AQIM battalion targets Tunisian soldiers near Algeria
AQIM’s Uqba bin Nafi battalion claimed an IED blast on Tunisian troops close to the Algerian border. This is the second claim in two months for the jihadist group.
AQIM’s Uqba bin Nafi battalion claimed an IED blast on Tunisian troops close to the Algerian border. This is the second claim in two months for the jihadist group.
The Defense Department has confirmed that Boubaker al-Hakim, a French-Tunisian Islamic State leader, was killed in Raqqa, Syria on Nov. 26. Al-Hakim had ties to Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, an al Qaeda-affiliated group, before defecting to the Islamic State’s cause. He admittedly assassinated one Tunisian politician in 2013 and knew the assailants responsible for a second slaying.
The claim marks the first group’s first attack since July and an earlier ambush in March.
The Tunisian state continues to face a jihadist threat from both the Kasserine region and what is emanating from the Libyan border.
The Treasury Department announced today that three Islamic State officials have been sanctioned. One is a senior official in the “caliphate’s” oil and gas division. A second was the deputy leader of the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem before swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and agreeing to establish a foothold for the Islamic State in Gaza. The third is the group’s “chief religious advisor.”
The Islamic State has claimed three attacks in the North African country. The latest, a suicide bombing, was intended to show that Tunisia is not safe, according to the jihadist group.
While Tunisia has made claims the Uqba bin Nafi battalion has been defeated, the al Qaeda group remains a threat to the country’s security.
The Islamic State has issued a statement claiming responsibility for yesterday’s massacre in Sousse, Tunisia. The death toll has risen to at least 38 people and Tunisian authorities say the victims were primarily British, German, and French citizens.