Shabaab’s “Then Fight the Leaders of Disbelief” video series features clips of various al Qaeda figures from the past and present. Shabaab argues that Somali hotels are legitimate targets because they serve as “heavily fortified bases” for the government and its allies.
According to a new report released by the Pentagon’s inspector general, ISIS has devised a three-part “overarching strategy” for its “desert-based insurgency” in Iraq and Syria. The three parts are: “sahara” (desert), “sahwat” (meaning awakenings — a derogatory reference to any Sunni Muslims who oppose the group), and “sawlat” (“hit-and-run operations”).
Since July 2018, the UN Security Council has published at least four reports documenting al Qaeda’s close and longstanding relationship with the Taliban.
According to a recently released report submitted to the UN Security Council, the Islamic State’s central leadership replaced the group’s head in Afghanistan earlier this year. The leadership change reportedly occurred after an Islamic State “core delegation” visited the country.
Ayman al-Zawahiri has released a new message entitled, “Don’t Forget Kashmir.” He criticizes the Pakistani Army and intelligence services at length, saying they can’t be trusted to support the jihad against Indian forces. He also calls upon Muslim scholars to explain that it is “individual duty” to support the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate.
Abdul Hameed Lelhari, the new emir of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), claims that a Pakistani agency recently tried to rein in the jihad in Kashmir by cutting a deal with his group. AGH and al Qaeda have repeatedly argued that Pakistani-backed jihadist groups are pursuing nationalist goals, as opposed to a supposedly purer ideological vision.
A suicide bomber dispatched by the Taliban detonated his explosives-laden vehicle outside of a facility run by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Ghazni earlier today. Preliminary casualty reports indicate that upwards of 200 people were either killed or wounded, including schoolchildren.
The State Department’s latest terrorist designations include a Hizballah operative who serves as the “Chief of Hizballah Unit 200” and the Balochistan Liberation Army, which targets Pakistani forces and civilians. State also amended its previous designation of Jundallah, which targets Iranian forces, to include Jaysh al-Adl as an alias for the group.
