Earlier today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a set of files recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound. These are but a fraction of the files that should be released to the public.
A US drone strike reportedly killed Ma’moun Abdulhamid Hatem, an AQAP and Ansar al Sharia official who supported the Islamic State, yesterday in Yemen. His purported death has not been confirmed by the group.
Ali Abu Muhammad al Dagestani led the Islamic Caucasus Emirate during defections to the Islamic State. He openly stated his allegiance to Al Qaeda and the global jihadist group also provided him support.
Al Qaeda announced the death of sharia official Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish, who was killed in a drone strikein eastern Yemen. Rubaish is a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay who also served as an operational planner for the jihadist group.
Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent confirmed that deputy emir Ustad Ahmad Farooq and shura member Qari ‘Imran were killed in separate strikes in January. Farooq was identified in Osama bin Laden’s documents as an up and coming al Qaeda leader.
Correspondence between senior al Qaeda leaders indicates that the group maintains a larger foothold in Afghanistan than is widely recognized.
US officials are now telling Reuters that counterterrorism operations in Yemen are “paralyzed.”
The US military’s airstrikes in Syria show that there is no firm dividing line between al Qaeda’s so-called Khorasan Group and the Al Nusrah Front, which is al Qaeda’s official branch in the country.
CENTCOM denied that the five airstrikes on Nov. 5 targeted “the Nusrah Front as a whole” but instead were directed at the Khorasan Group. This is a distinction without difference, as the Khorasan Group is part of the Al Nusrah Front.
The spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban announced that he and five other leaders had defected to the Islamic State this week. The bulk of the organization had already broken off earlier this year.
Both the Taliban and Junood al Fida, a jihadist group loyal to the Taliban and al Qaeda, have claimed that the Registan district in the southern Kandahar province has fallen to the jihadists. Afghan officials quickly denied the claim as “exaggerated.”
Obama described the counterterrorism strategy in Yemen and Somalia as “one that we have successfully pursued … for years.” However, several years of cooperation with willing partners have yielded questionable results.
Abu Zubayr, the emir of Shabaab, restates his support for Ayman al Zawahiri and calls for mediation in Syria.
The Long War Journal has confirmed a report by the Daily Beast saying that multiple al Qaeda operatives were involved in the intercepted communications that led to the closure of more than 20 US diplomatic facilities.
Nasir al Wuhayshi, the emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has been appointed the overall general manager of al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden’s letters contain a description of the general manager’s role.
A terrorist group headed by Mokhtar Belmokhtar has claimed credit for the raid on a natural gas field in Algeria. Belmokhtar is a longtime Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb commander, but split from the group last year. Belmokhtar’s spokesman has said that he still answers to al Qaeda central.
The group said that Abu Muhammad al Julani is alive and well, and also confirmed that two Zarqawi associates, Abu Anas al Sahhaba and Abu Julaybib, are senior commanders.
Iyad al Tubasi is thought to have been killed in Daraa. He is believed to have been replaced by Abu Anas al Sahhaba, another associate of former al Qaeda in Iraq emir Abu Musab al Zarqawi.
Musa Ali Daqduq, who was tasked with establishing a Hezbollah-like Shia terror group in Iraq, and who was involved in the 2007 attack on US troops in Karbala, has been freed from Iraqi custody and is now in Lebanon.
President Obama claims that the Taliban’s “momentum” has been broken in Afghanistan. Other officials have made similar claims. The Long War Journal has examined several sources that measure the insurgency’s capacity for violence and finds that the Taliban’s momentum has not been broken. The overall level of violence in Afghanistan today remains worse than prior to the surge.
Only a tiny fraction of Osama bin Laden’s files have been released. Nearly all of them should be.
The Muslim Youth Center, Shabaab’s affiliate in Kenya, said that the groups would fight “under the banner of AQEA (al Qaeda East Africa).” AQEA has long reported to al Qaeda’s most senior leadership.
The announcement formalizes the longstanding close working relationship between the two terror groups.
Ansar al Islam, an al Qaeda-linked terror group based in northern Iraq, named Abu Hashim Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman al Ibrahim as its new emir.
A major weakness in the US’s strategy to fight al Qaeda’s central command is its reliance on Pakistan.
Hisham Muhammad Isma’il Abu Ghazala is also linked to Ansar al Islam and has served as an IED and attack facilitator in northern Iraq.
Badruddin Haqqani and Qari Younis were recorded while providing tactical guidance to the fighters who assaulted the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in June. The Haqqani commanders called from Pakistan.
Early reports suggested that Friday’s terrorist attack in Norway was the work of jihadist groups. However, updated accounts suggest that it may be the work of a right-wing extremist.
Ibrahim al Afghani fought in Afghanistan, traveled to Pakistan, is linked to top al Qaeda and Shabaab leaders, and is mentioned in the GITMO documents. The report of Afghani’s death is unconfirmed.
Anwar ul Haq Mujahid, who had formerly been detained and released by Pakistan, spoke at Awar Gul’s funeral in Nangarhar province. An official Taliban statement was read, praising Gul as “the renowned commander.” In addition, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for the release of a top Taliban official from Guantanamo.