The strikes were launched to "prevent terrorists from using remote areas as a safe haven to plot, direct, inspire, and recruit for future attacks," AFRICOM noted. Read more →
The Taliban has confirmed that it is meeting with an American delegation in the UAE on Dec. 17. Representatives from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the UAE are attending as well, according to the Taliban. There was no mention of the Afghan government in the Taliban's statement. Read more →
The Islamic State claims to have killed 14 members of Shabaab, al Qaeda's arm in Somalia. Read more →
The last three strikes against Shabaab have taken place in an area where foreign al Qaeda fighters have historically sheltered. AFRICOM has targeted Shabaab 40 times throughout Somalia in 2018. Read more →
The Islamic State's Amaq News Agency released a short message claiming that the terrorist responsible for attacking the Strasbourg Christmas market was a "soldier" of the so-called caliphate. The message was disseminated online hours after Chérif Chekatt, who has been identified as the assailant, was shot dead by French police. Thus far, the Islamic State hasn't provided any corroborating details. Read more →
In the past 24 hours, the Islamic State has conducted more than one suicide bombing against US-backed forces in Hajin, Syria. One Islamic State "martyr" blew himself up near the Hajin hospital, which became the scene of intense fighting earlier this week. Read more →
The Taliban overran the district of Shib Koh in the western province of Farah today after Afghan security forces stationed there fled. Farah remains one of Afghanistan's most troubled provinces. Read more →
AQIM leader Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud has confirmed that Almansour Ag Kassam (Almansour Ag Alkassoum), an important jihadist who worked with several al Qaeda groups, was killed by France in November. Read more →
In a new audio message, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's emir, Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud, tries to capitalize on popular discontent in France. He fuses populist economic arguments with his jihadist ideology to critique France's intervention in Africa. Read more →
The attacks show that the Taliban continues to remain on the offensive and also provide a window into the accuracy of the Taliban's reporting of its military operations. Read more →
The Department of Justice announced yesterday that Damon M. Joseph, a 21-year-old man from Ohio, has been arrested and charged with planning an attack on one or two synagogues in Toledo. According to court documents, Joseph praised the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in late October. He was allegedly inspired by both the Islamic State and Anwar al-Awlaki. Read more →
Nashir News Agency, which disseminates content on behalf of the Islamic State, reposted an oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The statement reaffirming the jihadis' fealty to Baghdadi comes in the middle of a crackdown by Telegram, which has suspended dozens of Nashir accounts since the beginning of the month. The bay'ah statement is not new, as it has been circulated in the past. Read more →
