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HTS utilizes suicide bombings against advancing regime forces
Since the beginning of the year, Hay’at Tahrir al Sham has utilized at least 12 suicide bombers in defense of Idlib from advancing regime forces.
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Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias suffer heavy losses fighting in Syria
Heavy losses by Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias fighting in Syria.
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‘Incite the Believers’ continues to fight Assad regime in southern Idlib
A coalition of Qaeda-linked jihadist groups in northwestern Syria detail their recent operations.
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U.S. kills Iran’s Qods Force commander and Iraq’s deputy PMF leader in strike in Baghdad
Qods Force commander Qassem Soliemani and Popular Mobilization Forces deputy Abu Mahdi al Muhandis were terror and insurgency masterminds who were revered in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and beyond for their support of the Iranian-backed Shia militias and terrorist groups that have destabilized several countries in the Middle East.
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Hezbollah Brigades threatens retaliation after U.S. airstrikes
Following a deadly rocket attack on a U.S. base in Iraq and subsequent U.S. airstrikes in response, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades threatens to further retaliate by continuing to target U.S. troops.
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Abdullah Azzam Brigades dissolves itself in Syria
After a long-hiatus, the al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades announces its dissolution inside Syria.
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Ansar al Islam claims first attack in Iraq since 2014
For the first time in five years, the jihadist group has claimed an attack in its native Iraq.
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Islamic State targets Syria’s Qamishli with car bombing
The bombing came as Turkey also shelled the city. It is likely that as the Turkish advance continues, the Islamic State will further exploit the chaos inside northern Syria to regroup and conduct more attacks.
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UN: Islamic Jihad Union operates in Syria
In the UNSC’s new report on the Islamic State, al Qaeda, and affiliated groups, the UN states that the Uzbek jihadist group, the Islamic Jihad Union, operates in Syria. This was not previously known.
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Islamic State claims last month’s shootout in Lebanon
The Islamic State retroactively claimed last month’s attack in Tripoli, Lebanon, was perpetrated by one of its soldiers.
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Caliphate, interrupted
The defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was neither final nor decisive, and policymakers should heed the War on Terror’s lessons to ensure the West doesn’t squander this advantage and enable ISIS, or its copycats and successor groups, to rally.
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Assad’s forces battle jihadists for key terrain in Latakia
The Turkistan Islamic Party, “Incite the Believers” operations room and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham are all battling Bashar al-Assad’s loyalists in Latakia, Syria.
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Examining the Global Terrorism Landscape
Bill Roggio testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism, and examines the global terrorism landscape.
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US-backed forces declare end to Islamic State’s physical caliphate
The US-backed Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) announced today that Baghouz has been liberated from the Islamic State. The US considers Baghouz to be the last village that was part of the jihadists’ physical caliphate. However, a review of history and current operations shows that the Islamic State has not been entirely defeated.
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Russian special forces train Palestinian militia in Syria
Russian special forces are reported to have held a training event for the pro-regime Palestinian militia, Liwa al Quds.
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US service members killed by Islamic State suicide bomber in northern Syria
Four Americans, including two service members, were killed when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in Manbij, Syria earlier today.
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Analysis: The Islamic State hasn’t been defeated
President Trump claimed earlier today that the Islamic State has been “defeated” in Syria. But an unknown number of the group’s top leaders, including presumably Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remain alive. And there are likely thousands of fighters in both Syria and Iraq, where they operate as insurgents.
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Islamic State unleashes suicide bombers in Hajin, Syria
In the past 24 hours, the Islamic State has conducted more than one suicide bombing against US-backed forces in Hajin, Syria. One Islamic State “martyr” blew himself up near the Hajin hospital, which became the scene of intense fighting earlier this week.
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US-led coalition kills Islamic State leader tied to murder of American
The US-led coalition announced today that Abu al Umarayn and “several” other Islamic State leaders were killed in recent airstrikes in Syria. Umarayn was purportedly involved in the 2014 murder of Peter Kassig, a former US Army Ranger who was working as a humanitarian worker in Syria.
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US Treasury adds Qods Force, Hezbollah officials to list of global terrorists
While the Treasury designation focuses on the four Iraqis’ links to Hezbollah, which is described as “a terrorist proxy for the Iranian regime that seeks to undermine Iraqi sovereignty and destabilize the Middle East,” it practically ignores the fact that one of them is the Secretary General of the Imam Ali Battalions, or Kata’ib Imam Ali, a key component of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an official military arm of the Iraqi state that reports directly to the prime minister.
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Uighur jihadist group trains with elite unit
Katibat Ghuraba al Turkistan, a smaller predominately Uighur jihadist group in northwestern Syria, recently trained with the elite Malhama Tactical thereby not only raising its credentials, but also its battlefield prowess.
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Analysis: Jihadists in Syria react to Sochi agreement
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the most powerful jihadist organization in Idlib province, has finally issued a statement addressing the agreement reached between Turkey and Russia last month. HTS vows to continue waging jihad, and warns that it doesn’t trust Russia’s “intentions,” but does not directly repudiate the Sochi accord.
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Official Iran-Syria military agreement highlights symbiotic relationship
Iranian and Syrian officials on 27 August signed a military agreement that highlights their symbiotic relationship.
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Hezbollah commemorates last year’s joint operation with Lebanese, Syrian militaries
Despite official Lebanese claims to the contrary, the photos recently released by Hezbollah offer more evidence of how its forces coordinated with the Lebanese military in last year’s battle near Arsal.
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Islamic State leader downplays territorial losses in new audio message
The public seldom hears from the reclusive Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who last released a speech nearly a year ago. But in his latest message, Baghdadi downplays the loss of his territorial caliphate while claiming the US has entered a new stage of “weakness.”
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US has launched over 500 strikes against the Islamic State since May
The majority of coalition strikes over the past three months have been concentrated in Abu Kamal, a critical border crossing on the southern border between Iraq and Syria.
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Israeli strike in Aleppo Governorate kills IRGC-backed Syrians
On July 15, Israel struck a military position near the Nayrab airport outside of Aleppo city. The latest attack is a component of an expanded Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic’s assets in Syria.
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Sunni jihadists and Assad regime swap civilians and prisoners
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has cut a deal with Bashar al-Assad’s regime to exchange thousands of residents in Kefraya and al-Fouah, two predominately Shiite towns in the northern province of Idlib, for 1,500 prisoners held in Assad’s prisons.
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Turkish-speaking jihadist group holds Assad loyalist captive in Latakia
A small Turkish-speaking jihadist faction known as Fursan al-Iman took part in a joint raid against the Assad regime in Latakia province on July 10. Yesterday, it posted a picture of an Assad loyalist who was captured during the operation. It appears from the group’s social media pages that Fursan al-Iman has been operating in and around the Jabal al-Turkman region since January 2018.
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Ansar al-Islam raids Assad regime position in Latakia
Ansar al-Islam raided an Assad regime military position in the Latakia province yesterday, killing more than two dozen Assad loyalists. The attack was widely celebrated on Sunni jihadist social media channels. Ansar al-Islam is a small jihadist group that originated in Iraq, but has fought in Syria for years.
