-
Syria investigates deadly attack on US forces, US names 2 National Guard soldiers as victims
The Iowa National Guard released the names of two US soldiers who were killed by an Islamic State member in Syria on December 13. In the aftermath of the attack, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al Shaibani spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on December 14 and said the Syrian government would work with the US to degrade and destroy the Islamic State (IS). Syria’s Interior Ministry also conducted an anti-IS operation and detained five people. In northern Syria, an armed group killed four Syrian Interior Ministry personnel.
-
3 Americans killed, 3 injured in Islamic State ambush attack in Palmyra, Syria
US Central Command announced that “two U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian were killed, and three service members were injured, as a result of an ambush by a lone [Islamic State] gunman in Syria.” A Syrian government official confirmed reports that the attacker was a member of the government’s security forces, stating that he had been under investigation and may have had “extremist ideas.”
-
Analysis: The Islamic State’s war on Christians in Congo
The Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP), locally known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), has killed almost 1,000 civilians this year, with the vast majority of its victims being Christian villagers. ISCAP has explicitly framed its attacks as a war against Congo’s Christians. However, the group’s rhetoric has changed in recent months to also focus on trying to convert Christians to Islam.
-
Islamic State–linked activity on the rise in Israel and the West Bank
The recent arrest of four East Jerusalem residents for their ties to the Islamic State reflects a rise in terrorism cases linked to the jihadist group in the West Bank and Israel. Israeli authorities have noted the trend and point to online radicalization as a factor in this emerging pattern.
-
Analysis: Islamic State redoubles call for jihad in Sudan, urges foreign fighters to migrate
For the second time this year, the Islamic State explicitly called for its supporters and other Muslims to take up arms in Sudan under its name. Simultaneously, it urged foreign fighters, particularly from North Africa, to travel to the country to partake in this jihad.
-
After sectarian clashes in Aleppo, US, SDF, and Syrian government officials meet in Damascus
Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa met with US Envoy Tom Barrack and the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, in Damascus on October 7. The meeting came in the wake of clashes between factions backed by the Syrian transitional government and Kurdish fighters in two neighborhoods in Aleppo. The head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazlum Abdi, also met with Syria’s defense minister and agreed to a ceasefire between the SDF and government forces. Barrack, Cooper, and Abdi separately met in eastern Syria on October 6 to discuss integration between Syria’s east and Damascus, plus continued operations against…
-
Shabaab claims prison assault in Mogadishu
Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, claimed yesterday’s assault on Somalia’s Godka Jilacow prison in Mogadishu. The facility is operated by Somalia’s national intelligence service, representing a major intelligence failure.
-
Taliban rejects US attempt to return to Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base
After US President Donald Trump said that “we want that base back,” the Taliban quickly rejected US attempts to return to Bagram Air Base. The Taliban has been clear that it will not accept a return of US forces to Afghanistan.
-
Iraqi intel busts Islamic State financial network in West Africa
The Iraqi National Intelligence Service made a surprising announcement yesterday that it busted an Islamic State financial network spanning three countries in West Africa. The network was helping to fund Islamic State activities in Iraq, as well as attack planning in Europe.
-
US-led raid kills senior Islamic State ‘official’ in Syria
US forces carried out a raid in northern Syria on August 19 that killed “a senior [Islamic State] member and key financier who planned attacks in Syria and Iraq,” CENTCOM stated. It is the latest raid on the Islamic State in Syria since a July 25 operation near Aleppo killed one of the group’s commanders.
-
Generation Jihad | New UN report on state of global jihad
Bill is joined by Caleb Weiss and Edmund Fitton-Brown to analyze the UN’s latest Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team report on the evolving threats posed by Al Qaeda and the Islamic State — from their current state and leadership to the geopolitical influences at play and strategic significance of areas like Syria, Iraq, and Somalia
-
US ground raid captures Islamic State leader in northern Somalia
The United States launched a rare ground operation in northern Somalia that apprehended Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf, the finance emir for the Islamic State’s so-called Somali Province. The raid was the first confirmed US ground operation in northern Somalia since January 2023.
-
New head of anti-Islamic State mission in Iraq and Syria takes command
The anti-Islamic State coalition of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve received its new commander at a ceremony in Iraq on July 21, 2025. Brigadier General Kevin Lambert took over for Major General Kevin Leahy, who served in the role for a year. Lambert takes over as US allies in Syria may integrate into the new Syrian armed forces, and the US is weighing its next steps in the country.
-
Shabaab seizes two towns in central Somalia
Shabaab has reasserted its dominance in the Hiiran region in central Somalia. The Al Qaeda branch’s takeover of the towns of Moqokori and Tardo effectively completes the rollback of the government’s offensive in those areas, which began in 2022.
-
2 US Islamic State supporters arrested in June on terrorism charges
Over the last month, American law enforcement officials separately arrested two men from California and South Carolina on terrorism charges, documenting their alleged support for the Islamic State (IS). These arrests, combined with recent guilty pleas for an election-day terrorist plot from two other individuals, indicate the jihadist group’s staying power and continued ability to attract supporters.
-
US strike in northwestern Syria kills Islamic State’s external attack planner
As the US continues to reduce its military footprint in Syria, US Central Command launched an airstrike that killed Rakhim Boev, who it identified as “a Syria-based ISIS official who was involved in planning external operations threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and civilians.”
-
Analysis: Islamic State attempts suicide bombing in Uganda
On June 3, the Islamic State’s Central Africa Province (ISCAP) attempted an unsuccessful suicide bombing targeting Christian worshippers near Kampala, Uganda. The failed attack marks the second time that ISCAP has utilized a female suicide bomber and the first attack inside Uganda since December 2023.
-
Former Michigan guardsmen detained for planning Islamic State-inspired attack on military base
Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, a former Michigan Army National Guardsman, is charged with providing material support to the Islamic State. Said is the fourth individual and second veteran to be implicated in an Islamic State-inspired attack this year.
-
President Trump meets with a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, lifts sanctions on Syria
US President Donald Trump met with Syrian interim president Ahmad al Sharaa, a US and UN-designated terrorist and the former leader of Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and committed to removing US sanctions on Syria.
-
Afghan national pleads guilty over Islamic State-inspired terror plot in US
Abdullah Haji Zada, an 18-year-old legal permanent resident living in Oklahoma, pled guilty to conspiring to receive firearms intended for an election-day terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State. Six other individuals have been detained for their connection to the Islamic State since Zada’s arrest, underscoring a persistent threat to the US.
-
US strike in Iraq eliminates top Islamic State leader
On March 13, US Central Command carried out an airstrike that killed Abdallah Makki Muslih al Rifai, also known as Abu Khadijah. Rifai was a top leader in the Islamic State (IS) whose exact position is in dispute—likely the group’s effective second in command or caliph. His death marks another significant strike against IS after various leaders have been killed in the last three years.
-
January attack, recent arrests of Islamic State sympathizers highlight persistent threats to US
The Islamic State radicalized Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who killed 14 people in New Orleans on January 1. Subsequent investigations and arrests of additional alleged terrorism plotters by US authorities point to jihadist groups’ continuing propaganda efforts and the threat of attacks on US soil.
-
Analysis: From Afghanistan to America: the rising reach of the Islamic State Khorasan Province
Four years after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the threat posed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has expanded beyond the region, now endangering both America and Europe. With the group actively recruiting and transferring fighters across borders, regional actors such as the Taliban, Iran, Tajikistan, and Pakistan have proven unable to curb its growth.
-
Turkistan Islamic Party leader directs Syrian fighters from Afghanistan
Abdul Haq al Turkistani currently operates from Kabul while directing his fighters in Syria. Haq’s presence in Afghanistan directly contradicts the Taliban’s claims that no foreign fighters operate or are based in the country and that Afghanistan isn’t a headquarters for terrorist groups.
-
US pushes countries to repatriate nationals in Syria’s displaced-persons camps
US assistance for camps in Syria that house Islamic State-linked families “cannot last forever,” acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the UN on February 12. The spotlight on the camps comes as the Islamic State continues to pose a threat, and a new Syrian government attempts to assert control over the country.
-
Analysis: Islamic State calls for jihad in Sudan
In its weekly Al Naba newsletter, the Islamic State made its most explicit call for jihad inside Sudan, referring to opposing sides of the country’s brutal civil war as infidels. Both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have now called on Muslims in Sudan to take up arms for their respective organizations.
-
US continues to target the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
The US military conducted a series of operations with “partner forces” in Iraq and Syria over the past week, part of a continuing effort to degrade the Islamic State and prevent it from filling the security vacuum left by the collapse of the Assad regime.
-
US removes $10 million reward for Hayat Tahrir al Sham leader
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said the bounty was lifted on Abu Mohammad al Jolani because it would be “a little incoherent […] to have a bounty on the guy’s head” as she sat down to talk with him. The US government currently lists Jolani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for his ties to Al Qaeda and Hayat Tahrir al Sham as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
-
Analysis: The Islamic State and Iran remain determined to attack the US
US law enforcement agencies have apprehended or charged 11 individuals involved in plots supporting the Islamic State or Iran since October 8, underscoring both US adversaries’ continued determination to kill Americans at home and abroad.
-
US military strikes Islamic State camps and personnel in central Syria
US Central Command continued to target the Islamic State’s network in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. Twelve Islamic State fighters were killed during an operation that also targeted terror camps.
