US military bases in the Persian Gulf confront two challenges, one military and the other political. FDD’s Ryan Brobst, Bradley Bowman, and Behnam Ben Taleblu survey the two challenges and propose a way to address them.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as al Qaeda’s general command, have issued communiques denouncing Qatar and the World Cup as a means to degrade the morals of the Arabian Peninsula. The Islamic State’s supporters have additionally issued their own infographics, calling for attacks on the games.
Al Jazeera released a documentary alleging that Bahrain and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula work together. Today, the al Qaeda branch denied this accusation in a letter to the editor.
Hate preachers were hosted by Gulf governments at multiple events during Ramadan 2019. The Government of Qatar continued to be the worst offender in this regard.
America’s Gulf allies — Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait — still sponsor hate preachers during Ramadan.
The US has released a video from Hamza bin Laden’s wedding, providing a more recent image of Osama’s heir than was previously available. The video was recovered during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. FDD’s Long War Journal assesses that the wedding likely took place inside Iran, where Hamza was detained until being released sometime in 2010.
The US Treasury Department and several Gulf States announced today that eight jihadists in Yemen have been designated as terrorists. The newly-sanctioned terrorists serve either the Islamic State’s Yemeni branch, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or both.
Qatar recently secured the release of Qatari hostages, including members of the royal family. But its diplomatic victory was marred by reports that a multi-million dollar ransom was paid to a US-designated terrorist group and an al Qaeda-linked joint venture in Syria.
The Pentagon announced that 11 al Qaeda operatives were killed in a pair of airstrikes near Idlib, Syria earlier this month. One of them, Abu Hani al Masri, is described as “a legacy al Qaeda terrorist with ties to the group’s senior leaders, including Ayman al Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden.”
A new video from the Taliban features several images and clips of al Qaeda leaders, further demonstrating that the two remain firmly allied more than 15 years after the 9/11 hijackings.
Jund al Aqsa, a US and UN designated terrorist organization, was subsumed by al Qaeda’s rebranded Syrian branch in early October. The group had deep ties to al Qaeda’s fundraising network in the Gulf prior to the merger.
Al Qaeda’s rebranded guerrilla army in Syria is fighting alongside other jihadists, Islamists and Free Syrian Army-branded rebels in an offensive intended to break the Assad regime’s siege of Aleppo. Most of the participating groups belong to two coalitions: Jaysh al Fath (“Army of Conquest”) and Fatah Halab (“Aleppo Conquest”). These same two alliances tried and failed to break the siege earlier this year.
Washington should take a series of steps to stop nations from supporting the newly rebranded version of Al Nusrah Front in Syria.
The State Department’s newly released Country Reports on Terrorism for 2015 suggests that several Gulf States still have a lot of work to do when it comes to terrorist fundraising.
New US sanctions on two Qatari citizens expose Doha’s uneven response.
The United Nations Secretary General greeted ‘Abd al Wahhab al Humayqani at Geneva for peace talks in his capacity as a member of the Yemeni government in exile’s delegation. The US listed Humayqani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and described him as al Qaeda’s emir for Al Baydah province in Yemen as well as a financier, recruiter, attack planner, and ideologue.
Qatar recalls ambassador from Egypt in dispute over Libya airstrikes
1 of the Taliban 5 back in the game
Officials: Detainee swapped for Bergdahl suspected of militant activities
Freed al Qaeda agent was part of proposed swap for Americans jailed in Qatar
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.
Ali Saleh Kahlah al Marri, who served as an al Qaeda sleeper operative, has been released from an American prison and returned to Qatar.
Al Nusrah Front, ISIS appoint new Lebanon hostage mediator: report
Egypt looks to roll back Islamist militias in Libya
ISIS commander threatens Lebanon over arrest of wife
Lebanese army ready to confront militants
Turkey’s Hamas ‘bureau’
US Adds Planes to Bolster Drive to Wipe Out ISIS
Qatar runs covert desert training camp for Syrian rebels