US military bases in the Persian Gulf confront two challenges, one military and the other political. FDD’s Ryan Brobst, Bradley Bowman, and Behnam Ben Taleblu survey the two challenges and propose a way to address them.
Hate preachers were hosted by Gulf governments at multiple events during Ramadan 2019. The Government of Qatar continued to be the worst offender in this regard.
America’s Gulf allies — Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait — still sponsor hate preachers during Ramadan.
The US Treasury Department designated Muhammad Hadi al-‘Anizi as an al Qaeda terrorist earlier this month. He was detained in Afghanistan in late 2001 at the age of 15. Al-‘Anizi was freed and thanked Kuwait’s leadership for his repatriation. He is now based in Kuwait.
The US Treasury Department announced today that Muhammad Hadi al-`Anizi, a Kuwait-based “facilitator and financier” for al Qaeda and its Syrian branch, has been designated as a terrorist. Al Qaeda’s senior leadership appointed Al-`Anizi as al Qaeda’s “representative in Syria” sometime in 2014. His brother was previously designated by Treasury, which has repeatedly targeted al Qaeda’s support network in Kuwait.
Al Qaeda’s rebranded guerrilla army in Syria is fighting alongside other jihadists, Islamists and Free Syrian Army-branded rebels in an offensive intended to break the Assad regime’s siege of Aleppo. Most of the participating groups belong to two coalitions: Jaysh al Fath (“Army of Conquest”) and Fatah Halab (“Aleppo Conquest”). These same two alliances tried and failed to break the siege earlier this year.
The State Department’s newly released Country Reports on Terrorism for 2015 suggests that several Gulf States still have a lot of work to do when it comes to terrorist fundraising.
The US Treasury Department has designated 5 members of al Qaeda’s international “facilitation and fundraising” network, as well as one of the Islamic State’s “critical facilitators” in North Africa. One of the newly designated jihadists, known as Abu Sulayman al Muhajir, was as an extremist preacher in Australia before relocating to Syria and joining Al Nusrah Front.
A Guantanamo detainee who was transferred to Kuwait in 2006 had quickly returned to the battlefield. He killed 13 Iraqi soldiers in a suicide truck bomb at a combat outpost in Mosul, Iraq in 2008.
On at least three separate occasions in the past, US officials, including President Obama’s own Guantanamo Review Task Force, recommended that Fayez al Kandari remain in US custody. Kandari also lost his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Joint Task Force – Guantanamo deemed him a “high risk” to the US, its interests and allies.
Three terrorists attacks in France, Kuwait and Tunisia have killed dozens. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on a Shiite mosque in Kuwait.
Islamists slam Kuwaiti lawmaker for call to allow dancing, alcohol
Obama Envoy John Allen: No ‘Short-Term Solutions’ for Stopping Islamic State
US Stockpiling Fighting Vehicles Near Iraq Ahead of Anti-ISIS Offensive
US backed talks between jihadi clerics and ISIS in effort to save hostage’s life
US Adds Planes to Bolster Drive to Wipe Out ISIS
Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain end rift with Qatar, return ambassadors
US, France propose UN sanctions on 15 foreign Islamist fighters
Who’s who in coalition to defeat Islamic State
Islamic State’s war chest is growing daily
Arab Nations Vow Help to Fight ISIS ‘as Appropriate’
Islamic State cleric was director of private Muslim primary school in Birmingham UK
Gulf meeting ends without clear end to Qatar spat
Gulf Monarchies Resolve Spat with Qatar, Say Ready to Help Counter Jihadists
Islamic State: Arab leaders reluctant to heed US call for ‘allies against Isis’
The Long War Journal first exposed one of the two, a jihadist known as Sanafi al Nasr, as a senior al Qaeda operative in March. Al Nasr is a senior al Qaeda leader who relocated from Pakistan to Syria last year. Treasury reveals that he previously served as the head of al Qaeda’s Iran-based network.
Kuwaiti authorities released Hajjaj al Ajmi, who was recently designated a terrorist by both the US and the UN, after detaining him briefly on his return from Qatar. A Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Aug. 19 that security forces were on high alert over reports from Iraq that Islamic State militants were planning to infiltrate Kuwait’s […]
Shafi Sultan Mohammed al-Ajmi and Hajjaj Fahd Hajjaj Muhammad Sahib al-‘Ajmi, who were added to the US’ list of global terrorists on Aug. 6 for supporting the Al Nusrah Front in Syria, appear relatively undeterred by the recent sanctions.
Kuwaiti authorities detained Hajjaj al-Ajmi, a cleric recently added to the terrorist lists of the UN and the US, at the international airport on his arrival from Qatar. He is suspected of serving as a financier for the Al Nusrah Front in Syria. Another cleric, Shafi al-Ajmi, was detained briefly on Aug. 17 after returning […]
Two Al Nusrah Front financiers/facilitators are based in Kuwait. The Islamic State operative has moved Kuwaiti fighters into Syria and Afghanistan and works with “Iran-based al Qaeda facilitators.”