Hazrat, who is also known as Abu Hazefa, was killed in Kunduz, where a number of jihadist groups are fighting Afghan forces. He served as a Taliban military commander and also was a member of al Qaeda.
Earlier this month, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan officially swore allegiance to the Islamic State’s emir, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. On August 20, fighters from the Islamic Jihad Union followed in al Qaeda’s footsteps and pledged loyalty to Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the newly appointed leader of the Taliban.
The Islamic State’s supporters in Libya have added Mokhtar Belmokhtar to their “wanted dead” campaign. The Islamic State’s loyalists have released dozens of online posters targeting their pro-al Qaeda opposition in North Africa. Some of the men have been killed. The campaign was launched as a response to the Islamic State’s losses in Derna, Libya. The poster for Belmokhtar was quickly disavowed by some Islamic State social media accounts.
The White House announced today that Fadhil Ahmad al Hayali (a.k.a. Hajji Mutazz), the deputy leader of the Islamic State, was killed in an airstrike on June 18. US military officials previously reported that he had been killed in December 2014. Al Hayali was one of the most senior leaders in the “caliphate,” and had wide-ranging responsibilities.
The attack near Fallujah coincided with the release of a video by the Islamic State shows the corpses of more than 30 Iraqi troops in Saqlawiyah in 2014. The jihadist group also seized a number of armored vehicles.
The Islamic State’s so-called Sinai “province” has claimed responsibility for a car bombing outside of a Cairo courthouse and an Egyptian national security building earlier today.
In his third media appearance this month,the al Qaeda emir discusses the Battle of Tora Bora and the value of a united jihadist media. The video is the seventh installment in Zawahiri’s “Days with the Imam” series, in which he recounts episodes from Osama bin Laden’s life. The first video in the series was released in November 2011.
New US sanctions on two Qatari citizens expose Doha’s uneven response.
The Islamic State’s supporters in Libya have released dozens of “wanted dead” posters online. The images are part of a campaign targeting the “caliphate’s” jihadist and Islamist opposition in Derna and elsewhere in Libya. If the information in the graphics is accurate, then the Islamic State is offering up valuable intelligence on its pro-al Qaeda adversaries in North Africa.
During the last months of his life, Osama bin Laden worried about the fate of his son, Hamzah. In a newly-released audio message, Hamzah picks up his father’s banner.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar’s spokesman said that the Punjab home minister was killed in “revenge for the martyrdom” of Malik Ishaq, the head of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi who was killed by Pakistani police in late July.
The Taliban’s new emir, Mullah Mansour, has publicly accepted Ayman al Zawahiri’s oath of allegiance. The public acceptance of Zawahiri’s pledge demonstrates that Mansour has no intention of breaking with al Qaeda.
A statement released online today confirms that Mokhtar Belmokhtar is now the emir of Al Murabitoon, which calls itself “Al Qaeda in West Africa.” Another Al Murabitoon emerged in Egypt last month and it is also loyal to al Qaeda.
In an audio message released today, Ayman al Zawahiri pledges allegiance to the new emir of the Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.
Islamic State forces are pressing an offensive in the central Iraqi city. Iraq’s defense minister claimed that Baiji was liberated just two weeks ago.
The US continues to target al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s network in the eastern city of Mukallah. The city fell to AQAP in April.
The Islamic Caucasus Emirate (ICE) has lost its third emir in just over a year and half. Magomed Suleimanov, also known as Abu Usman Gimrinsky, was publicly announced as the group’s leader on July 1. Just over a month later, Russian counterterrorism forces killed him.
The Taliban took control of Now Zad in Helmand province in late July even though Afghan forces were backed by US air support, video from the fighting shows.
The attacks in Kabul and elsewhere over the weekend have caused top Afghan officials to accuse the Pakistani government of continuing to back the Taliban even while hosting peace talks.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, says that it is turning over the territory it controls in the northern Aleppo province to other rebel groups. The move is a response to Turkey’s proposed buffer zone in northern Syria.
Five suspected jihadists were killed in the strike, which took place in the al Qaeda and Taliban haven of Datta Khel.
No group has yet to claim the assault, though attacking hotels frequented by foreigners is a common tactic of jihadists.
The Jaysh al Fateh alliance claims to have captured several villages in the Al Ghab plain in recent days.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb commemorate Mullah Omar’s jihadist career in a joint statement. The al Qaeda branches highlight Omar’s decision to harbor Osama bin Laden, even as the international community demanded that the Taliban turn him over.
The video is just the latest ultimatum given by the Islamic State in which the jihadists threaten to kill a foreign hostage if their demands are not met.
The “Training Camp Shaheed Ustaz Aasim in the Lions Den” is said to be in the Zurmat district in the eastern Afghan province. The district is a known bastion of the Haqqani Network and has hosted al Qaeda fighters in the past.
On August 1, Ahrar al Sham released a statement honoring Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s first leader. The statement is further evidence that Ahrar al Sham is an extremist organization.
The ambush near Timbuktu is just the latest al Qaeda attack near the city. Additionally, other attacks by jihadists have occurred further south in the country.
According to a letter attributed to Mullah Adbul Qayoum Zakir, the former Quantanamo Bay detainee denied reports that he is at odds with new Taliban emir Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has released a statement claiming to have captured US-trained rebels belonging to a group called “Division 30.” The Pentagon denied reports earlier this week that US-backed fighters had been captured by al Qaeda’s jihadists.