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US airstrike kills 15 Pakistani Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan
Both the Taliban in Pakistan and its ally, al Qaeda, have stepped up their presence in eastern Afghanistan over the past several years.
Both the Taliban in Pakistan and its ally, al Qaeda, have stepped up their presence in eastern Afghanistan over the past several years.
Earlier today, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khorasani denied reports that his group was going to join Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s Islamic State. Khorasani said that these reports are “false” and based on “lies.” There are multiple indications that al Qaeda helped reorganize the current Pakistani Taliban coalition this year.
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.
The latest editions of AQAP’s Inspire and the Islamic State’s Dabiq were published online today. Both English-language magazines praise the 9/11 attacks.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in the Levant, posted a series of images from its successful raid on the Abu Duhour airbase. Al Nusrah and its allies had long fought the Syrian regime for control of the airbase, which is located in the Idlib province of Syria.
In an audio message released today, al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri argues that Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s Islamic State is illegitimate. Zawahiri says Muslims are under no obligation to swear allegiance to Baghdadi, and al Qaeda does not recognize the Islamic State as a “caliphate.” Despite their differences, Zawahiri says that if he were based in Iraq or Syria he would cooperate with the Islamic State in the fight against the West and other common enemies.
Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, claims to have overrun the Abu Duhour airbase in Idlib. Al Nusrah also says that more than 100 of Bashar al Assad’s fighters were killed and an additional 60 or so captured during the fighting.
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 fifth installment of the Taliban’s “Army of Badr” video series highlights the oaths of loyalty sworn by Ayman al Zawahiri and Siraj Haqqani to the Taliban’s new emir, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour. The video is the latest piece of evidence that the jihadist “syndicate” continues to threaten Afghanistan 14 years after the US-led invasion of the country.
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.
In an interview published on the Taliban’s official English-language website, Zabihullah Mujahid admits that Mullah Omar’s family and other senior Taliban officials hid Omar’s death. The text of the interview implies that Omar died in 2013.
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.
Al Qaeda-linked Twitter feeds, including one attributed to a senior al Qaeda leader, are claiming that Idris al Balushi was killed during a counterterrorism raid by Pakistani forces. Balushi is purportedly the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. His death has not been confirmed.
Siraj Haqqani’s brother, Abdul Aziz, is a key military commander who directs operations for the Haqqani Network and also is a member of the Kabul Attack Network. He is the 14th Haqqani network leader added to the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists since 2008. All have ties to al Qaeda.
Hazrat, who is also known as Abu Hazefa, was killed in Kunduz, where a number of jihadist groups are fighting Afghan forces. He served as a Taliban military commander and also was a member of al Qaeda.
Earlier this month, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan officially swore allegiance to the Islamic State’s emir, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. On August 20, fighters from the Islamic Jihad Union followed in al Qaeda’s footsteps and pledged loyalty to Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the newly appointed leader of the Taliban.
The Islamic State’s supporters in Libya have added Mokhtar Belmokhtar to their “wanted dead” campaign. The Islamic State’s loyalists have released dozens of online posters targeting their pro-al Qaeda opposition in North Africa. Some of the men have been killed. The campaign was launched as a response to the Islamic State’s losses in Derna, Libya. The poster for Belmokhtar was quickly disavowed by some Islamic State social media accounts.
In his third media appearance this month,the al Qaeda emir discusses the Battle of Tora Bora and the value of a united jihadist media. The video is the seventh installment in Zawahiri’s “Days with the Imam” series, in which he recounts episodes from Osama bin Laden’s life. The first video in the series was released in November 2011.
New US sanctions on two Qatari citizens expose Doha’s uneven response.
The Islamic State’s supporters in Libya have released dozens of “wanted dead” posters online. The images are part of a campaign targeting the “caliphate’s” jihadist and Islamist opposition in Derna and elsewhere in Libya. If the information in the graphics is accurate, then the Islamic State is offering up valuable intelligence on its pro-al Qaeda adversaries in North Africa.
During the last months of his life, Osama bin Laden worried about the fate of his son, Hamzah. In a newly-released audio message, Hamzah picks up his father’s banner.
The Taliban’s new emir, Mullah Mansour, has publicly accepted Ayman al Zawahiri’s oath of allegiance. The public acceptance of Zawahiri’s pledge demonstrates that Mansour has no intention of breaking with al Qaeda.
The full text of Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour’s statement, entitled “New Amir of Islamic Emirate thanks and accepts all who pledged allegiance.”
A statement released online today confirms that Mokhtar Belmokhtar is now the emir of Al Murabitoon, which calls itself “Al Qaeda in West Africa.” Another Al Murabitoon emerged in Egypt last month and it is also loyal to al Qaeda.
In an audio message released today, Ayman al Zawahiri pledges allegiance to the new emir of the Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.
The Islamic Caucasus Emirate (ICE) has lost its third emir in just over a year and half. Magomed Suleimanov, also known as Abu Usman Gimrinsky, was publicly announced as the group’s leader on July 1. Just over a month later, Russian counterterrorism forces killed him.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, says that it is turning over the territory it controls in the northern Aleppo province to other rebel groups. The move is a response to Turkey’s proposed buffer zone in northern Syria.
Five suspected jihadists were killed in the strike, which took place in the al Qaeda and Taliban haven of Datta Khel.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb commemorate Mullah Omar’s jihadist career in a joint statement. The al Qaeda branches highlight Omar’s decision to harbor Osama bin Laden, even as the international community demanded that the Taliban turn him over.