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Ohio man allegedly communicated with an Islamic State ‘external attack planner’
Authorities arrested Aaron Travis Daniels, also known as Harun Muhammad and Abu Yusef, at an airport in Columbus, Ohio yesterday. Daniels allegedly intended to fly to Trinidad and then onto Libya, where he could join the Islamic State. The Department of Justice says Daniels was in contact with an Islamic State “external attack planner” who suggested that he join the jihad in Libya.
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Iraqi militia leader says Qassem Soleimani is in Iraq
Akram al Kabi, a senior Iraqi militia leader, says IRGC Qods Force chief Qassem Soleimani is in Iraq. Soleimani’s last confirmed sighting was on Oct. 28 in Tehran, Iran.
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Ansar Dine claims string of attacks across Mali
The total number of al Qaeda-linked attacks in Mali in 2016 now sits at 203.
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Islamic State defends Mosul with dozens of suicide bombers
The Islamic State claims to have carried out 120 “martyrdom operations” in Iraq and Syria in October. Seventy-nine (79) of these suicide bombings were purportedly launched around the city of Mosul. The so-called caliphate has claimed 902 “martyrdom operations” in Iraq, Libya and Syria during the first ten months of 2016. If accurate, then the group is carrying out suicide attacks at a historically high rate.
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Hezbollah fighters train Iraqi Shiite militants near Mosul
Video surfaced of Hezbollah fighters training Iraqi Shiite militants near Mosul this week. They are not wearing their militia’s insignia, but their distinct southern Lebanese accents betray their membership in the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy group.
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AQIM executes Tuareg prisoners in video
The al Qaeda branch executes several alleged spies for regional and French forces.
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Pentagon confirms death of senior al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan
The Pentagon confirmed today that Faruq al Qatani, a senior al Qaeda leader, was killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan on Oct. 23. Qatani was suspected of planning attacks against the US. He established safe havens for al Qaeda in Afghanistan several years ago and also worked with the Taliban in the insurgency against the Afghan government, US forces and their allies.
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Islamic State claims car bombing in southeastern Turkey
On Nov. 2, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi called for attacks inside Turkey as retribution for Turkish operations in Iraq and Syria. Earlier today, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a car bombing in the city of Diyarbakir, which is in southeastern Turkey.
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Abu Azrael spotted during PMF’s Mosul operation
Iraqi Shiite militia strongman and Imam Ali Brigades commander, Abu Azrael, was spotted alongside the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) as they make their way through the western axis of Mosul toward Tal Afar. The PMF is attempting to prevent the Islamic State’s escape to Syria through Tal Afar, which is 33 miles west of Mosul. Abu Azrael gained fame on social media carrying an ax and sword, and mutilating the corpse of a suspected Islamic State “like shwarma” after he was burned alive. Abu Azrael was recently photographed with Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, the PMF operational commander who was designated by the US…
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Iraqi PMF attempts to cut off Islamic State in Mosul
Iranian-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) launched an operation in the western axis of Mosul on Oct. 30, and announced on Nov. 2 that they cut off the Islamic State’s supply route from Mosul to Raqqa. The PMF is advancing towards the town of Tal Afar west of Mosul, which has Sunni Turkmen population.
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Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s ‘grand jihad’ against the world
The Islamic State has released an audio message from Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. It is the first message from Baghdadi in nearly one year. Baghdadi frames the wars being fought in Iraq and elsewhere in sectarian terms and says that his men are waging a “grand jihad” against their many enemies.
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Taliban kills 2 US soldiers in Kunduz
The US soldiers were operating as part of Resolute Support’s “train, advise and assist mission.”
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Pentagon: Al Qaeda veteran in Syria was planning attacks against the West
The Defense Department announced today that Haydar Kirkan, a veteran al Qaeda operative who was plotting against the West, was killed in an airstrike in Idlib, Syria on Oct. 17. Kirkan was one of several al Qaeda leaders targeted in Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen during the month of October. The Pentagon emphasized that the airstrikes demonstrate the “transregional nature” of al Qaeda.
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Analysis: US military assessment of Taliban control of Afghan districts is flawed
The US military’s estimate does not explain how the Taliban is able to support multiple concurrent offensives across the country and threaten five provincial capitals. Additionally, the military claims that only 3 of Helmand’s 14 districts are threatened by the Taliban.
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Why Iran supported Houthi attacks against the US Navy
Indicators suggest that Tehran supports the Houthi anti-ship missile attack against the US Navy this past week. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps held the US directly responsible for the devastating Saudi-led coalition bombing last week in Sanaa, Yemen. The IRGC sought to pressure the US in order to push the Saudis to deescalate the war, calculating that the US wants to avoid more involvement in the war in Yemen.
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Islamic State recognizes oath of allegiance from jihadists in Mali
The Islamic State has officially recognized a loyalty oath sworn by Abu Walid al Sahrawi, a jihadist based in West Africa. Sahrawi first swore his fealty to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in May 2015. It is not clear why it took so long for the so-called caliphate to recognize him as one of its representatives.
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Jihadists and other rebels launch new offensive in Aleppo
Al Qaeda’s rebranded guerrilla army in Syria is fighting alongside other jihadists, Islamists and Free Syrian Army-branded rebels in an offensive intended to break the Assad regime’s siege of Aleppo. Most of the participating groups belong to two coalitions: Jaysh al Fath (“Army of Conquest”) and Fatah Halab (“Aleppo Conquest”). These same two alliances tried and failed to break the siege earlier this year.
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IRGC commander killed on eve of Aleppo battle
A major battle has commenced in Aleppo between the array of pro-government and opposition forces that include Sunni and Shiite jihadists. Another high-ranking former IRGC commander has been killed in Syria. Iranian media claim he died while undertaking “advisory mission,” but Guard commanders are engaged in direct combat operations, as well.
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Hezbollah Brigades hurries troops to Mosul fight
At least 11 rocket launchers, four howitzers (including two US-made M198 howitzers), one American-made M1 Abrams, and one US M88 Recovery Vehicle were spotted in a Hezbollah Brigades convoy moving towards Mosul.
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Islamic State fighters withdraw from captured Somali port town
The Islamic State-loyal forces withdrew just a day after capturing Qandala. However, the small branch did demonstrate it has the capabilities to even temporarily take over and hold ground.
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Qassem Soleimani visits families of Iranians killed in Syria
Qods Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani was in Tehran today visiting the families of Iranians who lost members in Syria, after a confirmed sighting in Iraqi Kurdistan on Oct. 23.
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Taliban overruns military base in Uruzgan
A Taliban spokesman released a video of an interview of fighters from the base. Like the recent ambush in Helmand’s capital, the Taliban fighters clearly are not concerned about either a counterattack or airstrikes.
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US military kills 5 AQAP fighters in central Yemen
There have been at least 31 airstrikes against AQAP in Yemen in 2016, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal.
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US targeted 2 senior al Qaeda leaders in eastern Afghanistan
The US targeted Faruq al Qatani and Bilal al Utabi in an airstrike in Kunar Province, Afghanistan on Oct. 23. Both of them have been involved in al Qaeda’s anti-Western plotting, according to the Pentagon. Qatani was identified as a key al Qaeda commander in Osama bin Laden’s files.
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Islamic State continues to plot against the West, US military warns
Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said today that the Islamic State is planning attacks against the West (“external operations”) from its headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. Townsend didn’t provide any specifics, but the group has used its safe havens to orchestrate multiple plots in the past.
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Islamic State in Somalia claims capture of port town
This marks the first time the fledgling Islamic State branch has claimed control over a town in Somalia.
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Shabaab launches series of strikes in Kenya, Somalia
Shabaab continues to demonstrate its deadliness in both Kenya and Somalia.
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Islamic State, Pakistani Taliban claim suicide assault in Quetta
Islamic State’s Khorasan province and the Karachi faction of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan both claimed credit for the attack on a police academy in Quetta that killed more than 60 cadets. Pakistani officials claimed the suicide assault was executed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Almi.
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IRGC to expand Basij special forces
The Basij Fatehin special forces, an all-volunteer group established following the 2009 post-election protests that serves as a “model” auxiliary unit to the IRGC Ground Forces in Syria, will expand to boost the IRGC’s operational capabilities. The Fatehin commander has proclaimed that the participation of this unit and IRGC-backed foreign proxies in Syria herald the formation of a global Basij, and that the Fatehin is “ready to conquer Israel.”
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Qassem Soleimani spotted in Iraq’s KRG territory
IRGC-QF Commander Qassem Soleimani was spotted in Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government area yesterday visiting the family of a deceased Kurdish Peshmarga commander. The visit marked the first confirmed sighting of Soleimani in Iraq since the siege of Mosul was launched last week.
