Iranian media has reported that Russian use of the Hamedan air base (also known as the Nojeh air base) in Western Iran has been halted. According to Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi, “the presence of Russia in Iran was temporary.” “Russia has neither bases in Iran nor is it deployed [there],” Qassemi said. “It […]
The Taliban continue to bring disaffected leaders back into the fold. Anwar ul Haq Mujahid, the commander of the Tora Bora Military Front and the son of an influential Taliban leader who was instrumental in welcoming Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan after al Qaeda was ejected from Sudan in 1996, has sworn allegiance to the Taliban’s new emir.
The Yemeni Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, has recently deployed Zelzal-3, an Iranian-manufactured artillery rocket.
In the second episode of the “Brief Messages to a Victorious Ummah” series, Ayman al Zawahiri blasts the Islamic State for dividing the mujahideen’s ranks. Zawahiri, who is openly loyal to the Taliban’s emir, calls on Muslims to support the Taliban.
The Tuareg jihadist group has recently claimed a spate of attacks, mainly against French forces, across Mali.
Amaq News Agency has released a video purportedly showing the two jihadists responsible for attacking Russian policemen in Balashikha yesterday. The video is consistent with the pattern followed after small-scale attacks in Germany and France in July. In each case, the assailants recorded themselves swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi prior to their assaults.
The US has launched 62 “precision” airstrikes against the Islamic State in Sirte, Libya since Aug. 1, according to data provided by US Africa Command earlier today. The jihadists have lost significant ground, but continue to conduct suicide attacks using vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) inside the city.
Hamza bin Laden, Osama’s son, criticizes Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen in a newly released audio message. Hamza claims that the Saudi campaign has aided Houthi rebels by interfering in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s war against them. He calls on Muslims to overthrow the Saudi government.
Senior Iranian government officials have defended Russia’s use of an air base in Western Iran to launch strikes in Syria, despite concerns within the policy elite. A high-ranking parliamentarian claims that Russia will use the base primarily for refueling.
A leaked Joint Task Force – Guantanamo threat assessment describes Haji Hamidullah, who was recently transferred from Guantanamo to the UAE, as an “agent” of Iran. The Long War Journal first profiled Hamidullah in 2011. The leaked JTF-GTMO file contains numerous intelligence reports tying Iranian intelligence to the Afghan insurgency.
Moscow and Tehran have reportedly struck an agreement permitting the Russian Air Force to use an Iranian military base to conduct airstrikes in Syria.
The Taliban is sustaining offensive operations through Afghanistan as Afghan security forces, backed by US airpower and special forces, continue to struggle with containing the jihadist group.
Amaq News Agency claims the Islamic State still controls four neighborhoods inside Sirte, Libya. Amaq says that special forces from four Western countries (US, UK, France and Italy) are involved in the offensive. The jihadists have lost significant ground in and around the city since May.
The Taliban continue to bring recalcitrant leaders back into the fold. The Dadullah family and commanders from the Mullah Dadullah Front, a jihadist faction with close ties to al Qaeda, rejoined the Taliban and swore allegiance to its emir, Mullah Haibatullah.
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri blasts the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in a newly-released audio message, saying the organization has adopted secular ways.
The US military claimed that Khan’s death and the operation in Nangarhar will hurt the group’s operations in Afghanistan. However the Islamic State’s inability to form alliances with the established jihadist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan has led to its isolation.
The Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militia has shown off a considerable troop deployment to the frontlines of Aleppo just days after Iranian media reported the move.
Qassem Soleimani will play a “major” role in upcoming operations to retake Mosul from the Islamic State, according to the spokesman of the Iraqi Population Mobilization Front.
The “Solid Structure” operations room claims to have seized key locations from the Islamic State inside Sirte, Libya this week. Libyan ground forces are backed by American airstrikes. According to US Africa Command, the US carried out 36 airstrikes between Aug. 1 and Aug. 10.
The presence of an al Qaeda camp in South Waziristan as late as 2013 contradicts claims by the Pakistani military that the tribal agency was secured after launching an offensive against the Movement of the Taliban and allied groups, including al Qaeda, in 2009.
Mullah Baz Mohammad, who served as a deputy to the leader of a rival breakaway faction, and a military commander in Uruzgan reunited with the Taliban and swore allegiance to its emir.
The al Qaeda branch highlights one method of governance in the southern Somali region of Middle Jubba.
A light US footprint in Afghanistan has led to Taliban gains throughout the country. The Taliban has surrounded Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand.
A senior Afghan military officer claimed that his forces killed Hafiz Saeed Khan, the emir for the Islamic State’s Khorasan province, during an ongoing military operation in the eastern province of Nangarhar. However Khan’s death cannot be independently confirmed.
After the jihadist-led Jaish al Fatah and Syrian rebel groups succeeded in breaking the siege of Aleppo, an Iranian media outlet has reported the deployment of elite Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi Harakat al Nujaba to cut the opposition’s artery to the rebel-held eastern side of the city. [Update: IRGC confirms rank of officer announced dead on Monday as Major].
While the competing claims cannot be verified, both groups are capable of executing the mass-casualty suicide attack in Quetta.
More than 20 jihadist, Islamist and other rebel organizations took part in the offensive to break the siege of Aleppo. It was likely one of the largest combined efforts in the history of the Syrian war.
Despite not previously reporting taking hostages during last month’s attack in Nampala, Ansar Dine is now claiming to have captured five Malian soldiers during the large-scale assault.
The Islamic State has named a new wali (governor) for its “province” in West Africa. The move prompted a reply from Abu Bakr Shekau, the longtime leader of Boko Haram who became the wali after announcing his allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi last year. The SITE Intelligence group translated the Islamic State’s announcement and Shekau’s response.
US Africa Command announced today that it carried out nine airstrikes in Sirte, Libya between Aug. 1 and Aug. 3. The bombings are part of “Operation Odyssey Lightning,” which targets the Islamic State’s positions inside the city.