The suicide bombing targeted Somalia’s newly appointed chief of defense forces near the defense ministry headquarters in Mogadishu. At least 15 people were killed, but the Somali general escaped the assassination attempt.
The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), al Qaeda’s new group in West Africa, claimed an ambush on French troops in central Mali near the borders with Burkina Faso. Additionally, it also claimed launching Grad rockets into a French base in northern Mali.
AQIM’s Uqba bin Nafi battalion claimed an IED blast on Tunisian troops close to the Algerian border. This is the second claim in two months for the jihadist group.
Anjem Choudary, the British Islamist who is directly linked to Omar Bakri Muhammad, and who has formed several radical Islamist organizations, such as Al Muhajiroun, Al Ghurabaa, and Islam4UK, is among the newly designated terrorists.
“With this important victory, the Mujahideen have opened up operational lines between Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan provinces and can throw its brunt at a time and place of its choosing,” the Taliban claimed.
Iranian authorities have confirmed that at least two Iranians were killed in combat in Syria’s Hama province. Pro-Assad regime forces have been fighting a major insurgent offensive that was launched by a number of groups in Hama earlier this month.
The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, al Qaeda’s newly formed entity in West Africa, claimed a series of attacks today. One claim discussed its role in the recent communal violence between Fulani herders and Bambara farmers in central Mali.
The US military said Qari Yasin was responsible for the deaths of two US Marines in the Sept. 2008 suicide assault on the Islamabad Marriott Hotel, and confirmed he was killed in Paktika province.
The Tehran-controlled Iraqi militia Harakat al Nujaba announced today that it is joining pro-Syrian regime forces in Hama province. Insurgents launched a massive offensive in the northern countryside of Hama earlier in the week.
The Tehran-controlled Iraqi militia Harakat al Nujaba has announced its participation in a battle raging east of Damascus, joining regime forces in the Jobar and Abbasin districts.
Last night, the Taliban, after months of heavy fighting in Sangin in Helmand province, took control of the district center. Yet, Resolute Support, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, is attempting to claim victory.
The suicide bombing, which killed at least 10 people, occurred just 150 meters from Villa Somalia, Somalia’s presidential palace in Mogadishu.
The shooting, which took place as US troops were training their Afghan counterparts on a base in Helmand province, is the first recorded insider attack since Oct. 2016.
Ansar Jihad, a small al Qaeda-linked group comprised of Central Asians and Turkish fighters, has released another video of its training camps in northwestern Syria.
When US leaders plead with the Taliban to make peace, they provide it with all of the fodder it needs to score a propaganda victory.
The security situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. The Afghan press has confirmed that the Tala Wa Barfak district in Baghlan province is now under the Taliban’s control.
The commander of US Forces in Afghanistan used Mullah Abdul Salam’s death to encourage the Taliban to reconcile with the Afghan government, but the Taliban has no desire for peace.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense claimed the helicopter made an emergency landing due to a technical issue. In the past, the Afghan military has been less than forthcoming about attacks on its aviation assets and has even attempted to cover up the loss of its helicopters.
This marks at least the second time a French fighter has been killed alongside the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria.
Katibat Imam al Bukhari, which also operates in Syria alongside al Qaeda’s forces there, claims that four Afghan soldiers were killed in the attack.
It is the Islamic State’s first major operation in Puntland since it captured the town of Qandala last October.
The Taiban claimed the murder of six Red Cross workers and the abduction of two more in Jawzjan province is “the work of kidnappers.” But the group has attacked NGOs in the past.
The Caucasus Emirate in Syria has previously shown its forces partaking in battles in Aleppo, but it is now detailing fighting in Idlib Province.
Shabaab’s deadly raid on a Kenyan Defense Forces base in southern Somalia last week comes just over a year after a similar assault left at least 100 Kenyan soldiers dead.
The strikes in Yemen are the first reported against jihadist groups in what the Obama administration has described as “areas of active hostilities,” meaning Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and sometimes Libya, since President Donald Trump took office.
While the operational tempo of jihadist groups based in Pakistan has decreased significantly, they are still capable of executing horrific attacks and remain a major threat to the Pakistani state.
During his last press briefing as Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter said that some of the Islamic State jihadists recently targeted in Libya were “external plotters, who were actively planning operations against our allies in Europe.”
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence wants to close the book on Osama bin Laden’s documents, but the public has been given access to only 620 items in a cache of more than one million documents and files.
In what looks to be an act of desperation to distance itself from the attack, the jihadist group has now issued three separate statements of denial of involvement.
The suicide bombing, which left at least 50 people dead, is one of the largest terrorist attacks in Mali’s history.