Taliban storms district in eastern Afghanistan
The US military continues to extol Afghan security forces as they continue to lose ground to the Taliban. In the last 24 hours, the district of Jani Khel in Paktia fell to the Taliban.
Tag Archives: Taliban
US takes casualties in Helmand fighting
A senior Afghan official said that more than 80 percent of Helmand is Taliban controlled, and in many cases government forces are confined to district centers.
Influential Taliban commander pledges to new emir
The Taliban continue to bring disaffected leaders back into the fold. Anwar ul Haq Mujahid, the commander of the Tora Bora Military Front and the son of an influential Taliban leader who was instrumental in welcoming Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan after al Qaeda was ejected from Sudan in 1996, has sworn allegiance to the Taliban’s new emir.
Zawahiri calls on Muslims to support Taliban, reject Islamic State
In the second episode of the “Brief Messages to a Victorious Ummah” series, Ayman al Zawahiri blasts the Islamic State for dividing the mujahideen’s ranks. Zawahiri, who is openly loyal to the Taliban’s emir, calls on Muslims to support the Taliban.
An alleged ‘agent’ of Iran transferred from Guantanamo to the UAE
A leaked Joint Task Force – Guantanamo threat assessment describes Haji Hamidullah, who was recently transferred from Guantanamo to the UAE, as an “agent” of Iran. The Long War Journal first profiled Hamidullah in 2011. The leaked JTF-GTMO file contains numerous intelligence reports tying Iranian intelligence to the Afghan insurgency.
Taliban presses offensive in multiple provinces
The Taliban is sustaining offensive operations through Afghanistan as Afghan security forces, backed by US airpower and special forces, continue to struggle with containing the jihadist group.
Powerful jihadist faction reconciles with the Taliban
The Taliban continue to bring recalcitrant leaders back into the fold. The Dadullah family and commanders from the Mullah Dadullah Front, a jihadist faction with close ties to al Qaeda, rejoined the Taliban and swore allegiance to its emir, Mullah Haibatullah.
US military confirms air strike killed Islamic State’s emir for Khorasan province
The US military claimed that Khan’s death and the operation in Nangarhar will hurt the group’s operations in Afghanistan. However the Islamic State’s inability to form alliances with the established jihadist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan has led to its isolation.
Former senior Taliban leader reconciles with jihadist group
Mullah Baz Mohammad, who served as a deputy to the leader of a rival breakaway faction, and a military commander in Uruzgan reunited with the Taliban and swore allegiance to its emir.
Helmand capital ‘practically besieged’ by the Taliban
A light US footprint in Afghanistan has led to Taliban gains throughout the country. The Taliban has surrounded Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand.
Afghan military again claims it killed emir of Islamic State’s Khorasan province
A senior Afghan military officer claimed that his forces killed Hafiz Saeed Khan, the emir for the Islamic State’s Khorasan province, during an ongoing military operation in the eastern province of Nangarhar. However Khan’s death cannot be independently confirmed.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Islamic State claim suicide attack at Pakistani hospital
While the competing claims cannot be verified, both groups are capable of executing the mass-casualty suicide attack in Quetta.
US State Department lists Jamaat-ul-Ahrar as terrorist group
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has been behind numerous deadly attacks inside Pakistan and is closely allied with the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda. In 2014 it celebrated al Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks on the US and said it would fight until an Islamic caliphate “is established in every nook and corner of the world,” it concluded.
Taliban denies Helmand’s shadow governor killed in US airstrike
The Taliban, via one of its official spokesmen, quickly issued a denial that its shadow governor and military commander in Helmand were killed in an airstrike. The Afghan government has a spotty track record when reporting on the deaths of Taliban commanders.
Islamic State claims suicide bombings at Kabul protest
According to the Amaq News Agency, two “fighters of the Islamic State” executed the attack on the Hazara protesters in Afghanistan’s capital.
Taliban seizes district in northern Afghanistan
The Taliban continues to make gains on the battlefield. A district in Kunduz province fell to the Taliban after four days of fighting.
Ex-Gitmo ‘poet’ and committed jihadist denounces Islamic State for attacks on civilians
Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost, who left the Islamic State late last year, claimed that Khorasan province became a tool of “regional intelligence agencies and started torturing innocent people.” He described the emir of Khorasan province as “illiterate” for approving attacks on civilians.
US kills Pakistani Taliban commander behind attacks on schools
The US killed Khalifa Umar Mansour, the commander of the Tariq Gidar Group who was responsible for attacks on Pakistani schools, in an airstrike in Afghanistan. The US listed his Taliban faction as a terrorist organization less than two months ago.
Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight Against Terrorism?
Bill Roggio testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, as well as the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. The hearing is titled, “Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight Against Terrorism?”
Obama backtracks on Afghanistan withdrawal, cites ‘precarious’ security situation
Despite admitting to a worsening security situation, Obama will withdraw 1,400 US troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year.
Taliban condemns suicide attack in Medina, Saudi Arabia
The Taliban’s condemnation is not surprising as it has relied on Saudi Arabia as a source for fundraising and other support to fuel the Afghan insurgency.
Taliban shows ‘Omar ibn Khattab’ training camp in Kunduz
The camp is named after the second Muslim caliph who was a companion to the Prophet Muhammad and who expanded the caliphate in the seventh century.
US government releases data on ‘counterterrorism strikes outside areas of active hostilities’
ODNI released some information on counterterrorism raids as part of an effort to provide more transparency on these operations. US intelligence claims that between 2,372 to 2,581 combatants and between 64 to 116 civilians were killed in 473 strikes in areas outside of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria since President Obama took office.
Taliban suicide bombers target police cadets, first responders in Kabul attack
At least 27 people are reported to have been killed in the twin bombings. The second suicide bomber targeted emergency personnel as they rendered aid to the victims of the first blast.
Afghan Ministry of Interior admits 9 districts under Taliban control
Taken on its own, the Ministry of Interior’s data on the number of districts ruled by the Taliban indicates that the security situation has worsened since the last time the government such disclosed information. The Long War Journal estimates that 39 districts are under Taliban control.
Hekmatyar withdraws from peace talks with Afghan government
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of a Hezb-i-Islami faction, has toyed with the Afghan government in the past and withdrew from peace talks under similar circumstances.
Taliban denies Ghazni shadow governor killed in airstrike
Last weekend, the Afghan Ministry of the Interior claimed that Mullah Mohammad Qasim and an undisclosed number of fighters were killed in an airstrike in the Aab Band district. A Taliban spokesman said Qasim is alive and well.
Targeting leaders won’t deter Taliban’s ‘jihad,’ group says
“History shows that such befallings have never weakened this Movement, but more often than not, has only strengthened their resolve,” the Taliban said in the wake of the US drone strike that killed its previous emir. The West has “failed to understand the psychology of the Taliban” and its desire for martyrdom.
Taliban seizes a district in Uruzgan
The Taliban controls one of Uruzgan’s five districts, and contests the other four. The shadow governor for Uruzgan said in April his forces would emphasize complete control of the province.
Ayman al Zawahiri swears allegiance to the Taliban’s new leader
Ayman al Zawahiri has sworn allegiance to the Taliban’s new leader, Mullah Haibatullah. Zawahiri’s oath of bay’ah continues a tradition of al Qaeda’s leaders swearing their fealty to the Taliban’s top man.