The Taliban’s denial of Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan means that one of the two groups are not telling the truth. Either Al Qaeda has crafted an elaborate scheme to pretend it fights in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban, or the Taliban is lying, and Al Qaeda has fought there for decades and remains to this day.
During an online conference last week, CENTCOM commander Gen. McKenzie questioned the Taliban’s commitment to its supposed counterterrorism assurances. He pointed to al Qaeda’s presence in eastern Afghanistan and claimed Ayman al Zawahiri is there. In response, the Taliban falsely claimed that al Qaeda hasn’t been present in Afghanistan since the days of the Islamic Emirate.
The Taliban’s statement should raise deep concerns with U.S. officials about the group’s reliability to be an effective counterterrorism partner against Al Qaeda and other terror groups.
The Taliban’s two deputy emirs and the head of its political office lauded suicide bombers and other “martyrdom seekers” who are working to achieve the goal of the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
According to a new report by a UN monitoring team, the Taliban “regularly consulted with Al Qaeda during negotiations with the United States and offered guarantees that it would honor their historical ties.” The analysis contains numerous allegations of ongoing collusion between the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
According to a new report by the Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, U.S. officials have assessed that the Taliban is “reluctant to publicly break with al Qaeda,” while Pakistan continues to harbor senior Taliban leaders, including the Haqqanis. The report confirms that the Taliban went on the offensive following the Feb. 29 withdrawal agreement with the U.S.
In late April, the Islamic State’s Yemen “province” released a video attacking al-Qaeda’s ideological credentials. The video is the latest piece of propaganda in the Islamic State’s campaign against its jihadist rival.
Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn discuss Hezbollah’s influence in Iraq and the State Department’s decision to offer a $10 million reward for information concerning the group’s main man in the country.
The Islamic State in Syria has drawn on Maldivian jihadists since 2014, now it seems the group’s violence has spread back to the island nation.
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan highlights the often overlooked relationship between the Afghan Taliban, its Pakistani brothers, and al Qaeda, and Pakistan’s complicity in propping up terror networks.
Thabat, an al-Qaeda-affiliated media outfit, has released a series of infographics that are intended to highlight the group’s global reach and resiliency. The images trumpet a large number of purported attacks in Afghanistan, as well as America’s withdrawal from the country.
The Taliban again highlighted the Red Unit, the group’s special operations unit that spearheads its assaults throughout Afghanistan.
EPISODE 162 — Something went boom in Isfahan Is anything more on-brand than seismic geopolitical events co-occurring with Bill’s family vacation? No. Bill is back and leaning on co-host Joe Truzman to help him piece together the events of last week. He doesn’t want it to be “a what-the-hell-happened episode,” so we won’t call it […]
As U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calls for the Taliban to honor a non-existent commitment to “reduce violence,” the Taliban continues to train for war.
The Islamic State’s Khorasan arm claims its terrorist, Abu Khalid al-Hindi, carried out an assault on a Sikh temple in Kabul earlier today. Despite suffering setbacks in eastern Afghanistan, the group has conducted several attacks in the Afghan capital this year.
Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn review the U.S.-Taliban withdrawal agreement and why it isn’t a true peace deal.
Recently, Hezbollah has suffered losses it has not seen in years of fighting in Syria.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claims the Taliban has agreed to “destroy” al-Qaeda as the U.S. withdraws from the country. The text of the withdrawal agreement doesn’t say that and the Trump administration hasn’t explained how the Taliban’s alleged “break” from al-Qaeda will be verified or enforced.
The author is a designated terrorist closely allied with al Qaeda. That’s not mentioned. Neither is al Qaeda.
Iranian-backed militias are taking part in the battle for northwestern Syria.
Taliban fighters are training in the open in a mountainous area that should be easily identified by the U.S. and Afghan militaries.
The White House has confirmed that AQAP’s leader, Qasim al-Rimi, was killed in a counterterrorism operation. Rimi served as a “deputy” to Ayman al-Zawahiri, meaning that he was likely part of al-Qaeda’s global management team.
The kidnapping took place less than three months after the Taliban and the U.S. conducted a prisoner exchange that freed three senior Haqqani Network leaders and two America professors. The Haqqani Network is thought to be behind the latest kidnapping.
The Mahmud Ghaznawi Military Camp. was previously identified by the Taliban as a training center for its “commandos.”
The U.S. military has suppressed a press release announcing the death of Al Qaeda In the Indian Subcontinient’s emir for three months as his presence with the difficult. Asim Umar, his courrier to Ayman al Zawahiri, his staff, and even his wife were embedded with the Taliban in Helmand province when he was killed.
Ali Mohamud Rage, a senior Shabaab official, has released a video concerning the group’s assault on the Manda Bay Airfield earlier this week. Three Americans were killed during the attack, which Rage says was “carried out under the guidance and direction” of Ayman al-Zawahiri.
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.
The video shows TIP’s men with captured Afghan military equipment, as well as recruits undergoing training.
In exchange for two kidnapped U.S. and Australian professors, the Afghan government freed dangerous Taliban and Haqqani Network leaders Haji Malik Khan, Anas Haqqani, and Qari Abdul Rasheed Omari.
Security in the southeastern Afghan province of Zabul continues to deteriorate as the Taliban presses it offensive there.