Omar Mateen mentioned his allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi at least twice during a 911 call the night of his attack on a LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. He also discussed his allegiance to Baghdadi during a call with the Orlando Police Department’s Crisis Negotiation team and may have posted his fealty on Facebook as well. The Islamic State specifically instructs followers to swear allegiance before dying.
Amaq News Agency claims that the Islamic State has carried out 489 “martyrdom operations” in Iraq, Syria and Libya during the first five months of 2016, with 119 in May alone. If Amaq’s figures are accurate, then the Islamic State is executing more suicide attacks per month in 2016 than all terrorist organizations combined in 2015.
The Islamic State and Bashar al Assad’s forces are once again battling for control of the Shaer gas field in Syria’s Homs province. The gas facilities have changed hands multiple times since July 2014, when the jihadists first launched an offensive in the area.
Abu Ubaydah Al Lubnani was once one of al Qaeda’s top security officials. After being dismissed from his job, he joined the Islamic State. In an interview with Al Naba magazine earlier this year, Lubnani discussed al Qaeda’s relationship with Iran and the group’s early strategy for the war in Syria. An al Qaeda loyalist has responded to Lubnani’s testimony.
Amaq News Agency published a statement conceding that the Islamic State has “retreated” from its positions outside of Derna, Libya but claims the fighters are making progress south of the city.
The Treasury Department announced today that three Islamic State officials have been sanctioned. One is a senior official in the “caliphate’s” oil and gas division. A second was the deputy leader of the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem before swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and agreeing to establish a foothold for the Islamic State in Gaza. The third is the group’s “chief religious advisor.”
The Islamic State has released a new video (titled “Kill Them Wherever You Find Them”) featuring the terrorist team responsible for the Nov. 13, 2015 coordinated attacks in Paris. Some of the jihadists address the camera before or after committing grisly executions that were broadcast in previous videos.
The 13th edition of the Islamic State’s Dabiq magazine is filled with anti-al Qaeda and anti-Taliban arguments. Previous editions of Dabiq included similar attempts to undermine al Qaeda’s and the Taliban’s jihadist credentials.
An American who fought for Shabaab in Somalia has reportedly surrendered to African Union forces. He turned himself in after swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State. Shabaab’s leaders, who remain loyal to al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri, have been purging defectors.
An Islamic State supporter on Twitter released a graphic summarizing the “caliphate’s” annual media output. The Islamic State’s various “provinces” produced 710 videos, 1787 photo reports, and 14,523 other images from late 2014 to late 2015. While The Long War Journal has not independently verified these statistics, the graphic is consistent with previous reports released by the Islamic State and its predecessor organizations.
Egyptian officials say that Ashraf Ali Hassanein al Gharabli, a commander in the Islamic State’s so-called Sinai ‘province,’ was killed during a shootout in Cairo. He once belonged to Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, which split into separate factions. Whereas Al Gharabli joined the Islamic State, some of his comrades remained loyal to al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda has released the third installment of its long-delayed “Islamic Spring” series, which features long-winded speeches by Ayman al Zawahiri. As in past editions of the series, Zawahiri argues that the Islamic State’s “caliphate” is illegitimate.
In an audio message released today, al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri argues that Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s Islamic State is illegitimate. Zawahiri says Muslims are under no obligation to swear allegiance to Baghdadi, and al Qaeda does not recognize the Islamic State as a “caliphate.” Despite their differences, Zawahiri says that if he were based in Iraq or Syria he would cooperate with the Islamic State in the fight against the West and other common enemies.
The Taliban has released a new statement attributed to Mullah Omar saying that his men have been ordered to “forcefully prevent” anyone from sowing dissent in the jihadists’ ranks in Afghanistan. Although the statement doesn’t mention the Islamic State or its followers by name, the Taliban clearly has Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s organization in mind.
The Islamic State’s Sinai “province” launched a massive assault on more than 15 Egyptian security locations earlier today. The coordinated raids involved 3 suicide bombers and dozens of other fighters.
In late May, the Islamic State’s so-called “Khorasan province” released a video threatening the Taliban. Multiple press reports say the two sides have repeatedly fought one another since the beginning of the year. Still, the Islamic State’s presence in the region is likely much smaller than the network operated by the Taliban, al Qaeda, and their allies.
The Pakistani Taliban has released a lengthy statement rejecting Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s claim to be the new caliph. The group praises Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, as well as deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his successor, Ayman al Zawahiri.
A jihadist leader known as Adnan Abu Walid al Sahrawi has declared allegiance to the Islamic State. It appears that he has pledged fealty to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi on behalf of MUJAO, a jihadist group in West Africa. There is no indication that al Qaeda loyalists, such as Mokhtar Belmokhtar, have also defected.
The Islamic State’s attacks on Houthi civilians are part of a deliberate strategy. AQAP tries to avoid such operations, but the permissibility of deliberately killing Shiite civilians is still debated in jihadist circles.
Boko Haram’s leader, Abu Bakr Shekau, has pledged allegiance to the emir of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
Divisions between Boko Haram and rival Ansaru have become more pronounced over the past several weeks.
Sharia officials from both Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Al Nusrah Front, two official branches of al Qaeda, have signed a statement saying that the Islamic State’s ‘caliphate’ is invalid. The statement is addressed to the Caucasus jihadists who announced their allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in December.
Despite female Islamic State recruiters praising the “positive” aspects of life in Raqqah on their social media accounts, the group’s own material shows a different side, one that exposes its real and brutal treatment of women.
A mass grave of approximately 230 Sheitaat tribesmen has been reportedly found in eastern Syria. The tribe has been battling the Islamic State since earlier this year.
The Islamic State’s supporters are encouraging young jihadist recruits to travel to the Sinai. According to one online jihadist, the Islamic State’s expansion into the Sinai and throughout North Africa will facilitate the “liquidating” of the Jews.
Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, a senior AQAP sharia official, directly responds to a Nov. 13 speech by the Islamic State’s Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Nadhari says that Baghdadi’s caliphate is illegitimate and criticizes him for trying to split the jihadists’ ranks around the world.
A new video has been posted online by jihadists claiming to be the Islamic State’s official arm in the Sinai. The Sinai jihadists were formerly part of Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, but are now marketing themselves as the Islamic State’s representatives.
The Islamic State has released a new audio message from its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who claims the group has expanded its “caliphate” into Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
Usama Mahmood, the spokesman for al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), has released a statement calling on all jihadists to unite against the US-led coalition, which is bombing targets throughout Iraq and Syria.
A popular pro-al Qaeda jihadist ideologue who relocated from Saudi Arabia to Syria last year has criticized the Islamic State’s rivals on his Twitter feed. Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini says that the failures of various jihadist leaders have driven the youth into the Islamic State’s arms.