Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security killed an Al Qaeda commander and a Taliban leader during a recent operation in the eastern province of Paktika. The two supported Al Qaeda’s operations in the east and planned and supported high profile attacks.
The Taliban’s celebration of Mullah Saif ur Rahman Mansoor and the battle of Shahi Kot is a reminder of the Taliban’s enduring relationship with Al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri threatens Myanmar in a newly released video, which attempts to connect the plight of Muslims there to the jihadists’ global struggle.
Edmund Fitton-Brown again joins the podcast to discuss the United Nations Security Council’s latest report on ISIS and Al Qaeda.
In episode 42 of Generation Jihad, hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s comments on the U.S.-Taliban deal. They explain why there isn’t much for the Biden administration to assess. The Taliban was never interested in peace and hasn’t taken any steps to break with al Qaeda.
Caleb Weiss joins Tom and Bill to discuss France’s intervention in West Africa. Branches of both Al Qaeda and ISIS are fighting for territory, but France’s patience may be starting to wear thin.
The Taliban cannot be trusted to live up to any agreement when it won’t admit that Al Qaeda remains in Afghanistan, under its protection
The U.S. Treasury Department states in a Jan. 4 memo that al Qaeda is “gaining strength” in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s protection. The same memo points to the Islamic State’s “logistical hubs” inside Turkey.
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.
Afghan security forces continue to target Al Qaeda as the Taliban promises that it won’t allow allow foreign fighters to attack the West, even though the Taliban claims Al Qaeda doesn’t exist inside Afghanistan.
The effort to degrade and contain Shabaab without will be all the more difficult without a U.S. presence in the country.
Despite the repeated targeting, killing, and capturing of Al Qaeda leaders and operatives, the Taliban maintains that the terror group does not operate in Afghanistan.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the decisions awaiting the incoming Biden administration with respect to the ongoing conflicts in several countries. They also discuss the State Department’s decision to delist al Qaeda’s Uighur affiliate. Powered by RedCircle Take a look around the globe today and you’ll see jihadists fighting everywhere from West Africa […]
Mohammad Hanif was involved in the 2002 assassination attempt on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and the suicide attack on the U.S. Consulate in Karachi that same year. He was killed in Farah province. But the Taliban somehow continues to maintain that Al Qaeda isn’t in Afghanistan.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the demise of Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, al Qaeda’s media chief. Afghan forces hunted him down in a Taliban-controlled village nearly eight months after the U.S. State Department trumpeted the Taliban’s supposed counterterrorism assurances.
The U.S. has confirmed that Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior al Qaeda leader, was killed in Ghazni province earlier this month. The head of the National Counterterrorism Center touts his death as a “major setback” for al Qaeda and one of its “strategic losses,” but that is doubtful.
Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) claims that Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior al Qaeda leader, was killed in Ghazni province. FDD’s Long War Journal has not confirmed his death and the NDS provided conflicting details throughout the day.
The U.S. government has designated Ahmed Luqman Talib as a terrorist, saying he uses his gemstone business to help move people and money for al Qaeda.
U.S. officials continue to maintain that the Taliban committed to a “reduction in violence” as part of the withdrawal agreement. The deal says no such thing, and the Taliban continues to mount attacks.
Edmund Fitton-Brown joins hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio to discuss his work for the United Nations Security Council.
Senior U.S. officials claim there are fewer than 200 al Qaeda members in Afghanistan. Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn explain why that estimate, like all others before it, isn’t credible.
The U.S. government, military, and intelligence services have provided inaccurate assessments of Al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan for more than a decade. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued that tradition by recent regurgitating that Al Qaeda has fewer than 200 fighters in the country. This estimate, like previous ones, should not be trusted.
In this week’s edition of the Islamic State’s weekly Al-Naba newsletter, the jihadist group claims a series of wide-ranging operations across the Sahel. This includes last month’s massacre of French aid workers in Niger, as well as a spate of battles with al Qaeda’s men.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss al Qaeda’s weak media output on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 hijackings.
Al Qaeda has released a video message featuring Ayman al Zawahiri, who criticizes Al Jazeera at length. Although the video was released on the anniversary of the 9/11 hijackings, it was likely timed to coincide with the normalization of relations between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the prevalence of conspiracy theories in the post-9/11 era.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss how the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive policies in the Xinjiang region could drive more people into the jihadists’ arms.
The Taliban continues to use the signature terror tactic of Al Qaeda and other jihadist groups despite signing a deal with the U.S. that facilitates the withdrawal of American troops from the country.
Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn discuss what al Qaeda looks like in 2020.
This time, the Taliban denied a Department of Defense report that Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent cooperates with the Taliban by claiming AQIS isn’t inside the country.