The Islamic State has released a new audio message from its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who claims the group has expanded its “caliphate” into Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar announced that a fighter known as Hanifullah executed the deadly suicide attack on Nov. 2 at the Wagah border crossing.
According to Yemeni officials, the strike targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters as they were preparing to launch an attack in the southern province of Shabwa.
Eight of the 18 US drone strikes in Pakistan since June 11 have occurred in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, which is a known hub for al Qaeda.
In the wake of a new video release by Boko Haram, the jihadist group is suspected of launching a deadly suicide bombing at a school in northeastern Nigeria.
Over the weekend, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed credit for a series of high-profile attacks throughout Yemen, including a failed assassination of the US ambassador, Matthew H. Tueller.
An unidentified jihadist has released an audio recording saying that Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, the most prolific terrorist group in Egypt, has pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdad’s Islamic State.
The small Alpine country has become an extremist hub, where Hamas enjoys support, Iranian intelligence maintains a significant presence, and jihadist groups such as the Islamic State are drawing members and planning attacks.
CENTCOM denied that the five airstrikes on Nov. 5 targeted “the Nusrah Front as a whole” but instead were directed at the Khorasan Group. This is a distinction without difference, as the Khorasan Group is part of the Al Nusrah Front.
Training camps run by the Al Nusrah Front, the Khorasan Group, and a Chechen-led group, Khalifat Jamaat, were identified in Syria. The Long War Journal has identified 42 jihadist training camps in Iraq and Syria.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has tweeted a series of photos purportedly showing the aftermath of the US-led coalition’s airstrikes in Idlib. Prior to today, the coalition had not announced any airstrikes against Al Nusrah since the first day of the bombing campaign in Syria.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula confirmed that Shawki Ali Ahmed al Badani and Nabil al Dhahab were killed in yesterday’s drone strike in central Yemen. Badani was wanted by the US for plotting to attack US embassies.
Usama Mahmood, the spokesman for al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), has released a statement calling on all jihadists to unite against the US-led coalition, which is bombing targets throughout Iraq and Syria.
The US drone strike in central Yemen coincides with an offensive by Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels who are fighting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a recently formed splinter group of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, and Jundallah both claimed credit for the suicide attack in Wagah that killed more than 50 people.
The Al Nusrah Front has forced the leader of the Western-backed Syrian Revolutionaries’ Front, Jamal Maarouf, to flee his base of operations in Idlib.
In a pair of videos released in late October, two leading AQAP ideologues preached jihadist unity in the face of the US-led coalition’s bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria. One of the videos also included thinly-veiled criticisms of the Islamic State’s declared caliphate.
Boko Haram is suspected of bombing a crowded bus station in Gombe in northeastern Nigeria.
The firefights in both Mali and Niger represent a sharp increase in violence since the beginning of this year.
Reports surfaced that an al Qaeda commander known as “Adil” was killed in the eighth recorded drone strike in Pakistan this year.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has captured several towns and villages in the countryside of Idlib. The territory was controlled by the Syrian Revolutionaries Front (SRF), which has been allied with Al Nusrah despite being part of the Free Syrian Army.
French warplanes hit an Islamic State training facility, recruitment center, and IED factory in Hawijah in Salahaddin province on Oct. 23.
The fighting in Benghazi has escalated in recent days after the former Libyan general Khalifa Haftar made a renewed push to rid the city of jihadists. The Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council, however, seems to be pushing back.
The Islamic State has released a propaganda video featuring John Cantlie, a British photojournalist who is being held hostage by the group. Cantlie is made to rebut Western claims about the efficacy of airstrikes in Kobane, a town that sits on the border of Syria and Turkey.
On Oct. 20, AQAP released a biography for Mustafa Ali, an Egyptian who was killed in a US drone strike in late 2013. The group says he sought “knowledge” from Mohammed al Zawahiri, the younger brother of Ayman al Zawahiri, while imprisoned in Egypt.
A popular pro-al Qaeda jihadist ideologue who relocated from Saudi Arabia to Syria last year has criticized the Islamic State’s rivals on his Twitter feed. Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini says that the failures of various jihadist leaders have driven the youth into the Islamic State’s arms.
Jurf al Sakhar in northern Babil and Zumar in northern Ninewa have changed hands several times over the past few months.
The strike took place in Baydah, where al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is battling Shiite Houthi rebels for control of the central province.
More than 30 training camps have been established by the Islamic State, al Qaeda, and allied jihadist groups in both Iraq and Syria since 2012.
Al Qaeda released its new English-language, online magazine “Resurgence” earlier this week. At 117 pages, the magazine covers a number of themes, but it focuses on the Indian Subcontinent more than any other region.