The New York Times and other press outlets have confirmed that Abu Muhammad al-Masri, al Qaeda’s deputy emir, was killed in an Israeli operation in Tehran on Aug. 7. His death was originally reported on an al-Qaeda-linked social media account.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency claims that the terrorist who carried out an attack in Vienna, Austria yesterday was a “soldier of the caliphate.” Amaq identifies him as Abu Dujana al-Albani. He was imprisoned in 2019 after he attempted to join the Islamic State in Syria, but was released early.
The U.S. has confirmed that Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior al Qaeda leader, was killed in Ghazni province earlier this month. The head of the National Counterterrorism Center touts his death as a “major setback” for al Qaeda and one of its “strategic losses,” but that is doubtful.
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) claims that Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior al Qaeda leader, was killed in Ghazni province. FDD’s Long War Journal has not confirmed his death and the NDS provided conflicting details throughout the day.
The U.S. government has designated Ahmed Luqman Talib as a terrorist, saying he uses his gemstone business to help move people and money for al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda has released a video message featuring Ayman al Zawahiri, who criticizes Al Jazeera at length. Although the video was released on the anniversary of the 9/11 hijackings, it was likely timed to coincide with the normalization of relations between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The Pakistani Taliban announced today that two splinter factions, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Hizb-ul-Ahrar (HuA), have rejoined the organization.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a prison assault in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. The facility reportedly holds about 1,500 inmates. It’s not clear how many were freed.
