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Analysis: Qatar’s ill-timed hostage deal increases pressure on Washington
Qatar recently secured the release of Qatari hostages, including members of the royal family. But its diplomatic victory was marred by reports that a multi-million dollar ransom was paid to a US-designated terrorist group and an al Qaeda-linked joint venture in Syria.
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Ohio man pleads guilty to terror charges after posting Islamic State hit list
The Department of Justice announced yesterday that a 24 year-old Ohio man, Terrence J. McNeil, has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges. Prosecutors charged McNeil with soliciting the murders of American servicemen after he republished an Islamic State “hit list” online. The list was first compiled by Junaid Hussain, an Islamic State operative who was subsequently killed in a drone strike in Raqqa, Syria.
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Indonesian authorities hunt Islamic State operative’s cyber recruits
On Mar. 30, the US Treasury Department designated Bahrun Naim as a terrorist. Naim is one of the most prolific planners of the Islamic State’s so-called “remote-controlled” attacks. Most of his plots have been thwarted by counterterrorism officials, but he has a broad network of supporters in Indonesia.
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Reading Iran’s Reaction To US Missile Strikes In Syria
Iran’s political elite have weighed-in on the recent US cruise missile strikes in Syria and used the opportunity to plug their regime’s narrative. While time will tell if Iran will ultimately read the strike as a show of American resolve or indecision, Iranian officials have fallen back on gloating, intimidation, and misinformation tactics that so often characterize Persian-language reporting.
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Analysis: Syria policy must reflect the complex reality on the ground
The policy debate concerning Syria must reflect on-the-ground realities. The war is a complex, multi-sided affair with no easy solutions.
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Qassem Soleimani reportedly spotted in Syria’s Hama province
A photo surfaced on Friday claiming to show Qassem Soleimani, the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) extraterritorial branch the Qods Force, in the northern countryside of Syria’s central province of Hama. Meanwhile, the IRGC announced the deaths of three additional Guard soldiers including a brigadier general second class in Syria.
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State lists 5 terrorists linked to Islamic State, al Qaeda
Anjem Choudary, the British Islamist who is directly linked to Omar Bakri Muhammad, and who has formed several radical Islamist organizations, such as Al Muhajiroun, Al Ghurabaa, and Islam4UK, is among the newly designated terrorists.
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North Caucasian group highlights training in Syria
An ethnic Nogai group from the North Caucasus recently showed some of its fighters training in northern Syria. A group of the same name exists in the Caucasus Emirate, but it remains to be seen if this the same unit.
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IRGC members killed in Syria’s Hama province
Iranian authorities have confirmed that at least two Iranians were killed in combat in Syria’s Hama province. Pro-Assad regime forces have been fighting a major insurgent offensive that was launched by a number of groups in Hama earlier this month.
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Al Qaeda’s alleged ‘representative in Syria’ previously freed from US Custody in Afghanistan
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.
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Israel carries out two strikes against Assad Regime, Hezbollah targets in Syria
Israel forcefully redraws its blurred red lines on Hezbollah weapons transfers via Syria.
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Israel’s airstrikes in Palmyra likely targeted Hezbollah weapons shipments
Hezbollah may have begun receiving weapons shipments at Palmyra’s T-4 airport in an attempt to avoid Israeli detection.
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Al Qaeda-linked jihadist group trains in Syria
Ansar Jihad, a small al Qaeda-linked group comprised of Central Asians and Turkish fighters, has released another video of its training camps in northwestern Syria.
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Jihadist group claims responsibility for suicide attacks in Damascus
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), al Qaeda’s new front group in Syria, has claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings that targeted Shiites in Damascus yesterday. Al Qaeda generally avoids targeting Shiite civilians, but a number of children and women were reportedly killed. HTS attempts to justify the bombings by arguing that the jihadists targeted “Iranian militias” and Bashar al Assad’s forces.
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IRGC-controlled Iraqi militia forms ‘Golan Liberation Brigade’
The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Harakat al Nujaba this week announced the formation of its “Golan Liberation Brigade.” This announcement reflects Tehran’s post-Aleppo priorities in southern Syria: sustain ideological commitment to fighting Israel while planning to pose militarythreat to the the Jewish state from the Golan Heights. The Islamic Republic is also sending signal to Arab states that are in talks with Israel over a military coalition against Tehran’s influence.
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Zawahiri’s deputy sought to ‘unify’ Syrian rebels
The US killed al Qaeda veteran Abu al Khayr al Masri in a drone strike in Idlib, Syria in late February. Masri was identified as al Qaeda’s “general deputy” in July 2016. He worked to unite Syrian rebel groups under a common banner.
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The future of counterterrorism: Addressing the evolving threat to domestic security
Testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee Counterterrorism and Intelligence, on the future of counterterrorism and addressing the evolving threat to domestic security.
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Syrian military intelligence official killed in suicide assault in Homs
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), a newly formed group that includes al Qaeda’s Syrian arm, launched a complex assault on the Assad regime’s security services in the city of Homs earlier today. A high-ranking military intelligence official was killed in the suicide raid.
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Treasury, UN sanction 2 senior leaders in al Qaeda’s Syrian branch
The US Treasury Department and the UN have added two senior jihadists to their terror sanctions lists. Both of them were leaders in the group formerly known as Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria. Treasury’s announcement provides new details about al Qaeda’s operations in Syria, including the organization’s history and personnel.
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Al Qaeda-linked Uzbek groups advertise operations in Afghanistan
The Imam Bukhari Jamaat and the Islamic Jihad Union have claimed attacks in eastern and northern Afghanistan. Members of these two groups are also known to have operated in Syria.
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Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria confirms death of French-born fighter
This marks at least the second time a French fighter has been killed alongside the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria.
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Uighur jihadist fought in Afghanistan, killed in Syria
A Uighur commander known as Abu Omar al Turkistani was killed in a US drone strike in Syria on Jan. 1. According to a jihadi biography posted online, he had a lengthy career fighting alongside al Qaeda-linked forces. He purportedly participated in the Battle of Tora Bora in late 2001.
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Jihadists and other rebels assault Syrian regime positions in southern city
On Feb. 12, the newly formed Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and other insurgent groups launched an offensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime in the southern city of Daraa. Two HTS suicide bombers were deployed at the beginning of the battle. HTS includes al Qaeda’s arm in Syria.
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US-led coalition targeted key online operative for Islamic State near Mosul
The US-led coalition targeted Rachid Kassim near Mosul, Iraq earlier this week. Kassim is an Islamic State operative responsible for “remote-controlling” attacks in France. He has been tied to several plots.
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Hay’at Tahrir al Sham leader calls for ‘unity’ in Syrian insurgency
Abu Jaber has released his first speech as the general commander of the newly formed Ha’yat Tahrir al Sham (“Assembly for the Liberation of Syria”). He calls on other factions to join his group, promises to wage jihad on Bashar al Assad’s regime until the end and claims that losing the war would be catastrophic for Syria’s Sunnis.
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Uzbek jihadist group claims ambush in northern Afghanistan
Katibat Imam al Bukhari, which also operates in Syria alongside al Qaeda’s forces there, claims that four Afghan soldiers were killed in the attack.
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Pentagon: 11 al Qaeda terrorists killed in airstrikes near Idlib, Syria
The Pentagon announced that 11 al Qaeda operatives were killed in a pair of airstrikes near Idlib, Syria earlier this month. One of them, Abu Hani al Masri, is described as “a legacy al Qaeda terrorist with ties to the group’s senior leaders, including Ayman al Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden.”
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Caucasus Emirate branch highlights fighters in Syria
The Caucasus Emirate in Syria has previously shown its forces partaking in battles in Aleppo, but it is now detailing fighting in Idlib Province.
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Islamic State faces multiple adversaries in Al Bab, Syria
The Islamic State has been battling Turkey and allied groups north of Al Bab, Syria since Nov. 2016. The US was reluctant, at first, to support Turkey’s ground operations near the town. But that changed after Turkey turned to Russia for aerial support. The Syrian regime and its allies also launched an offensive south of Al Bab earlier this month.
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Islamic State offensive against Assad regime cuts city of Deir Ezzor in two
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a new offensive by the Islamic State has effectively cut the city of Deir Ezzor in two. The Islamic State has battled forces loyal to the Assad regime in and around Deir Ezzor since mid-2014. The jihadis’ latest assault has exacerbated the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the city.
