The Vatican reported last week that the priest was captured by fighters “linked” to the Al Nusrah Front for the People in the Levant, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. A graphic video of his beheading has been published on the Internet.
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Al Qaeda’s affiliate carried out a suicide assault with the help of the Nasser Salahuddin Brigade, and conventional attacks with the help of Dera’ al Assima, Liwa al Habib al Mustafa, and Liwa’ al-Tawhid brigades, three Free Syrian Army units in Damascus.
Today’s suicide attack is the third in the Syrian capital this month. It is unclear if the bomber targeted Christians or a pro-Assad militia.
A fighter from the al Qaeda-linked group shot down a Syrian military helicopter with what appears to be an SAM-7. The cameraman who shot the footage may be a Westerner.
The al Qaeda-linked group launched two suicide assaults against Minnigh airport. In one of the attacks, the Muhajireen Army said that most of the 15 fighters who were killed were “from the Caucasus and Azerbaijan.”
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An audio message attributed to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the emir of al Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq, was released online on June 14. In the message, al Baghdadi openly disobeys al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri.
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Al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front has released four new messages, the first such productions in two months. The Al Nusrah Front and Islamic State of Iraq suspended their propaganda operations after a dispute erupted in early April. Ayman al Zawahiri ruled on the dispute in a letter and their propaganda operations have now been restarted.
President Obama’s deputy national security adviser said that the US will provide military and other aid to the Supreme Military Council and the Syrian Opposition Coalition, despite that fact that these groups have supported the Al Nusrah Front in the past.
Two suicide bombers detonated explosives at a police station in the Syrian capital.
Al Jazeera has published a letter purportedly written by Ayman al Zawahiri to al Qaeda’s franchises in Iraq and Syria. Two US intelligence officials say the letter is genuine. In the letter, Zawahiri rules on a dispute between the two al Qaeda branches and appoints a new representative in the region.
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And Ayman al Zawahiri calls for Muslims to “deploy to the Levant.”
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The State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 summarizes Iran’s extensive support for terrorists, including al Qaeda and Taliban members. The State Department also recognized Iran’s support for Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Al Nusrah Front members captured in Turkey with sarin gas were allegedly planning bomb attacks against the Incirlik Air Base in Adana and in Gaziantep, a city near Turkey’s border with Syria.
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Under the black flag of al-Qaeda, the Syrian city ruled by gangs of extremists