CENTCOM announced today that Fawaz Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi, a “finance emir” for the Islamic State, was killed in an airstrike in eastern Syria earlier this month. Last year, the US and Iraqi governments jointly targeted Rawi and his financial network, which handled millions of dollars for the so-called caliphate.
The Islamic State demolished the Great Mosque of Al-Nuri earlier today. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi delivered his first speech as “Caliph Ibrahim” at the mosque in July 2014. Just days earlier, the Islamic State declared itself a so-called caliphate, ruling over large parts of Iraq and Syria.
The governor of Darzab confirmed that Taliban fighters overran the district just one day after Islamic State fighters attacked the administrative complex.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has responded by shutting down the de-confliction hotline and warning that all US aircraft would now be considered hostile targets.
Iranian press outlets report that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has fired missiles from Iranian territory at the Syrian governorate of Deir ez-Zor in response to the recent Islamic State terror attacks in Tehran.
According to US Forces-Afghanistan, Jawed Khan, a “senior director of media production” for the Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan (ISIS-K), “was killed in an airstrike in Achin, Nangarhar Province on June 3.”
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for its first operation inside Israel earlier today. However, Hamas quickly disputed the self-declared caliphate’s claim, saying that Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s loyalists were merely attempting to confuse the media. According to Hamas, two of the attackers were sent by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the third by Hamas.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has claimed responsibility for an attack on Al Zahra Mosque in Kabul earlier today. Shiite worshippers had gathered at the mosque as part of Ramadan. The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan has repeatedly targeted Shiites in Kabul, causing mass casualties on several occasions over the past year.
The US government designated two senior Islamic State figures today, saying they are involved in the group’s chemical weapons program. US officials have previously said that so-called caliphate uses a “mustard agent” in its attacks.
The Islamic Republic has scrambled to explain Wednesday’s Islamic State-claimed, twin terrorist attacks in Tehran, leading to contradictory statements highlighting confusion amongst government agencies. Select Iranian officials however, like Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, have attempted to downplay the severity of the attack in what appears to be an attempt to dissuade criticism.
While the US military insists that the loss of Raqqah and Mosul will deal a “a decisive blow” to the Islamic State, the group still controls a significant amount of terrain in both Syria and Iraq.
British officials identified two of the three men suspected of carrying out the June 3 terror attacks in London. At least one of them was well-known to counterterrorism officials and even appeared in a documentary about extremism in the UK.
The video comes as the crisis in Marawi enters its second week. The video details Islamic State-loyal fighters destroying religious symbols and vandalizing the inside of the church.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency claims that the so-called caliphate’s “fighters” were responsible for yesterday’s attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market. At least seven people were killed and 48 others injured.
The government of Philippines says that an attack that left more than 30 people dead at the Resorts World Manila (RWM) casino was a botched robbery. However, the Islamic State claims that one of its supporters carried it out.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has released its first video from the fighting in the southern Philippine city of Marawi. Jihadists loyal to the so-called caliphate launched their offensive in Marawi more than a week ago.
A suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives in the Afghan capital this morning. The bombing was carried out near the German Embassy. At least 80 people were killed, according to initial casualty reports.
British officials say they are still investigating a possible “wider conspiracy” behind the Manchester Arena bombing on May 22. Meanwhile, British interior minister Amber Rudd told BBC News that security services are “looking at 500 different plots” with 3,000 possible terrorists on the “top list” and 20,000 “underneath that.”
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s massacre of at least 28 Coptic Christians traveling on a bus in Minya, Egypt. The group’s arms in both the Sinai and mainland Egypt have repeatedly targeted Copts. The Egyptian government has retaliated by bombing suspected training camps in Libya.
International authorities are investigating the possibility that a “network” assisted Salman Abedi in the Manchester Arena bombing earlier this week. The investigation stretches from the UK to Libya, where Abedi’s younger brother and father have been detained. His brother, Hashim, has allegedly admitted prior knowledge of the plot and that the siblings were Islamic State members.
The bombing was the first claimed attack in months for the Islamic State forces inside Somalia.
A bomb killed at least 22 people and wounded 59 others at the Manchester Arena in Britain last night. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
A team of several jihadists raided the offices of National Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA) in Jalalabad earlier today. At least several people were killed and many others wounded. The Islamic State claims two of its men detonated “explosive motorcycles” at the beginning of the operation.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) presented its written “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to the Senate last week. The analysis confirms that the Islamic State is capable of sustaining insurgencies in both Iraq and Syria, Afghan security continues to “deteriorate,” and al Qaeda remains a threat in several parts of the globe.
Jamaat ul Dawa al Quran is an excellent example of the complex and evolving network of jihadist groups that operate in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. The three designated leaders have been tied to al Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Islamic State.
The ninth issue of the Islamic State’s Rumiyah (“Rome”) magazine features an interview with the group’s “emir” in Egypt. He concedes that the jihadists’ church bombings and ideology are not popular inside Egypt. Regardless, Rumiyah attempts to justify the Islamic State’s anti-Christian terror.
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan (or Khorasan “province”) has claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed at least eight civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. The suicide attack targeted a NATO convoy that was driving near the US Embassy in Afghanistan’s capital. Three American servicemen were wounded in the blast.
The Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan and the Taliban clashed in the Chaparhar district of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province earlier today. The two sides have battled each other in the area since 2015. Late last month, the Islamic State also fought with the Taliban in northern Afghanistan and assassinated a Taliban figure in Peshawar.
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (“Assembly for the Liberation of the Levant”) and the Islamic State continue to battle for control of the Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus.
Two American soldiers were killed during a raid against the Islamic State in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province. A third American perished during combat earlier this month. The Islamic State’s so-called Khorasan province has lost ground since the beginning of 2016, but is still able to engage in heavy fighting and launch significant attacks.