Search Results for: chemical

Australia disrupts ‘sophisticated’ plot directed by the Islamic State

Australian authorities say they broke up an especially “sophisticated” Islamic State plot in late July. The so-called caliphate wanted to bring down an airliner using an improvised explosive device (IED). The Islamic State even shipped the IED components to the suspects in Australia. The accused men were also allegedly experimenting with a bomb intended to disperse hydrogen sulfide.

Tabqah, Syria liberated from the Islamic State

The city of Tabqah and the surrounding area have fallen to US-backed forces. The Islamic State had controlled the city, the Tabqah dam, and a military airbase in the area since 2013-2014. The battle for Tabqah, which began with a surprise attack on Mar. 22, is a key part of the strategy to capture the self-declared caliphate’s capital of Raqqa.

Reading Iran’s Reaction To US Missile Strikes In Syria

Iran’s political elite have weighed-in on the recent US cruise missile strikes in Syria and used the opportunity to plug their regime’s narrative. While time will tell if Iran will ultimately read the strike as a show of American resolve or indecision, Iranian officials have fallen back on gloating, intimidation, and misinformation tactics that so often characterize Persian-language reporting.

US military kills 4 mid-level Islamic State commanders in Iraq and Syria

The US military has targeted senior and mid-level Islamic State leaders, external operations planners, and military commanders while also striking the group’s military and civilian infrastructure throughout Iraq and Syria in an effort to deny it territory and deal it a “lasting defeat.”

The siege of Mosul begins

The anti-Islamic State coalition, which includes Kurdish, Sunni, and Shiite militias, has begun the operation to retake Mosul. Iranian-backed Shiite militias are expected to play a key role in the upcoming battle.

How the Iran nuclear deal enriches the IRGC

The influence and reach of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran’s economy and military is so extensive that it stands to be a primary beneficiary of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, according to a report issued yesterday by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

US-led coalition targets Islamic State’s leadership in Mosul ahead of ground offensive

The US-led coalition has killed 13 Islamic State leaders in and around Mosul, Iraq in the past month. Three of them were Chechens, highlighting the important role that foreign fighters play in the group’s chain of command. According to Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Colonel John Dorrian, another fallen jihadist was responsible for manufacturing chemical weapons to be used in the defense of Mosul.

Iraqi troops advance on key town south of Mosul

Iraqi forces retook control of Shirqat in order to secure its supply lines south of the Islamic State-held city of Mosul. The Islamic State is also thought to have fired a shell filled with a mustard agent at US troops nearby.

State Department adds al Qaeda front group in Syria to terror designation list

The State Department has designated Jund al Aqsa in Syria as a terrorist organization. The Long War Journal previously exposed Jund al Aqsa as an al Qaeda front group. Al Qaeda veterans have been embedded within the organization and Jund al Aqsa’s “general command” remains loyal to al Qaeda’s leaders.

Analysis: Iran has supported the Taliban’s insurgency since late 2001

Multiple reports say Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed earlier this month after he returned to Pakistani soil from Iran. While some have praised Iran for supposedly seeking stability inside Afghanistan, the Iranians have supported the Taliban’s insurgency since late 2001.

IRGC, allies sustained significant losses in battle for Khan Touman

On May 6, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps lost the strategic village of Khan Touman to Jaysh al Fath, suffering its worse defeat yet in the Syrian war. Iranian officials and commanders alongside state outlets have publicly downplayed the loss and have vowed revenge to retake the town. They also level accusations that the West and its regional allies support “terrorists” who take advantage of ceasefires.

Veteran Egyptian jihadist now an al Qaeda leader in Syria

Ahmed Salama Mabruk, a veteran Egyptian jihadist, is now a key figure in Al Nusrah Front. Mabruk’s dossier stretches back to the early 1980s, when he was first imprisoned following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He reportedly oversaw Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda networks in the 1990s, before being captured in a CIA-led manhunt. He was released from an Egyptian prison following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

AQAP provides social services, implements sharia while advancing in southern Yemen

AQAP has taken control of Azzan, a town in Yemen’s southeastern Shabwa province. The jihadists have captured significant territory in southern Yemen since early 2015. AQAP’s front group, Ansar al Sharia, has launched a new social media campaign to promote its governance efforts, implementation of sharia law and provision of services in the areas under the jihadists’ control.

US transfers Egyptian Guantanamo detainee who became a ‘highly prolific source’

Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed Al Sawah, an Egyptian held at Guantanamo since 2002, has been transferred to the Government of Bosnia. Despite compiling a lengthy dossier as an expert bomb maker on behalf of al Qaeda, US officials recommended that he be transferred. Al Sawah became a prolific source on al Qaeda and other detainees during his time in custody, and Joint Task Force – Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) concluded that his fellow jihadists may seek retribution if he tried to rejoin their ranks.

Syria

A former Australian model who joined the Islamic State was reportedly killed fighting in Syria. Some Palestinian rebels are siding with the Assad regime to combat the Islamic State. A group of insurgents in southern Syria announced that they would not cooperate with the Al Nusrah Front. Human Rights Watch claims the Assad regime used chemical […]

Syria

SOHR claims that the regime killed 18 people, including three children, while shelling the town of Daraa in southern Syria.The US dropped graphic anti-jihadist leaflets over the Islamic State-held city of Raqqa. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will investigate claims of a chemical weapons attack on the village of Sarmin that killed […]

Syria

The SOHR claimed that the Assad regime conducted a poison gas attack in Idlib province that killed six people. Amnesty International accused the regime of bombing civilians in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa. The US-led coalition conducted five airstrikes in Syria on Mar. 16, striking targets near al Haskah and Kobani.

Al Qaeda’s senior leaders

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 […]

Iraq

CIA is said to have bought and destroyed Iraqi chemical weapons

Syria

At least eight people were wounded and possibly five killed after the Islam Army, a Syrian rebel group, attacked Damascus with a barrage of rockets and mortar rounds. At least 54 rebels may have been killed after regime troops attacked their positions in the Damascus suburb of Douma, according to Xinhua via Syrian National TV. […]

Syria

Airstrikes reported to have been conducted by the Syrian regime killed at least 39 people in the village of Khansaa, and the town of Saraqeb and the village of Sheikh Mustafa in Idlib province; some reports speculated that the strike in Khansaa might have been executed by the US-led coalition. An Israeli airstrike on Jan. […]