US military kills senior Islamic State commander in Afghan north
Hikmatullah is part of the contingent of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan that defected and joined the Islamic State after the Taliban was caught hiding the death of Mullah Omar.
Tag Archives: Islamic State
American forces kill senior al Qaeda leader in Libya
The US military announced that it killed Musa Abu Dawud, a high-ranking al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leader in Libya, in an airstrike last weekend. Dawud is an established jihadist who has been in the fight with the GSPC and AIQM for at least three decades.
Islamic State claims its ‘soldier’ took hostages in southern France
French authorities ended a hostage crisis earlier today after an armed man assaulted a supermarket in Trèbes. The man reportedly killed at least three people, including a passenger in a car he attempted to hijack and two others in the market. The Islamic State (ISIS) claims the perpetrator is its “soldier.” ISIS has been tied to a series of plots in France since 2014.
Grozny jihadist swore allegiance to Baghdadi before assaulting police
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has claimed responsibility for a jihadist’s assault on police in Grozny on Mar. 20. Amaq released a video of the alleged perpetrator swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi prior to his day of terror. The video is similar to a string of other clips released by Amaq since mid-2016.
US designates ISIS chemical weapons expert from France as terrorist
The State Department announced today that Joe Asperman, a French national, has been designated as a terrorist. Asperman works as “a senior chemical weapons expert for ISIS” and “oversaw chemical operations production within Syria for ISIS and the deployment of these chemical weapons at the battlefront.”
Islamic State suicide bomber strikes near shrine in Afghan capital
The Islamic State’s Khorasan branch quickly claimed responsibility for an attack near a shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. The Sunni jihadists regularly target Shiite civilians in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
US military helicopter crash in western Iraq kills all aboard
The helicopter that crashed is used to conduct search and rescue as well as Air Force special operations missions.
LWJ Exclusive: US quietly continues Yemen air campaign
The US military has launched 22 airstrikes against al Qaeda int he Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State’s Yemeni branch, a spokesman told FDD’s Long War Journal.
ISIS supporter tried to recruit 55 children for attacks in London
Umar Ahmed Haque plotted to use 55 children in attacks throughout London. The plot appears to have inspired by the Islamic State’s use of boys in suicide attacks, executions and other terrorist operations. Thirty-five (35) of the children “require longer-term support” after Haque showed them grisly videos and scared them into submission.
State Department designates 7 ISIS-affiliated groups as terrorist organizations
The State Department announced today announced today that seven ISIS-affiliated groups have been designated as terrorist organizations. Underscoring the so-called caliphate’s growth outside of Iraq and Syria, the move targets ISIS affiliates in Bangladesh, Egypt, the Philippines, Somalia, Tunisia and West Africa. Two ISIS leaders in Africa were named as specially designated global terrorists as well.
Analysis: ISIS hasn’t been defeated
On January 19, the Pentagon released its new National Defense Strategy, which prioritizes “inter-state strategic competition” from China and Russia over “terrorism.” In many ways, the strategy makes sense. However, the threat from ISIS and al Qaeda has not been eliminated. The jihadists are fighting around the globe, everywhere from West Africa to Southeast Asia.
Islamic State claims church shooting in Dagestan
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a shooting at a church in Kizlyar, a town in Dagestan, earlier today. Russian officials have confirmed that at least five people were killed and four more wounded.
US terror designations expose 3 international facilitators for Islamic State
The US Treasury Department has further exposed the Islamic State’s international network by designating three facilitators as terrorists. The men have operated in the Philippines, Somalia, Turkey and elsewhere. One of them operates a business in Turkey that has acquired drone components for the so-called caliphate.
US conducted a record 131 airstrikes in Yemen last year
The United States conducted 131 counterterrorism strikes in Yemen, CENTCOM told FDD’s Long War Journal.
US conducts 10 counterterrorism strikes in Yemen
US forces conducted a record 120 strikes in Yemen in 2017 and appears to be operating at a similar tempo thus far in 2018.
Islamic State branch claims attack on Afghan military academy
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency quickly claimed responsibility for an assault near the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. It is the third major attack inside the Afghan capital in the past eight days. The previous two were carried out by the Taliban.
Islamic State attacks Save the Children charity in eastern Afghanistan
The attack forced the charity to temporarily shut down its offices across the country.
State Department designates Islamic State executioner, fighter as terrorists
The State Department designated two Islamic State members, Siddhartha Dhar and Abdelatif Gaini, as terrorists. Dhar “is believed to be the masked leader who appeared in a January 2016 ISIS” execution video.
2017: A record year for US counterterrorism strikes
The pattern of operations in 2017 in what the Obama administration used to call areas outside of active hostilities indicates that the US will continue the reinvigorated air campaign in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya in the coming year.
Coptic church attacked by Islamic State loyalist, group says
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack outside of a Coptic Church in a southern suburb of Cairo earlier today. The assault is one in a series of operations targeting Coptic Christians in Egypt since 2016.
Islamic State claims its men planted bomb at St. Petersburg supermarket
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Dec. 27 bombing at a supermarket in St. Petersburg, Russia. The city has been targeted by jihadists several times this year. The US claimed earlier this month that another major plot inside St. Petersburg had been thwarted.
Islamic State’s Khorasan ‘province’ claims responsibility for attack on cultural center in Kabul
Dozens of civilians were killed during a bombing at the Tabayan cultural center in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. The Islamic State’s Khorasan “province,” which regularly targets Shiite civilians and places of worship in Afghanistan, quickly claimed responsibility.
Islamic State video promotes Somali arm, incites attacks during holidays
On Dec. 25, the Islamic State released a video promoting its fighters in Somalia and inciting attacks in the West. The group’s propagandists referred to the cadre as the Islamic State’s Somali “province.”
Long Island woman allegedly used Bitcoin to fund ISIS
Zoobia Shahnaz allegedly defrauded financial institutions as part of a scheme to fund the Islamic State. She is also accused of seeking to join the so-called caliphate this past summer. Shahnaz was stopped for questioning at JFK International Airport on July 31, but not arrested until this week.
New York City bomber ‘did it for the Islamic State’
“I did it for the Islamic State,” Akayed Ullah, who is charged with carrying out the failed bombing in Times Square yesterday, allegedly told authorities.
Bomber targets New York City transit system with improvised device
Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old man from Bangladesh, attempted to detonate an improvised explosive device in midtown Manhattan earlier today. No one was killed in the failed bombing, but several people suffered minor wounds. Jihadists have repeatedly targeted New York City since the 9/11 hijackings.
US Treasury adds Jamaica-based Islamic State recruiter to terror list
The US Treasury Department has designated Abdullah Ibrahim al-Faisal, a Jamaica-based Islamic State recruiter, as a terrorist. Faisal has “influenced” a number of terrorists since 2001, according to Treasury.
Taliban touts defection of Islamic State ‘deputy’
The Taliban is touting the defection of Mullah Abdul Razzaq Mehdi, the purported “deputy” of the Islamic State’s Wilayah Khorasan. The Taliban is using his testimony to undermine the will of its jihadist rivals inside Afghanistan. But in so doing, the group reveals just how similar the two often are.
US targets Islamic State in northeastern Somalia
US Africa Command again struck the Islamic State’s network in the semi autonomous region of Puntland, killing one fighter.
US air campaign in Libya moves south
The United States conducted two strikes against the Islamic State in central Libya, its southernmost strikes in the Libyan air campaign.