According to the UN’s Jan. 2019 assessment, al Qaeda’s relationship with the Taliban is “long-standing” and “strong.” And al Qaeda “continues to see Afghanistan as a safe haven for its leadership.” The UN estimates that the Islamic State has several thousand fighters in Afghanistan as well.
The State Department announced today that it is offering a $1 million reward for information on Hamza bin Laden’s whereabouts. Hamza is the genetic and ideological heir of al Qaeda’s founder and he has been groomed for a leadership position within the organization.
The two latest strikes took place in a town where Shabaab is dominant. The US air campaign against Shabaab continues to intensify and is on pace to quickly outstrip last year’s strike total.
In a message released on Feb. 5, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri harshly criticizes the jihadists in Syria. He says they are engaged in a misguided “competition” for “imagined authority” over territory that is under the oversight “of secular Turkish checkpoints.”
The Taliban claims it does “not allow anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against other countries including neighboring countries.” Some have uncritically accepted this claim. But it is obviously false.
In a statement released earlier today, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which operates in West Africa and the wider Sahel, claimed Tuesday’s suicide assault on a Malian military base in the northern town of Tarkint. A photo of the purported suicide bomber was also released. “Continuing in its campaign against […]
According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), al Qaeda’s senior leaders are strengthening the al Qaeda “network’s global command structure.” Meanwhile, the Islamic State “still commands thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria.” Both groups maintain worldwide networks or affiliates, branches, and supporters.
Bilal Khuraysat, an al Qaeda ideologue in Syria, has released a treatise justifying Shabaab’s war with the Islamic State in Somalia. The Islamic State continues to battle al Qaeda’s branches and like-minded jihadists in several theaters.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a US and UN-designated terrorist organization, has strengthened its grip on northwestern Syria in recent weeks. HTS has seized ground from rival insurgents.
CENTCOM confirms that Jamal al-Badawi, an al Qaeda veteran who has been wanted for his role in the USS Cole Bombing, was targeted in an airstrike earlier this month. Press reports indicated that Badawi perished, but CENTCOM says his status is still being investigated.
Jihadis on social media claim that Abu Julaybib al-Urduni, an al Qaeda loyalist, has been killed in Syria. Abu Julaybib helped found Al Nusrah Front, but later had a falling out with Al Nusrah’s leader over the group’s “disassociation” from al Qaeda and other issues.
The video is the latest in a string of Taliban propaganda that shows its fighters going through training.
President Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan will have consequences. The Taliban and al Qaeda will declare victory, while the US will find it harder to hunt terrorists throughout the region.
The Taliban’s own statements and actions as well as Qaeda’s propaganda and operations easily disproves the Taliban’s denial that foreign fighters are in Afghanistan.
In a new video, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM, or the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims”) says it has decided “to discontinue the release and production of videos concerning the captives held by the group for undisclosed reasons.”
In a startling admission, a senior leader in the Afghan Taliban told NBC News that “thousands” of foreign fighters are currently embedded in the group in Afghanistan. The admission is astonishing as the Taliban has attempted to obscure its relationship with al Qaeda, even though it slips up every now and then. FDD’s Long War […]
The strikes were launched to “prevent terrorists from using remote areas as a safe haven to plot, direct, inspire, and recruit for future attacks,” AFRICOM noted.
The last three strikes against Shabaab have taken place in an area where foreign al Qaeda fighters have historically sheltered. AFRICOM has targeted Shabaab 40 times throughout Somalia in 2018.
The US military hit al Qaeda’s branches in Somalia and Libya twice over the past several days, killing 20 fighters in strikes that appear to have targeted the groups’ military capacity.
Mullah Manan was responsible for Taliban successes in Helmand that has left every district to be controlled or contested by the group. However the Taliban has been adept at replacing key leaders who have been killed or died of natural causes.
Al Qaeda’s As Sahab has released an essay blasting Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the US. The essay’s author, identified as Sheikh Awab Bin Hasan al Hasni, portrays America as a declining power and touts the resurrection of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. AQAP also finally released the 58th issue of Al Masra newsletter, which focuses on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
The US military has launched six airstrikes in the central Somali province of Mudug since Nov. 19, killing at least 55 Shabaab fighters.
President Ghani wants the Taliban to accept democracy, participate in the government, and break ties with terrorist groups. The Taliban has repeatedly refused to adhere to these demands. Additionally, Ghani called for negotiations that are first driven by Afghans, which is the opposite of what is actually occurring today.
The US says that Sgt. Jasso was “was likely accidentally shot” by partner Afghan forces during a “close-quarter battle” with “multiple barricaded al Qaeda shooters” in Nimroz province on Nov. 24. Nimroz is a remote area of Afghanistan and al Qaeda’s presence there confirms, once again, that the group is operating throughout the country.
The US military’s official estimate of the number of fighters in the Taliban’s ranks needs to be at least doubled given the level and intensity of fighting in Afghanistan, as well as the number of Taliban casualties claimed by the Afghan security forces.
The US military is clearly targeting Shabaab in Mudug province. There have been five strikes there in the past four days and 50 Shabaab fighters are reported to have been killed in the attacks.
The pattern of the strikes, which took place in central Somalia, indicates that al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa either has an established base in the area, or that it was massing its fighters for a large scale attack.
The Taliban is more than happy to negotiate the terms of US withdrawal — but if and only if an accord is reached on its terms. Because if a so-called peace agreement can be reached, you can be sure it will be one that will not benefit the Afghan people, the US, or the region.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is the name of the Taliban’s government before the US deposed it after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack by al Qaeda. The Taliban insists that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan be restored and recognized as the true representatives of the Afghan people.
While many officials and analysts are hopeful that Baradar can influence negotiations between the US and the Taliban, it is highly unlikely that he will be able to influence the current crop of Taliban leaders, who have waged a successful insurgency and control more ground in the country since any point during the war.