An unidentified jihadist has released an audio recording saying that Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, the most prolific terrorist group in Egypt, has pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdad’s Islamic State.
Al Qaeda has posted a video featuring Osama bin Laden from mid-2001. Al Qaeda is attempting to undermine the legitimacy of the Islamic State’s announced caliphate by highlighting bin Laden’s testimony. Bin Laden spoke of the “pillars” necessary for building a “strong Islamic state.”
The Al Nusrah Front has released a statement saying that it has not “yet” announced the creation of an Islamic emirate and it will only do so after other jihadist groups agree with the decision.
Ansar al Islam, a jihadist group founded in September 2001, has released a set of propaganda photos showing its claimed operations in Iraq. The photos purport to show the organization’s control over a highway between Tikrit and Kirkuk, captured spoils, and its willingness to grant amnesty to members of Iraq’s security forces.
The recent hostage crisis in Mosul is only the latest sign that Turkey’s new neighbor, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, poses a serious threat to Turkey’s national security.
Ansar al Islam, a jihadist group founded in northern Iraq in September 2001, has claimed a number of attacks against the Iraqi government since the rebel offensive began earlier this month.
The jihadist ideologue known as Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi has been released from a Jordanian prison. Officials in the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and other jihadists are celebrating Maqdisi’s release.
Little is publicly known about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham’s war minister. But he was appointed in April 2010 and the war ministry he leads has been in charge of planning the group’s operations in the past.
Abu Iyad al Tunisi, the head of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, has released a statement calling for jihadists in the Levant to reconcile based on recent events in Iraq.
In March, a group of nine al Qaeda jihadists wrote a letter supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), a group that has been disowned by al Qaeda’s general command. Al Qaeda has now published a response written by a little-known ideologue named Abu ‘Amer al Naji.
The Al Nusrah Front is promoting a new statement purportedly written by Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi, who denounces the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). Despite being jailed in Jordan, Maqdisi claims to have taken part in the efforts to end the jihadist infighting in Syria. Maqdisi also says he informed al Qaeda head Ayman al Zawahiri of his role.
In a newly released three-page statement, Ayman al Zawahiri again says that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) owed its allegiance to al Qaeda’s senior leadership before disobeying orders. Any pledges of allegiance collected by the ISIS since then “are null pledges, because they arose from a direct violation of my command as his direct emir,” he states.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has rejected a charter signed by a number of other leading insurgency groups. Al Nusrah argues that the charter is not rooted in proper Islamic principles, among other supposed flaws.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, is using Twitter to raise funds for a new Islamic institute.
Sanafi al Nasr heads al Qaeda’s “Victory Committee” and has relocated to Syria. He has become a vocal critic of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) and has been allied with ISIS’ main jihadist rivals, including the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.
Saudi cleric Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini offered a reconciliation initiative for the jihadists in Syria to end their infighting. His proposal mirrored a message issued by Ayman al Zawahiri. Although the initiative garnered much support, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has rejected it.
Abu Khalid al Suri, Ayman al Zawahiri’s representative in the Levant, also serves as a senior leader in Ahrar al Sham, a Syrian rebel group that often fights alongside al Qaeda’s two official branches. According to the Spanish government, al Suri was one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted couriers and may have delivered surveillance tapes of the World Trade Center to al Qaeda senior leadership in Afghanistan prior to 9/11.
The Daily Beast reports that a conference call involving “more than 20 al Qaeda operatives” is what prompted the closing of more than 20 US diplomatic facilities.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has issued a statement mourning the death of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s deputy leader, Said al Shihri. The statement quickly made the rounds on jihadist social media sites.
Reuters reports that a Jesuit priest has been kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In June, another priest was targeted by the Al Nusrah Front.