Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan

December 12, 2024 | Bill Roggio |

Hayat Tahrir al Sham’s terror network in Syria

On December 8, 2024, rebel forces deposed the regime of Syria’s longtime dictator, Bashar al Assad, after the insurgents stormed through much of the country, retaking various regional capitals and culminating...

June 14, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

U.S. reportedly targets 2 senior al Qaeda figures in airstrike in Syria

Two al Qaeda leaders were reportedly killed in a drone strike in Syria’s Idlib province earlier today, according to jihadists on social media. Pictures of the car carrying them were posted on Telegram...

March 31, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir, Luc Sasseville

Attack on Turkish soldiers spotlights Ankara’s Idlib conundrum

On March 19, Turkey’s defense ministry announced the death of two Turkish soldiers at the hands of “radical elements” in northwest Syria’s Idlib. The men were killed in a de-escalation zone that...

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...

May 6, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Al Qaeda-linked operations room counterattacks as bombs fall in northern Syria

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March 17, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Osama bin Laden’s ‘Bookshelf’ Reveals al Qaeda’s Long Game

When 113 new documents recovered in 2011 during the fatal raid on...

September 18, 2014 | Thomas Joscelyn

Islamist Foreign Fighters Returning Home and the Threat to Europe

Chairman Rohrabacher, Ranking Member Keating and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the threat posed by Islamist foreign fighters returning home to Europe....

September 18, 2014 | Thomas Joscelyn

Islamist Foreign Fighters Returning Home and the Threat to Europe

Chairman Rohrabacher, Ranking Member Keating and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the threat posed by Islamist foreign fighters returning home to Europe....

June 23, 2014 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal

Ansar al Islam Releases Propaganda Photos Showing Operations in Iraq

Ansar al Islam (AAI), a jihadist group founded in northern Iraq in September 2001, has released a set of photographs purportedly showing its ongoing operations. Since the latest rebel offensive a...

February 27, 2013 |

A Nasty Piece of Work

A tawdry new book accuses the late Christopher Hitchens of plagiarism—and worse.

September 25, 2012 | Ammar Abdulhamid Syrian Revolution Digest |

The Shredded Tapestry: The State of Syria Today

A Trip Report (Turkey, August 10-30) Background The trip was arranged for the purpose of helping an independent American film company do...

February 17, 2012 | Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal |

Treasury: Iranian Intelligence Supporting al Qaeda

The US Treasury Department today designated the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) "for its s...

January 5, 2012 | Bill Roggio, Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal

Ansar al Islam Names New Leader

The al Qaeda-linked Ansar al Islam released a statement announcing the name of its new leader. The Iraqi terror group also announced that it would fly a new flag. In a statement released...

November 1, 2011 | Thomas Joscelyn The Weekly Standard

The Terrorists’ War in Iraq Continues

President Obama’s announcement that U.S. military forces will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year has been accompanied by a renewed wave of terrorist attacks. In particular, Ansar...

September 23, 2011 | Bill Roggio, Thomas Joscelyn The Long War Journal

US Designates Hamas Operative Linked to Iran, al Qaeda

Today the US State Department added Muhammad Hisham Muhammad Isma'il Abu Ghazala, a Hamas operative who is linked to Iran and al Qaeda and fought with Ansar al Islam in Iraq, to the list of...

July 26, 2011 |

Terror Strikes Norway

Just one year ago, authorities in Oslo broke up an al Qaeda-directed bomb plot that originated in northern Pakistan. Good intelligence, including intercepted emails between an al Qaeda planner an...

July 11, 2011 |

Still Clueless About Al Qaeda in Iraq

Speaking in Iraq, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reportedly told U.S. troops: “The reason you guys are here is because on 9/11 the United States got attacked. And 3,000 Americans — 3,...

June 13, 2011 | The Long War Journal |

Zarqawi Aide Returns to Afghanistan to Wage Jihad For al Qaeda

An al Qaeda operative who was close to slain al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi has been released from Iranian custody and has recently returned to Afghanistan to fight NATO and Afghan...

April 25, 2011 | Bill Roggio The Long War Journal |

Gitmo Docs Link Pakistani, Iranian, and Yemeni Intelligence Agencies to al Qaeda

A classified document used by military and intelligence officials in the determination of a Guantanamo detainee's linkages to al Qaeda and associated movements lists the intelligence service...

March 23, 2011 |

Time for Saleh To Go?

Nowhere has the Obama administration been more reluctant to embrace the revolutions sweeping through the Middle East than in Yemen. This is, in part, understandable. According to t...