Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, a senior sharia official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in a US drone strike on Jan. 31. Al Qaeda had consistently elevated Nadhari’s media profile, meaning he was considered a key ideologue for the global organization.
Lieutenant General Vincent R. Stewart, the director of the DIA, testified before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday. Stewart warned that al Qaeda in Syria may gain ground in 2015, the Islamic State remains capable of launching offensive operations despite the coalition’s air campaign, and the Taliban-led insurgency has fought its opposition to a stalemate in Afghanistan.
Yusuf Dheeq, the head of Shabaab’s Amniyat, which directs the group’s intelligence and external operations activities, was the target of the strike. His fate is unknown.
Ansar al Sharia Libya released a set of propaganda photos in late January that are intended to demonstrate the group’s authority over areas in and around Benghazi. The photos purportedly show a police station and a convoy of security vehicles under the group’s control. However, forces loyal to General Haftar also claim to control much of the city.
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Sharia officials from both Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Al Nusrah Front, two official branches of al Qaeda, have signed a statement saying that the Islamic State’s ‘caliphate’ is invalid. The statement is addressed to the Caucasus jihadists who announced their allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in December.
The strike took place in the Shawal Valley, a jihadist hub that spans both North and South Waziristan.
Freed al Qaeda agent was part of proposed swap for Americans jailed in Qatar
Dawn calls out the Pakistani state for obscuring its purported ban of the Haqqani Network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Harith al Nadhari, a senior AQAP sharia official, sets forth six recommendations for suicide operations in a newly-released video.
Mohamed al Zahawi’s family members have told the press that he has died due to wounds suffered in fighting last year. Zahawi has been the leader of Ansar al Sharia in Benghazi. Unconfirmed rumors of his death have circulated for months.
Qatar continues to celebrate the release of Ali Saleh Kahlah al Marri, an admitted al Qaeda sleeper agent, from a US federal prison last week. The prime minister of Qatar has even reportedly called al Marri to congratulate him.
The story of how Ali Saleh Kahlah al Marri was first identified and arrested became a key part of the dispute between Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the CIA. Al Marri, who was recently released from a US prison, admitted that he was an al Qaeda sleeper agent.
Chérif and Saïd Kouachi’s path to Paris attack at Charlie Hebdo
Ali Saleh Kahlah al Marri, who served as an al Qaeda sleeper operative, has been released from an American prison and returned to Qatar.
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Groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba have previously been banned in Pakistan, but continue to receive the support of the military and intelligence establishment.
Seven “militants” are reported to have been killed in a strike on a compound in an area administered by Sajna Mehsud.
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Lebanese police dismantle a prison’s ‘jihadist emirate’
In a newly released video, a senior AQAP official states his organization planned the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo’s offices. AQAP chose the target and financed the operation, he says.
In addition to serving as a senior MSC leader, Abdallah al Ashqar is on the jihadist group’s military committee, is a “foreign relations official,” and a weapons facilitator.
Mentor of Charlie Hebdo gunmen has been UK-based
Suicide bomber in Saudi border attack recruited family members to join ISIS: source
A Pakistani Taliban splinter group released a nearly 17-minute video again pledging its allegiance to the Islamic State. The group primarily consists of low to mid-level former Pakistani Taliban officials from Khyber, Arakzai, Bajaur, Hangu, and Dir in Pakistan, and from Kunar, Logar, and Nangarhar in Afghanistan.
Fazlullah has presided over the fracturing of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, which remains a dangerous terrorist group.