The commander, who went by the alias Abu “Khalid,” or Shahid Showkat, was highly sought by Indian security forces for his role in orchestrating attacks targeting Indian military positions and personnel.
Mattis and Dunford placed all of the blame for Pakistan’s support of terrorist groups on the ISI, and essentially absolved Pakistan’s government and the military of any responsibility for incubating and supporting regional and global jihadist organizations.
“The brave and Mujahid nation of Afghanistan rejects disbelief, apostasy, democracy, and slavery!” said one fighter interviewed in the Taliban’s latest propaganda video.
“Last half century proves that this land was and will be the land of Islam and Jihad.”
Pakistan’s denial of harboring terrorist groups that conduct attacks outside of its borders falls flat on its face when looking at Lashkar-e-Taiba, which not only supports al Qaeda and the Taliban, but has executed numerous attacks inside of Pakistan’s neighbor and enemy, India, as well as in Afghanistan.
The Pakistan military recoiled after Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense called on Pakistan to launched operations against “terrorist centers” throughout the country, including in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Quetta.
While denouncing the designation of Syed Salahuddin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that “Pakistan has a demonstrated and longstanding commitment of combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
As the Taliban has had military success against Afghan security forces throughout the country, it released footage from seven of its camps. The Taliban said that jihad is a “divine obligation” for all Muslims.
Bill Roggio testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade on terrorist groups in Afghanistan and the threat posed to the United States and its allies.
The Pakistani Taliban confirmed today that Qari Muhammad Yasin, a senior al Qaeda military commander, was killed along with three of his “companions” in a US drone strike on Mar. 19. The airstrike was carried out in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. Yasin was a member of the Punjabi Taliban, which includes jihadists from various other Pakistani terrorist organizations who are aligned with al Qaeda.
The death of Qari Muhammad Yasin, an experienced Pakistani jihadist, has not been confirmed by the US or jihadists operating in the region. He was targeted in an area of Afghanistan known to serve as an al Qaeda safe haven.
One of the training facilities is in a contested district in Faryab province. The Taliban has publicized 12 camps since late 2014.
While promoting its Al Farouq Training Camp, a speaker said that Taliban’s ultimate goal is the establishment of a global Islamic state.
Mawlana Salimullah Khan was also the president of Pakistan’s largest confederation of Deobani seminaries and schools. His son and grandson were deported from the United States for immigration violations after the FBI linked them to an al Qaeda plot in California.
The Taliban said 100 mujahideen have graduated from its Khalid bin Walid Camp and 50 more from its branch, the Abu Dujana Camp. The Taliban claimed that the Khalid bin Walid Camp has 12 branches throughout Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s “Real Men” video contradicts many of its public statements where the group claims it only seeks to liberate Afghanistan from occupation. Instead, it makes it clear that the Taliban views itself as a defender of Islam and part of the global jihad.
Bill Roggio testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, as well as the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. The hearing is titled, “Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight Against Terrorism?”
The camp is named after the second Muslim caliph who was a companion to the Prophet Muhammad and who expanded the caliphate in the seventh century.
Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed emir, has been placed under house arrest and in protective custody at least three other times in the past.
“People such as these you do not hear a sound from them, they work in silence and leave in silence,” a prominent jihadist said of Sufyan al Maghribi, al Qaeda’s former military emir for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Maghribi was also a frequent contributor to Vanguards of Khorasan, al Qaeda’s magazine, under the nom de guerre Abu Isam al Andalusi.
The US military’s raid on two large al Qaeda camps in the Shorabak district of the Kandahar province highlights al Qaeda’s significant footprint in Afghanistan more than 14 years after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Jihadist groups in Afghanistan continue to operate training camps despite the presence of coalition troops.
The “Training Camp Shaheed Ustaz Aasim in the Lions Den” is said to be in the Zurmat district in the eastern Afghan province. The district is a known bastion of the Haqqani Network and has hosted al Qaeda fighters in the past.
The Taliban and allied groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, al Qaeda, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, and Lashkar-e-Taiba are known to have run dozens of camps inside Afghanistan even as the Coalition was present.
One al Qaeda commander, Abu ‘Uthman, was a bit too close to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar for Osama bin Laden’s liking. Abu ‘Uthman was denied a seat on al Qaeda’s elite shura council because of his flaws, including his lack of proper respect for Mullah Omar.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs objected to a DoD report that notes the country remains a sanctuary for jihadist groups, some which are used as “proxy forces” against India and Afghanistan. But the report was soft on Pakistan.
Abu Bara al Kuwaiti is a member of al Qaeda’s General Command and was mentored by Atiyah Allah. The US killed Abu Bara in Nangarhar province, yet another indicator that al Qaeda is not confined to Kunar and Nuristan.
Sheikh Imran Ali Siddiqi, a senior official in al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), was killed in a US drone strike earlier this month. After 9/11, Imran founded Harkat-ul-Mujahideen al-Almi (HUMA), an al Qaeda-linked group thought to be responsible for an attack on the US Consulate in Karachi and other Western interests.
In the biggest day yet in the air campaign against the Islamic State, the US and the UK jointly launched 24 strikes against the group in Iraq and Syria, bringing the totals so far to 233 in Iraq and at least 62 in Syria. The US signed an agreement with the new Afghan government to […]
Influential jihadists said that Sufyan al Maghribi, a Moroccan who served as al Qaeda’s military chief in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Umar al Talib, a propagandist who narrated videos for As Sahab, have been killed in airstrikes.
The pair of al Qaeda commanders are said to be members of the Badr Mansoor Group, which was described in one of Osama bin Laden’s documents as an al Qaeda “company.”