According to a recently released report by a UN Security Council monitoring team, the Taliban is the “primary partner for all foreign terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan,” including al Qaeda. The only exception is the Islamic State, which opposes the Taliban.
According to the UN’s Jan. 2019 assessment, al Qaeda’s relationship with the Taliban is “long-standing” and “strong.” And al Qaeda “continues to see Afghanistan as a safe haven for its leadership.” The UN estimates that the Islamic State has several thousand fighters in Afghanistan as well.
AL Qaeda’s operatives are fighting in more countries around the world today than was the case on 9/11. And its leaders still want to target the United States and its interest and allies. The war they started is far from over.
According to a new report published by the United Nations, al Qaeda’s “alliance with the Taliban and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan remains firm,” as al Qaeda and the Taliban are “closely allied.” Some of the UN’s Member States consider al Qaeda’s global network to be a bigger long-term threat than the Islamic State.
On Aug. 8, the State Department announced that it had increased its reward for information concerning the whereabouts of two veteran al Qaeda leaders: Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah and Saif al-Adel. Although State didn’t explain the move, there is evidence that the two al Qaeda managers were operating inside Iran as of 2017.
The Pentagon and the US intelligence community have been consistently wrong about al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan, and evidence of strategic ties between the two groups does indeed exist.
Al Qaeda released a new message from Ayman al Zawahiri today. His talk is titled, “France Has Returned Oh Descendants of the Lions.” Zawahiri calls on Muslims in the Maghreb to oppose foreign forces.
The 17th edition of AQAP’s Inspire magazine provides a how-to guide for building a train derailment device. Al Qaeda has plotted against trains in the West in the past.
The US killed al Qaeda veteran Abu al Khayr al Masri in a drone strike in Idlib, Syria in late February. Masri was identified as al Qaeda’s “general deputy” in July 2016. He worked to unite Syrian rebel groups under a common banner.
The Hamza al Zinjibari training camp, which is named after a former senior leader of AQAP, is an extension of various historical al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan according to the group.
Al Qaeda’s Leaders Despite reports that al Qaeda’s leaders have been scattered in Pakistan’s tribal areas and have been reduced to a mere handful in the region, the terror group maintains a deep bench of leaders capable of assuming leadership positions. This list does not include local and regional Pakistani and Afghan commanders who have […]
Abu Amru al Masri was previously described as a “mid-level commander,” in one of Osama bin Laden’s documents that was dated June 11, 2009.
Aslanov Zaur, an Azeri national and al Qaeda commander, was killed during Pakistani airstrikes in Kurram last week. He likely entered Pakistan with the aid of al Qaeda’s support network in Iran.
US officials are claiming the terror group is down to just two leaders in Pakistan: Ayman al Zawahiri and Abu Yahya al Libi. The claim is absurd.
Salahuddin al Maqdisi, the brother of Abu Mohammed al Maqdisi and a former aide to slain al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, was released from Iranian custody and has recently returned to Afghanistan.
The Al Tahadi jihadist forum purportedly published a video, supposedly produced by As Sahab, that announced that Hamza bin Laden, Osama’s son, was appointed the new leader of al Qaeda. The video was quickly removed from the forum.
Announcement of Hamza bin Laden as Osama bin Laden successor posted, immediately removed on jihadi forums
None of the 47 al Qaeda operatives are in Saudi Arabia. Twenty-seven of them are thought to be in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 16 are thought to be in Yemen, and four more are believed to be in Iraq.
Sa’ad bin Laden and three other senior al Qaeda members operating from Iran are placed on the US list of terrorists. Mustafa Hamid is al Qaeda’s primary link to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Officials believe Abu Jihad al Masri was one of several al Qaeda operatives killed in yesterday’s strikes in North and South Waziristan. He is the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group, sits on al Qaeda’s Shura Majlis, and serves as an operational and intelligence chief.
Hamza bin Laden, Osama’s son and likely successor, appeared on a videotape. He called for Muslim youth to help in the fight against the West and urged followers to “accelerate the destruction of America, Britain, France and Denmark.” Old stock footage of Osama was also shown on the tape.
Three Gulf States citizens are designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorist Individuals. Two of them were active in financing al Qaeda leaders based inside Iran.
Provincial government is conducting negotiations with “tribesmen.” Afghan Taliban denies Baitullah Mehsud has been removed as leader of the Pakistani Taliban as operations continue in South Waziristan.
Supreme Court surrounded as paramilitary troops deploy throughout Islamabad. The Supreme Court calls move “illegal and unconstitutional,” asks military and civilian government to reject provisional constitution. Partial media blackout in Pakistan. Bhutto returns to Karachi.
Twenty-five foreign al Qaeda reported killed in North Waziristan. Report of a major operation in North Waziristan is leaked as the government continues negotiations with the Taliban.
The Pakistani government hopes to revive the North Waziristan Accords as the fighting rages in the tribal agencies.
Pakistan’s insurgency intensifies as four days of major fighting in the Mir Ali region results in scores of Taliban and soldiers killed.
Nelly Lahoud’s new book reportedly draws from 6,000 Abbottabad raid documents. But the book suffers from major analytical problems.
An IRGC colonel reportedly involved in plans to kill Israelis abroad was assassinated Sunday afternoon in Tehran.
The State Department revealed today that ‘Abd al Rahman al Maghrebi, a senior al Qaeda leader who heads the group’s propaganda arm and has served as its “general manager,” is based in Iran. Maghrebi and four others based in Iran were designated as terrorists.