Category Archives: Al-Qaida

What does the Taliban’s return mean for al-Qaida in Afghanistan?

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UK defence secretary is worried that ‘al-Qaida will probably come back’ – but it is already there

As the Taliban prepare to rule Afghanistan after sweeping across the country in less than a week, an obvious question is what does this mean for the future of al-Qaida and other extremist Islamist groups committed to waging a global jihad.

There is no doubt that the astonishing rapidity of the Taliban’s victory will deliver a tremendous boost to Islamist extremists everywhere – whether al-Qaida, Islamic State, fighters in Mozambique or Syria, or jihadi fanboys in bedsits in Birmingham or Manila.

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Mogadishu car bombing kills at least nine people, says official

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Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for suicide attack on convoy of senior police official in Somali capital

A suicide car bomb targeting a government convoy exploded at a busy junction in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing at least nine people and injuring eight others, a health official said.

The convoy was carrying a senior police official, Farhan Mohamud, who survived the attack on Saturday, the government news agency reported.

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Six children killed in Syria shelling

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Artillery fired from government-controlled area kills eight civilians and injures others in Idlib province

Artillery fire from government-controlled territory and airstrikes killed at least eight civilians in Syria’s last rebel enclave on Saturday, most of them children, rescue workers and a war monitor said.

The shelling in Ibleen, a village in the southern Idlib province, hit the home of Subhi al-Assi, killing him, his wife and three of his children in their sleep, according to the rescue service known as White Helmets and Idlib’s health directorate. Al-Assi was an administrator in a local health centre.

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Isis-linked groups open up new fronts across sub-Saharan Africa

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Military victories combined with new alliances and shifts in strategy reinforce militants’ position across much of continent

Islamic State’s affiliates in Africa are set for major expansion after a series of significant victories, new alliances and shifts in strategy reinforced their position across much of the continent.

Following recent gains in Nigeria, the Sahel, in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Isis propaganda published by the group’s leadership in its heartland in the Middle East is increasingly stressing sub-Saharan Africa as a new front which may compensate the group for significant setbacks elsewhere.

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The world has a vested interest in Somalia. Will it act to stop its collapse? | Vava Tampa

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Starvation, al-Shabaab and postponed elections have made the country a ready gun. If the trigger is pulled, global trade is at risk

Frantz Fanon once quipped: “Africa is shaped like a revolver, and Congo is the trigger.”

More than 60 years later, I think the French philosopher’s assessment is only half true. It leaves out Somalia – which once held the crown as the “Switzerland of Africa”, but is now again on the verge of political disintegration.

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Islamic extremists planning ‘rash of attacks’ after Covid curbs lifted, says UN

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Report says pandemic gives Isis and al-Qaida opportunity to undermine governments in conflict zones

Islamic extremists are planning a possible “rash of pre-planned attacks” when restrictions on movement imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic are lifted, the United Nations has warned.

A report based on intelligence received from member countries over the last six months says Islamic State will seek to “end its marginalisation from the news” with a wave of violence and notes that the group recently urged supporters to spend less time on social media to free up time to launch operations against its enemies.

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At least 100 die in Niger attacks blamed on jihadists

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Attacks on two villages were launched just as first-round results were announced in presidential election

“Terrorists” have killed around 100 people in two villages in western Niger, the latest in a string of civilian massacres that have rocked the jihadist-plagued Tillaberi region, a local mayor has said.

The attacks on the villages of Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumadareye occurred on Saturday just as first-round presidential election results were announced.

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Indonesia arrests suspected Jemaah Islamiyah leader on the run since Bali bombings

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Suspected bomb maker Zulkarnaen arrested in a raid at a house on Sumatra island

Indonesian police have arrested a man believed to be the military leader of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network who has eluded capture since 2003, and is suspected of being involved in the 2002 Bali bombings, authorities said Saturday.

Aris Sumarsono, known as Zulkarnaen, was arrested late Thursday by counterterrorism police without resistance in a raid at a house in East Lampung district on Sumatra island, said national police spokesperson Ahmad Ramadhan.

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Israeli agents in Iran kill al-Qaida’s top lieutenant – report

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Abu Muhammad al-Masri was gunned down in Tehran more than three months ago, says New York Times

Al-Qaida’s second-in-command was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives acting at the behest of the United States, the New York Times has reported, citing intelligence officials.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle in Tehran, the NYT reported. He was accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa.

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Afghan security forces kill senior al-Qaida leader

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Abu Muhsin al-Masri was on FBI’s most-wanted list and had been charged with terrorism offences in US

Afghan security forces have killed Abu Muhsin al-Masri, a senior al-Qaida leader who was on the FBI’s most-wanted list, Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a tweet late on Saturday.

Al-Masri has been charged in the United States with having provided material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organisation, and conspiracy to kill US nationals.

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US removes Sudan from terrorism blacklist in return for $335m

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Compensation payment pledged for alleged role in bombing of two US embassies

Washington has removed Sudan from a terrorism blacklist after the country agreed to pay $335m in compensation for its alleged role in the bombing of two US embassies in east Africa by al-Qaida in 1998.

Donald Trump tweeted the news of the deal on Monday. “GREAT news! New government of Sudan, which is making great progress, agreed to pay $335 MILLION to U.S. terror victims and families. Once deposited, I will lift Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. At long last, JUSTICE for the American people and BIG step for Sudan!” he wrote.

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US proposes removing Sudan from terrorism list for $330m compensation

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The payment would go to victims of al-Qaida but has caused anger in the poverty-stricken country

A US proposal to remove Sudan from a list of states that sponsor terrorism – in exchange for a $330 million payment compensation to American victims of al-Qaida – has caused anger in the poverty-stricken east African country.

Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, visited Khartoum on Tuesday to underline US support for the new transitional government that took power following the fall of Omar al-Bashir last year, whose 30 year authoritarian rule saw Sudan become an international pariah.

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Mogadishu car bomb kills eight soldiers at military base

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Somalia-based al-Shabaab group claims blast that leaves 14 wounded

A car bomb has exploded at the gates of a military base in Mogadishu, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding 14.

The extremist group al-Shabaab, linked with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility via its radio arm, Andalus. The group often targets military sites in Mogadishu and controls large parts of southern and central Somalia, with little sign of being hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.

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At least 180 civilians killed in Burkina Faso town, says rights group

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Human Rights Watch suggests involvement of security forces in deaths over recent months

At least 180 civilians have been killed in recent months in a single town in Burkina Faso, with evidence pointing towards the country’s often-accused security forces, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Between November 2019 and June this year, groups of dozens of dead bodies were found often tied and blindfolded, strewn along major highways, beneath bridges and across fields in the rural region, the report published on Thursday said. Most of the bodies were buried by residents while the remains of others were left unclaimed.

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Killing of Islamic State expert in Baghdad marks critical moment for Iraq

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Hisham al-Hashimi backed action to tackle Iraq’s powerful militias, despite knowing risks

As Hisham al-Hashimi pulled up outside his Baghdad home on Monday night, a gunman strode purposefully towards the Iraqi official’s white four-wheel drive, drew a pistol and fired four shots through the driver’s window.

Each jolting flash was captured by security footage from a camera on Hashimi’s roof. So was the hitman’s escape on the back of a motorbike, and the helpless vigil of his three young children as their father’s body was dragged on to the driveway.

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Militant crackdown in Sahel leads to hundreds of civilian deaths – report

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Amnesty records 200 state killings and forced disappearances in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, state members of internationally-backed G5 group

Hundreds of civilians have been killed by their own governments in Africa’s Sahel region since countries pledged a surge against militant groups at a regional meeting held by France in January.

Amnesty International said on Wednesday that it had documented 200 cases of unlawful state killings and forced disappearances in February and March in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which are members of the internationally backed G5 force set up to fight militants in the Sahel.

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French forces kill al-Qaida’s north Africa chief in Mali

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Abdelmalek Droukdel was one of the Maghreb’s most experienced Islamist militants

French forces in northern Mali have killed al-Qaida’s north Africa (AQMI) chief, a key Islamist fighter whom its forces had been hunting for more than seven years.

“On 3 June, French army forces with the support of their local partners, killed al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s emir, Abdelmalek Droukdel, and several of his closest collaborators, during an operation in northern Mali,” the French armed forces minister, Florence Parly, wrote on Twitter on Friday.

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The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad review – recent history at its finest

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Thomas Hegghammer delivers a meticulously researched account of a charismatic Islamist

Abdallah Azzam is not exactly a household name – at least when compared with the far more notorious Osama bin Laden. But the militant Palestinian cleric who inspired and mobilised Arabs to come to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union in the 1980s is the most important jihadist figure before the birth of al-Qaida and the continuing consequences of the 9/11 attacks on the US.

Azzam is still revered by many who believe that the Islamic ummah (community/nation) matters more and has greater legitimacy than individual authoritarian Arab and Muslim states. Mosques, fighting units, training camps and websites have been named after him since he was assassinated in Pakistan in 1989. Fans maintain Twitter and Telegram accounts. Uncritical and heroic accounts of his achievements abound – in Arabic and English.

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Sydney man charged after allegedly fighting for al-Qaida-linked Syrian terrorist group

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Police allege the 44-year-old travelled to Syria in 2012 and 2013 to fight ‘for months at a time’

A Sydney man has been charged after allegedly fighting for an al-Qaida-linked Syrian terrorist group “for months at a time” in 2012 and 2013.

The 44-year-old was due to face Parramatta bail court on Saturday after tactical police arrested him in a car park in Mount Lewis on Friday.

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Masked men, murder and mass displacement: how terror came to Burkina Faso

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A campaign of indiscriminate killings has driven hundreds of thousands from their homes. Now there are fears for the state’s survival

The road south towards Kaya is no longer safe, but thousands take it every day. They come on foot, piled on to scooters or next to donkeys straining at their carts. They testify to atrocities by masked men that are never claimed and whose motives remain unexplained. Women and children are everywhere. The men are looking for work, in hiding, or dead.

A landlocked nation of 19 million people in the heart of west Africa, Burkina Faso was celebrated only a few years ago as a stable, vibrant young democracy. Now it is being eaten away at its eastern and northern fringes.

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