The Treasury Department confirmed today that the head of al Qaeda’s Iran-based network, known as Yasin al Suri, is operational once again. Treasury also designated an additional “associate” of al Suri’s.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that 33 Uzbeks and three Germans are among those killed in Pakistani airstrikes in North Waziristan.
The Daily Beast reports that a conference call involving “more than 20 al Qaeda operatives” is what prompted the closing of more than 20 US diplomatic facilities.
Testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, on al Qaeda, the nature of the group’s central command and its relationship with its affiliates, and the future challenges the West faces in battling the terror organization.
Foreign jihadists are being spotted on multiple battlefields throughout Afghanistan, far beyond Kunar and Nuristan.
German Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leaders Yassin and Mounir Chouka and other top IMU figures praised Samir Hatour, who was killed by the US in a strike in North Waziristan in March 2012.
A French-Spanish counterterrorism operation in France resulted in the arrest of three Chechens linked to Dagestani terrorist Eldar Magomedov, who has ties to both al Qaeda and the Islamic Jihad Union. Analysts have pointed out the rise of North Caucasus Islamist militant networks and a growing nexus between North Caucasus criminal groups and European jihadists.
Maulvi Abbas Wazir, a commander in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan in the Wana area, was killed in a blast at his office yesterday. The attack is thought to be linked to an assassination attempt against Mullah Nazir late last month.
Special operations forces killed an al Qaeda leader in Kunar and captured an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator in Kunduz.
Moezeddine Garsallaoui, a Swiss citizen, led the al Qaeda-linked group, and trained Mohamed Merah, the Toulouse shooter who killed seven people. He appears to have been killed in a drone strike.
Since the end of May, special operations forces have conducted at least 21 raids against al Qaeda’s network in Afghanistan.
Abdul Rauf and two other “insurgents” were killed in an airstrike in in the Marawarah district on Sept. 23. Rauf moved “foreign fighters” and built IEDs.
Abu Kasha al Iraqi and Fateh al Turki are rumored to have been killed in the Sept. 24 strike in Mir Ali. The report has not been confirmed.
Asadullah is the second Afghan member of al Qaeda killed in the past week. He organized and directed attacks, and was behind the Aug. 8 suicide attack in Asadabad that killed three US soldiers and a USAID employee.
Taqwa, an Afghan national, directed attacks and funneled IEDs and weapons to insurgents in Paktika province. ISAF has conducted at least 19 raids against al Qaeda’s network in Afghanistan since the end of May.
A commander who helped “foreign insurgents” move throughout the province was captured. Another leader who was targeted serves as “the senior liaison between multiple insurgent groups operating in central and eastern Afghanistan.”
Abu Saif, a Pakistani national, served as a cross-border facilitator and a conduit between senior al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and was involved in media operations. Two other Pakistanis and a Saudi were also killed.
Abu Walid, also known as Amru Mastur al Ghamrawi, was one of two al Qaeda leaders who were killed in an airstrike in the Watahpur district in Kunar on Aug 3. ISAF launched two airstrikes in Watahpur on Aug. 3.
A Turkish jihadist site eulogized seven Turkish fighters previously killed in Afghanistan, in a video released on Aug. 15 by the Fursan Muhammad Information Group.
Mutaqi passed “critical information between the senior al Qaeda associated Taliban leaders in Kunar province” and plotted suicide attacks in the region. The commander in Ghazni helped al Qaeda fighters travel throughout the region.
ISAF said the al Qaeda-associated insurgent “coordinates the movement of al Qaeda terrorists throughout the region.”
The al Qaeda facilitator, who was based in Takhar province, “served as a financier and liaison between al Qaeda leaders,” according to ISAF.
Filiz Gelowicz, the wife of convicted German terrorist Fritz Gelowicz, was released early from prison. In March 2011, she had been given a two and a half year sentence for supporting the German Taliban Mujahideen and the Islamic Jihad Union.
A court sentenced Hussain S., a Syrian-born German resident, to five years in prison for publishing jihadist propaganda online. A key German-language propagandist for Islamic extremist groups, he promoted the efforts of al Qaeda, the Islamic Jihad Union, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, among others.
Aslanov Zaur, an Azeri national and al Qaeda commander, was killed during Pakistani airstrikes in Kurram last week. He likely entered Pakistan with the aid of al Qaeda’s support network in Iran.
NATO is in disarray after the US announced it would end its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2013, one year early. Security forces captured a dual-hatted Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander in Helmand. The Islamic Jihad Union said it works closely with local Taliban forces.
The al Qaeda facilitator “coordinated insurgent activity throughout the area and provided reports to senior al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan,” ISAF stated. He is the first al Qaeda operative reported as killed or captured in Afghanistan in two months.
The terror group said “a solder in our brigade” killed six people, including four security personnel, in Taraz on Nov. 12.
The Taliban again called for the release of ‘Lady al Qaeda’ Aafia Siddiqui. The hostages may be managed by Moezeddine Garsallaoui, a Swiss citizen who is a senior al Qaeda leader in North Waziristan.
Security forces arrested 10 Islamic Jihad Union operatives who were plotting to carry out attacks during the upcoming presidential election. Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Uighurs are among those detained.