Indian forces have killed Zakir Musa, who led the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH). Musa and his men have attempted to poach from Pakistani-backed jihadist groups, while also competing with an upstart Islamic State presence. Musa’s motto was “Sharia or Martyrdom.”
Although John Walker Lindh is commonly known as the “American Taliban,” he was actually trained by al Qaeda and belonged to Osama bin Laden’s pro-Taliban fighting force.
Al Qaeda is operating “across the country” and not confined to one region, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan said.
The Turkistan Islamic Party, “Incite the Believers” operations room and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham are all battling Bashar al-Assad’s loyalists in Latakia, Syria.
In a new audio address, Shabaab’s Abu ‘Abdurahman Mahad Warsame warns jihadists that they should avoid spilling the blood of innocent Muslims. However, he justifies the assassination of a Muslim cleric and the murder of civilians.
Al Qaeda has released a new video emphasizing its unity with the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The video features a joint Taliban-al Qaeda ambush on an Afghan army convoy in Paktika province.
The Assad regime and Russia have stepped up their bombing campaign in northwestern Syria in recent weeks. The al Qaeda-linked “Incite the Believers” operations room has counterattacked with a series of operations.
In his testimony to Congress in July 2016, Zalmay Khalilzad called for designating Pakistan a State Sponsor of Terrorism for its support of the Taliban, noted the enduring Taliban-al Qaeda alliance. Today he praises Pakistan for its desire for peace in Afghanistan and claims the Taliban will be an effective counterterrorism partner.
