Jihadist group confirms arrest of Uzbek commander
Jabhat Ansar al Din has confirmed that Abu Saloh al Uzbeki, the former leader of HTS’ Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, has indeed been arrested by his former group.
Jabhat Ansar al Din has confirmed that Abu Saloh al Uzbeki, the former leader of HTS’ Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, has indeed been arrested by his former group.
Abu Saloh, the founder and first emir of Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, was arrested by HTS yesterday after the jihadist reportedly failed to pay his debts.
Two recently released booklets by the al Qaeda group are likely meant to assuage tensions both within and outside its organization.
In the UNSC’s new report on the Islamic State, al Qaeda, and affiliated groups, the UN states that the Uzbek jihadist group, the Islamic Jihad Union, operates in Syria. This was not previously known.
Several foreign jihadist groups have joined rebel opposition units to help combat regime advances in the northern Hama countryside.
According to the UN’s Jan. 2019 assessment, al Qaeda’s relationship with the Taliban is “long-standing” and “strong.” And al Qaeda “continues to see Afghanistan as a safe haven for its leadership.” The UN estimates that the Islamic State has several thousand fighters in Afghanistan as well.
According to a new report published by the United Nations, al Qaeda’s “alliance with the Taliban and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan remains firm,” as al Qaeda and the Taliban are “closely allied.” Some of the UN’s Member States consider al Qaeda’s global network to be a bigger long-term threat than the Islamic State.
Jihadists and Islamists in Syria have denounced the US government’s decision to designate Katibat Imam al Bukhari (KIB) as a terrorist organization. The KIB’s own statement on the designation includes misleading claims and some of those defending the group have their own al Qaeda links.
Katibat Imam al Bukhari (also known as the Imam Bukhari Jamaat), an Uzbek jihadist group that operates in Syria and Afghanistan, has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the US State Department today.
As the siege continues into its second day, thousands of civilians have been forced to flee and martial law has been declared inside Marawi city.
The clashes are currently ongoing, but pictures circulating online appear to show jihadist forces openly moving about the city. At least one policemen is reported killed and five soldiers wounded so far.
Salahadin al Uzbeki, a veteran of the jihad in Afghanistan and leader of the Taliban-loyal Katibat Imam al Bukhari, has reportedly been assassinated by an “Islamic State infiltrator” in Idlib.
More than 20 jihadist, Islamist and other rebel organizations took part in the offensive to break the siege of Aleppo. It was likely one of the largest combined efforts in the history of the Syrian war.
The foreign jihadists are operating within Jaysh al Fateh’s renewed offensive in Latakia, in which several Free Syrian Army groups are also taking part.
The Jaysh al Fateh alliance captured three more villages in the southern countryside of Aleppo during an offensive that began on June 17. The jihadist-led coalition has made steady gains in Aleppo province since May, further demonstrating al Qaeda’s prowess in guerrilla warfare.
Jaish Muhammad is the latest foreign fighter group to join the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.
The two Uzbek groups are fighting with the Jaysh al Fateh coalition as part of its renewed offensive in southern Aleppo.
The fighters shown training in urban Aleppo in the video are part of the Uzbek battalion’s ‘commando forces’ in Aleppo.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed today that the US targeted Abu Firas al Suri, a veteran al Qaeda leader, in an airstrike in Syria. Within hours of the bombing yesterday, jihadists on social media claimed that Abu Firas had perished. Separately, Cook confirmed that Hassan Ali Dhoore, a dual hatted al Qaeda and Shabaab leader, was killed in an airstrike in Somalia on Mar. 31.
Two small jihadist groups in Damascus, Ansar al Sharia and Al Muntasir Billah, have sworn allegiance to Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria. Several organizations have joined Al Nusrah since late last year.
A video released by the Imam Bukhari Jamaat shows children training with various weapons, reading the Koran, practicing mathematics, and learning Sharia and Arabic.
The Islamic State is training its forces inside Palmyra, a city under its control, while Al Nusrah is instructing fighters near the contested city of Aleppo.
The ranks of the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, continue to swell with foreign fighters.
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.
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.
Earlier this month, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan officially swore allegiance to the Islamic State’s emir, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. On August 20, fighters from the Islamic Jihad Union followed in al Qaeda’s footsteps and pledged loyalty to Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the newly appointed leader of the Taliban.
The jihadist group continues to have a significant role in the Jaysh al Fatah coalition and the wider Idlib offensive.
The Jaysh al Fateh alliance claims to have captured several villages in the Al Ghab plain in recent days.