The photo comes just days after Soleimani was spotted in Latakia addressing Iranian and Syrian troops. The Syrian regime also relies on Shiite militias from Iraq and elsewhere, which are often trained and advised by the Iranian Qods Force.
The Department of Defense confirmed that the senior al Qaeda strategist, who was dispatched years ago by al Qaeda from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region to Syria, was killed in an airstrike on Oct. 15. Nasr’s death is a blow to al Qaeda.
Online jihadists are claiming that an al Qaeda leader known as Sanafi al Nasr has been killed in an airstrike in Syria. Nasr’s death is not confirmed and he has been reported dead before. The latest claims come from al Qaeda members who apparently knew Nasr and interacted with him online.
The Uighur jihadist group plays a role in assisting Al Qaeda in northwestern Syria.
Photographs show the notorious Qods Force commander addressing Iranian officers and Hezbollah forces in Latakia. Iran is reported to have deployed significant forces, estimated at thousands of troops, to support the Assad regime’s offensive in northwestern Syria.
Abu Muhammad al Julani, the head of al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front in Syria, addresses Russia’s intervention in an audio message. Julani calls for reprisal attacks against Russians and says the jihadists must strike Shiite villages in order to extract concessions from Bashar al Assad’s regime.
The Iraqi military claimed it targeted Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the emir of the Islamic State, as he was traveling to meet with other commanders of his organization at a location on the border with Syria. The fate of Baghdadi, who has been reported killed or wounded several times in the past, is unknown.
Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani is the third senior Iraqi military adviser who has been killed in the Syrian-Iraqi theater since the beginning of the year.
The designations include three jihadists from the Russian Caucasus, including Omar al Shishani’s deputy and a Turkey-based “overseas emissary.” A recruiter from the United Kingdom was also designated.
The ranks of the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, continue to swell with foreign fighters.
Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has posted several photos purportedly showing Russia’s airstrikes. Al Nusrah also posted two images of leaflets dropped by the Assad regime.
Ahrar al Sham claims to have launched Grad rockets at the Hmeimim airbase in the Latakia province of Syria earlier today. Russian forces are stationed at the airbase.
On the same day that Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, a mainly Uzbek jihadist group, swore allegiance to Al Nusrah Front, it claimed an attack on Russian forces in the Latakia province of Syria.
The mainly Uzbek group, Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, has formally pledged allegiance to Al Nusrah Front. However, it was always under al Qaeda’s influence.
Testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade on the US counterterrorism strategy in Syria. “The West’s involvement is ad hoc, tactical and reactionary.”
CENTCOM has conceded that rebels belonging to the so-called “New Syrian Forces” turned over equipment and ammunition to Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria. This is the latest setback for the US effort to train and equip Syrian rebels.
The Turkistan Islamic Party continues to highlight children in jihadist training. It is known to operate training camps for minors in both Syria and in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
A senior al Qaeda leader known as Sanafi al Nasr recently claimed on his Twitter feed that David Drugeon, an alleged al Qaeda bombmaker from France, had been killed in Syria. But there are good reasons to take Nasr’s testimony with a grain of salt.
The Uighur jihadist group, with its longstanding ties to al Qaeda, continues to play a pivotal role assisting Al Nusrah Front in northwestern Syria.
Al Qaeda’s branches and allies have held or continue to control ground in Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Libya, contrary to the narrative that only the Islamic State seeks to take territory.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in the Levant, posted a series of images from its successful raid on the Abu Duhour airbase. Al Nusrah and its allies had long fought the Syrian regime for control of the airbase, which is located in the Idlib province of Syria.
Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, claims to have overrun the Abu Duhour airbase in Idlib. Al Nusrah also says that more than 100 of Bashar al Assad’s fighters were killed and an additional 60 or so captured during the fighting.
While the Islamic State gets most of the attention for the training camps it runs for children, it is not the only jihadist group in Syria that does so.
The White House announced today that Fadhil Ahmad al Hayali (a.k.a. Hajji Mutazz), the deputy leader of the Islamic State, was killed in an airstrike on June 18. US military officials previously reported that he had been killed in December 2014. Al Hayali was one of the most senior leaders in the “caliphate,” and had wide-ranging responsibilities.
The Islamic Caucasus Emirate (ICE) has lost its third emir in just over a year and half. Magomed Suleimanov, also known as Abu Usman Gimrinsky, was publicly announced as the group’s leader on July 1. Just over a month later, Russian counterterrorism forces killed him.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, says that it is turning over the territory it controls in the northern Aleppo province to other rebel groups. The move is a response to Turkey’s proposed buffer zone in northern Syria.
The jihadist group continues to have a significant role in the Jaysh al Fatah coalition and the wider Idlib offensive.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb commemorate Mullah Omar’s jihadist career in a joint statement. The al Qaeda branches highlight Omar’s decision to harbor Osama bin Laden, even as the international community demanded that the Taliban turn him over.
On August 1, Ahrar al Sham released a statement honoring Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s first leader. The statement is further evidence that Ahrar al Sham is an extremist organization.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has released a statement claiming to have captured US-trained rebels belonging to a group called “Division 30.” The Pentagon denied reports earlier this week that US-backed fighters had been captured by al Qaeda’s jihadists.