The small North Caucasian group does not play a significant role in the fighting, however, its inclusion is still important as it provides extra manpower to al Qaeda and its other allies against the regime and Kurdish forces.
Iranian-backed Shia militias in Iraq continue to showcase both the ownership and usage of US-made vehicles and equipment.
In a letter written sometime in 2010 to al Qaeda’s leadership, AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi detailed the areas in Yemen where the group had significant influence. AQAP took control of many of these areas in a 2011 offensive.
A former Guantanamo detainee named Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed was arrested on Feb. 23 in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, for allegedly running a jihadist recruiting cell for the Islamic State. Spanish authorities also claim that he and others were willing to carry out a terrorist attack on Spanish soil. According to a leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo threat assessment, Ahmed traveled through Iran to Afghanistan to receive training in al Qaeda’s camps in 2001.
All of the entities targeted by Saudi Arabia also stand accused by the U.S. of bolstering Hezbollah’s military influence, including in areas that could be used against Saudi Arabia or Saudi proxies in places such as Syria or Yemen.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps mourns commandos from the “Saberin” killed in Syria. The Saberin is a unit modeled after Western special forces.
Several rebel groups in Syria’s Aleppo province have united under the leadership of Hashem al Sheikh, who was the emir of Ahrar al Sham from September 2014 to September 2015. The alliance doesn’t include Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, but its constituents will almost certainly continue to cooperate with al Qaeda’s men.
According to a statement published online, twelve senior figures in Jund al Aqsa have joined Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria. Jund al Aqsa has suffered from internal disputes for months and these disagreements likely led to the leaders’ announcement. Despite operating somewhat independently from Al Nusrah, the group has long been a front for senior al Qaeda operatives.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a two-part lecture by ex-Guantanamo detainee Ibrahim al Qosi earlier this month. Qosi threatened the Saudi government and explained al Qaeda’s rationale for waging jihad in Arabia. Qosi has starred in several AQAP productions since the group revealed his leadership role in early December.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has invested significant resources to prop up Bashar al Assad’s regime. Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, who oversees all of the Shiite militias active in Syria, is directing operations in the battle of Aleppo.
A crucial battle in Syria’s Aleppo province pits Bashar al Assad’s regime and its allies against jihadists, Islamists, and other rebel factions.
Israeli security forces announced last week their dismantling of a five-man terror cell from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, jihadists who were recruited by Hezbollah’s secretive Unit 133. The men were instructed to gather intelligence information on Israel Defense Forces (IDF) training facilities for attacks and prepare a bomb for use in a suicide operation against […]
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.
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 Islamic State’s so-called Khorasan “province” has set up a radio station to broadcast propaganda in Afghanistan. Officials have tried to jam its signal, but the station is also disseminating its content online via multiple platforms.
This month, the Popular Mobilization Force began harassing Christians in Baghdad by suggesting women wear the hijab, or veil, and instructing the minority not to celebrate Christmas.
In a new speech, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi claims that all Muslims are confronted by an alliance that includes much of the rest of the world. And he says the Islamic State is “the spearhead in the conflict between the camp of belief and the camp of non-belief,” meaning all Muslims should rally to its cause.
The loss of Ramadi is a major blow to the Islamic State, which seized the provincial capital and raised its flag over the government center on May 15 after launching a coordinated assault on Iraqi units stationed in the city.
In a lecture posted online, AQAP leader Qasim al Raymi explains why America is the jihadists’ “real” and “primary” enemy.
Israel carried out the assassination of Samir Quntar, a man who had become a symbol in Hezbollah for killing Israelis and was acting as one of its commanders in Syria.
The role of terrorist-backed media has emerged as an area of concern not only in the West but across the Middle East as an increasing number of individuals are incited to violence by these outlets. Saudi Arabia is the latest country to shut down Al-Manar.
Al Qaeda’s official branch in Yemen took control of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, and Jaar. The two towns were previously under al Qaeda control between May 2011 and the summer of 2012.
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s official branch in Somalia and East Africa, continues to be a capable insurgent and terrorist group in the region.
The Jaysh al Fateh coalition, which is led by jihadist groups, has launched a counteroffensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime and its allies in the southern part of the Aleppo province. Leading member groups in the alliance, including Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham, claim to have captured several towns and villages.
Iranian-backed Shia militias are fighting for Assad in Aleppo as regime forces, backed by Hezbollah and Russian airstrikes, try to push back jihadists and rebels in the northern province.
Russian officials say an improvised explosive device with a “capacity of up to 1 kg [2.2. pounds] of TNT” brought down an airliner in the Sinai on Oct. 31. Between the apparent Sinai jet bombing and the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, the Islamic State has killed more than 350 civilians in high-profile terrorist operations since the end of October.
Harakat al Nujaba leader Akram al Kaabi met with Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Qods Force, in Aleppo, Syria, according to the Iraqi Shiite militia.
The photos mark one of the first times a Humvee has been captured by a jihadist group in Syria, and indicate that Iraqi militias have transported US-made military hardware from Iraq to Syria.