An infographic in the Islamic State’s Al Naba newsletter highlights the “caliphate’s” fighting against both its jihadist rivals and the Libyan Army in the eastern city of Derna. The Islamic State was forced out of Derna’s center last year, even as it gained ground elsewhere in Libya.
Omar al Shishani’s status has been uncertain since the US announced it targeted him last week, and it is still unknown if he is dead, alive, or seriously wounded.
The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP that Shishani “was seriously injured” and taken to a hospital in Raqqah province, where he was treated by a European doctor.
The US military claimed it targeted and possibly killed Omar al Shishani, a capable field commander for the Islamic State, in an airstrike in Shadaddi. Shishani’s death has not been confirmed.
‘Amaq News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic State’s online propaganda operations, released an infographic claiming that the “caliphate” launched 90 “martyrdom operations” in Iraq, Syria and Libya in February. The propaganda outfit previously claimed that the Islamic State carried out 85 suicide attacks in Iraq and Syria in January. These figures have not been independently verified.
It is unclear if the US or Russia killed Amr al Absi, the Islamic State’s governor for the Syrian province of Aleppo. The US launched an airstrike in northern Syria on March 3, where Absi is said to have been killed.
The Philippines continue to face residual threats from jihadist groups, including several who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
The Islamic State promotes it capabilities as it continues to fight an uphill battle to gain supporters in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the main Taliban factions and al Qaeda still have the upper hand.
Despite facing a large crackdown from the Algerian military, the Islamic State’s branch still claims sporadic attacks in the country.
The US launched an airstrike earlier today targeting a senior Islamic State facilitator who is suspected of being involved in two attacks on tourists in Tunisia. He may have also been plotting attacks against Western interests in the region.
While jihadist groups in the Philippines were thought to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State since late 2014, a video released last month by Islamic State supporters in the country confirmed these speculations. In a video released a few days ago by an Islamic State media outlet, the jihadist group officially recognized the pledges.
The Taliban and al Qaeda have a vested interest in halting the spread of the Islamic State in Paktika, given the province’s importance to the two jihadist groups.
The Treasury Department announced today that three Islamic State officials have been sanctioned. One is a senior official in the “caliphate’s” oil and gas division. A second was the deputy leader of the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem before swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and agreeing to establish a foothold for the Islamic State in Gaza. The third is the group’s “chief religious advisor.”
Teen-aged boys are shown training at the “Cubs of the Caliphate Camp,” which is likely located in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.
The Islamic State has released a new video (titled “Kill Them Wherever You Find Them”) featuring the terrorist team responsible for the Nov. 13, 2015 coordinated attacks in Paris. Some of the jihadists address the camera before or after committing grisly executions that were broadcast in previous videos.
In a video released earlier this month, an Islamic State defector known as Antar al Kindi claims to expose the group’s “lies.” Al Kindi apologizes to Ayman al Zawahiri and other al Qaeda leaders. The video is part of an ongoing propaganda battle between the Islamic State and al Qaeda.
The 13th edition of the Islamic State’s Dabiq magazine is filled with anti-al Qaeda and anti-Taliban arguments. Previous editions of Dabiq included similar attempts to undermine al Qaeda’s and the Taliban’s jihadist credentials.
The US has treated the Islamic State Khorasan Province as a terrorist organization long before officially listing it. Four senior Khorasan Province leaders have been killed in US airstrikes over the past year.
Indonesian police have linked the attack to a jihadist based in Syria. Two jihadists factions in Indonesia, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid and Mujahidin Indonesian Timur, have pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.
The Islamic State’s Wilayat Khorasan says that three jihadists attacked the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan earlier today. At least two of them detonated suicide belts.
The Islamic State’s Libyan “province” has released images from the captured town of Bin Jawad. The jihadists have likely operated in the town for months, but they only declared complete control of it earlier this week after launching a new offensive. The photos and a short video released by an Islamic State-affiliated “news” agency are intended to advertise the jihadists’ control of Bin Jawad.
The Kurdish YPG (or People’s Defense Units) has released a summary of its operations for 2015. The YPG claims to have killed nearly 6,000 “enemy” fighters, most of whom likely belonged to the Islamic State, while losing just 680 of its own members in combat. The statistics provided by the YPG imply a kill ratio of nearly 9 to 1, which obviously seems high.
The Islamic State’s Libyan “province” has released photos documenting yesterday’s assault on an oil facility in the port town of Al Sidr.
The Islamic State’s Libyan “province” claims to have captured the town of Bin Jawad on the Mediterranean coast. The group also launched attacks on oil facilities in two of Libya’s ports.
The Islamic State’s so-called Khorasan “province” has set up a radio station to broadcast propaganda in Afghanistan. Officials have tried to jam its signal, but the station is also disseminating its content online via multiple platforms.
A US military spokesman said earlier today that five members of the Islamic State’s external operations arm were killed in recent airstrikes. Some of the jihadists are believed to have ties to the terrorist cell that struck Paris on Nov. 13.
Problems within the Islamic State’s Yemen Province continue to mount as three senior leaders, including two members of the province’s Security Committee and a member of the Preaching Committee, and 28 more fighters reject the group’s governor.
The loss of Ramadi is a major blow to the Islamic State, which seized the provincial capital and raised its flag over the government center on May 15 after launching a coordinated assault on Iraqi units stationed in the city.
Seventy members of the Islamic State’s Yemen “province,” including three members of its sharia committee, its military emir, and its chief of general security, announced their “defection” from the group’s “governor.”
The video shows a rudimentary training camp in a forested area somewhere in the Philippines. It is unclear which group is shown training, but the video makes clear of its support to the Islamic State.