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Senior al Qaeda religious official in Syria returns to social media
The US Treasury Department designated Abu Sulayman al Muhajir as an al Qaeda terrorist on May 19. He has been active on social media in the past, but does not appear to have maintained a Twitter feed in months. In the past 24 hours, Abu Sulayman returned to Twitter and also started a Telegram channel.
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Al Nusrah Front and allies launch new offensive in Syria’s Aleppo province
Jaysh al Fateh, a coalition cofounded by Al Nusrah Front, launched a new offensive in Syria’s Aleppo province in the past two days. The assault is designed to extend Jaysh al Fateh’s control over the territory surrounding the town of Khan Tuman, which was seized last month.
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Analysis: State Department identifies Gulf shortcomings on counterterrorism efforts
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.
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Iranian-backed Iraqi militia launched rockets at Khan Touman in advance of ground assault
Ahead of an anticipated assault to recapture Khan Touman, Iranian media claim Iraqi militia Harakat al Nujaba has deployed its ground and missile units.
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Treasury sanctions al Qaeda, Islamic State ‘financiers and facilitators’
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.
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Caucasus Emirate in Syria fighting in Aleppo
The small Chechen and North Caucasian group loyal to the Caucasus Emirate continues to highlight its presence in Aleppo.
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Syrian rebels deny Hezbollah’s military commander killed in ‘artillery shelling’
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights disputed Hezbollah’s findings, claiming that it did not observe any artillery attacks on the airport, and its sources within the Syrian military and rebel groups in the city denied shelling the airport. It is likely that Israeli warplanes killed Mustafa Badreddine.
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Storied Hezbollah commander killed in Syria
Mustafa Badreddine, Imad Mughniyah’s replacement and a notorious Hezbollah senior military commander, was killed in an attack on Damascus International Airport initially attributed to Israel.
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Osama bin Laden’s son says jihad in Syria key to ‘liberate Palestine’
Hamzah bin Laden calls for jihadist unity and says the jihad in Syria is key to “liberating” Palestine from the Jews. He says Muslims everywhere should participate in the Palestinians’ “intifada.”
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Ayman al Zawahiri discusses al Qaeda’s goal of building an Islamic emirate in Syria
Al Qaeda’s propaganda arm, As Sahab, has released a new audio message from Ayman al Zawahiri. The al Qaeda emir discusses his organization’s goal of establishing an Islamic emirate in Syria, calls for “unity” among the mujahideen, and heaps praise on Al Nusrah Front.
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Turkistan Islamic Party advertises role in jihadist-led offensive in Aleppo province
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) has released a series of photos documenting its “spoils” from a new round of fighting in Syria’s Aleppo province. Jaysh al Fath, an alliance of several groups, launched the offensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime and its allies earlier this week. The TIP is fighting alongside Al Nusrah Front, which is al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda front group.
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Islamic State claims control of Shaer gas field, advertises spoils
The Islamic State has released a set of photos documenting the “spoils” it captured from Bashar al Assad’s regime at the Shaer gas field in Homs.
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Assad regime and Islamic State battle for control of Shaer gas field in Homs
The Islamic State and Bashar al Assad’s forces are once again battling for control of the Shaer gas field in Syria’s Homs province. The gas facilities have changed hands multiple times since July 2014, when the jihadists first launched an offensive in the area.
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Series of deadly operations named after fallen Islamic State leader
Dozens have perished in a series of Islamic State operations carried out across Iraq and Syria. The jihadists are using the bombings and raids to honor Abu Ali al Anbari, a top leader killed by US counterterrorism forces earlier this year.
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Syrian jihadist group Sham al Islam appoints new leader
The jihadist group, founded by former Guantanamo Bay detainees, is listed by the US government as a specially designated global terrorist entity, and is known to operate a training camp in Syria.
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Uzbek al Qaeda battalion trains ‘commandos’ in Aleppo
The fighters shown training in urban Aleppo in the video are part of the Uzbek battalion’s ‘commando forces’ in Aleppo.
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Uzbek group showcases fighting Kurds in Aleppo
The Uzbek Imam Bukhari Jamaat joins several other jihadist groups and rebel factions in the battle for the Aleppo neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsud.
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US strikes al Qaeda’s ‘Khorasan Group’ in Syria
The US killed Rifai Ahmed Taha Musa in an airstrike this week. Musa first began working with Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri in the 1980s and 1990s. US intelligence officials identified him as a key figure in al Qaeda’s so-called “Khorasan Group.” According to one of his former comrades, he was in Syria to promote unity between Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham.
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Al Nusrah Front confirms al Qaeda veteran killed in US airstrike
The Al Nusrah Front confirmed today that Abu Firas al Suri, a veteran jihadist who served al Qaeda since the 1980s, was killed in a US airstrike on Apr. 3. A Pentagon spokesman recently explained that Al Nusrah has “ties” to al Qaeda, but this is not an adequate description of the relationship. Al Nusrah is one of al Qaeda’s regional branches and is openly loyal to Ayman al Zawahiri.
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Syrian fighter jet downed in Aleppo province
The Syrian government says that a fighter jet was downed by a surface to air missile in the Aleppo province earlier today. There are conflicting reports concerning how the plane was hit. Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has the pilot in custody and another al Qaeda-linked group, Ahrar al Sham, has claimed responsibility for downing the jet.
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Pentagon confirms US targeted veteran al Qaeda leader in Syria
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed today that the US targeted Abu Firas al Suri, a veteran al Qaeda leader, in an airstrike in Syria. Within hours of the bombing yesterday, jihadists on social media claimed that Abu Firas had perished. Separately, Cook confirmed that Hassan Ali Dhoore, a dual hatted al Qaeda and Shabaab leader, was killed in an airstrike in Somalia on Mar. 31.
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Jihadists say airstrike killed veteran al Qaeda leader in Syria
Jihadists on social media say that Abu Firas al Suri, a veteran jihadist who served al Qaeda since the 1980s, has been killed in an airstrike in Syria. Abu Firas previously explained al Qaeda’s revolutionary approach to waging jihad, saying the group seeks to develop “erupting jihadi centers” in various Muslim-majority countries.
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US airstrike targets senior leader of Shabaab’s security and intelligence service
The US military has not confirmed the death of Hassan Ali Dhoore, a dual hatted al Qaeda and Shabaab leader who served in the Amniyat, a key security and intelligence organization within Shabaab.
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Al Nusrah Front, allies launch offensive south of Aleppo
Al Nusrah Front claims to have captured a small village near the Talat al-‘Iss hill in the Aleppo province. Three suicide bombers were used to pave the way for the jihadists. The battle is part of Al Nusrah’s attempt to regain in the initiative in the war against Bashar al Assad and his allies. A Syrian regime source has told the press that the hill is a strategic location.
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Iran Army hints at deployment of Special Forces to Syria and Iraq
The deployment would mark the first time that Army forces, including commandos and snipers of the Rapid Response Battalions, have operated outside Iranian borders since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.
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Veteran Egyptian jihadist now an al Qaeda leader in Syria
Ahmed Salama Mabruk, a veteran Egyptian jihadist, is now a key figure in Al Nusrah Front. Mabruk’s dossier stretches back to the early 1980s, when he was first imprisoned following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He reportedly oversaw Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda networks in the 1990s, before being captured in a CIA-led manhunt. He was released from an Egyptian prison following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
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‘Hezbollah and Harakat al Nujaba are the twins of resistance,’ Iraqi militia spokesman says
Harakat al Nujaba has a long history with Hezbollah and Iran, in both Iraq and Syria. “The blood of Hezbollah which flowed in the land of Iraq is our responsibility for so long as we exist,” the group’s spokesman said.
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Islamic State claims killing Russian soldiers at Palmyra
The Syrian regime is trying to recapture the city and Russian troops appear to be helping in the endeavor. This also comes just days after Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will be withdrawing the “main part” of its forces in Syria.
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Al Qaeda insider returns to Twitter, discusses group’s global leadership
An al Qaeda media operative known as Shaybat al Hukama returned to Twitter on Feb. 15 after having his previous accounts suspended. Hukama has implied that Saif al Adel, a senior al Qaeda leader wanted for his alleged role in the 1998 US Embassy bombings, is in Syria to lead the fight against the Russians.
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Jihadist propaganda outlet denies Islamic State military commander killed in US airstrike
Omar al Shishani’s status has been uncertain since the US announced it targeted him last week, and it is still unknown if he is dead, alive, or seriously wounded.
