On Feb. 2, Bill Roggio testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security at a hearing titled, “The Dynamic Terrorism Landscape and What It Means for America.” His testimony focused on the state of Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, state sponsors of terrorism such as Iran and Pakistan, and the growing threat of global jihadism.
The so-called ‘Islamic Resistance in Iraq,’ a grouping of newly created militias and front groups of Iran, celebrated one year of operations against U.S.-led forces.
A newly formed militant group claims drone attack against Saudi Arabia after a double suicide bombing in Iraq on Thursday.
Falih al-Fayyadh, the Chairman of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces and the former National Security Advisor to the Iraq’s Prime Minister, was identified as a member of an “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Force Qods Force supported crisis cell” that supported attacks on protesters in 2019.
Four newly-formed front groups for Iran have claimed several recent attacks across Iraq. American officials have attempted to downplay the events.
A newly formed and likely front group belonging to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims responsibility for recent attacks in the country
Despite decrying America’s role in “endless wars,” President Trump recently defended the role of a small U.S. force in the country.
People of the Cave, a newly formed outfit, has claimed various bombings on American supply convoys across Iraq. However, it is unclear how many of these claims are accurate.
The Iranian proxy group League of the Revolutionaries has reemerged to claim further rocket barrages on US bases in Iraq.
Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn on the latest diatribe released by Abu Hamza al-Qurashi, the Islamic State’s spokesman, who portrays the coronavirus as an act of divine retribution against the West and accuses the Taliban of working with the “Crusaders.”
The U.S. continues to target high level Islamic State leaders in Syria despite President Trump’s claim that the group has been “defeated.” Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service said that the U.S. military killed Hajji Taysir, who oversees the “Research Department for ISIS’s chemical and biological weapons efforts in Syria.” His death has not been confirmed.
Several groups have recently emerged inside Iraq that have claimed strikes against US troops. However, they all appear to be part of a calculated propaganda campaign propagated by Iran and its allies against the United States inside Iraq.
The Axis of Resistance uses the Iran-created “International Quds Day” to attempt to show a unified front against Israel and the U.S.
There have been at least 43 attacks using rockets and/or mortars on U.S. positions in Iraq by Iranian-backed Shiite militias. These attacks shed light on Iranian and allied-Shiite militia intentions and strategy.
Craig Whiteside joins hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn to discuss his new book, The ISIS Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement.
Hosts Bill Roggio and Tom Joscelyn discuss Hezbollah’s influence in Iraq and the State Department’s decision to offer a $10 million reward for information concerning the group’s main man in the country.
Hezbollah operates closely in Iraq alongside Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to prop up and support Shia militias hostile to the U.S. and the West. Muhammad Kawtharani has played a key role in Hezbollah’s operations.
The Iranian proxy group continues its surveillance of US troops in Iraq.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the rise of ISIS and how the idea of building a caliphate in Iraq evolved over time. Bill witnessed the jihadists’ earliest state-building efforts during multiple embeds in Iraq.
Throughout its statements, the front group has made threatening the U.S. embassy one of its main talking points.
Additionally, the group’s leader, Qais al Khazali, and his brother, Laith al Khazali, have been listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Both Qais and Laith were in U.S. custody up until the withdrawal from Iraq in December 2011.
A spokesman of the group warns US troops in Iraq, while also threatening Israel in a speech that alludes to Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The group is likely a front for other Iranian proxies inside Iraq.
Another member of Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance” has been sanctioned by Washington. How the U.S. enforces its penalty is set to matter more than its announcement.
The security official of Iran’s proxy group Kata’ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) gives Iraqi contractors until March 15 to stop working with US troops.
The killing of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last week reportedly claimed the lives of eight lesser-known colleagues as well. The death of these aides indicates that those who serve designated terrorists may suffer the same fate as their superiors.
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the attack was “launched from Iran” and that it “targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military & coalition personnel at Al-Assad & Irbil.” No casualties have been reported.
Muqtada al Sadr has reactivated two of his longstanding militia forces in Iraq in response to the U.S. killing Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
The official reportedly tweeted out the statement earlier today. The official website of the Hezbollah Brigades has so far not commented, however.
The rare joint statement both eulogizes Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al Muhandis and offers vague threats of retaliation in Bahrain.