A public affairs or information operations specialist made the grave error of equating the shahada solely with the Taliban, and the commanding general of Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan is now forced to apologize for the mistake.
As with previous videos reported on by FDD’s Long War Journal, the Taliban is able to organize and launch its attack, and then subsequently overrun Afghan government-controlled headquarters during broad daylight without fear of being targeted.
Resolute Support, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, claimed the aircraft made “a precautionary landing for a maintenance issue.”
The Taliban continues to demonstrate that it can conduct concurrent operations across the country, while Afghan forces largely remain on the defensive.
The Islamic State’s Khorasan province, like the main branch in Iraq and Syria, has had no qualms about targeting Afghan civilians, particularly Shiites, in mass-casualty suicide attacks in mosques and other locations.
Jihadists loyal to the Islamic State overran a checkpoint manned by the Libyan National Army (LNA) yesterday. A spokesman for the LNA confirmed that 11 victims were beheaded.
For decades the country has permitted a number of jihadist groups to openly operate under its aegis. A map highlights the more prominent groups openly operating inside Pakistan.
The Taliban continues to demonstrate that it can conduct concurrent operations across the country, while Afghan forces largely remain on the defensive. The district of Khamab in Jawzjan has gone back and forth between Taliban and government control over the past several years.
Taliban spokesman Zahibullah Mujahid denounced Trump’s decision to remain engaged in Afghanistan and said that Taliban fighters will “sustain our Jihad.” Additionally he repeated the canard that the Taliban does not pose a threat to foreign countries.
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced three more strikes on Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia and East Africa, over the past two days. All three took place in Shabaab-held territory.
The Afghan Taliban has again retaken control of the district of Ghormach in Faryab province. The remote district has changed hands twice in less than two years.
US Africa Command launched two “kinetic strikes” against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia and East Africa, today. The US military has targeted Shabaab three times over the past two weeks.
The Shiite jihadists were freed as part of a ceasefire deal with Sunni jihadists in the Lebanon-Syria border region.
The al Qaeda group continues to target French forces in northern Mali, as well as conduct attacks on Malian and UN troops elsewhere in the country.
The Islamic State’s Khorasan continues to target Shiites in mosques and other civilian areas. At least 50 people were killed in the suicide attack.
The Taliban displayed US-supplied HUMVEES and Ranger pickup trucks used by the police and military that were captured or destroyed. The Taliban also seized a large quantity of rocket propelled grenade launchers, machine guns, rifles, mortars, and other weapons.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) says that 12 Ugandan soldiers were killed in an ambush by Shabaab yesterday. The al Qaeda branch claims the casualties were much higher and a local official told the press that 24 bodies were carried away from the scene.
Today’s launch comes less than a week after a similar ballistic missile launch directed at Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
The ceasefire comes just one day after Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah touted his forces imminent victory in the Jurud Arsal region of Lebanon.
The video offers more visual confirmation of Hezbollah’s capabilities for armed commercial drones.
The Shiite jihadist group offers safety to the Sunni militants in Arsal if they “throw down their weapons and surrender.”
Kata’ib Imam Ali and Kata’ib al Sabriun join other IRGC-controlled Iraqi Shia militias training inside Syria.
Saturday’s launch shows that ballistic missiles launched from Houthi-held territory in Yemen continue to be a threat to Saudi Arabia and the wider area.
The Afghan government said all of those killed were civilians, while the Taliban claimed its attack killed “intelligence officers.”
The insurgent leader said that his forces will take part in any future conflict with Israel alongside Hezbollah. The statement comes on the heels of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah pledging Shiite forces from around the Middle East and South Asia would be involved.
As the offensive enters its third day, Hezbollah has claimed several advances on both sides of the Lebanon-Syria border.
The son of Mullah Haibatullah, the emir of the Afghan Taliban, killed himself in a suicide attack that targeted Afghan forces in the southern province of Helmand earlier this week.
While Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri claims that the Lebanese military is not coordinating with Syria or Hezbollah near Arsal, various reports from on the ground say otherwise.
The State Department says there “are reportedly about 7,000 Hezbollah fighters in Syria.” They have been deployed to the country to bolster Bashar al Assad’s regime.
The Taliban has issued 11 official statements on Voice of Jihad where it has wrongly claimed to have killed 45 American soldiers, and Resolute Support ignored them. Yet when the Islamic State falsely claimed it killed two Americans, Resolute Support quickly jumped into action to refute it.