Monthly Archives: January 2017


Qassem Soleimani credits supreme leader with recent victories

Iranian media report that Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force, has delivered an address extolling the leadership of Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Soleimani is back in Iran after visiting eastern Aleppo, and purportedly inspecting an Iraqi Shiite militia last month.



Pentagon: Airstrikes kill 20 or more al Qaeda fighters in northern Syria

The Pentagon is still assessing the results of airstrikes on Jan. 1 and Jan. 3 in northern Syria, but it is believed that 20 al Qaeda “militants” were killed in the bombings. The airstrikes are likely among the most significant carried out against al Qaeda in Syria since Sept. 2014. President Obama reportedly authorized a more robust air campaign against al Qaeda in Syria late last year, after the administration had previously defined down the threat.



Osama bin Laden’s son designated as a terrorist by State Department

The State Department announced today that Osama bin Laden’s son, Hamza, has been added to the US government’s list of designated terrorists. Al Qaeda has released several messages from Hamza since Aug. 2015. He has threatened the West, said that all Muslims should support the jihad in Syria, and called for the Saudi government to be overthrown.


Russia’s new favorite jihadis: The Taliban

Russia is openly advocating on behalf of the Taliban, arguing that the jihadist group should be considered a bulwark against the Islamic State’s branch in Afghanistan. But the Taliban is a bigger threat to Afghan security than Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s men, the organization remains closely allied with al Qaeda and its own extremism should not be downplayed.