The Afghan Taliban claimed it overran the district center of Ghoryan in the western province of Herat. Afghan forces later retook the district. Thirteen districts have fallen to the jihadist group in the past several weeks.
Torek Agha is “a long-standing Taliban member [who] has been central to spearheading brutal military attacks and raising millions of dollars to support the Taliban’s ruthless acts of terrorism,” Treasury stated.
The jihadist group continues to fight for control of the northwestern Afghan province of Faryab, where two other districts fell to the Taliban over the past 10 days.
The Department of Defense confirmed that the senior al Qaeda strategist, who was dispatched years ago by al Qaeda from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region to Syria, was killed in an airstrike on Oct. 15. Nasr’s death is a blow to al Qaeda.
A New York Times map, based on data provided by The Long War Journal, shows the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. President Obama’s decision to keep 5,500 troop in country past 2017 will not be enough to turn the tide.
Jalaluddin, the former mufti for Khorasan Province, rose thought the jihadist ranks in the Afghan-Pakistan region and was mentored by Sheikh Aminullah, an influential Taliban leader and al Qaeda facilitator, before defecting to the Islamic State. He taught at the Ganj Madrassa, which is listed by the US as a terrorist facility.
The district of Bala Buluk fell to the jihadist group after more than a week of fighting. The fate of dozens of policemen who were surrounded for days is unknown.
The Taliban admitted earlier today that its forces have withdrawn from the center of Kunduz city. The group still controls all of the surrounding districts, however, meaning the city center is still under threat. While the Taliban portrayed its decision to withdraw as being somewhat altruistic, Amnesty International has accused the group of committing various crimes during its multi-day siege.
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 Taliban control or contest a belt of districts in the south spanning from Farah to Helmand, Uruzgan, and now Kandahar, and may use this to threaten Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand, or Kandahar city.
Qari Fasihuddin, the “Jihadi-in charge” of Badakhshan, is the second shadow governor to deny reports that he was killed in a US airstrike since the Taliban took control of Kunduz and several districts in the Afghan north.
Based on an analysis by The Long War Journal, 29 of Afghanistan’s 398 districts are under Taliban control, and another 36 districts are contested. An interactive map details the locations.
Wardoj and Baharak are the latest districst to fall to the Taliban since the provincial capital of Kunduz was overrun on Sept. 28. The Taliban has seized control of 10 districts in five provinces.
If the Taliban’s takeover of Khaki Safid in Farah province is confirmed, the jihadist group has seized five districts in three provinces and the provincial capital of Kunduz in the span of three days.
A senior Afghan military official confirmed that US Special Forces engaged the Taliban outside of Kunduz Airport. Maintaining control of the airport is vital if Afghan security forces hope to regain control of Kunduz city.
The Taliban reports cannot be independently confirmed as media reporting in the Afghan north has focused on Kunduz. But the Taliban has been accurate in its reporting of districts it has taken in the past.
Photos released on Twitter by Taliban fighters and supporters show the jihadist group in control over the northern city. The Taliban raised its white banner over several buildings in Kunduz.
Reports from Afghan officials, residents and Taliban fighters inside Kunduz indicate that Afghan forces have been driven out of the city and the Taliban is in full control.
As the jihadist group mounts offensives in the northern province of Kunduz and the southern province of Helmand, it has also been consolidating its grip on areas in eastern Afghanistan, including within the Haqqani Network stronghold of Paktika.
Jihadist groups in Afghanistan continue to operate training camps despite the presence of coalition troops.
Mullah Manan and Mullah Yacoub’s pledge to Afghan Taliban emir Akhtar Mohammad Mansour closes a major rift that existed after Omar’s death was announced on July 31.
The raid that killed “Khuram,” the al Qaeda leader, took place in the same district in Paktika province where 15 Pakistani Taliban fighters were reported killed last week.
The Taliban freed more than 140 of its fighters and 200 prisoners in a coordinated suicide assault on a jail in the southeastern Afghan province of Ghazni.
Both the Taliban in Pakistan and its ally, al Qaeda, have stepped up their presence in eastern Afghanistan over the past several years.
Al Qaeda’s branches and allies have held or continue to control ground in Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Libya, contrary to the narrative that only the Islamic State seeks to take territory.
Among those who eulogized Mullah Omar in the September 2015 edition of Al Sumud include al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri, former Islamic Caucasus Emirate leader Abu Usman Gimrinsky, al Qaeda-linked cleric Abdullah al Muhaysini, and Specially Designated nationals Hani al Siba’i and Sheikh Hamid bin Abdallah al ‘Ali.
Mullah Mansour Dadullah, who has rejected the appointment of Mullah Mansour to replace Mullah Omar, also said that the Taliban’s leadership is based in Pakistan. He has not expressed a desire to join the Islamic State.
The jihadist group has reacted similarly to the designation of Haqqani Network leaders in the past. Additionally, the Taliban disputed the claim that Abdul Aziz Haqqani is “a senior member of the Haqqani Network,” as State said.
The insider or green-on-blue attack, where a member of the Afghan security forces or a Taliban infiltrator kills Coalition personnel, is the third of its kind recorded this year.
The fall of Musa Qala puts the Taliban in effective control of northern Helmand, and will allow it to threaten the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.