The IRGC’s construction arm is helping to develop a massive complex in a Shiite shrine in Najaf Iraq. Its partner, the Headquarters for the Restoration of Holy Shrines, is a front organization for the Qods Force.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said today that the Islamic State’s stronghold inside Sirte, Libya has been reduced to “a single square kilometer” and a “single neighborhood.” As of Sept. 21, the US has launched 161 airstrikes against the so-called caliphate’s men inside the city.
The video of fighters purportedly training and firing RPGs in the open in Swabi indicates that the Taliban have returned.
Iraqi forces retook control of Shirqat in order to secure its supply lines south of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul. The Islamic State is also thought to have fired a shell filled with a mustard agent at US troops nearby.
The complaint filed in the case against Ahmad Khan Rahami, who is accused of planting bombs in New York and New Jersey on Sept. 17, omitted any reference to the Islamic State. But a newly released page from Rahami’s notebook shows that he mentioned Abu Muhammad al Adnani in the context of being unable to travel abroad for jihad. Prior to his demise in August, Adnani repeatedly told followers to strike in their home countries if they were unable to emigrate to the lands of the so-called caliphate.
Catherine Herridge of Fox News has shared nine pages from Ahmad Khan Rahami’s journal with The Long War Journal. Rahami is accused of placing bombs in New York City and New Jersey on Sept. 17. His notebook contains multiple references to jihadi figures.
The FBI is seeking information on two “unknown individuals” to question them about luggage that contained an improvised explosive device on 27th street in Manhattan on Sept. 17. The two men allegedly “removed an improvised explosive device from the luggage, and then left the vicinity leaving the device behind but taking the luggage.”
The Islamic State’s Furat Media Establishment has released a short video allegedly showing a captured Russian intelligence agent. The man is made to address Russian President Vladimir Putin directly and plead for his life.
Authorities recovered a handwritten journal from Ahmad Khan Rahami, who is charged with carrying out bombings in New York and New Jersey on Sept. 17. The notebook allegedly contains praise for Osama bin Laden and Anwar al Awlaki.
Shabaab claims to have captured two towns in central Somalia after Ethiopian troops reportedly withdrew from their nearby bases.
The State Department has designated Jund al Aqsa in Syria as a terrorist organization. The Long War Journal previously exposed Jund al Aqsa as an al Qaeda front group. Al Qaeda veterans have been embedded within the organization and Jund al Aqsa’s “general command” remains loyal to al Qaeda’s leaders.
The National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan intelligence agency, raided an al Qaeda encampment and killed five Pakistani terrorists in the southeastern province of Zabul.
The FBI has identified Ahmad Khan Rahami as a suspect in the Sept. 17 bombing in New York City that injured 29 people. Rahami was arrested after he was wounded in a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey. Officials believe the bombings in New York City, Elizabeth, and Seaside Park may be linked.
Jihadists killed 17 Indian troops and wounded dozens more in a suicide assault on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir. Jaish-e-Mohammed is thought to have carried out a similar attack on an Indian air base in January.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has claimed responsibility for the stabbings in St. Cloud, Minnesota yesterday. Amaq’s claim is similar to the statements issued after a series of attacks in Europe and the US.
Israel’s nationwide Home Front Drill, to be held next week, will simulate a worst-case-scenario war with Hezbollah, involving Iran, Syria and Hamas.
The State Department has designated Omar Diaby, who has recruited French men and women to wage jihad in Syria, as a terrorist. Diaby faked his death in 2015 so he could receive treatment for wounds he suffered. He resurfaced earlier this year. Diaby is infamous for producing a series of videos under the brand “19HH.” The videos have explicitly marketed his loyalty to al Qaeda.
The US military announced today that it killed Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, the Islamic State’s “Minister of Information” and central shura member, in an airstrike near Raqqah, the jihadist group’s capital in Syria, ten days ago.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released its most recent statistics on Guantanamo recidivism this week. 208 former detainees are either confirmed or suspected of rejoining the jihad. 188 of them were transferred or released during the Bush administration and the remaining 20 by the Obama administration. The estimated number of recidivists has steadily climbed since 2008, when the government first provided statistics on this topic.
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan counters the Pakistani military’s claims that Operation Zarb-e-Azb has succeeded in defeating jihadists of all stripes in North Waziristan.
The US military’s announcement discredits claims from Russia’s Ministry of Defense that one of its warplanes killed Abu Muhammad al Adnani, who served as the group’s top spokesman, recruiter, and head of its external operations branch, in an airstrike at the end of August.
Fifteen years after 9/11, Al Qaeda remains a threat to the West despite not carrying out a large-scale attack in years. The group is waging insurgencies in several countries and is far larger than it was on 9/11.
Iraqi Shiite militia leader Akram al Kabi has met with top Iranian government official in Iran. Kabi, who is a member of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces that has become an official part of the Iraqi government, boldly proclaimed his allegiance to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
Tarin Kot is the second provincial capital in the south that is under direct threat of a Taliban takeover. Lashkar Gah in neighboring Helmand province is also contested by the Taliban.
All three strikes took place in the province of Shabwa, where AQAP remains entrenched despite an offensive spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates to dislodge the group from southern Yemen.
Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force, was spotted in southern Aleppo on September 6, inspecting the positions of Iraqi Shiite militia Harakat al Nujaba in advance of assaults.
The Taliban threatened to attack “judicial installations” if the Afghan government follows through on executing Anas Haqqani, the brother of the group’s deputy emir who is also the operational leader of the Haqqani Network.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has claimed 729 “martyrdom operations” in Iraq, Syria and Libya since the beginning of the year. The figures for August indicate that 81 suicide attacks were carried out in these three countries. If the statistics are accurate, then the self-declared “caliphate” is carrying out suicide bombings at a historically high rate.
The Islamic State claimed five “martyrdom operations” against Syrian regime checkpoints in Damascus, Homs and Tartus earlier today. The assault in Tartus appears to have caused the most casualties, with dozens reportedly killed or wounded.
The Taliban claimed credit for today’s suicide assault near the Afghan Ministry of Defense in Kabul that killed more than 20 people, including Army and police officials. The attack is the latest in a string of deadly assaults in the capital city over the past several months. The attack began as the Taliban detonated “a […]