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 Taliban took control of Now Zad in Helmand province in late July even though Afghan forces were backed by US air support, video from the fighting shows.
The attacks in Kabul and elsewhere over the weekend have caused top Afghan officials to accuse the Pakistani government of continuing to back the Taliban even while hosting peace talks.
The statement is the first claim of responsibility despite reports that another jihadist group was likely behind the siege.
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.
Five suspected jihadists were killed in the strike, which took place in the al Qaeda and Taliban haven of Datta Khel.
No group has yet to claim the assault, though attacking hotels frequented by foreigners is a common tactic of jihadists.
The Jaysh al Fateh alliance claims to have captured several villages in the Al Ghab plain in recent days.
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.
The video is just the latest ultimatum given by the Islamic State in which the jihadists threaten to kill a foreign hostage if their demands are not met.
The “Training Camp Shaheed Ustaz Aasim in the Lions Den” is said to be in the Zurmat district in the eastern Afghan province. The district is a known bastion of the Haqqani Network and has hosted al Qaeda fighters in the past.
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 ambush near Timbuktu is just the latest al Qaeda attack near the city. Additionally, other attacks by jihadists have occurred further south in the country.
If the images released by the Islamic State supporter are legitimate, then Khorasan province now has a foothold in Waziristan, the epicenter of al Qaeda’s base of support in Pakistan.
The influential veteran jihadist leader has endorsed Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour as the new emir of the Taliban, and urged others to pledge to him, according to the Taliban.
The Uighur jihadist group based in South Asia sent a message to the “honorable Mujahideen in Somalia” thanking them for the recent attack on the Jazeera hotel in Mogadishu.
According to a letter attributed to Mullah Adbul Qayoum Zakir, the former Quantanamo Bay detainee denied reports that he is at odds with new Taliban emir Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.
Reports surfaced that veteran jihadist leader Jalaluddin Haqqani died in 2014, but the Afghan Taliban have gone on the record stating that the patriarch of the Haqqani Network is alive.