Abu Qatada al-Filistini

September 21, 2021 | Thomas Joscelyn |

U.S. targets suspected al Qaeda leader in Idlib, Syria

The U.S. launched a drone strike on a suspected al Qaeda leader in Syria’s Idlib province yesterday, but provided few details about the intended target. Jihadists on social media posted a short video...

May 4, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Analysis: The Islamic State’s ideological campaign against al-Qaeda

On April 29, the Islamic State’s “province” (wilayah) in Yemen released a lengthy video that is intended to undermine al-Qaeda’s ideological legitimacy within the jihadists’ ranks. The 50-plus...

February 15, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Hurras al-Din reach a new accord

On Feb. 10, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Hurras al-Din (HAD) reached a new accord. The agreement was forged after nearly two weeks of vitriolic debate — the latest in a series of disagreements...

January 30, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

2 al Qaeda leaders reject proposed military council in Syria

Two al Qaeda leaders in Syria have rejected an alleged proposal that would reorganize jihadists and Islamists under a new military council. Abu Hammam al-Shami and Dr. Sami al-Uraydi, both of whom...

December 8, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Al Qaeda Assessment Off the Mark

Throughout his two terms in office, President Barack Obama faced an array of challenges from both al Qaeda and ISIS.  In an interview with The Cipher Brief, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Seni...

October 13, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Underestimating al Qaeda

The United States and its allies are consumed by their battle with ISIS, but to many terrorism experts, al Qaeda remains a serious force to be reckoned with, one that is actually increasing i...

August 29, 2016 | Thomas Joscelyn, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Zawahiri’s Revenge

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham — which has now rebranded itself "the Islamic State" (IS) — is trying to position itself as the new leader of the global...

September 4, 2015 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Extreme Makeover, Jihadist Edition: Al-Qaeda’s Rebranding Campaign

Since the Islamic State made its dramatic military advance from Syria into Iraq more than a year ago — capturing...

January 5, 2015 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal |

Dagestani Jihadist Swears Allegiance to Islamic State, Invoking Backlash

Earlier this month, Rustam Asilderov, a senior jihadist in Dagestan, released a video in which he pledged allegiance (bayat) to the head of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Asild...

August 1, 2014 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Thomas Joscelyn

Zawahiri’s Revenge

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham -- which has now rebranded itself "the Islamic State" (IS) -- is trying to position itself as the new leader of the global jihadist movement. After being...

February 4, 2014 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal |

Pro-al Qaeda Saudi Cleric Calls on ISIS Members to Defect

Not long after al Qaeda's general command yesterday disowned the Islamic State of Iraq and the...

March 21, 2013 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague

Ansar al-Sharia Tunisia’s International Connections

Ansar al-Sharia Tunisia (AST) is the most prominent jihadist organisation in Tunisia, sharing al-Qaeda’s worldview, and yet its strategy is currently more...

March 4, 2013 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal |

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia Launches New Website

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, the al Qaeda-linked extremist group responsible for the Sept. 14, 2012 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis, has launched a new website. The group advertised the impending...

October 2, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal

Al Qaeda Ally Orchestrated Assault on US Embassy in Tunisia

On Sept. 14, the US embassy in Tunis came under assault. The American staff evacuated the embassy unscathed, but the attackers hoisted an al Qaeda-style black flag high above the emptied compound...

July 30, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal

Webster Commission Gets 2004 Madrid Train Bombings Wrong

Last week, I wrote about the Webster Commission's final report on the Nov. 5, 2009 Fort Hood shootings....

December 29, 2011 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal |

Israel Kills ‘Global Jihad Affiliated-Terrorists’ in Gaza Airstrikes

The Israeli Defense Forces killed three al Qaeda-linked terrorists during two airstrikes in the Gaza strip over the past 24 hours. During an airstrike today in the northern Gaza Strip, t...

November 17, 2010 |

From Al Qaeda Recruit to Millionaire?

Is the British government preparing to make one of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s alleged co-conspirators a millionaire? The Washington Post reports on the British payouts to former Gitmo detaine...

November 18, 2009 | Thomas Joscelyn Weekly Standard Blog

Al Qaeda’s Civil Liberties Union

A look at the other terrorists embraced by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's ACLU lawyers.

August 7, 2008 |

Islamist Extremism’s Rising Challenge to Morocco


Morocco has long enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as an oasis of moderation and relative tranquility amid the whirl of religious extremism and violence that passes for politics in most of the Muslim world, especially its Arab lands. Moroccan leaders are wont to remind their American interlocutors that Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III was, in 1777, the first foreign sovereign to recognize the independence of the United States. Subsequently, a 1786 treaty established diplomatic relations between the two countries, the oldest such ties between America and any Middle Eastern country. Renegotiated in 1836, the accord is still in force, making it the United States' longest unbroken treaty relationship. In June 2004, after notifying Congress and in recognition of the country's strategic support for the war on terrorism, President George W. Bush
formally designated Morocco a "Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States," making one of only fourteen states to be accorded that privileged status. And while it does not have full diplomatic relations with Israel, the Sharifian Kingdom has maintained high-level contacts with representatives of the Jewish state since 1986, when the late King Hassan II became only the second Arab ruler to openly host a senior Israeli leader, inviting then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres to the royal palace at Ifran for formal talks. Just last week, on the ninth anniversary of his accession to the throne, King Mohammed VI conferred the Royal Order of Al-Alaoui on several prominent Jews of Moroccan origin, including Dr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Dr. Yehuda Lancry, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations; and Rabbi David Messas, chief rabbi of Paris. Thus it is more than disconcerting to note the rising tide of Islamist extremism and concomitant menace of terrorist violence in Morocco.

 

November 13, 2006 |

Maqdisi’s Minions

Authored by Dan Wilson On November 13, 1995, two explosions ripped through an American-run training center in the heart of Riyadh, killing five American military advisors and wo...