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Ohio man pleads guilty to terror charges after attempting to join ISIS in Libya
The Department of Justice announced today that Aaron Travis Daniels pleaded guilty terror-related charges after trying to join the Islamic State in Libya last November. Daniels had been in contact with an Islamic State “external attack planner” who encouraged him emigrate to North Africa for jihad, according to the DOJ.
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Key Islamic State ‘finance emir’ killed in eastern Syria, US says
CENTCOM announced today that Fawaz Muhammad Jubayr al-Rawi, a “finance emir” for the Islamic State, was killed in an airstrike in eastern Syria earlier this month. Last year, the US and Iraqi governments jointly targeted Rawi and his financial network, which handled millions of dollars for the so-called caliphate.
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CENTCOM confirms Islamic State’s ‘Grand Mufti’ killed in airstrike
CENTCOM confirmed today that Turki al-Bin’ali, one of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s most important ideological supporters, was killed in an airstrike in Mayadin, Syria on May 31. Mayadin has become a hub for the Islamic State’s senior personnel and external operations arm.
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State Department designates ‘coordinator’ of Islamic State attacks in Europe, 2 others
On June 15, the State Department designated three Islamic State operatives as terrorists. The designations underscore the global nature of the self-declared caliphate’s threat, as two of the men have been responsible for a number of plots in Europe and India. The third has repeatedly attempted to convince his fellow Bahrainis to join the group’s cause.
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CENTCOM: Three senior Islamic State foreign fighters killed
CENTCOM announced today that “three senior foreign fighters” in the Islamic State were killed in recent weeks. Two of them were reportedly involved in the group’s “external operations” and one of them was a trainer in the “Cubs of the Caliphate” program, which indoctrinates youth. The third jihadist helped oversee the Islamic State’s use of small drones.
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Analysis: UK investigating possible ‘network’ behind Manchester attack
International authorities are investigating the possibility that a “network” assisted Salman Abedi in the Manchester Arena bombing earlier this week. The investigation stretches from the UK to Libya, where Abedi’s younger brother and father have been detained. His brother, Hashim, has allegedly admitted prior knowledge of the plot and that the siblings were Islamic State members.
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Pentagon: Bombs struck Islamic State’s ‘external plotters’ in Libya
During his last press briefing as Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter said that some of the Islamic State jihadists recently targeted in Libya were “external plotters, who were actively planning operations against our allies in Europe.”
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Pentagon: 2 Paris attack facilitators killed in US airstrike in Raqqa, Syria
The Pentagon announced today that three members of the Islamic State’s external operations arm were killed in an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria on Dec. 4. All three worked for Boubaker Al-Hakim, a notorious French-Tunisian jihadi who was killed on Nov. 26. Hakim and his network had been plotting attacks against Western targets, according to Defense Department.
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US confirms death of high-profile Tunisian Islamic State assassin
The Defense Department has confirmed that Boubaker al-Hakim, a French-Tunisian Islamic State leader, was killed in Raqqa, Syria on Nov. 26. Al-Hakim had ties to Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, an al Qaeda-affiliated group, before defecting to the Islamic State’s cause. He admittedly assassinated one Tunisian politician in 2013 and knew the assailants responsible for a second slaying.
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Ohio man allegedly communicated with an Islamic State ‘external attack planner’
Authorities arrested Aaron Travis Daniels, also known as Harun Muhammad and Abu Yusef, at an airport in Columbus, Ohio yesterday. Daniels allegedly intended to fly to Trinidad and then onto Libya, where he could join the Islamic State. The Department of Justice says Daniels was in contact with an Islamic State “external attack planner” who suggested that he join the jihad in Libya.
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Islamic State continues to plot against the West, US military warns
Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said today that the Islamic State is planning attacks against the West (“external operations”) from its headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. Townsend didn’t provide any specifics, but the group has used its safe havens to orchestrate multiple plots in the past.
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Terror plots in Germany, France were ‘remote-controlled’ by Islamic State operatives
On July 18, an Afghan refugee named Riaz Khan (also known as “Muhammad Riyad”) assaulted passengers on a train in Würzburg, Germany with an ax and a knife. Nearly one week later, on July 24, a Syrian refugee identified as Mohammad Daleel blew himself up outside of a music festival in the German city of Ansbach. Approximately 20 people were wounded in the incidents. Amaq News Agency, a propaganda arm of the Islamic State, quickly issued claims of responsibility for the operations. Amaq also released videos from Khan and Daleel in which they swore allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.…
