Tag Archives: Al Qaeda




Generation Jihad Ep. 123 — The Afghanistan affliction

Bill is joined by Stu Velasco and Zach Popp of The Boardwalk Podcast (also hosted by Kyle Reynolds who couldn’t make it, shoutout Kyle Reynolds) to discuss the trials and tribulations of their time in service to the U.S. during the long war.


Generation Jihad Ep. 120 — Yes, al Qaeda is still a threat

In a slight detour from our Israel coverage, Bill and Caleb are joined by counterterrorism expert Sara Harmouch to discuss her recent article that sounds like it was written for Long War Journal but was actually written for War on the Rocks, called “Al-Qaeda: A Defeated Threat? Think Again.”

They debunk the latest example of President Biden’s insistence that al Qaeda no longer has a presence in Afghanistan and discuss how U.S. rejection of intelligence is neither new nor at odds with its dangerous habit of disconnecting dots pertaining not least of all to al Qaeda.







Generation Jihad Ep. 96 — New UN report on al Qaeda and the Islamic State

Bill is again joined by Generation Jihad regular Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown to discuss the latest report from the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team (which Edmund previously led). Released on July 25, 2023, the Team’s thirty-second report provides an update on al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Bill and Edmund unpack findings, discuss a few highlights, and also explain some points of disagreement.


Taliban again denies TTP presence in Afghanistan

The Afghan Taliban continues to claim that there are no foreign terror groups operating inside their country, despite all evidence to the contrary. The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan has an extensive footprint in Afghanistan.





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Generation Jihad Ep. 94 — Al Qaeda has key roles in Taliban’s Afghanistan

Bill welcomes back to the show Generation Jihad regular Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown. Now a member of the Counter Extremism Project’s advisory board, Edmund previously served as the UK’s Ambassador to Yemen and later as the coordinator of the U.N. Security Council’s Sanctions Monitoring Team.

Edmund’s former team at the U.N. just released its latest report on Afghanistan which details (among other troubling issues) just how embedded al Qaeda is in Afghanistan’s Taliban government.

Bill and Edmund dissect the report’s findings.



Al Qaeda leaders are prominently serving in Taliban government

Three prominent dual hatted Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders serve in key positions within the Taliban establishment, according to the United Nationals Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. The Taliban is providing Al Qaeda with key support, including “welfare payments” and passports.








U.S. military strikes Shabaab in central Somalia

The U.S. military targeted Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, in a pair of strikes in central Somalia over the past several days. The first attack took place on Jan. 20 near the town of Galcad in Somalia’s central region of Galguduud. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said it killed at least 30 Shabaab members […]



Another long hotel siege ends in Mogadishu

Another hotel siege perpetrated by Shabaab in Mogadishu was ended by Somali security forces almost twenty four hours after it began. The al Qaeda branch continues to lash out against civilians in response to military operations against it.


Jihadis issue vague threats against World Cup

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as al Qaeda’s general command, have issued communiques denouncing Qatar and the World Cup as a means to degrade the morals of the Arabian Peninsula. The Islamic State’s supporters have additionally issued their own infographics, calling for attacks on the games.