The Iraqi government launched a new offensive against the Islamic State in the Hawijah pocket earlier today. Hawijah is considered one of the group's two remaining strongholds inside Iraq. The other is in the western Anbar province, where the Iraqi government began new operations on Sept. 19. Read more →
Iran has divulged more details about a senior officer from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Qods Force who was killed in Syria last month. The 32-year old Col Morteza Hosseinpour-Shalmani (AKA Hossein Qomi) died afteran Islamic State ambush near Jamouna, which is about 37 miles northeast of the US base of Tanf by the Iraqi border in eastern Syria. The operations commander of the Iranian-led Iraqi contingent in Syria, he was leading a unit of Seyyed al Shuhada Brigades that included Iranian-embedded soldiers. Read more →
The Islamic State has rescinded a May 17 memo that even some of the group's ideologues considered too extreme in its religious rulings. The memo reportedly exacerbated leadership disputes within the self-declared caliphate. Read more →
After pro-Syrian regime forces broke the siege of Deir Ezzor city this month, Lebanese Hezbollah media outlet Al Mayadeen released a rare interview with Hezbollah field commander “al Haj Abu Mustafa,” crediting the gray-bearded, southern Lebanese native with playing a key role in leading the defense against the Islamic State. Read more →
In addition to the updated strike total for Yemen, the response is interesting as it notes that AQAP operatives are not the only target of the air campaign: the US military is hitting the entirety of the network. Read more →
The US military has stepped up its campaign against AQAP, but has not been forthcoming about its targeting of the group as it has in Somalia. Read more →
The US says that Russian forces struck and wounded several fighters belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The incident highlights the fact that despite "de-confliction," the US and Russia are often not on the same page in Syria. Read more →
The Islamic State claims its "soldiers" carried out the London tube bombing earlier today. Twenty-nine people were injured in the attack. Earlier this month, the British government reported a surge in terror-related arrests. As of June 30, 204 people were in custody in the UK for suspected terrorism-related offenses and the "majority" of them, 91 percent, hold "Islamist extremist views." Read more →
An Iranian-controlled Afghan Shia militia advertises its role in the battle for Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria. Read more →
The US is likely to step up drone strikes in Pakistan after President Trump accused Pakistan of harboring and supporting jihadist groups last month. Read more →
In a new message, Hamza bin Laden praises the jihadists fighting to establish an "Islamic government" in Syria. But he warns that their enemies seek to "divide" their "ranks." Read more →
AFRICOM has stepped up operations against al Qaeda's branch in East Africa. The US military has now targeted Shabaab forces five times and killed 10 fighters over the past week. Read more →
