Ayman al-Zawahiri

January 6, 2023 | Bill Roggio, Caleb Weiss

U.S. offers $10 million bounty for top Shabaab military commander

The U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program announced today that is offering a $10 million bounty for information leading to the capture and prosecution of Maalim Ayman, a Shabaab military...

December 31, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

U.S., India must seek common ground to combat Pak-backed terror

If Pakistan is not a state sponsor of terrorism, then the phrase has no meaning.

December 16, 2022 | David Adesnik, John Hardie

FDD’s Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: The Year in Review

November 28, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

Taliban ends ceasefire with Pakistani government, vows ‘revenge attacks’ across the country

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan has officially ended its six month-long ceasefire with the Pakistani government. Mufti Muzahim, the “Minister of Defense” of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan...

November 21, 2022 | |

Iran Caught Again Trying to Kill Israeli Civilians Abroad

Georgia’s state security announced last Tuesday the arrest of a Pakistani national affiliated with al-Qaeda and of two Iranian nationals who attempted to murder a prominent Israeli in the capital of Tbilisi. An Israeli media report, citing an unnamed Israeli security official, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force orchestrated the assassination attempt, which sought to target Israeli-Georgian businessman Itzik Moshe. Georgian security alleged the would-be attacker received weapons from Iranian citizens living in the country via drop-offs and hideouts.

November 10, 2022 | Joe Truzman, Bill Roggio

Taliban meets with Hamas during high-level talks in Turkey

Last month, Taliban spokeman Zabihulla Mujahid and a delegation of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan officials visited Turkey and met with various foreign officials including senior members of Hamas. The Taliban’s...

October 27, 2022 | Caleb Weiss |

Analysis: Al Qaeda ideologue calls for jihad in Sudan, provides guidelines

Earlier this month, Bayt al Maqdis, a jihadi publishing house believed linked to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released a book compiled of various letters written by the ideologue Abu Hudhayfah...

September 7, 2022 | Jonathan Schanzer |

Are al Qaeda and Iran really at odds?

The debate about the Islamic Republic's collaboration with al Qaeda is far from over

September 2, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

Rare photo surfaces of top Al Qaeda leaders inside Iran

A recently surfaced photograph of three of Al Qaeda’s top leaders, including Saif al Adel – the man many believe to be the successor to emir Ayman al Zawahiri – shows that they were present in the...

September 1, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

The option that should have been taken in Afghanistan

One year after the Biden administration’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan, the results are undeniable. The country has become a haven for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The Taliban is as oppressive...

September 1, 2022 | David Adesnik, John Hardie

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: September

August 15, 2022 | Jonathan Schanzer |

A victorious Taliban is inspiring a new generation of Islamic extremists

On May 15, 1989, the Soviet army withdrew from Afghanistan. The Soviets, who had been slugging it out for 10 years with Islamist fighters, finally threw in the towel. The withdrawal was immediately hailed...

August 10, 2022 | Clifford D. May |

The ‘forever war’ against the West

America wins a battle against al Qaeda, Israel against Islamic Jihad

August 9, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

Senior Pakistani Taliban leader reportedly killed in Afghanistan

Omar Khalid Khurasani, a virulent senior leader of a dangerous faction of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, was reportedly killed in a roadside bombing in eastern Pakistan...

August 3, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

Biden sold America the false narrative that Al Qaeda was ‘gone’ from Afghanistan. Zawahiri’s death proves he was dangerously wrong.

One year ago this month, President Biden told Americans that Al Qaeda was ‘gone’ from Afghanistan. On Monday, we learned that clearly was not the case. ‘We went to Afghanistan for the...

August 3, 2022 | David Adesnik, John Hardie

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: August

August 1, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

U.S. kills Al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri in drone strike

Al Qaeda emir Ayman Zawahiri was confirmed killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul on Sunday in the first air strike conducted in Afghanistan since U.S. forces completely withdrew from country last year....

July 19, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

Ayman al Zawahiri is alive; Taliban and Al Qaeda “remain close,” UN reports

Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of Al Qaeda who served as Osama bin Laden’d deputy on 9/11, “is confirmed to be alive” and is “communicating freely,” according to a report from the United Nations’...

June 16, 2022 | Bill Roggio |

Turkistan Islamic Party leader celebrates Eid in Afghanistan

Abdul Haq al Turkistani, the head of the Al Qaeda and Taliban-linked Turkistan Islamic Party, celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Afghanistan. Abdul Haq’s public presence in Afghanistan directly contradicts...

January 12, 2022 | Thomas Joscelyn |

What a New Report Tells Us About Al-Qaeda and ISIS

Both groups continue to evolve, and jihadism remains a major security concern.