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Pakistan protests US airstrike on Mansour as ‘a violation of sovereignty’
Pakistan has officially protested some US drone strikes in the past, typically when a so-called “good Taliban” leader is targeted. However Pakistan has occasional protested strikes that have targeted al Qaeda and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.
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US confirms Mansour killed, vows no change in combat strategy
The White House confirmed the death of Taliban emir Mullah Mansour today, two days after the group’s top leader was targeted in an unmanned airstrike in Baluchistan province.
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Afghan intelligence agency says Taliban emir Mansour is dead
The National Directorate of Security claimed that Taliban Mullah Mansour died in yesterday’s airstrike but the US has yet to confirm his death.
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US targeted Taliban emir Mullah Mansour in unprecedented Pakistan drone strike
Mullah Mansour was targeted in an airstrike in Baluchistan province. If Mansour is confirmed killed, one of his likely successors is Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network who is closely tied to al Qaeda.
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Treasury sanctions al Qaeda, Islamic State ‘financiers and facilitators’
The US Treasury Department has designated 5 members of al Qaeda’s international “facilitation and fundraising” network, as well as one of the Islamic State’s “critical facilitators” in North Africa. One of the newly designated jihadists, known as Abu Sulayman al Muhajir, was as an extremist preacher in Australia before relocating to Syria and joining Al Nusrah Front.
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US adds Islamic State branches in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen to list of terrorist organizations
There are now eight Islamic State branches throughout the world designated by the US as terrorist entities – Khorasan, or Afghanistan and Pakistan; the Caucasus; the Egyptian Sinai; Algeria; and Nigeria.
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Video shows Hezbollah Brigades convoy heading for Fallujah
The Hezbollah Brigades will likely join other Iranian-backed groups in the fighting for Fallujah when the operation to recapture the city officially begins.
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Iran-backed militia prepares ‘special forces’ for Fallujah offensive
Harakat al Nujaba’s leader said that the Shia militia is operating in the Fallujah corridor and has prepared its forces to participate with the Anbar Brigade to retake Fallujah from the Islamic State.
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Ansar Dine’s branch in southern Mali releases first video
The first video promises to be the first of many of Ansar Dine’s southern branch. Ansar Dine’s Katibat Macina, which is more commonly known as the Macina Liberation Front, is integrated within al Qaeda’s larger strategy for Mali and West Africa.
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Iraqi forces report recapturing city in western Anbar
Rutbah has been a key center of activity for the Islamic State in Anbar. It is the latest population center in the western province to be liberated by the Iraqi military.
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Sadr’s ‘Peace Brigades’ prepares for Mosul offensive
Muqtada al Sadr, the radical Shia cleric who battled US forces during the Iraqi occupation, is preparing his militia to participate in an offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State. The US military has insisted that Iranian-backed militias will not fight in Mosul.
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Ex-Guantanamo detainee discusses his life with Osama bin Laden
The latest edition of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) Inspire magazine includes an interview with ex-Guantanamo detainee Ibrahim al Qosi, as well as an article authored by Qosi. The former lieutenant to Osama bin Laden discusses al Qaeda’s formative years leading up to the 9/11 attacks.
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Caucasus Emirate in Syria fighting in Aleppo
The small Chechen and North Caucasian group loyal to the Caucasus Emirate continues to highlight its presence in Aleppo.
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Taliban offensive in north stresses Afghan military
Afghan forces have been stretched thin attempting to fight the Taliban on multiple fronts. Forces are often shifted from one theater to another to take back ground from the Taliban, but once the military pulls back, the areas fall back under Taliban control.
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Iraqi militia acknowledges fatalities in Syrian town of Khan Touman
Iraqi militia group Harakat al-Nujaba has announced the deaths of 11 in last week’s battle of Khan Touman. It will participate in an anticipated counterattack to retake the town.
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Syrian rebels deny Hezbollah’s military commander killed in ‘artillery shelling’
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights disputed Hezbollah’s findings, claiming that it did not observe any artillery attacks on the airport, and its sources within the Syrian military and rebel groups in the city denied shelling the airport. It is likely that Israeli warplanes killed Mustafa Badreddine.
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Storied Hezbollah commander killed in Syria
Mustafa Badreddine, Imad Mughniyah’s replacement and a notorious Hezbollah senior military commander, was killed in an attack on Damascus International Airport initially attributed to Israel.
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Islamic State claims suicide bombing in Maiduguri
Despite being pushed back in several places of northeastern Nigeria, the attack still proves that the Islamic State West Africa, formerly known as Boko Haram, can still strike in heavily guarded areas.
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IRGC, allies sustained significant losses in battle for Khan Touman
On May 6, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps lost the strategic village of Khan Touman to Jaysh al Fath, suffering its worse defeat yet in the Syrian war. Iranian officials and commanders alongside state outlets have publicly downplayed the loss and have vowed revenge to retake the town. They also level accusations that the West and its regional allies support “terrorists” who take advantage of ceasefires.
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Islamic State launches mobile app for children
The mobile app is designed to teach the Arabic alphabet to children of Islamic State supporters around the world. The vocabulary featured within the application is littered with jihadist and militaristic terminology.
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US launched 4 airstrikes against AQAP at end of April
CENTCOM said that AQAP “remains a significant threat to the region, the United States and beyond” and “has a destabilizing effect on Yemen.” The airstrikes appear to have targeted AQAP as the UAE launched its offensive to dislodge AQAP from the city of Mukallah.
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US, Afghan forces rescue son of former Pakistani prime minister from ‘al Qaeda cell’
The US military said it carried out a “counterterror mission” to rescue Ali Haider Gilani. Afghan officials said that al Qaeda was holding him hostage. Al Qaeda operated a training camp in Paktika as recently as the summer of 2015. Paktika is also a stronghold for the al Qaeda-allied Haqqani Network.
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US kills Islamic State’s military emir for Anbar province
Abu Wahib has been waging jihad in Iraq for more than a decade. He fought for al Qaeda in Iraq, was imprisoned and escaped during an al Qaeda assault on a prison in 2014, and is responsible for the Islamic State’s successes in Anbar province.
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Taliban claims to have ‘thousands of fully armed martyrdom seekers’
The Afghan Taliban said it would give “top priority” to government agencies involved in the execution of jihadist prisoners and claimed it has “thousands of fully armed martyrdom seekers” at its disposal who are “awaiting to take revenge.”
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Osama bin Laden’s son says jihad in Syria key to ‘liberate Palestine’
Hamzah bin Laden calls for jihadist unity and says the jihad in Syria is key to “liberating” Palestine from the Jews. He says Muslims everywhere should participate in the Palestinians’ “intifada.”
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Ayman al Zawahiri discusses al Qaeda’s goal of building an Islamic emirate in Syria
Al Qaeda’s propaganda arm, As Sahab, has released a new audio message from Ayman al Zawahiri. The al Qaeda emir discusses his organization’s goal of establishing an Islamic emirate in Syria, calls for “unity” among the mujahideen, and heaps praise on Al Nusrah Front.
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2 Romanian soldiers killed in insider attack in Afghanistan
The attack, where Afghan forces turn on NATO personnel, is the first of its kind recorded in Afghanistan in more than a year.
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Turkistan Islamic Party advertises role in jihadist-led offensive in Aleppo province
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) has released a series of photos documenting its “spoils” from a new round of fighting in Syria’s Aleppo province. Jaysh al Fath, an alliance of several groups, launched the offensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime and its allies earlier this week. The TIP is fighting alongside Al Nusrah Front, which is al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda front group.
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Report: Head of the Islamic State’s Sahara branch threatens Morocco
Al Jazeera has reportedly obtained an audio message from Adnan Abu Walid al Sahrawi in which he threatens to attack Morocco. Little has been heard from Sahrawi since May 2015, when he broke from Al Murabitoon and declared his fealty to the Islamic State. If the message is authentic, then it could indicate that he and his men plan on initiating new operations.
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Jaysh al Fath coalition launches new offensive in Aleppo province
The Jaysh al Fath coalition, which overran the Idilb province in northwestern Syria last year, has launched a new offensive south of the city of Aleppo. The jihadists have released dramatic drone footage from the fighting, which centered on the town of Khan Tuman. Several of Jaysh al Fath’s member organizations have produced propaganda from the battle.
