Monthly Archives: September 2017

US resumes strikes against Islamic State in Libya

US Africa Command launched airstrikes against the Islamic State in Libya for the first time in eight months. AFRICOM also revealed to FDD’s Long War Journal that an estimated 800 to 900 Islamic State fighters were killed during Operation Odyssey Lightning’s air campaign in Sirte last year.









Islamic State radio tries to quell controversy over takfir

The Islamic State’s Al Bayan radio station has released several religious lectures dealing with an internal controversy over takfir, the practice of excommunicating other Muslims and denouncing “polytheists.” The so-called caliphate tried to quell the controversy by repealing a problematic memo earlier this month.



JNIM claims large assault in Kidal, Mali

After almost one month of media silence, al Qaeda’s JNIM returns to social media to claim responsibility for a complex assault on UN forces near the northern Malian city of Kidal.



US strikes Islamic State camp in Libyan desert

The US carried out six airstrikes against an Islamic State camp “approximately 150 miles southeast of Sirte” on Sept. 22, according to US Africa Command. The bombings reportedly killed 17 jihadists and destroyed three vehicles.


Iraqi forces launch offensive against Islamic State in Hawijah

The Iraqi government launched a new offensive against the Islamic State in the Hawijah pocket earlier today. Hawijah is considered one of the group’s two remaining strongholds inside Iraq. The other is in the western Anbar province, where the Iraqi government began new operations on Sept. 19.


Iran highlights Qods Force commander killed by the Islamic State

Iran has divulged more details about a senior officer from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Qods Force who was killed in Syria last month. The 32-year old Col Morteza Hosseinpour-Shalmani (AKA Hossein Qomi) died afteran Islamic State ambush near Jamouna, which is about 37 miles northeast of the US base of Tanf by the Iraqi border in eastern Syria. The operations commander of the Iranian-led Iraqi contingent in Syria, he was leading a unit of Seyyed al Shuhada Brigades that included Iranian-embedded soldiers.



Hezbollah publicizes commander’s role in defending Deir Ezzor city

After pro-Syrian regime forces broke the siege of Deir Ezzor city this month, Lebanese Hezbollah media outlet Al Mayadeen released a rare interview with Hezbollah field commander “al Haj Abu Mustafa,” crediting the gray-bearded, southern Lebanese native with playing a key role in leading the defense against the Islamic State.





Islamic State claims its ‘soldiers’ carried out London tube bombing

The Islamic State claims its “soldiers” carried out the London tube bombing earlier today. Twenty-nine people were injured in the attack. Earlier this month, the British government reported a surge in terror-related arrests. As of June 30, 204 people were in custody in the UK for suspected terrorism-related offenses and the “majority” of them, 91 percent, hold “Islamist extremist views.”









The IRGC touts drone strikes against the Islamic State

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has promoted its drone strikes against the Islamic State near the Iraqi border in Syria. The IRGC says the strikes were carried out as “revenge” for an Iranian soldier who was beheaded by the so-called caliphate.