Boko Haram continues deadly suicide attacks, uses children as bombers
Boko Haram is suspected of launching repeated suicide attacks in Nigeria’s northeast while Nigerian forces continue their attempts to dislodge the group.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Islamic State continues to advance in Iraq’s Anbar province
Islamic State fighters overran an Iraqi military position near Amiriyat al Fallujah and seized a large cache of weapons even as a US drone was spotted flying overhead.
Jihadist divisions grow in Nigeria
Divisions between Boko Haram and rival Ansaru have become more pronounced over the past several weeks.
US drone strike in southern Yemen kills 3 AQAP fighters
The strike is the third this year in the province of Shabwa, which known haven for AQAP and its leadership cadre. A previous attack in Shabwa killed Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, one of the jihadist group’s senior ideologues.
Suicide bombings by Islamic State’s ‘province’ rock Libyan town
One of the Islamic State’s so-called “provinces” in Libya has claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks in the Libyan town of Qubba earlier today. The group says the attacks were retaliation for the airstrikes carried out in nearby Derna.
Shabaab suicide assault team strikes in Somali capital
Al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia continues to demonstrate that it can penetrate security at the heavily protected areas in the capital and carry out deadly attacks.
AQIM battalion takes credit for killing 4 Tunisian security officers
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) Uqba bin Nafi Battalion has claimed credit for an attack that killed four members of Tunisia’s National Guard. The group remains loyal to AQIM despite some claims that it had defected to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s Islamic State.
Over 150 killed in Aleppo fighting
Fighting began when regime forces launched an offensive to cut off rebel supply routes and break the siege of two Shiite towns.
Taliban suicide assault team kills 20 Afghan policemen
The Taliban continue to exact a heavy toll on poorly armed and trained policemen, who have been thrust into the front line of Afghanistan’s insurgency.
New jihadist leader in Dagestan denounces Islamic State defectors
A newly released video features Said Arakanskiy, the leader of Vilayat Dagestan. Arakanskiy was appointed to that position late last year after his predecessor defected to the Islamic State.
21 Egyptian Christians executed in Islamic State video
The Islamic State has released a video showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christian workers who were kidnapped in Libya. The lead fighter in the video seeks to intimidate Italy, saying his organization will conquer Rome. The group is also using the beheadings to portray al Qaeda’s leaders as being soft in their pursuit of jihad.
Islamic State ‘province’ in Libya claims capture of town
One of the Islamic State’s so-called provinces in Libya claims to have captured the town of Nawfaliyah. The group has also assaulted several buildings in Sirte, reportedly taking control of the local radio and television stations.
New issue of ‘Dabiq’ features interview with widow of Paris gunman
The Islamic State released the seventh issue of its English-language magazine, Dabiq, this week. This issue includes an interview with Hayat Boumediene, girlfriend of Amedy Coulibaly, the man who killed a policewoman and attacked a kosher market in eastern Paris on January 9. Coulibaly launched the assault two days following the attacks on French satirical […]
Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan suicide assault team attacks Peshawar mosque
Despite the fracturing of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan in 2014, the jihadist group is still capable of plotting, organizing, and executing deadly operations such as today’s assault in Peshawar.
Islamic State takes over large portions of town near key airbase in Anbar
After months of besieging al Baghdadi in Iraq’s Anbar province, the Islamic State was able to take over large swaths of the town. Additionally, at least eight jihadists attacked the Al Asad airbase where US Marines are stationed.
Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan suicide assault team attacks Peshawar mosque
Despite the fracturing of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan in 2014, the jihadist group is still capable of plotting, organizing, and executing deadly operations such as today’s assault in Peshawar.
New Al Nusrah Front video features interview with leader, military gains in Syria
An audio recording of Abu Muhammad al Julani, the emir of the Al Nusrah Front, introduces a newly-released video produced by the group. The video highlights Al Nusrah’s purported military gains and ends with a clip of Ayman al Zawahiri calling for jihadist unity.
AQAP seizes Yemeni military base in Shabwa
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took control of the base and captured several soldiers in Shabwa province as the Shia Houthis tighten their grip on the capital and the US and Britain shutter their embassies.
Ansar al Sharia Libya leader met with Osama bin Laden, followed his ‘methodology’
Before his own death on Jan. 31, Harith al Nadhari, a senior AQAP sharia official, recorded an audio eulogy for the leader of Ansar al Sharia Libya, Mohammed al Zahawi. Nadhari noted that Zahawi had met with Osama bin Laden in the mid-1990s.
US military confirms it killed Islamic State, Shabaab leaders in airstrikes
Mullah Khadim was the Islamic State’s deputy emir for Khorasan province while Yusu Dheeq was the head of Shabaab’s Amniyat. The US continues to rely on airstrikes as the core of its effort to defeat jihadist groups worldwide.
Islamic State al-Khans’aa Brigade publishes manifesto for women
The document, which is broken into three parts and was recently translated by the Quilliam Foundation, is a piece of propaganda claiming to describe life under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s ‘caliphate,’ while also trying to recruit female supporters.
State Department designates German rapper turned Islamic State ‘operative’
The State Department today announced that Denis Cuspert has been added to the US government’s list of specially designated global terrorists.
Rebel coalition in Syria mourns al Qaeda official killed in US airstrike in Yemen
The Ansar al Din Front in Syria has released a statement mourning the death of Harith al Nadhari, a sharia official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was killed in a US drone strike on Jan. 31. The statement is further evidence that Ansar al Din is, at a minimum, closely allied with al Qaeda’s international network.
US kills Islamic State’s deputy emir for ‘Khorasan province’ in airstrike: report
Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim was a senior Taliban leader before joining the Islamic State and being appointed the deputy emir of Khorasan province.
Jihadists mourn slain AQAP sharia official
Jihadists aligned with al Qaeda’s international network mourned the death of Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, a senior AQAP sharia official, shortly after AQAP confirmed that he had been killed in a US drone strike.
Analysis: The Islamic State claims Jordanian airstrikes killed an American hostage
The Islamic State claims that an American hostage was killed during Jordanian airstrikes earlier today. However, the statement could very well be a propaganda ploy, at least in part.
Al Qaeda jihadists celebrate release of anti-Islamic State ideologue
Jordan has reportedly released Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi. The move was celebrated by al Qaeda jihadists on social media, including those belonging to the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.
Influential AQAP ideologue killed in US drone strike
Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, a senior sharia official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in a US drone strike on Jan. 31. Al Qaeda had consistently elevated Nadhari’s media profile, meaning he was considered a key ideologue for the global organization.
Analysis: DIA head warns al Qaeda in Syria may gain ground in 2015
Lieutenant General Vincent R. Stewart, the director of the DIA, testified before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday. Stewart warned that al Qaeda in Syria may gain ground in 2015, the Islamic State remains capable of launching offensive operations despite the coalition’s air campaign, and the Taliban-led insurgency has fought its opposition to a stalemate in Afghanistan.
US drone strike targets Shabaab’s external operations chief
Yusuf Dheeq, the head of Shabaab’s Amniyat, which directs the group’s intelligence and external operations activities, was the target of the strike. His fate is unknown.