces in Homs province. Al-Badri’s death was announced via a graphic that is part of the Islamic State’s “Caravan of the Martyrs” series, which has featured deceased jihadists from around the globe. The so-called caliphate has offered few details concerning al-Badri’s purported death.
While no group has claimed responsibility yet, it was most likely conducted by al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims.
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and its jihadist rivals in the “Guardians of Religion” organization have called on all Muslims to resist the Assad regime’s new offensive in southern Syria. However, severe infighting has limited the jihadists’ ability to launch sustained operations against the Assad regime and its allies.
The Taliban continues to state that it and only it is the true representative of the Afghan people. This is at odds with the opinion of some Afghan analysts who advise the US government on policy with respect to a negotiated settlement with the Taliban.
Although Iranian-aligned forces have reportedly agreed to withdraw from a buffer zone near the Jordanian and Israeli borders, the threat of Iranian expansion remains high.
Burkina Faso’s wanted list gives more information into the inner-workings and operations of Ansaroul Islam, a relatively under-researched and little understood al Qaeda-linked jihadist group.