After launching an operation to recapture the central Iraqi city of Baiji last week, Iraqi troops and Shiite militias retook the oil refinery, the city center, and several districts. The city has exchanged hands multiple times in the past. The US military continues to provide airstrikes that support the Iranian-backed militias.
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.
The video showing an attack on Nigerian troops in Borno state was released as the jihadist group killed over 30 in suicide attacks in neighboring Chad.
The Turkistan Islamic Party continues to highlight children in jihadist training. It is known to operate training camps for minors in both Syria and in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
Al Qaeda has released the second installment in the “Islamic Spring” series, which features lectures by Ayman al Zawahiri. The al Qaeda leader again calls for jihadist unity in Iraq and Syria. He also encourages young jihadist recruits to follow in the footsteps of successful terrorists.
The photos show Shabaab’s Sheikh Abu Zubayr Battalion again overrunning an African Union base in Somalia.
The video shows an attack on a convoy between Goundam and Timbuktu in northern Mali in July.
The “caliphate’s” men have once again struck a mosque in Sanaa, Yemen. Unlike al Qaeda, the Islamic State deliberately targets Houthi civilians.
Siraj Haqqani’s brother, Abdul Aziz, is a key military commander who directs operations for the Haqqani Network and also is a member of the Kabul Attack Network. He is the 14th Haqqani network leader added to the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists since 2008. All have ties to al Qaeda.
The attack near Fallujah coincided with the release of a video by the Islamic State shows the corpses of more than 30 Iraqi troops in Saqlawiyah in 2014. The jihadist group also seized a number of armored vehicles.
Islamic State forces are pressing an offensive in the central Iraqi city. Iraq’s defense minister claimed that Baiji was liberated just two weeks ago.
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 ambush near Timbuktu is just the latest al Qaeda attack near the city. Additionally, other attacks by jihadists have occurred further south in the country.
Malik Ishaq has been in and out of Pakistani custody over the years, despite the fact that he was the head of one of the most violent jihadist groups in Pakistan and directed numerous terror attacks.
The district of Kohistanat in once-peaceful Sar-i-Pul is the latest to fall to the Taliban. Kohistanat is a known gathering place for Arab, Uzbek, and Pakistani jihadists.
Abu Khalil al Sudani worked with Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri for years. He was a member of al Qaeda’s shura council and directed suicide operations. Osama bin Laden’s files reveal that he was one of al Qaeda’s most trusted leaders. The airstrike that killed Sudani took place in the Bermal district of the Paktia province, where the US operated a base before withdrawing its forces.
Jihadist groups in Syria, including the Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham, have established “Al Muhajirun” as a new front for foreign fighters. The alliance is intended to unite foreign jihadists and serve as a counterbalance to the Islamic State.
A video released by the Taliban shows its fighters in the northern Helmand district of Kajaki operating US-made equipment, including Humvees, overrunning a military base, and parading through the district center.
AQIM has issued a pair of statements backing the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) in Derna against its rivals in the Islamic State. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s men picked a fight with the MSC last month, but have sustained significant losses since then.
In its latest attacks, the Nigerian-based terrorist group Boko Haram targeted Muslims celebrating Ramadan.
The incident in northern Mali comes just days after jihadist attacks in the central and southern portions of the country.
The images released by Shabaab buttress its claims of a high death toll.
The Islamic State’s Sinai “province” launched a massive assault on more than 15 Egyptian security locations earlier today. The coordinated raids involved 3 suicide bombers and dozens of other fighters.
The Islamic State has issued a statement claiming responsibility for yesterday’s massacre in Sousse, Tunisia. The death toll has risen to at least 38 people and Tunisian authorities say the victims were primarily British, German, and French citizens.
The simultaneous offensives follow recent Kurdish gains in Raqqah province, the proclaimed “capital” of the Islamic State.
Three terrorists attacks in France, Kuwait and Tunisia have killed dozens. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on a Shiite mosque in Kuwait.
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.
The Long War Journal has identified 117 training camps run by jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria. Almost half are operated by the Islamic State, while the other half are administered by the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and its allies. Some facilities are no longer operational, while other camps likely exist, but are not publicized by the jihadists.
AQIM denies that Mokhtar Belmokhtar was killed in US airstrikes earlier this month. The jihadists have now released five statements on the matter. Two of the statements deny Belmokhtar has been killed, while the other three imply he is alive. None of them say he is dead.
According to multiple reports, the Islamic State’s province in Derna, Libya has lost ground to its jihadist rivals after fighting broke out last week.