US strikes Shabaab on southern Somalia coast
The United States has conducted 24 strikes in Somalia in 2018, all of which have targeted Shabaab. The strike occurred near a town that was liberated by Somali forces just two days ago.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Badness personified
Jalaluddin Haqqani is dead. The terror network he created lives on.
Islamic State spokesman touts attack in Ahvaz, Iran
In a newly released message, Islamic State spokesman Abul-Hasan Al-Muhajir boasts that his organization’s men were able to carry out the Sept. 22 terrorist attack in Ahvaz, Iran. Al-Muhajir’s message is intended to underscore the Islamic State’s responsibility for the operation, as there were conflicting claims regarding the identity of the perpetrators.
Islamic State video allegedly shows perpetrators of attack on Iranian military parade
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has released a short video allegedly showing three of the men responsible for yesterday’s attack on a military parade in Ahvaz, Iran.
Gunmen attack military parade in southwestern Iran
Gunmen attacked an Iranian military parade in Ahvaz earlier today. Initial reports say two dozen or more people were killed and dozens more wounded. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility. But media outlets say another group, the Patriotic Arab Democratic Movement in Ahwaz, has as well.
Analysis: Tehran’s push to force US exit from Iraq
While Iranian-backed parties are moving to form a government in Baghdad that could force the US to exit the country, they face growing public anger over governance failures that threaten the viability of the system.
Somalia remains ‘a terrorist safe haven,’ State notes
Al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa “still maintained control over large portions of the country” and “retained the ability to carry out high-profile attacks” in 2017 despite increased targeting by the US military, the African Union, and the Somali government.
Pakistan continues to harbor Taliban, including al Qaeda-linked Haqqanis
According to a new report by the State Department, the Afghan Taliban and its Haqqani Network are still “operating in Pakistan-based safe havens and threatening U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.” Pakistan has assisted the US in counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda. However, by refusing to move against the Taliban, including the Haqqanis, Pakistan is harboring al Qaeda’s most important allies in the region.
State Department: Iran allows al Qaeda to operate its ‘core facilitation pipeline’
The State Department has released its Country Reports on Terrorism 2017. As in past reports, State says that “Iran has allowed AQ [al Qaeda] facilitators to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iran since at least 2009, enabling AQ to move funds and fighters to South Asia and Syria.”
Interview with an Iranian fighter in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Lars Hauch conducted an online interview with a fighter who migrated from Iran to Syria and joined Harakat Muhajirin Ahl Sunnat Iran, an Iranian battalion in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). HTS is a large Sunni jihadist group that is opposed to the Assad regime and its Iranian-backed allies.
Analysis: Al Qaeda eulogizes Jalaluddin Haqqani
Earlier this month, Al Qaeda eulogized Jalaluddin Haqqani, a legendary jihadist who was one of Osama bin Laden’s earliest and most important allies. Other al Qaeda-linked groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, and individuals have honored Haqqani as well.
Taliban claims to shoot down Afghan military helicopter
The Afghan military was either unable or unwilling to secure the crash site and recover the bodies of its soldiers at least 10 hours after the helicopter went down.
Analysis: Iranian Missile Strikes Against Kurdish Dissidents in Iraq
Iran’s willingness to resort to tactical SRBM launches against regional targets warrants a larger discussion about the country’s missile power and escalation dynamics. It also requires an accurate assessment of what occurred on the ground against Iranian Kurds in Iraq and in the media space on this issue since September 8.
Al Qaeda leader: America is the main enemy in a ‘single war with different fronts’
Al Qaeda released a message from its leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 hijackings. Zawahiri argues that the jihadists must view various conflicts raging around the globe as a “single war with different fronts against a united enemy.”
Al Qaeda is very much alive, and widely misunderstood
AL Qaeda’s operatives are fighting in more countries around the world today than was the case on 9/11. And its leaders still want to target the United States and its interest and allies. The war they started is far from over.
Taliban threatens Sar-i-Pul City, captures district in Jawzjan
The Taliban overran the Kham Ab district center in Jawzjan province in the last 24 hours as the group continues to pressure Afghan forces in the north.
Iraqi militant Qayis Khazali warned us about Iran. We ignored him.
Iran has its tentacles all over Iraq, and the United States has no one to blame but itself. It is a bipartisan failure dating back to the March 2003 invasion. The seeds of this failure can be seen in the interrogation transcripts of Qayis Khazali, the leader of the Mahdi Army’s Special Groups and Asaib Ahl al Haq.
Islamic State claims bombings at sports club in Kabul
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two bombings in the Afghan capital earlier today. A suicide bomber first struck a sports club hosting a wrestling match. A second blast was detonated as emergency personnel and the media converged on the scene.
US designates al Qaeda’s branch in Mali as terror organization
The State Department announced today that it has designated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), al Qaeda’s branch in Mali and West Africa, as a terrorist organization. JNIM and its leader, Iyad Ghali, are openly loyal to al Qaeda and the Taliban’s emir.
AQAP claims Saudi spy network targeted its leaders
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has released a new video that includes the testimony of several “spies” who have allegedly helped the Saudis and Americans hunt down the group’s members. There are reasons to be skeptical of AQAP’s claims, but the organization is clearly concerned that spies will do more damage to its hierarchy.
Official Iran-Syria military agreement highlights symbiotic relationship
Iranian and Syrian officials on 27 August signed a military agreement that highlights their symbiotic relationship.
Taliban announces death of Jalaluddin Haqqani
Jalaluddin fought the Soviets, served as the Minister of Frontiers during the Taliban rule of Afghanistan from 1996-2001, was a member of the Taliban’s Quetta Shura, or governing body, and father of Sirajuddin Haqqani, one of the Taliban’s two deputy emirs and overall military commander.
Shabaab attacks focus on Somali military, African Union forces
Shabaab has managed to launch 418 attacks of different types during the six-month timeframe in support of its persistent and ongoing insurgency against Somalia’s weak central government and allied African Union forces.
US conducts 6 strikes against Al Qaeda in Yemen
The United States has conducted a total of 34 strikes in Yemen in 2018, all of which targeted Al Qaeda barring one strike against the Islamic State in Jan. 2018. However the military is not likely to top last year’s high.
Newly released interrogation files demonstrate Iran’s long game in Iraq
A newly released interrogation report shows that Qayis al-Khazali identified Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani as the two individuals Iran trusted “the most with attempting to implement the Iranian agenda in Iraq.” The pair went from being marginal players shortly after the US-led invasion in 2003 to leading the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, one of most powerful and influential military organizations in Iraq.
Faryab capital under Taliban threat as Afghan troops desert bases
Afghan military officers said there are no problems in Faryab and that the abandonment of the bases was all part of plan.
Analysis: Losing a War
The Trump administration is desperately trying to negotiate with the Taliban’s senior leadership. The Obama administration did as well, with the effort ending in a diplomatic fiasco.
Hezbollah commemorates last year’s joint operation with Lebanese, Syrian militaries
Despite official Lebanese claims to the contrary, the photos recently released by Hezbollah offer more evidence of how its forces coordinated with the Lebanese military in last year’s battle near Arsal.
France kills top Islamic State in the Greater Sahara commander in northern Mali
In a military operation yesterday, the French reportedly killed a top Tuareg commander for the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara in Mali’s northern Menaka region.
Analysis: US terror designations target Islamic State’s Southeast Asian network
On Aug. 24, the US Treasury Department designated three Islamic State recruiters as terrorists. The trio appeared in a June 2016 beheading video that was used to recruit fighters from Southeast Asia. The new designation is the latest in a series of moves taken by the US government to target the Islamic State’s global network with financial sanctions and other measures.