AQAP has taken control of Azzan, a town in Yemen’s southeastern Shabwa province. The jihadists have captured significant territory in southern Yemen since early 2015. AQAP’s front group, Ansar al Sharia, has launched a new social media campaign to promote its governance efforts, implementation of sharia law and provision of services in the areas under the jihadists’ control.
More than three years after the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, Ansar al Sharia tells its followers to learn from the teachings of slain al Qaeda ideologues. The group’s radio station regularly broadcasts lectures by al Qaeda leaders who have been killed in US airstrikes.
Abu Dujana al Basha is a son-in-law and trusted aide to Ayman al Zawahiri and is known as the “hidden commander” for his organization behind the scenes, including the establishment of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. Al Qaeda has not officially confirmed Basha’s death.
The head of the Al Nusrah Front, Abu Muhammad al Julani, proposed a merger with several other jihadist groups in Syria earlier this month. According to an al Qaeda member who has a popular Twitter feed, the plan fell through when some Ahrar al Sham leaders pushed for Al Nusrah to publicly disassociate itself from al Qaeda.
Teen-aged boys are shown training at the “Cubs of the Caliphate Camp,” which is likely located in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.
The attack last month comes as tensions between Ansar Dine, a Tuareg al Qaeda group, and several Tuareg separatist groups in northern Mali have escalated.
The video, which was focused on the legality of providing protection and killing the non-believers, features two undated ambushes on Kenyan security forces. Additionally, the video also calls for attacks on Israelis.
The Taliban’s actions do not match its words, as it continues to shelter, support, and encourage al Qaeda.
The Islamic State has released a new video (titled “Kill Them Wherever You Find Them”) featuring the terrorist team responsible for the Nov. 13, 2015 coordinated attacks in Paris. Some of the jihadists address the camera before or after committing grisly executions that were broadcast in previous videos.
In the past, the Taliban has adeptly manipulated the West’s desire for peace negotiations to extract concessions at little to no cost.
In a video released earlier this month, an Islamic State defector known as Antar al Kindi claims to expose the group’s “lies.” Al Kindi apologizes to Ayman al Zawahiri and other al Qaeda leaders. The video is part of an ongoing propaganda battle between the Islamic State and al Qaeda.
The League of the Righteous, which has threatened Americans in Iraq and also carried out several kidnappings, is the prime suspect. The Shiite militia has denied any involvement in the abduction of the three Americans.
Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah, an Egyptian held at Guantanamo since 2002, has been transferred to the Government of Bosnia. Despite compiling a lengthy dossier as an expert bomb maker on behalf of al Qaeda, US officials recommended that he be transferred. Al Sawah became a prolific source on al Qaeda and other detainees during his time in custody, and Joint Task Force – Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) concluded that his fellow jihadists may seek retribution if he tried to rejoin their ranks.
The 13th edition of the Islamic State’s Dabiq magazine is filled with anti-al Qaeda and anti-Taliban arguments. Previous editions of Dabiq included similar attempts to undermine al Qaeda’s and the Taliban’s jihadist credentials.
The attack was claimed by Khalifa Umar Mansour, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan’s leader for Peshawar and Darra Adam Khel, who is also responsible for attacking a military school in Peshawar in 2014 and an airbase near the same city in 2015.
An American citizen, Amin al Baroudi, pleaded guilty to violating US sanctions by providing “tactical equipment” to Ahrar al Sham, which is allied with al Qaeda’s arm in Syria.
Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed emir, has been placed under house arrest and in protective custody at least three other times in the past.
Despite a French-led counterterrorism mission throughout the Sahara and Sahel, Al Qaeda has been able to retain the ability to launch attacks in Mali and increasingly in neighboring countries.
Despite being pushed out of several of its urban and rural strongholds, the Al Qaeda branch continues to prove its potency in the capture of the African Union base.
Indonesian police have linked the attack to a jihadist based in Syria. Two jihadists factions in Indonesia, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid and Mujahidin Indonesian Timur, have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.
Al Qaeda has released two audio messages and a written statement from Ayman al Zawahiri in the past day. Two of the messages contain condemnations of Saudi Arabia. The third focuses on Southeast Asia.
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan said that a “Special Unit” from the Mujahideen Special Group “successfully targeted” and killed Pakistani security forces guarding the vaccination center. The Taliban has targeted the anti-polio drive in the past, accusing it of being a vehicle of Western intelligence services.
The Islamic State’s Wilayat Khorasan says that three jihadists attacked the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan earlier today. At least two of them detonated suicide belts.
The Department of Justice announced today that an American named Maalik Alim Jones has been charged with supporting Shabaab, al Qaeda’s regional branch in East Africa. Jones was allegedly a member of Shabaab’s Jaysh Ayman unit, which is responsible for launching attacks against Kenyan forces.
On at least three separate occasions in the past, US officials, including President Obama’s own Guantanamo Review Task Force, recommended that Fayez al Kandari remain in US custody. Kandari also lost his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Joint Task Force – Guantanamo deemed him a “high risk” to the US, its interests and allies.
Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, a member of al Qaeda’s paramilitary force in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was involved in a double suicide attack in Khost, Afghanistan in 2009.
Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration said in a statement that it has accepted two Guantanamo detainees who “have been cleared of any involvement in terrorist activities, and are being released.” But that is not true. Neither one of the detainees was “cleared” by President Obama’s Guantanamo Review Task Force. One of the two was previously deemed a “high risk” by Joint Task Force – Guantanamo.
Despite the exchange of threats between Israel and Hezbollah, the latest attack in the Shebaa Farms does not indicate a large-scale confrontation is on the horizon.
The reintroduction of US and British forces in Helmand has not prevented the districts of Nowzad, Musa Qala, and Sangin from falling to the Taliban.
The Islamic State’s Libyan “province” claims to have captured the town of Bin Jawad on the Mediterranean coast. The group also launched attacks on oil facilities in two of Libya’s ports.