In late May, the Islamic State’s so-called “Khorasan province” released a video threatening the Taliban. Multiple press reports say the two sides have repeatedly fought one another since the beginning of the year. Still, the Islamic State’s presence in the region is likely much smaller than the network operated by the Taliban, al Qaeda, and their allies.
A newly-released file recovered in Osama bin Laden’s compound shows that the Taliban offered its condolences on the death of a senior al Qaeda leader in May 2010. Other documents reveal that Mullah Omar’s representative corresponded with bin Laden’s chief lieutenant even as he negotiated with the State Department.
Earlier today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a set of files recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound. These are but a fraction of the files that should be released to the public.
The attack, which took place the Shawal Valley, a terrorist haven, is just the sixth recorded inside Pakistan this year. The US launched 117 drone strikes in Pakistan at the peak of the campaign in 2010.
The Taliban claimed credit for today’s attack and said it was carried out by a single fighter. The jihadist group denounced the hotel for promoting “lasciviousness and indecency.”
A Taliban video shows its fighters inside military bases; seized Humvees, weapons and ammunition; and Afghan security personnel who were captured during the jihadist group’s weeklong offensive in Kunduz.
Taliban gains pull US units back into fight in Afghanistan
The camp is named after Ustad Yasir, a senior Taliban commander who was killed in an internal purge in 2012. The camp’s name is further evidence that the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province is comprised of marginalized Taliban commanders.
Thousands of Taliban fighters are said to have attacked multiple districts in the northern province of Kunduz. The chief of the provincial council claimed that the Taliban control two-thirds of Kunduz.
While the Taliban admitted its fighters beheaded Afghan troops, it placed the blame on the soldiers. According to the jihadist group’s ‘rules of engagement,’ the fighters should have shot, and not beheaded.
The statement highlights the close working relationship between al Qaeda and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, and al Qaeda’s influence over the fellow jihadist group.
Al Qaeda announced the death of sharia official Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish, who was killed in a drone strikein eastern Yemen. Rubaish is a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay who also served as an operational planner for the jihadist group.
Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent confirmed that deputy emir Ustad Ahmad Farooq and shura member Qari ‘Imran were killed in separate strikes in January. Farooq was identified in Osama bin Laden’s documents as an up and coming al Qaeda leader.
A Taliban suicide bomber killed four Afghan civilians in an attack on a US military convoy in Jalalabad. The Taliban killed 12 civilians in an IED attack in Ghazni. A Taliban suicide assault team killed 10 people in an attack on a court in Mazar-i-Sharif.
The video focuses on ambushes and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in the provinces of Kunar, Laghman, Wardak, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, and Ghazni.
The attack in Jalalabad, which occurred at the government center, is the second insider or green-on-blue attack reported in Afghanistan this year.
The so-called “charitable organization,” which is based in Pakistan and Afghanistan, funds al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Taliban. Sheikh Aminullah, a dual-hatted al Qaeda and Taliban leader who runs a “terrorist training center” in Pakistan, has been funded by Al Furqan.
“Mullah Mohammad Umar ‘Mujahid’ is still the leader in the present hierarchy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” the Taliban stated in a hagiography of its emir.
Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ukraine Among World's Most Dangerous Countries
$45 Billion in Tax Dollars Goes Missing in Afghanistan
Clashes with Taliban halt supply of power in south Afghanistan
Suicide bombing kills 7 in Kabul
Afghanistan and Pakistan: The false promise of rapprochement
Fearing Islamic State, Afghan Shias seek help from Taliban
Afghan intelligence agency says it foiled attempt to kill vice-president
The Islamic State praised Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay and senior Taliban commander, and vowed to avenge his death.
US to keep more troops in Afghanistan than planned: officials
CIA funds found their way into Qaeda coffers
Officials say bombings across Afghanistan kill at least 13
Detainee traded for Bergdahl may have contacted Taliban: officials