Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani became “complacent” while traveling to and from Iraq, and did not believe the U.S. would target him, U.S. military officials told FDD’s Long War Journal. The military was able to reliably track his movements at times.
This is the second time that several Iranian-backed militias in Bahrain have voiced their support of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades after U.S. airstrikes on the group.
Following a deadly rocket attack on a U.S. base in Iraq and subsequent U.S. airstrikes in response, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades threatens to further retaliate by continuing to target U.S. troops.
The decades of mistakes and deceit has led us to the brink of a major foreign policy failure. A peace deal will absolve the Taliban for its decades of steadfast alliance with al Qaeda.
Abdul Reza Shahlai is one of Qods Forces’ most dangerous commanders.
After a long-hiatus, the al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades announces its dissolution inside Syria.
Yesterday’s tweets were the first sign of life for the group in over four years.
The Islamic State’s latest spokesman, a jihadist known as Abu Hamza al-Qurayshi, released a statement yesterday confirming Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death in an American raid and naming a new emir for the group. Baghdadi’s successor is a figure known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi.
Eleven Taliban leaders have been reportedly exchanged for three kidnapped Indian engineers. One of the newly-freed Taliban commanders is Abdul Rashid Baluch. The US designated Baluch as a terrorist in 2015, reporting that he “served as a Taliban liaison officer to al Qaeda (AQ) and was responsible for planning meetings between Taliban senior leadership” and al Qaeda “members in Karachi, Pakistan.”
On Sept. 14, President Trump released a statement saying Hamza bin Laden was killed in an American “counterterrorism operation.” However, key questions concerning Hamza’s life and death remain unanswered.
The confirmed drone strike campaign so far from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen represents another worrying development in the region.
On the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 hijackings, Ayman al-Zawahiri defends the attack. He claims in a new video that all of the Islamic scholars’ arguments against the hijackings have been “refuted.” The video also features various al-Qaeda leaders from around the globe.
At least six districts have been taken over by the Taliban, while the Afghan military said it gained control of three. The Taliban has said it would “continue [its] Jihad” after President Donald Trump torpedoed a peace deal with the group.
U.S. Central Command says an airstrike targeted al Qaeda in Syria (AQ-S) “leadership at a facility north of Idlib, Syria” earlier today. Jihadis on social media say the facility belonged to Ansar al-Tawhid, which is one of several al Qaeda-affiliated groups in Syria.
Abu Khallad al-Muhandis, an al Qaeda veteran, was reportedly killed in a mysterious explosion in Idlib, Syria earlier today. Muhandis’s jihadi career covered Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. He was also detained inside Iran for a time.
The confirmed drone strikes near the Saudi borders with the UAE is a worrying development in the conflict.
Since 2015, the Houthi insurgency in Yemen has claimed dozens of attacks on ships in the Red Sea. FDD’s Long War Journal has mapped these strikes.
Al Qaeda Telegram channels have shared a statement attributed to Saif al-Adel. He writes that the jihadis modify their military program to take into account Turkey’s influence.
Houthi sources stated Ibrahim al Houthi was killed by the Saudi-led coalition, while Saudi sources state he was killed by a rival faction.
Beginning last year, the Houthis have launched dozens of drone strikes inside Saudi Arabia and Yemen. FDD’s Long War Journal has mapped these strikes.
Since 2015, the Houthi insurgents in Yemen have launched a myriad of ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and at various sites across Yemen. FDD’s Long War Journal has mapped these missile launches.
Since July 2018, the UN Security Council has published at least four reports documenting al Qaeda’s close and longstanding relationship with the Taliban.
According to a recently released report submitted to the UN Security Council, the Islamic State’s central leadership replaced the group’s head in Afghanistan earlier this year. The leadership change reportedly occurred after an Islamic State “core delegation” visited the country.
Two Iranian-backed groups in Bahrain have threatened to launch new attacks on the island if Bahrain goes through with the expected executions of two citizens accused of terrorism.
The Houthi’s fundraising campaign ended earlier this week. Today, the Houthi-ran Sam FM radio station reported that the group raised over $100,000 for Lebanese Hezbollah.
The State Department’s latest terrorist designations include a Hizballah operative who serves as the “Chief of Hizballah Unit 200” and the Balochistan Liberation Army, which targets Pakistani forces and civilians. State also amended its previous designation of Jundallah, which targets Iranian forces, to include Jaysh al-Adl as an alias for the group.
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan is the latest province of the so-called caliphate to release a video as part of the “And the Best Outcome is for the Righteous” series. Fighters in Afghanistan, India, Iran, Kashmir, and Pakistan are shown renewing their oaths of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. One speaker blasts the Taliban, encouraging its fighters to defect.
Houthis continue to target Saudi facilities with cruise missiles and suicide drones. These strikes come during increased tensions between the United States and Iran.
US troops in Iraq have been targeted three times in mortars and katyusha rocket strikes since last weekend. Shia militias that are supported by Iran are suspected of carrying out the attacks, which take place as tensions between the US and Iran increase.
The Houthi insurgents claimed hitting a southern Saudi airport with a cruise missile, as well as drone strikes.