Al-Qaeda in Iraq

August 24, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

U.S. announces rewards for 3 Islamic State leaders

On Aug. 21, the US State Department Rewards for Justice Program announced rewards of up to $5 million each for three wanted Islamic State (ISIS) leaders: Sami Jasim Muhammad al-Jaburi, Amir Muhammad...

August 22, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Al Qaeda veteran reportedly killed in Idlib

Jihadists shared this photo of the car Abu Khallad al-Muhandis was in when an explosion caused his demise. Al Qaeda-affiliated Telegram channels reported earlier today that Abu Khallad al-Muhandis, a veteran...

August 14, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Shabaab’s jihad against the ‘leaders of disbelief’

Shabaab’s latest video features a clip of Ayman al-Zawahiri criticizing “corrupt regimes” that are allied with America. Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, has released a lengthy video that...

June 18, 2019 | Bill Roggio |

U.S. bases in Iraq targeted in rocket attacks

US troops in Iraq have been targeted three times in mortars and katyusha rocket strikes since last weekend. The attacks have occurred in the middle of rising tensions between the United States and Ira...

May 20, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Assad’s forces battle jihadists for key terrain in Latakia

For more than a week, forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad have attempted to capture Kabani, a key location in the coastal Latakia province. Assad’s men have met stiff resistance from jihadists in the ar...

April 26, 2019 | Bill Roggio |

Caliphate, interrupted

After being bombarded by four years of U.S. airstrikes, a relentless ground campaign by Kurdish-led U.S. allies, and attacks from Russian, Syri...

March 23, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

U.S.-backed forces declare end to Islamic State’s physical caliphate

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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...

November 28, 2018 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Trump Once Called the Taliban Five ‘Killers.’ Now He’s Negotiating With Them

Negotiating with terrorists won’t bring peace to Afghanistan.

September 7, 2018 | Bill Roggio

Iraqi Militant Qayis Khazali Warned Us About Iran. We Ignored Him.

Iran has its tentacles all over Iraq, and the United States has no one to blame but itself. It is a bipartisan failure dating back to the March 2003 invasion. Even after the Bush administration a...

April 11, 2018 | Clifford D. May |

What’s at stake in Syria

Syria is a far-away land about which we know little. But we do know this: Over the past seven years, more than a half million people have been slaughtered there, with an estimated 150 murder...

May 19, 2017 | David Weinberg

Catch and Release: Did Qatar Free a Future al-Qaeda Emir?

Farouq al-Qahtani al-Qatari, a core al-Qaeda official and senior planner of terrorist attacks from Afghanistan against the U.S. homeland, is now dead. ...

February 21, 2017 | Thomas Joscelyn

Three Immediate Priorities for McMaster

In 2005, Colonel Herbert McMaster prioritized victory above promotion. Attempting to secure Tal Afar, a city in northern Iraq, McMaster faced a big problem: He was witnessing an insurgency that w...

December 12, 2016 | John Hannah

Will Trump Stay or Go in Iraq?

Though the battle for Mosul has slowed to a crawl, the collapse of the Islamic State’s territorial caliphate — at least in its Iraqi incarnation — remai...

October 28, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross |

Iraq’s Grim Prospects Post ISIL

Co-written by Sterling Jensen.  In the coming months, and possibly weeks, the Iraqi Security Forces, with the help of a diverse group of fighters spanning the Iraqi politic...

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...

July 27, 2016 | Clifford D. May

The problem with globalism

“Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.” That line from Donald Trump’s long and emphatic speech to the Republican National Convention last Thursday jumped out at me. I t...

July 21, 2016 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Treasury designates 3 senior al Qaeda members in Iran

The Treasury Department announced today that three senior al Qaeda members have been added to the US...

July 13, 2016 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Top Intel Official: Al Qaeda Worked on WMD in Iran

Al Qaeda operatives based in Iran worked on chemical and biological weapons, according to a letter written to Osama bin Laden that is described in a new book by a top former U.S. intelligence off...