1 The Long War Journal

Coalition and Afghan special operations forces killed another al Qaeda leader in the remote, Taliban-controlled province of Kunar during a raid last week.

The International Security Assistance Force announced on Dec. 8 that an "insurgent leader" named Numan was killed along with two other fighters during an operation on Dec. 4 in the Nari district of Kunar province. The initial ISAF press release, which did not explicitly identify Numan as a member of al Qaeda, provided clues as to his affiliation.

"Numan facilitated the movement of weapons and money in the province and provided direct support to senior insurgent leaders in Kunar," the ISAF press release stated.

In a response to an inquiry by The Long War Journal, ISAF confirmed that "Numan had an affiliation with al Qaeda." ISAF could not confirm if Numan was an Afghan citizen or from another country. The identities of the two other "insurgents" killed with Numan were not disclosed by ISAF.

Numan was the second al Qaeda commander killed in Kunar on Dec. 4. Following a separate raid on that same day, ISAF announced that Mohammed Yar Gul, a leader who was involved in suicide attacks, was killed in the Watahpur district in Kunar province. ISAF did not initially identify Gul as an al Qaeda leader, but later confirmed his affiliation with the terror group in a response to an inquiry by The Long War Journal.

The deaths of Numan and Gul were the first reported killings of insurgents with direct ties to al Qaeda in over two months in Afghanistan. The last known raid targeting an al Qaeda-linked insurgent occurred on Sept. 28, when an "al Qaeda-associated Taliban leader" was killed during an airstrike. That raid was also conducted in Kunar, a hotbed for al Qaeda operations in Afghanistan.

Kunar is a known al Qaeda haven

For years, the rugged, remote Afghan province of Kunar has served as a sanctuary for al Qaeda, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and allied terror groups. The presence of al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba cells has been detected in the districts of Asmar, Asadabad, Dangam, Marawana, Nari, Pech, Shaikal Shate, Sarkani, Shigal, and Watahpur; or 10 of Kunar's 15 districts, according to press releases issued by the International Security Assistance Force that have been compiled by The Long War Journal.

So far this year, 13 al Qaeda operatives or insurgents with ties to the group have been targeted in Kunar province, including eight in the Watahpur district alone, according to a study by The Long War Journal. In 2011, only three raids were reported to have been conducted against al Qaeda in Kunar province; when compared to this year's raids, a disturbing increase in al Qaeda activity in the province is evident. And neighboring Nuristan province has seen two reported operations targeting al Qaeda in 2012, whereas there were none last year.

Al Qaeda is known to run training camps and maintain bases in Kunar, and uses the province to direct operations in the Afghan east. ISAF has targeted several bases and camps in Kunar over the years [see LWJ report, ISAF captures al Qaeda's top Kunar commander, for more details].

Al Qaeda remains entrenched in Afghanistan and Pakistan despite the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. A document seized at bin Laden's compound suggested that the actual number of al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan and Afghanistan is much higher than the numbers mentioned in official estimates provided by the Obama administration over the past three years, which have remained static at 300-400 members in Pakistan and 50-100 in Afghanistan. [See LWJ reports, Bin Laden advised relocation of some leaders to Afghanistan due to drone strikes in Waziristan, and Bin Laden docs hint at large al Qaeda presence in Pakistan.]

A classified US military assessment based on prisoner interrogations that was leaked to The New York Times in February said that al Qaeda maintains "a small haven" in Kunar and Nuristan.

"Northeastern Afghanistan has become a small haven for al Qaeda. Several al Qaeda commanders, including the Al Qaeda emir for Kunar and Nuristan, Farouq al Qahtani, now live and operate in Afghanistan, with permission from the Taliban, but with the direct support of TTP [Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] elements," the assessment stated.

That same assessment identified al Qaeda's leader in Kunar and neighboring Nuristan province as Farouq al Qahtani. US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that Qahtani is a Saudi citizen. Several Saudi al Qaeda members have held top leadership positions in the province [see LWJ report, Senior al Qaeda leader, facilitator killed in airstrike in Kunar].

Another senior al Qaeda leader known to operate in Kunar is Azzam Abdullah Zureik Al Maulid Al Subhi, a Saudi who is better known as Mansur al Harbi. He was added by the State Department to the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list on Aug. 7. The Saudi Interior Ministry has said that al Harbi works "at a training camp in Afghanistan and is tied to numerous senior al Qaeda leaders including Abdel Aziz Migrin and Saif al Adel." Migrin headed al Qaeda's branch in Saudi Arabia and led attacks in the kingdom before he was killed in a firefight with Saudi security forces in June 2004. Saif al Adel is al Qaeda's second in command and top military strategist, and served as the interim leader after Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May 2011.

Additionally, Qari Zia Rahman, a dual-hatted al Qaeda and Taliban leader, operates in Kunar province as well as across the border in Pakistan's tribal agencies of Mohmand and Bajaur. ISAF forces have been hunting Qari Zia for years but have failed to capture or kill him.

The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group that is fighting Bashir al Assad's regime in Syria, and allied jihadist groups took control of the last major Syrian Army base in western Aleppo after a two-month-long siege. The base is believed to be involved in Syria's chemical weapons program.

The Sheikh Suleiman base, or Base 111, fell to the Al Nusrah Front and "several Islamist rebel battalions linked to it," a representative of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. Foreign fighters are also said to have played a key role in the assault that led to the fall of the Sheikh Suleiman base, while nearby units of the Free Syrian Army stood by and watched.

"Many of the fighters were from other Arab countries and Central Asia," AFP said, based on observations from one of its reporters who covered the area. An estimated 300 to 400 Syrian soldiers defended the base before it fell to the jihadist alliance. Al Qaeda's black flag of jihad was raised over one of the buildings on the base as the fighting took place.

The two other Islamist groups who fought alongside Al Nusrah were identified as the Mujahedeen Shura Council and the Muhajireen group, according to The Associated Press. The term muhajireen means emigrants, a strong indication that many of its fighters are from outside of Syria.

Some of the fighters who took the base are non-Syrian. One of the leaders involved in the battle to take the base identified himself to AFP as Abu Talha and said he was from Uzbekistan. Other foreign fighters said, "We are all mujahedeens and muhajireens."

Captured base said to be part of Syria's chemical weapons program

The Sheikh Suleiman base is rumored to be involved in the Assad regime's chemical weapons program. The base "contained a clandestine scientific research whose purpose was unknown even to the rank and file," AFP reported in late November, based on a claim from a soldier who defected.

US officials have expressed concern that the Syrian government has been preparing to use chemical weapons against the rebels after suffering a string of defeats throughout the country. The US is also training Syrian rebels in Jordan to secure chemical weapons sites in the event that the Assad regime falls, CNN reported.

The Syrian government has warned that rebels may also use chemical weapons after the Al Nusrah Front took control control of a chlorine factory in Aleppo last week.

Islamists hold sway over new rebel military command

The fall of the Sheikh Suleiman base to jihadist forces took place just days after the supposedly secular rebels established a joint military command that is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and individuals linked to the various Salafist-jihadist groups.

"Its composition, estimated to be two-thirds from the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, reflects the growing strength of Islamist fighters on the ground and resembles that of the civilian opposition leadership coalition created under Western and Arab auspices in Qatar last month, France 24 reported.

Senior military officers who defected from the Assad regime as well as military commanders opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists were excluded from the joint command.

The Al Nusrah Front's position on the newly established joint military command is unclear. In mid-November, the Al Nusrah Front and 13 other jihadist groups based in Aleppo rejected the Western-backed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, and instead called for the establishment of an Islamic state.

"We declare our legitimate rejection of what came to be called the 'national alliance.' An agreement has been reached to establish a just Islamic State and to reject any foreign project, alliances or councils that are forced on us domestically from any entity, whatever it is," according to a statement that was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Al Nusrah becomes a dominant force in the Syrian insurgency

The Al Nusrah Front has by far taken the lead among the jihadist groups in executing suicide and other complex attacks against the Syrian military. The terror group has now claimed credit for 42 of the 51 suicide attacks that have taken place in Syria in the past 12 months. The group has also conducted numerous other attacks against the Syrian military and government.

The Syrian terror group is known to conduct joint operations with other Syrian jihadist organizations. In mid-November, Al Nusrah reported that it attacked a base in Idlib along with the Ahrar al Sham Brigades, and even shot down a Syrian MiG fighter aircraft.

The Al Nusrah Front is also known to conduct joint operations with the Free Syrian Army, which is often upheld as the secular resistance to Assad's regime. On Oct. 11, Al Nusrah, the Free Syrian Army, and Chechen fighters overran a Syrian air defense and Scud missile base in Aleppo [see LWJ report, Al Nusrah Front commanded Free Syrian Army unit, 'Chechen emigrants,' in assault on Syrian air defense base]. In August, Al Nusrah said it attacked a police station outside of Damascus along with the Al Sahaba Battalion, a unit of the Free Syrian Army that operates in the capital [see Threat Matrix report, Al Nusrah Front conducts joint operation with Free Syrian Army].

Al Nusrah has become more appealing to Syrian rebels as the group's fighters are better organized and have expertise from waging jihad in Iraq and elsewhere, and have integrated their operations with the Free Syrian Army.

Foreign jihadists have begun to pour into Syria to wage jihad against Assad's regime. Fighters from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian Territories are known to have been killed in Syria. Recently, two of Abu Musab al Zarqawi's cousins were detained by Jordanian security forces after fighting in Syria.

Jihadists from the UK may be flocking to the Syrian battlefields as well. In mid-October, The Times reported that authorities had identified a Bangladeshi resident of London as the leader of a group of British jihadists seeking to fight in Syria. Scotland Yard seized computers and mobile phones from members of the group, which consists mainly of Londoners and includes seasoned Chechen fighters.

The US government is contemplating adding the Al Nusrah Front to the list of global terrorist groups, but some observers in Washington fear that designation would harm the overall insurgency.

The US government added the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant and two of its senior leaders to the list of global terrorists and entities today. In the designation of the Al Nusrah Front, the Department of State called the group "a new alias" for al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), and said Al Nusrah is under the direct control of the AQI emir.

"The Department of State has amended the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 designations of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) to include the following new aliases: Al Nusrah Front, Jabhat al-Nusrah, Jabhet al-Nusra, The Victory Front, and Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant," today's press release stated.

State said that al Qaeda in Iraq's emir, Abu Du'a, or Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi, "is in control of both AQI and Al Nusrah."

Al Nusrah has claimed hundreds of attacks, to include suicide bombings, military assaults, IED attacks, and assassinations. The terror group has now claimed credit for 42 of the 51 suicide attacks that have taken place in Syria in the past 12 months, according to a tally by The Long War Journal [see Threat Matrix report, Al Nusrah Front launches complex suicide attack in Syria, for a list of the attacks].

"Through these attacks, Al Nusrah has sought to portray itself as part of the legitimate Syrian opposition while it is, in fact, an attempt by AQI to hijack the struggles of the Syrian people for its own malign purposes," State continued.

Iraqi, Syrian Al Nusrah leaders added to list of global terrorists

In addition to State's designation of the Al Nusrah Front, the Department of Treasury added two senior Al Nusrah Front leaders, Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab, to the list of global terrorists today.

Al Juburi is an Iraqi citizen who has been involved in attacking US forces in Iraq since 2004 as part of al Qaeda in Iraq. He "moved from Mosul, Iraq to Syria in late 2011 to exploit Syria's more permissive security environment with the objectives of transferring al Qaeda's ideology to Syria and forming likeminded terrorist groups," Treasury stated. He became Al Nusrah's "religious and military commander" in eastern Syria and ran a training camp.

Anas Hasan Khattab, another al Qaeda in Iraq operative, serves as a key facilitator between AQI and the Al Nusrah Front. In mid-2012, he was "involved with the formation of Al Nusrah Front for AQI," Treasury stated. Additionally, he "communicated periodically with AQI leadership to receive financial and material assistance and helped facilitate funding and weapons for Al Nusrah Front," and "works closely with al Qaeda-linked facilitators to provide logistical support to Al Nusrah Front."

The Treasury has not added Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani, the emir of the Al Nusrah Front, to the list of global terrorists. His nom de guerre, al Julani, indicates that he is a Syrian from the contested Golan area of southern Syria. The Al Nusrah Front has not disclosed al Julani's real name. The Al Nusrah Front appears to be mimicking al Qaeda in Iraq, which has obscured the real identity of the emirs of its political front, the Islamic State of Iraq, since its formation in late 2007.

Links between Al Nusrah and al Qaeda have been clear

The links between the Al Nusrah Front and al Qaeda in Iraq have been clear for some time. Al Nusrah's tactics, operations, and propaganda are nearly identical to those of al Qaeda in Iraq. The Syrian terror group conducts complex suicide assaults, ambushes, IED attacks, and assassinations. And just as al Qaeda in Iraq rails against the Shia, Al Nusrah says its attacks are directed against the Nusayri, or Alawite, enemy. Alawites are a sect of Shia Islam, and President Assad's regime is supported by Iran [see Threat Matrix report, Al Nusrah Front released photos of execution of Syrian soldiers, from October 2012].

The Al Nusrah Front announced it formation in a YouTube video statement that was released on Jan. 23. In the statement, the group claimed an attack on security headquarters in Idlib and vowed to attack President Bashir al Assad's regime.

In mid-November, the Al Nusrah Front and 13 other jihadist groups based in Aleppo rejected the Western-backed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, and instead called for the establishment of an Islamic state, just as al Qaeda in Iraq did when it formed the Islamic State of Iraq in 2007.

"We declare our legitimate rejection of what came to be called the 'national alliance.' An agreement has been reached to establish a just Islamic State and to reject any foreign project, alliances or councils that are forced on us domestically from any entity, whatever it is," Al Nusrah announced in a statement that was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Al Qaeda's network has strong roots in Syria, and was well poised to capitalize on the unrest in Syria. For years, the terror group has used Syria to support its operations inside Iraq. In late 2008, the US took the unusual step of launching a special operations raid against al Qaeda's facilitation network in the town of Sukkariya near Abu Kamal in eastern Syria, just five miles from the Iraqi border. US troops killed Abu Ghadiya, al Qaeda's senior facilitator, and his senior staff during the October 2008 raid. By 2009, eastern Syria was known to have evolved into a new terrorist haven for al Qaeda in Iraq [see LWJ report, Eastern Syria becoming a new al Qaeda haven].

Al Nusrah becomes a dominant force in the Syrian insurgency

The Al Nusrah Front has by far taken the lead among the jihadist groups in executing suicide and other complex attacks against the Syrian military. The terror group is known to conduct joint operations with other Syrian jihadist organizations.

Just yesterday, the Al Nusrah Front, in conjunction with the Mujahedeen Shura Council and the Muhajireen group, seized control of the Sheikh Suleiman base outside of Aleppo after a two-month-long siege. The base is suspected of playing a role in Syria's chemical weapons program. In mid-November, Al Nusrah reported that it attacked a base in Idlib along with the Ahrar al Sham Brigades, and even shot down a Syrian MiG fighter aircraft.

Bonn Police inspect a bag that is thought to have contained explosive materials. Photograph from ETA.

At around noon yesterday in Bonn, Germany, employees at the city's central train station were alerted to the presence of a suspicious-looking piece of luggage on Platform 1 that turned out to contain potentially explosive materials. Within hours, police had arrested two Somali men who had been seen near where the bag was found.

Der Spiegel reports that the first suspect, Omar D., was arrested at an Internet cafe, and the second, Abdirazak B. was arrested near a bridge on the Rhine. According to the ICSR Insight website, Abdirizak was identified from video footage of the attempted bombing at the station.

The suspect bag, which was opened by a robot, was found to contain butane gas, ammonium nitrate, metal pipe, an alarm clock, batteries, and also metal containers filled with some sort of white powder. According to The Local, authorities detonated the apparent pipe bomb with a water cannon. The Bonn train station remained closed until late Monday evening, significantly disrupting travel throughout the area.

Both men are well-known Islamic extremists who had been previously detained in 2008 at the Cologne/Bonn airport while boarding a flight for Amsterdam. Although at the time authorities suspected the pair were planning to travel via Uganda to Somalia or Pakistan to join an al Qaeda-linked group, they were released shortly afterward and no charges were brought, ICSR reports.

ICSR also cites Yassin Musharbash of Die Zeit as stating that the two Somali men arrested yesterday have been under police surveillance along with about 20-25 other local extremists.

ICSR notes that "Bonn has been a centre of the German Salafist scene for many years," and that al Qaeda operatives Bekkay Harrach, Mounir Chouka, and Yassin Chouka are all from Bonn. Harrach, who joined al Qaeda in 2007, was killed while fighting in Afghanistan in January 2011 [see LWJ report, Senior German al Qaeda leader killed in Afghanistan]. The Chouka brothers, who fight with the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and are thought to be currently based in Pakistan's tribal areas, were added to the US's terrorist list in January 2012 [see LWJ report, Wanted IMU leader urges attacks in Germany].

In 2003, a Bonn mosque and school founded by Wahhabists from Saudi Arabia made headlines when parents protested the government's attempt to close the school, which was suspected of promoting extremism. According to TIME, 10 or 15 people associated with the mosque were under surveillance, and some of the attendees had al Qaeda links.

More recently, in May this year, rioting broke out in Bonn and other German cities when Salafists protested caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad carried by a right-wing German group at a demonstration. In the ensuing clash between the Salafists and police in Bonn, 29 policemen were wounded; two of them had been stabbed.

On the same day the US government announced that al Qaeda in Iraq's Al Nusrah Front was a terrorist organization, Al Nusrah and nine other jihadist groups banded together in the Syrian province of Deir al Zour and formed a Mujahideen Shura Council.

The 10 jihadist groups, headed by the Al Nusrah Front, released a statement yesterday announcing the council's formation "on jihadist forums and pro-Syrian resistance social networking sites," according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained and translated the message.

"The jihadi Islamic brigades in the city of proud Deir al Zour in the Levant of Islam and garrison announce the establishment of the Mujahideen Shura Council in Deir al-Zour," the statement said, according to SITE. The groups that joined the Mujahideen Shura Council in Deir al Zour are listed at the beginning of the statement, in the following order:

1. Al Nusrah Front
2. Al Ansar Brigades
3. Al Abbas Brigades
4. La Ilaha Ila Allah [There is No God but Allah] Battalion
5. Al Hamza Brigade
6. Al Sa'qah Brigade
7. Jund al Aziz Brigade
8. Izzuddin al Qassam Brigade
9. Abu al Qassam Brigade
10. Brigade of the Da'wa [Preaching] and Jihad Front

The Mujahideen Shura Council in Deir al Zour was formed to "unite the ranks of the jihadi brigades in the Cause of Allah, organize the efforts and the attacks against the soldiers of disbelief and apostasy, and distinguish the ranks of truth from falsehood," the group stated.

"We call upon our sincere mujahideen brothers all over the strong Levant to unite their ranks in groups, pure of the filth of suspicious groups and the infiltration of people who have no qualities or faith, in order to clarify their banner and purify their path," the statement continued.

Jihadist groups in Syria uniting

Jihadist groups in Syria are "beginning to coalesce under a single command, and are following the lead of the Al Nusrah Front," a US intelligence official familiar with the situation in Syria told The Long War Journal.

"Al Nusrah isn't the only jihadist group operating in Syria, but as part of al Qaeda's franchise it has access to its resources and expertise," the intelligence official continued. "Al Nusrah has the cachet to organize the local jihadists and integrate them."

"The influence of the jihadist groups in Syria, and their prowess on the battlefield, is being vastly underestimated," the official said. "Al Qaeda, through the Nusrah Front, is working to unite these disparate jihadist groups, just as it did in Iraq."

In the summer of 2006, al Qaeda in Iraq formed the Mujahideen Shura Council to coordinate operations with various jihadist groups operating in Iraq. Later that year, al Qaeda in Iraq formed the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) to serve as the political front, and the Mujahideen Shura Council was folded in under the ISI's military wing.

Just two months ago, jihadists in Gaza formed the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem. Israeli intelligence officials believe the group was created for the purpose of uniting the al Qaeda-linked groups operating in Gaza.

The formation of the Mujahideen Shura Council in Deir al Zour takes place less than one month after 14 jihadist groups based in the Syrian city of Aleppo banded together to reject the newly formed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. Instead, the 14 groups, which include the Al Nusrah Front, called for the establishment of "a just Islamic State."

Syrian opposition groups unite around Al Nusrah Front

Just as the US designated the Al Nusrah Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, calling it an "alias" of al Qaeda in Iraq and saying it was under the command of AQI emir Abu Du'a, 29 Syrian opposition groups rallied to support Al Nusrah, according to The Telegraph. The 29 opposition groups "signed a petition calling for mass demonstrations in support of" Al Nusrah.

"The petition is promoting the slogan 'No to American intervention, for we are all Jabhat al Nusrah' and urges supporters to 'raise the Jabhat al Nusrah flag' as a 'thank you," The Telegraph reported.

"These are the men for the people of Syria, these are the heroes who belong to us in religion, in blood and in revolution," a statement on Syrian opposition Facebook pages said.

The spokesman for the Deir al Zour Revolutionary Council told The Telegraph that the Al Nusrah Front "is the strongest group here" and that the Free Syrian Army has selected commanders in the area that are "not representative" of the fighters in the province.

US recognizes the Syrian National Coalition

Despite the strong support for the Al Nusrah Front in Syrian opposition ranks, the US government has decided to recognize the Syrian National Coalition.

Last week, the Syrian National Coalition established a joint military command that is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and individuals linked to the various Salafist-jihadist groups.

Senior military officers who defected from the Assad regime as well as military commanders opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists were excluded from the joint command.

For more information on the Al Nusrah Front, see LWJ reports, US adds Al Nusrah Front, 2 leaders to terrorism list, and Al Nusrah Front, foreign jihadists seize key Syrian base in Aleppo.

A video posted on Egyptian websites this week shows Ayman al Zawahiri calling on the hardline Salafi leader Hazem Salah Abu Ismail to relaunch the Egyptian revolution. While Zawahiri's call has generated a new buzz in the Egyptian press, it is actually a clip from an official al Qaeda production released on Oct. 24.

"You must meet the request of the Egyptian people for Sharia rule in order to attain dignity and pride," Zawahiri advised Abu Ismail, Egypt Independent reported. "The corrupt powers in Egypt must be forced to bow to the demands of the people through popular revolution, preaching and inciting action."

"The battle isn't over, but it has started," Zawahiri says, according to a translation previously prepared by the SITE Intelligence Group. Al Qaeda's emir continues:

"Sheikh Hazem and his supporters and every sincere person in Egypt should wage a popular campaign to incite and preach in order to complete the revolution, which was aborted and its gains were played with; to achieve for the Muslim jihadi and stationed people of Egypt what they want of shariah-based governance, honor, justice, freedom, and dignity; to force the corrupt forces in Egypt to submit to the demands of the people through popular revolutionary, preaching and inciting work...."

Zawahiri has repeatedly called on Muslims to implement sharia law. Zawahiri's rhetoric in this regard is markedly different from his invocations to wage violent jihad in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere around the globe.

Ayman al Zawahiri and his younger brother Mohammed have long had friendly relations with Abu Ismail.

Mohammed al Zawahiri, who was freed from an Egyptian prison after the fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime, admittedly helped stage the Sept. 11, 2012 protest outside of the US Embassy in Cairo. And the younger Zawahiri relied, in part, on Abu Ismail's supporters to fill the rally's anti-American, pro-al Qaeda ranks.

"We called for the peaceful protest joined by different Islamic factions including the Islamic Jihad (and the) Hazem Abu Ismail movement," Mohammed al Zawahiri explained, according to CNN. Islamic Jihad is the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), a core part of al Qaeda's international jihadist coalition.

For his part, Abu Ismail has praised al Qaeda's leaders and sent warm greetings to the Zawahiri brothers.

Abu Ismail has honored Osama bin Laden as a martyr, lauding the slain al Qaeda master's decision to forgo the comforts of wealth for a life of jihad. He has prayed for bin Laden to be avenged.

Abu Ismail has made many controversial statements on his popular television program. At the end of one episode on Al-Nas TV on Dec. 28, 2009, he offered his condolences to the Zawahiri brothers on the passing of their mother.

Abu Ismail expressed his "sincere condolences to brother Dr. Ayman Al Zawahiri and to Mohammed Al Zawahiri on the passing of their mother," according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). "We all feel that these condolences must be expressed," Ismail continued. "May Allah grant her absolution, and may her family be filled with patience, tranquility, and comfort."

During the Egyptian presidential contest, Abu Ismail became a leading contender before being disqualified because his deceased mother had held a US citizenship.

While maintaining his rejection of electoral politics, Ayman al Zawahiri lambasted Abu Ismail's disqualification.

"Removing Hazem Salah Abu Ismail is a lesson for every Muslim who thinks that the shariah will rule in Egypt through the secular constitutions, which give supremacy to the people, while in Islam it is to Allah alone," Zawahiri said during his Oct. 24 video. Zawahiri added that Abu Ismail was really banned because he vowed to implement sharia law immediately and "the international arrogant forces refuse to let the shariah rule in Egypt."

Al Qaeda and allied ideologues often argue that the current conflict is one between those seeking to implement sharia law in the Muslim world and foreign forces trying to prevent it.

Five Syrian jihadist groups based in western Aleppo have joined together and announced the formation of the Supporters of the Khilafah (Caliphate). The group vowed to impose an Islamic state and fight democracy.

The five groups, which US intelligence officials described to The Long War Journal as local units within the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, announced the creation of the Supporters of the Khilafah in a short video that was released on YouTube on Dec. 12. In the video, scores of Islamists, many dressed in military fatigues and brandishing RPGS and assault rifles, are seen standing on what appears to be a hill while the announcement is read. Numerous black banners of jihad are seen being flown by the fighters.

"We are the leaders of the following brigades," one of the commanders, who is not named, stated. He then listed the brigades as the "Ansar Al Sharia Brigade, Abdullah Ibn El-Zubeir Brigade, The Men of Allah Brigade, The Martyr Mustafa Abdul-Razzaq's Brigade, and the Swords of The Most Compassionate Brigade."

The group said it "will strive actively to overturn the criminal, kaafir Baath regime" of President Bashir al Assad, and "will object to the conspiracies of the plotters, both internal and external (to Syria), and to bring down their sly plan: the plan of a civil democratic state."

The Supporters of the Khilafah also indicated that they will seek to take the fight outside of Syria.

"And that we will work with the sincere people of our Ummah [the worldwide Muslim community] to establish the Islamic Khilafah state, and to use it to end decades of colonization and enslavement," the statement said. "And to return to the way we were -- as the nobles of the East and the West."

The Supporters of the Khilafah also cautioned "our brothers" against taking Western aid and weapons.

"And indeed we invite our brothers who are fighters in the sincere brigades that they walk our path, and to declare their release from being tied to these new agents [of the West]," the statement said. "And we warn them against offering compromises in their religion, for the sake of receiving money or weapons. Because certainly, therein lies their destruction."

Syrian jihadist groups coalescing

US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal that Syrian jihadist groups are continuing to unite under the banner of the Al Nusrah Front, which was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on Dec. 11 [see LWJ reports, Syrian jihadists, including al Qaeda's Al Nusrah Front, form Mujahideen Shura Council, and US adds Al Nusrah Front, 2 leaders to terrorism list, for more information].

In the terrorism designation, the US called the Al Nusrah Front "a new alias" for al Qaeda in Iraq, and said Al Nusrah is under the direct control of Abu Du'a, the emir of the Iraqi terror group.

In the past month, jihadist groups have organized under Al Nusrah's banner in both Aleppo and Deir al Zour. On the same day the US government announced that al Qaeda in Iraq's Al Nusrah Front was a terrorist organization, Al Nusrah and nine other jihadist groups banded together in the Syrian province of Deir al Zour and formed a Mujahideen Shura Council. The move is reminiscent of al Qaeda in Iraq's creation of a Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq in 2006, a development that was quickly followed by the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaeda's political front.

And in mid-November, 14 jihadist groups based in the Syrian city of Aleppo banded together to reject the newly formed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The 14 groups, which include the Al Nusrah Front, called instead for the establishment of "a just Islamic State."

Despite Al Nusrah's known affiliation with al Qaeda and its radical ideology, Syrian opposition groups, including the supposedly secular Syrian National Coalition, have rallied to support Al Nusrah. In recent days, 29 Syrian opposition groups have signed a petition that not only condemns the US's designation, but says "we are all Al Nusrah," and urges their supporters to raise Al Nusrah's flag [see Threat Matrix report, Syrian National Coalition urges US to drop Al Nusrah terrorism designation].

Banner for the Al Nusrah Front, a jihadist group in Syria. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A brother-in-law of al Qaeda in Iraq's former leader, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, has died while fighting for the Al Nusrah Front in Syria, Al Jazeera reported. And the jihadist replacing him as emir of an Al Nusrah subgroup has also served Zarqawi in Iraq.

Iyad al Tubasi, who is also known as Abu Julaybib, is thought to have been killed earlier this week in Daraa, a town in southwestern Syria near the Jordanian border. Al Tubasi is just the latest Zarqawi family member to have been killed on the battlefield or captured.

Al Jazeera's sources say that "the Al Mujahidin Shura Council and the legislative committee of Al Nusrah Front...appointed 38 year-old Jordanian Mustafa Abd al Latif Salih, known as Abu Anas al Sahhaba, as the emir of the front in Syria." Salih is not the overall emir of Al Nusrah, but instead leads a subgroup in Daraa province. The Nusrah Front has been active in Daraa, and has claimed five suicide attacks in the town since the end of June.

Earlier this week, the US State Department said that al Qaeda in Iraq's emir, Abu Du'a, or Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi, "is in control of both AQI and Al Nusrah."

Salih, the new emir of the Al Nusrah subgroup, was "active in the Salafi jihadist trend" in Jordan and "accompanied" Zarqawi " in Iraq for a while, Al Jazeera reported. "One of his duties in Iraq was to work in Syria as a recruiter of fighters and transport them to Iraq." Salih "was arrested twice in Syria" and allegedly tortured before being turned over to the Jordanians at some point.

Although Salih was supposedly tortured by the Syrian regime, Bashar al Assad's henchmen actually supported the al Qaeda in Iraq facilitation network inside Syria. For years, a network headed by a top al Qaeda facilitator known as Abu Ghadiyah, and others, was sponsored by Syrian officials. That network sent foreign fighters and suicide bombers to wage jihad on behalf of al Qaeda in Iraq. US special operations forces killed Abu Ghadiyah and members of his staff during a raid in Abu Kamal in eastern Syria in October 2008.

Several of Zarqawi's family members are known to have been killed or captured while waging jihad in the Middle East. Zayed Sweiti and Firas Khalailah, two of Zarqawi's cousins, were recently detained by Jordanian border guards after spending five months in Syria. Muhammad Fazi al Harasheh, a nephew of Zarqawi also known as Abu Hammam al Zarqawi, was killed in a US drone strike in Yemen sometime in early 2012.

Additionally, in 2010, Sami al Daini, another brother-in-law to Zarqwai, was appointed by the emir of al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq to lead forces in Diyala province.

Numerous Zarqawi aides and associates, as well as fighters from Zarqawi's home town of Zarqa, are also known to have been killed in the Middle East and South Asia, or are currently operating there.

A newly reported insider, or green-on-blue, attack on a small command post in Afghanistan in October 2011 raises questions about the US military's approach to the security risks posed by Afghan partnering with US troops, as well as the military's reporting on such attacks.

The hitherto unreported green-on-blue attack took place on the night of Oct. 8, 2011 at a temporary US tactical command post situated within Old Corps Headquarters, an Afghan base in Kandahar City in the southern province of Kandahar, according to the Associated Press, which uncovered the details of the attack and published an account of them for the first time last week.

A surprise attack from within

That night, US Army Captains Joshua Lawrence and Drew Russell were winding down in the tent that served as the command post, after a long day of coordinating security for over 100 Afghan religious and tribal leaders attending a nearby peace conference. The two officers and five other US soldiers were relaxed, their body armor and weapons lying in a corner. Two US soldiers stood guard. The American team's four Afghan liaisons, including representatives from the Afghan army and intelligence, had left the tent "shortly before," the AP account noted.

Less than 30 minutes earlier, at about 9 p.m., two or three Afghans had entered the compound, a common enough occurrence at the base, where unknown numbers of Afghan security personnel frequently "freely entered and exited the compound unchecked," an Army investigator later wrote. One staff sergeant told investigators that the US troops "had been told to treat the Afghans as if they were mingling in Iron Horse Park, a recreation area on their home base," in Fort Carson, Colo. The Afghans, at least one of whom was wearing an Afghan army uniform, were armed with a rocket-propelled grenade and at least one M16 rifle, but they were not questioned.

At 9:02 p.m., Specialist Paul A. LeVan, 21, who had been assigned to guard the tent, was reassigned by his sergeant to a guard tower overlooking the compound. He was soon joined by two of the Afghans; the one in uniform carried a grenade launcher, and the other, who was unarmed, spoke English. LeVan's sergeant left the tower and informed the men in the command post tent about the grenade launcher.

Suddenly the Afghan with the grenade launcher began shooting at US medics in cots by their ambulance outside the command post, wounding a medic in the stomach and back. Shrapnel hit inside the tent, injuring the sergeant. Another gunman in the compound approached the entrance of the tent, shooting with an M-16.

Captain Lawrence was shot dead, and Captain Russell died of bullet wounds shortly thereafter. Three US soldiers were wounded seriously enough to evacuated, and four more were wounded less severely. The gunman fired about five or six rounds into the tent and then vanished. None of the attackers were captured; it is suspected that they had inside help.

The US and Afghan investigations

According to the Associated Press account, a US military investigation following the attack indicated there were two shooters, but an Afghan investigation said there was only one, an Afghan Army sergeant named Enayut. The chief Afghan military prosecutor for Kandahar at the time told AP recently that Enayut's father and brother have been detained along with three Afghan soldiers for their roles in the incident. The father and brother are alleged to have known of Enayut's links to insurgents. Enayut was said to have returned from a visit to Pakistan shortly before the attack.

Unlike the Afghan investigation, the US investigation did not find any links to insurgents.

Immediately after the shooting, an Afghan liaison officer told the compound commander that the shooter was an Afghan officer named Enayut. But despite the fact the US military knew the attack had been carried out by at least one insider, the next day the US-led military command in Kabul announced only that two service members had been killed in an "insurgent attack." And on the following day, Oct. 10, the Pentagon stated that "enemy forces" had killed Captains Lawrence and Russell.

The AP's investigation of the incident was triggered in April, when a soldier with knowledge of it contacted the news agency. In May, the US military added the incident to its list of insider attacks for 2011, but refused to divulge details. The AP pieced together details of the attack after obtaining redacted official military records via the Freedom of Information Act.

The US military investigation of the incident originally concluded that the US chain of command in Kandahar "failed to use the appropriate security and force protection measures to secure the compound and safeguard their soldiers," the AP found. That conclusion was subsequently overridden by an internal investigation by Major General James L. Huggins, who wrote in December 2011 that the US military's security arrangements had been appropriate as there was "no known insider threat at the time."

At the time of Oct. 8, 2011 attack, there had already been 12 reported green-on-blue attacks that year alone in Afghanistan, two of which had occurred in Kandahar province, according to statistics compiled by The Long War Journal. And in the neighboring provinces of Helmand and Uruzgan, there had already been four green-on-blue attacks that year. Between Jan. 1, 2008 and Oct. 8, 2011, a total of 24 attacks by Afghan troops on Coalition forces had been reported. [For more information, see LWJ report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data.]

Green-on-blue attacks in 2012

So far this year, there have been 42 green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan, accounting for 16% of Coalition casualties, already far exceeding last year's total of 15 attacks. And in Kandahar province alone, there have been 10 such attacks, six of which took place before May, when the US military first acknowledged the nature of the Oct. 8, 2011 attack.

This summer, the US began adopting measures to deal with the spike in insider attacks, including ordering US and NATO troops to carry a loaded weapon at all times while on base, increasing counterintelligence forces, and requiring stricter vetting of Afghan security personnel. In September, partnering with Afghan forces was briefly restricted but then largely restored.

As the Coalition continues to draw down its forces, and the residual troops move increasingly from a combat role to the training and mentoring of Afghan security personnel, significant risks remain. An apparent reluctance by the US military to initially admit the scope of the insider attack problem may have delayed the imposition of needed security measures. Now that certain measures have been adopted, however, they appear to be starting to have an effect, as the number of reported green-on-blue attacks has dropped in the past few months, from a high of 11 in August, to 4 in September, to 3 in October, and 2 in November. The recent downward trend in attacks may also be due in part to the slower pace of the Taliban winter fighting season as well as the continuing drawdown of Coalition troops.

The Taliban have claimed credit for today's suicide attack in Kabul that targeted a US contracting company. The suicide attack is the second in the Afghan capital this month.

Today's suicide attack took place in the Pul-i-Charkhi area on the Kabul-Jalalabad Road in eastern Kabul. The suicide bomber attacked a compound run by Contrack International, a contracting firm that manages the construction of fuel tank farms at Bagram Airbase as well as an ammunition supply depot on Kandahar Airfield.

According to reports, one person was killed in the massive blast, and more than 15 people were wounded. The International Security Assistance Force said that one Afghan civilian was killed. Several contractors are said to have been wounded in the attack. The massive blast destroyed and damaged many buildings on the compound.

The Taliban claimed credit for the attack in a statement that was released on their website. The statement was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The Taliban, who routinely exaggerate the effects of their attacks, claimed that "tens of occupation soldiers and agents were killed and injured," including the president of the company.

According to the Taliban statement, the attack was "carried out by the hero 'Atiqullah, one of the mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate," and the truck was "laden with 2,500 pounds of explosives." The Taliban also claimed that the Contrack base was "guarded by special forces belonging to the agent army, and 150 American soldiers and 150 agent soldiers." The attack was launched after "watching this company for a long time," the Taliban said.

The Taliban have conducted suicide and armed attacks at contractor bases in Kabul and in other Afghan cities in the past. In one such attack, in September 2011, gunmen attacked a base in a high-security area of Kabul that is rumored to be used by the Central Intelligence Agency. One US citizen was killed in the attack.

Second suicide attack in Kabul this month

Today's suicide attack is the second in the Afghan capital this month. On Dec. 6, a suicide bomber targeted Asadullah Khalid, the chief of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, as he was welcoming visitors at an NDS guesthouse in Kabul.

The Taliban suicide bomber was said to have been disguised as a peace emissary, and his suicide bomb was hidden in his underwear. President Hamid Karzai later said the suicide attack that wounded the NDS chief was planned in Pakistan; Karzai also said he would offer proof.

Taliban suicide bombers also attacked two US military bases in Afghanistan this month. On Dec. 2, a Taliban suicide assault team killed three Afghan guards and four civilians in an attack on Forward Operating Base Fenty in Nangarhar; nine Taliban fighters were also killed. And on Dec. 13, a suicide bomber killed three Afghans in an attack outside of Kandahar Airfield. The attack occurred just hours after US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta left the base.

These attacks have taken place as US military commanders continue to provide upbeat assessments of the war in Afghanistan. The assessments are released as the Obama administration is preparing to determine the size of US forces in Afghanistan after the end of the combat mission in 2014. While no decision has been made, it is thought that a force of between 6,000 to 9,000 troops, garrisoned in one or several bases near Kabul, will be left behind to conduct counterterrorism operations.

Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, has broken its nearly 12-month silence on Omar Hammami, the American commander who served with the terrorist group and has claimed his life was in danger due to divisions between Somali jihadists and foreign fighters. The terror group now states that Hammami was not a senior member of the group and that he has manufactured a false controversy for personal gain over the issue of divisions between local Somali jihadists.

The Somali terror group released the statement yesterday on Hammami, who is also known as Abu Mansour al Amriki. Earlier this year Hammami issued two videos: one in March in which he claimed his life was in danger, and another in October in which he said he was threatened due to divisions between local and foreign jihadists [see LWJ reports, American terrorist feels 'life may be endangered' by Shabaab, and Omar Hammami says 'friction' exists between Shabaab, foreign fighters]. Both videos were shot at the same time. Shabaab issued a statement in March denying that Hammami was in danger.

Yesterday's official statement from Shabaab, titled "Abu Mansour al Amriki: A Candid Clarification," was posted on Shabaab's official Twitter account. Shabaab claims that the videos released by Hammami (who is referred to as Abu Mansour in the statement) were portrayed in the media as evidence that "deep ideological differences were begin to devour the Mujahideen." The terror group rejects the depiction, and accuses Hammami of being a narcissist.

Shabaab "hereby declares that Abu Mansour al Amriki does not, in any way, shape or form, represent the views of the Muhajireen [emigrants or foreign fighters] in Somalia," the statement says. "The opinions expressed by Abu Mansour, the alleged frictions and the video releases are merely the results of personal grievances that stem purely from a narcissistic pursuit of fame and are far removed from the reality on the ground."

Shabaab then denies that Hammami holds a senior or even a middle-level leadership position within the ranks of the terror group.

"[C]ontrary to portrait of the grand strategist, recruiter and fund-raiser portrayed by the Western media, Abu Mansur Al-Amriki does not hold any position of authority within [Shabaab]," the statement says.

Shabaab says it remained silent on the issue of Hammami as "the Mujahideen have been offering advice to Abu Mansour in private, without publicly rebuking him, employing every possible avenue to veil his faults, overlook his shortcomings and conceal the egregious errors he'd committed ...."

The group explains that it decided to denounce Hammami only after he refused its advice: "[I]t becomes religiously and morally incumbent upon the Mujahideen to publicly advise the Muslim Ummah [community] of his obstinacy and insistence on sowing disunity among the vanguards of this Ummah."

Shabaab then accuses Hammami of attempting to sow discord in the rank and file just as the African Union and Somali forces were ousting the terror group from their strongholds south of Mogadishu in March, and then from Kismayo in October.

"Hence, the timing of the releases and the convergence of the entire East African nations upon the Mujahideen were not entirely coincidental occurrences but a calculated attempt to draw attention to the alleged voices of dissent within the ranks of the Mujahideen at a time when theywere most likely to be under pressure from their enemies so as to cultivate the destructive seeds of disunity," Shabaab states.

Shabaab then apologizes "to the Muslim Ummah in general and our Mujahideen brothers in all the fields of Jihad in particular for having to witness such childish petulance in one of the theatres of Jihad, from its tracks or the spirit of this great Ummah dampened by the superficial allegations, frivolous ramblings and whimsical desires of those who wish to enhance their image at the price of Jihad and the Mujahideen, spreading discord and disunity in the process."

The Somali terror group does not indicate what is to be done with Hammami after essentially accusing him of treasonous acts. Nor does Shabaab state whether Hammami is in its custody.

Background on Omar Hammami

Hammami has served as a military commander, propagandist, "recruitment strategist, and financial manager" for Shabaab, and is closely linked to al Qaeda, according to the US government. Hammami is on the US's list of specially designated global terrorists.

In May 2011, Hammami spoke at a public rally with other top Shabaab leaders to eulogize Osama bin Laden just 10 days after the death of the al Qaeda leader. During the rally, Hammani appeared with other top al Qaeda-linked Shabaab leaders, including Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansour and Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys.

"We are all Osama," Hammami told the crowd as he spoke at a podium. He also said that Shabaab and al Qaeda would continue their jihad to establish a global Islamic caliphate.

"Today, we remind the Muslims that the caliphate [Islamic rule] shall soon be reborn," Hammani said while eulogizing bin Laden. "May Allah accept our dear beloved sheikh [Osama bin Laden] and cause our swords to become instruments of his avenging."

Prior to this year, Hammami had played a crucial role in Shabaab's propaganda efforts to recruit Western fighters to join Shabaab's jihad in Somalia. In December 2011 and January 2012, Hammami appeared in photographs with a Western fighter. The Long War Journal identified the fighter as Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax, an American who recruited for the terror group and left the US in October 2009 to wage jihad in Somalia. Faarax is wanted by the FBI.

Hammami was reported to have been killed in a US airstrike in March 2011, but one month later he released a nasheed, or song, that mocked the reports [see LWJ report, American Shabaab commander Omar Hammami releases tape that mocks reports of his death]. In the clumsy rap, Hammami said he wanted to die in a US airstrike or special operations raid, like other top al Qaeda leaders such as Abu Laith al Libi, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, and Abu Musab al Zarqawi.

This year, Hammami issued an unauthorized autobiography, and then later released a photograph of himself holding up a copy of the work. The photograph ended the rumors that he had been executed by Shabaab for releasing the video in March in which he claimed his life was in danger.

For more information on Hammami, see LWJ reports, American Shabaab commander speaks at rally for Osama bin Laden in Somalia and US adds American, Kenyan Shabaab leaders to list of designated terrorists.

Banner for the Al Nusrah Front, a jihadist group in Syria. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's branch in Syria, has denied media reports that its emir and two commanders have been killed.

The "Media Department" of the Al Nusrah Front said yesterday that reports of the death of "Sheikh al Fatih Abu Muhammad al Julani" are wrong, and that "he is fine and immersed in the countless bounties of Allah," according to a statement obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Additionally, Al Nusrah said that "the mujahideen brothers," Abu Anas al Sahhaba and Abu Julaybib, "are also doing well." Al Nusrah said that al Sahhaba and Julaybib are "field commanders, but neither of them is the supervisor general of the Al Nusrah Front."

Last week, Al Jazeera reported that al Sahhaba, whose real name is Mustafa Abd al Latif Salih, replaced Iyad al Tubasi, who is also known as Abu Julaybib, after the latter was killed during fighting in Dara'a. Some media reports also indicated that al Julani was killed.

The Al Nusrah Front's statement confirmed a report by The Long War Journal that al Sahhaba and Julaybib were indeed senior military commanders in the terror group. Al Sahhaba has served as an operative in al Qaeda in Iraq for years, and worked with Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the former AQI emir who was killed in a US airstrike in 2006.

Julaybib, who is a brother-in-law of Zarqawi, is said to be the emir of the Al Nusrah Front in Dara'a, a city on the Jordanian border that serves as an Al Nusrah stronghold. [For more information on al Sahhaba and Julaybib, see LWJ report, Zarqawi's brother-in-law reported killed while leading Al Nusrah Front unit.]

Background on the Al Nusrah Front

The Al Nusrah Front was designated by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on Dec. 11. The US government said that al Qaeda in Iraq's emir, Abu Du'a, or Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi, "is in control of both AQI and Al Nusrah."

Additionally, two senior Al Nusrah leaders, Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab, both members of al Qaeda in Iraq, were added to the US's the list of global terrorists. Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani, Al Nusrah's emir, was not added to the list of global terrorists. [See LWJ report, US adds Al Nusrah Front, 2 leaders to terrorism list, for information on the designation of the AL Nusrah Front and the two leaders.]

The group has become one of the most powerful and effective units in the Syrian insurgency, and it has begun to absorb elements of the supposedly secular Free Syrian Army. The Al Nusrah Front also conducts joint operations with the Free Syrian Army and other so-called secular groups, and has numerous foreign fighters in its ranks. Last week, Al Nusrah and two other jihadist groups seized a Syrian military base thought to be involved in the chemical weapons program [see LWJ report, Al Nusrah Front, foreign jihadists seize key Syrian base in Aleppo].

Since the Al Nusrah Front announced its formation in late January, 20012, it has claimed credit for 43 of the 52 suicide attacks that have taken place in Syria in the past 12 months

Despite Al Nusrah's known affiliation with al Qaeda and its radical ideology, Syrian opposition groups, including the supposedly secular Syrian National Coalition, have rallied to support Al Nusrah. Twenty-nine Syrian opposition groups have signed a petition that not only condemns the US's designation, but says "we are all Al Nusrah," and urges their supporters to raise Al Nusrah's flag (which of course is al Qaeda's flag) [see LWJ report, Syrian National Coalition urges US to drop Al Nusrah terrorism designation].

The Israeli-manufactured Heron TP drone, also known as the IAI Eitan ('strong' in Hebrew), is one of three Israeli drone platforms Iran believes is based in Azerbaijan to launch "secret spy missions" against its territory.

In recent weeks, Iran has repeatedly accused Israel and Azerbaijan of conducting what Iran believes to be "secret spy missions" that use Israeli-manufactured drones taking off from Azeri airbases.

Rumors of Israeli drones stationed in Azerbaijan first emanated from a Sunday Times report [full article mirrored here] on Dec. 2, which implied that Israeli-manufactured Heron TP-II drones armed with American Hellfire missiles were based at undisclosed locations in Azerbaijan. The Heron TP-II drone, also known as IAI Eitan ('strong' in Hebrew), is one of the most advanced aerial drone platforms used by the Israeli Defense Forces.

On Dec. 9, Iranian Press TV accused Azerbaijan and Israel of carrying out joint spying missions over Iran's shared border with Karabakh. Iran also claimed that Israeli military advisers were present in Azerbaijan, and that Israeli-made Hermes-450 drones as well as the Orbiter Mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) System were being used to conduct aerial surveillance missions over Iranian territory. Azerbaijan has acquired 10 Hermes-450 drones between 2009 and 2012, and Azerbaijan reportedly had acquired five Heron TP-II and five Searcher UAVs through a $1.6 billion defense contract with Israel, according to a Fars News report from April of this year.

Officials from Israel and Azerbaijan have denied the allegations. Shortly after the initial disclosure by the Sunday Times, Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev stated: "Azerbaijan's position has been voiced several times. Baku will never allow its territory be used against neighbors .... Azerbaijan maintains good neighborly relations [with Iran] and will never take such a step. This is our position."

Meanwhile, Iranian officials publicly threatened to use force against incursions into Iranian territory and perceived violations of its airspace. "To cross into our airspace, they should first of all be able to disorient our defense systems. Those who will cross into our airspace will receive a sharp counterblow, taking into consideration the capabilities of Iran's Armed Forces in defending the borders of our country," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters on Dec. 13.

Iranian concerns over incursions into its airspace and overflights of its territory by Western and Israeli forces have spiked since November. On Nov. 1, Iranian aerial assets fired several missiles at a US drone but missed, near Kargh Island, located in the Persian Gulf approximately 16 miles off the coast of Iran. A few days later, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi threatened that Iran would take legal action against the US in international courts over its "drone incursion" into Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.

In early December, Iranian Republican Guard naval elements claimed to have captured an American Scan Eagle drone near Khargh Island, and later broadcast images of the drone. American military officials vehemently denied the loss of any drone assets in the Persian Gulf. [See Threat Matrix, Iranian regime broadcasts video of 'captured' US drone].

The US launched its first airstrike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agencies in 11 days, killing four "militants," including possibly some foreigners.

The remotely-piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired two missiles at a compound in the village of Hisokhel near Mir Ali in North Waziristan, according to Dawn. The house was destroyed and four "militants," a term used by Pakistani intelligence officials to describe jihadists of all stripes, were reported to have been killed.

Although the identities of those killed have not been disclosed, "some foreigners" are believed to have been in the compound when the drones struck.

In addition to the strike in North Waziristan, a US drone is reported to have crashed in the neighboring tribal agency of South Waziristan. US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal who are involved in the attacks in Pakistan would not confirm or deny the report of a lost drone.

Today's strike is the first since a burst of four attacks by US drones between Nov. 29 and Dec. 9 that are thought to have killed a senior al Qaeda leader and three midlevel commanders. Al Qaeda has not officially confirmed the deaths of the four leaders. The most senior of them, Khalid bin Abdul Rahman al Husainan, a religious leader who is also known as Abu Zeid al Kuwaiti, is reported to have been killed in a drone attack in North Waziristan on Dec. 6. Two midlevel al Qaeda military commanders, Abdul Rehman al Zaman Yemeni and Sheikh Abdul Bari, are reported to have been killed in airstrikes in South Waziristan on Dec. 1 and Nov. 29, respectively. And on Dec. 9, the drones are thought to have killed a commander known as Mohammad Ahmed al Mansoor and three of his family members.

The four drone strikes in North and South Waziristan between Nov. 29 and Dec. 9 ended a 36-day-long hiatus in the strike campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas. The pause in strikes was the second longest since the US campaign was ramped up in the summer of 2008 under the Bush administration.

The longest pause was 55 days, from Nov. 26, 2011 to Jan. 10, 2012, when the Obama administration put the program on hold after US and Pakistani forces clashed in Mohmand. Pakistani troops had attacked US forces on the Afghan side of the border, and the ensuing firefight resulted in the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers. The US later apologized for the incident, despite having been attacked first by the Pakistani soldiers who failed to disengage after US aircraft signaled that US forces were involved.

Mir Ali is a terrorist haven

The Mir Ali area is in the sphere of influence of Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an al Qaeda leader who serves as a key link to the Taliban and supports al Qaeda's external operations network. Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network also operate in the Mir Ali area. Moreover, Mir Ali is a known hub for al Qaeda's military and external operations councils.

Since Sept. 8, 2010, several Germans and Britons have been reported killed in Predator strikes in the Mir Ali area. The Europeans were members of the Islamic Jihad Group (IJG), an al Qaeda affiliate based in the vicinity of Mir Ali. The IJG members are believed to have been involved in an al Qaeda plot that targeted several major European cities and was modeled after the terror assault on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008. The European plot was orchestrated by Ilyas Kashmiri, the al Qaeda leader who was killed in a US drone strike in June 2011.

Mir Ali also hosts at least three suicide training camps for the the Fedayeen-i-Islam, an alliance between the Pakistani Taliban, the anti-Shia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. In early 2011, a Fedayeen-i-Islam spokesman claimed that more than 1,000 suicide bombers have trained at three camps. One failed suicide bomber corroborated the Fedayeen spokesman's statement, claiming that more than 350 suicide bombers trained at his camp.

Prior to this year, the US has been pounding targets in the Datta Khel, Miramshah, and Mir Ali areas of North Waziristan in an effort to kill members involved in the European plot. Al Qaeda and allied terror groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Group, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and a number of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups host or share camps in the region. These groups are given aid and shelter by Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network, a Taliban subgroup run by Siraj and Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Despite the known presence of al Qaeda and other foreign groups in North Waziristan, and requests by the US that action be taken against these groups, the Pakistani military has indicated that it has no plans to take on Hafiz Gul Bahadar or the Haqqani Network. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

Background on the US strikes in Pakistan

Today's strike is the 24th in Pakistan since June 4, when the US killed Abu Yahya al Libi, one of al Qaeda's top leaders, propagandists, and religious figures. Abu Yahya was killed in a strike on a compound in Mir Ali in North Waziristan. Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen fighters belonging to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were reportedly among the 14 terrorists killed along with Abu Yahya.

US officials said in November 2011 that only two senior al Qaeda leaders, Ayman al Zawahiri and Abu Yahya al Libi, were left in the organization, and that the terror group would collapse once the two leaders were killed.

The US has carried out 45 strikes in Pakistan so far this year. Twenty-six of the strikes have taken place since the beginning of June; 21 occurred in North Waziristan, four were in South Waziristan, and one has taken place in Arakzai. [For data on the strikes, see LWJ reports, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2012; and Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2012.]

The drone program was scaled back dramatically from the end of March to the beginning of the fourth week in May. Between March 30 and May 22, the US conducted only three drones strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas as US officials attempted to renegotiate the reopening of NATO's supply lines, which were closed from the end of November 2011 until July 3. Pakistan closed the supply lines following the Mohmand incident in November 2011.

In addition to Abu Yahya, three other high-value targets have been confirmed killed in the strikes in Pakistan this year. A Jan. 11 strike in Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, killed Aslam Awan, a deputy to the leader of al Qaeda's external operations network.

On Feb. 8, the US killed Badr Mansoor, a senior Taliban and al Qaeda leader, in a strike in Miramshah's bazaar. Mansoor ran training camps in the area and sent fighters to battle NATO and Afghan forces across the border, and linked up members of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen with al Qaeda to fight in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden described Mansoor as one of several commanders of al Qaeda's "companies" operating in the tribal areas. He was later promoted to lead al Qaeda's forces in the tribal areas.

And sometime earlier this year, a US drone strike killed Abu Usman Adil, the emir of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Adil succeeded Tahir Yuldashev, the co-founder of the IMU, who was killed in a drone strike in September 2009. Adil is credited with increasing the IMU's profile in Pakistan and Afghanistan after the death of Yuldashev, US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal. Whereas Yuldashev had been content with confining the group's operations largely to Pakistan's tribal areas, Adil pushed to expand operations in northern and eastern Afghanistan, as well as in the Central Asian republics.

Four other senior jihadist leaders, including al Qaeda commanders Abu Kasha al Iraqi and Fateh al Turki, are reported to have been killed in drone strikes in North Waziristan since the beginning of August, although their deaths have not been confirmed. Badruddin Haqqani, a top leader in the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network, is thought to have been killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan. Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid and a Haqqani Network spokesman denied reports that claimed Badruddin was killed, and said he "is in the country and he is occupied with his operational responsibilities." Afghan, Pakistani, and US intelligence officials have said that Badruddin is dead.

And Emeti Yakuf, who is also known as Abdul Shakoor Turkistani, may have been killed in the Aug. 24 drone strike in North Waziristan's Shawal Valley that hit a training camp. Yakuf directs al Qaeda operations in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The program has been scaled down from its peak in 2010, when the US conducted 117 strikes, according to data collected by The Long War Journal. In 2011, the US carried out just 64 strikes in Pakistan's border regions.

So far this year, the US has launched 45 strikes in Pakistan against al Qaeda and allied terror groups, just seven more than the 38 strikes this year in Yemen against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In 2011, the US launched 64 strikes in Pakistan, versus only 10 in Yemen.

A Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan commander and three other people were killed in a bombing yesterday in Wana, the main town in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of South Waziristan. The bombing appears to be related to an assassination attempt on another senior Taliban leader who is linked to al Qaeda.

Maulvi Abbas Wazir was killed in a blast at his office, which was located near a bazaar in Wana. The cause of the attack is unclear; some reports indicate that a bomb was placed in the office, while another indicates that it was a suicide bomber that killed Abbas.

Abbas was one of six Taliban commanders in Wana who joined up with Hakeemullah Mehsud's Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan back in the fall of 2010 [see LWJ report, Pakistani Taliban enlist 6 local groups in Wana region of South Waziristan]. The Wana branch of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan is led by Wali Muhammad, the son of famed Taliban commander Nek Muhammad, who was killed in the first recorded US Predator strike in Pakistan in 2004. Wali replaced Haji Omar, another Taliban commander who was killed in a drone strike in early 2010.

The presence of Abbas and other Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan leaders in the Wana area is a direct violation of a peace agreement between Mullah Nazir, one of the tribal agency's most powerful Taliban commanders, and the Pakistani military. Nazir agreed to not shelter or support the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan in exchange for the military bypassing his tribal areas during an offensive that was launched in 2009. Additionally, Nazir, who has described himself as an al Qaeda commander, has continued to shelter al Qaeda and other allied terror groups. The Pakistani military is well aware of Nazir's violations, yet continues to allow him operate without repercussions.

According to Pakistani press reports, Abbas was closely allied with Uzbek fighters in the al Qaeda-allied Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and its splinter organization, the Islamic Jihad Union. In 2007, Abbas was ejected from the Wazir tribal areas of South Waziristan by Mullah Nazir after the latter clashed with Uzbek fighters over the assassination of al Qaeda financiers [see LWJ reports, The Taliban's internecine war in Waziristan and Spinning the Fighting in South Waziristan]. Abbas and Nazir reconciled in 2010, and Abbas was allowed to return to Wana.

Abbas's killing is likely linked to the suicide attack that targeted Mullah Nazir on Nov. 29. Nazir was wounded in the attack. After the assassination attempt on Nazir, he ordered all members of the movement of the Taliban in Pakistan to leave the Wana area. Nazir has made similar decrees in the past, only to continue to shelter the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan's top leaders and its fighters.

No group has claimed credit for the suicide attack that targeted Nazir, or the bombing that killed Abbas.

Mullah Nazir's Taliban faction is one of four major Taliban groups that have joined the Shura-e-Murakeba, an alliance brokered by al Qaeda late last year. The Shura-e-Murakeba also includes Hafiz Gul Bahadar's group; the Haqqani Network; and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, which is led by Mehsud tribesmen Hakeemullah Mehsud and his deputy Waliur Rehman Mehsud. The members of the Shura-e-Murakeba agreed to cease attacks against Pakistani security forces, refocus efforts against the US in Afghanistan, and end kidnappings and other criminal activities in the tribal areas.

Sources:

Blast in Wana kills militant commander, three others, Dawn
Militant commander among three dead in blast, The News
Militant commander among three dead in SWA blast, Daily Times
Pakistani Taliban enlist 6 local groups in Wana region of South Waziristan, The Long War Journal
Al Qaeda-linked South Waziristan Taliban commander wounded in suicide attack, The Long War Journal

Tunisia's Interior Minister, Ali Laarayedh, announced during a press conference yesterday (Dec. 21) that authorities have arrested 16 members of a terrorist cell affiliated with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). In addition, 18 other members of the group are still being pursued.

According to the Tunisian Press Agency (TPA), Laarayedh "stressed that all the apprehended or pursued elements were active within" Ansar al Sharia Tunisia.

Tunisia Live reports that members of the al Qaeda cell "were known for their active participation in events organized by Ansar al Sharia," including protests.

Laarayedh said he could not prove that there was an "organizational relationship" between the cell and Ansar al Sharia, however.

The al Qaeda cell calls itself "The Militia of Uqba Ibn Nafaa in Tunisia." The name is apparently a reference to Uqba Ibn Nafaa, a famous Arab general who established a base of operations in Kairoun, Tunisia in the seventh century.

Laarayedh said the cell attended "a training camp run by three Algerians close to AQIM leader Abou Moussab Abdel Wadoud," according to Agence France Presse (AFP). Wadoud is also known as Abdelmalek Droukdel.

Tunisian authorities seized various weapons and military paraphernalia during the raids "with most of the weapons thought to have come from Libya," Laarayedh explained, according to AFP.

Laarayedh added that the cell's members were sent to AQIM camps in Algeria and Libya for training. Three Libyans were among the suspected terrorists arrested.

The AQIM-trained cell is dedicated to implementing sharia law in Tunisia, Laarayedh said.

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia orchestrated the Sept. 14 ransacking of the US Embassy in Tunis, as well as a nearby school. The group is headed by Seifullah ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi), who has longstanding ties to al Qaeda. In 2000, Hassine co-founded the Tunisian Combatant Group (TCG), an al Qaeda-affiliated group that participated in the Sept. 9, 2001 assassination of Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud.

Two other Ansar al Sharia Tunisia leaders are Sami Ben Khemais Essid and Mehdi Kammoun, both of whom were convicted by Italian courts for their participation in al Qaeda's operations in Italy. Essid was the head of al Qaeda in Italy before his arrest. According to the US State Department and other sources, Essid plotted to attack the US Embassy in Rome in early 2001.

After the Sept. 14 Embassy assault in Tunis, the Tunisian government imprisoned numerous Ansar al Sharia members. One of them is Bilel Chaouachi, a young imam who has openly praised Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri.

The Taliban claimed credit for today's suicide attack in Peshawar that killed nine people, including Bashir Ahmed Bilour, the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The suicide attack is the latest against the top leaders of the Awami National Party, a secular political party that has opposed the spread of the Taliban in the northwest and leads the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Today's suicide attack took place as Bilour and other senior ANP leaders and workers were holding a meeting at a private residence in Peshawar, the provincial capital.

"The suicide bomber walked into the house where the meeting was taking place and detonated his vest," Shafqat Malik, chief of the bomb disposal squad, told AFP.

Ihsanullah Ihsan, the top spokesman for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, told Dawn that the attack was carried out to avenge the death of "our elder Sheikh Naseeb Khan," a senior cleric at the radical Darul Uloom Haqqani madrassa, or Jamia Haqqani, in North Waziristan. The madrassa, which is the second largest in Pakistan, is run by Maulana Sami ul-Haq, who is considered to be "the father of the Taliban."

Khan was kidnapped and executed in May, and the Pakistani Taliban claimed that the government and military had him killed. In June, Ustad Ahmand Farooq, al Qaeda's media emir for Pakistan, issued a eulogy for Khan and another extremist Pakistani cleric. Khan had openly supported jihad and the Taliban and other terror groups operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan before he was killed [see LWJ report, Al Qaeda media chief laments deaths of 2 Pakistani clerics].

Regardless of the Taliban's rationale for today's suicide attack, the terror group has targeted numerous officials from the Awami National Party in suicide attacks at meetings, mosques, and funerals over the past several years. In March, a suicide bomber targeted Khushdil Khan, who is the deputy speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's provincial assembly and a senior ANP leader [see LWJ report, Suicide bomber kills 15 at funeral in Peshawar].

Although the Pakistani government, led by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, has claimed that the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan is fractured and suffering from leadership problems, the group has been able to launch coordinated strikes throughout Pakistan, including a series of recent attacks that killed eight polio vaccination workers in Karachi, Peshawar, and elsewhere in the northwest. The attacks forced the United Nations and the government to shut down the program, leaving more than 3.5 million children without vaccinations to protect against the disease.

The official media outlet for Ansar al Sharia Tunisia has released pictures purportedly showing three FBI agents who interviewed Ali al Harzi, a suspect in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. The release of the pictures online was first noticed by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The US government had been seeking access to Harzi for more than two months, since he was arrested in Turkey and deported to his native Tunisia in October. Harzi's lawyer told the Associated Press yesterday (Dec. 22) that the FBI had finally been given permission to interview him.

The interview last three hours and was conducted in front of the judge hearing Harzi's case, with the help of a Moroccan translator.

According to the AP, the FBI asked Harzi not only about the Benghazi attack, but also the assault on the US Embassy in Tunis three days later (Sept. 14). Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, which is headed by a notorious al Qaeda-linked jihadist named Seifullah ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi), orchestrated that assault.

If the pictures are of the interviewing FBI agents, then it shows that Ansar al Sharia Tunisia was stalking the Americans. Indeed, in its message announcing the photos online, the group claimed that "despite being forcefully prevented from taking pictures, we were able to take some exclusive pictures."

Hassine's group is using the photos to chastise the Tunisian government for cooperating with the US.

"Six American states are demanding their independence from the federal government, and the Tunisian Troike [tripartite coalition] government intends to replace them in the event of secession," the group's message reads, according to SITE's translation.

The message continues: "Receive glad tidings O people, for the signs of joining have qualified FBI agents to begin investigating your sons under post-revolutionary protection."

The release of the photos adds a new wrinkle to the investigation into Harzi's background. Harzi initially came under suspicion after he posted information related to the Benghazi attack online. The Daily Beast first reported on Oct. 23 that Harzi "posted an update on social media about the fighting shortly after it had begun" and that this was "[o]ne of the first clues the intelligence community had about the perpetrators" in Benghazi.

During a television interview on Oct. 31, Tunisian Interior Minister Ali Laraeydh said that Harzi "is strongly suspected to have been involved in the attack of Benghazi."

Harzi's precise terrorist affiliation has been ambiguous in press reporting. For instance, a US intelligence official speaking anonymously to The Daily Beast described Harzi as "a member of violent extremist networks in North Africa." Harzi was reportedly en route to Syria, a common destination for North African jihadists, when he was arrested.

Fox News reported that Harzi "is part of a North African Islamist network, with family ties to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and other extremists." Senator Saxby Chambliss (R - GA) told the cable network that Harzi "has been confirmed to be a member of Ansar al Sharia."

Members of the Ansar al Sharia militia in Benghazi reportedly took part in the attack on the US Consulate.

But the release of the photos allegedly showing FBI agents indicates that Ansar al Sharia Tunisia has taken a keen interest in Harzi. In its posting of the pictures, the group refers to Harzi as "brother."

According to SITE, the title of the posting reads, "Exclusive Pictures of the FBI Agents who Investigated Brother Ali al-Harzi (The Case of Killing the American Foreigner in Libya)."

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia orchestrated the Sept. 14, 2012 ransacking of the US Embassy in Tunis, as well as a nearby school. The group is headed by Seifullah ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi), who has longstanding ties to al Qaeda. In 2000, Hassine co-founded the Tunisian Combatant Group (TCG), an al Qaeda-affiliated group that participated in the Sept. 9, 2001 assassination of Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud.

Hassine was arrested in Turkey in 2003 and deported to Tunisia, where he was sentenced to more than 40 years in prison. Hassine was released from prison in 2011, in the wake of the Tunisian revolution.

According to the Middle East Research Institute (MEMRI), Hassine eulogized Osama bin Laden after the al Qaeda master was killed in May 2011. "Let the entire world celebrate the death of one of our Ummah's leaders," Hassine said, "since the death and martyrdom of our leaders for the sake of this straight path ... is an indication of the truthfulness of our way."

According to MEMRI, Hassine added that the death of bin Laden and other "brothers and leaders," such as al Qaeda in Iraq leaders Abu Musab al Zarqawi and Abu Omar al Baghdadi, should compel Muslims to fight on. "This is the allegiance, and that is the promise to Allah - do not regress after the death of your sheikh [i.e. bin Laden], or the deaths of your leaders," Hassine said. "Remain steadfast - and die for [the same cause] for which the best among you died."

After the Sept. 14, 2012 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis, the Tunisian government imprisoned numerous Ansar al Sharia members. One of them is Bilel Chaouachi, a young imam who has openly praised Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri.

On Dec. 21, 2012, the Tunisian government announced that it had arrested members of an al Qaeda terrorist cell who had been trained by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and "were active within" Ansar al Sharia Tunisia.

An Afghan policewoman gunned down a US military adviser inside the Interior Ministry today. The insider, or green-on-blue, attack is the first in nearly six weeks, and the first recorded by a female member of the Afghan security forces.

The policewoman, who was identified as Nargis, is "assigned to the gender and equality department," according to Pajhwok Afghan News.

"She fired one shot at the advisor, a construction engineer, in the head at close range," according to the Afghan news agency. The policewoman's motivation for shooting the civilian adviser is not know. She is currently in Afghan custody.

The International Security Assistance Force confirmed that a civilian contractor was killed in Kabul, but did not provide any details of the attack.

"A contracted civilian employee of the International Security Assistance Force died after being shot by a woman wearing an Afghan police uniform in Kabul, Afghanistan, today," ISAF stated in a press release. "The incident is currently under investigation."

According to TOLONews, the attacker, a married woman who lived for a time as a refugee in Iran and Pakistan, had recently returned from a government-sponsored trip to Egypt. During that trip, she disappeared for two days, later telling her superiors she had gotten lost. They had not mentioned the incident in their report on the trip. Her husband is a civilian employee of the Interior Ministry, TOLO reported.

Today's attack is very similar to the shooting at the Interior Ministry on Feb. 25, 2012, when an Afghan policeman gunned down two US military officers inside the headquarters before escaping. The two officers were shot at close range; at least one was shot in the head.

There have been 43 insider attacks reported so far this year, resulting in the deaths of 61 ISAF military and civilian personnel (note: ISAF does not disclose data on all such attacks; ISAF has told The Long War Journal that the overall number of attacks is "classified"). Last year, there were 15 such attacks reported, and in 2010 there were 5. The green-on-blue attacks now account for more than 16 percent of ISAF's casualties so far this year. Last year, such attacks accounted for 6 percent of ISAF's casualties. In 2010, green-on-blue attacks made up just 2 percent of ISAF's casualties. See LWJ report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data, for more information.

There have now been four green-on-blue attacks in the capital of Kabul, resulting in the deaths of 12 ISAF personnel, according to statistics maintained by The Long War Journal. Three of those attacks have taken place this year.

Today's attack is the first since Nov. 11, when an Afghan soldier opened fire on British troops in the Nad Ali district in Helmand province. One British soldier was killed and one was wounded in the November attack; the Afghan shooter was wounded in return fire.

Insider attacks a key part of Taliban strategy

In October, Taliban emir Mullah Omar released an Eid al-Adha message that urged followers to "[i]increase Increase your efforts to expand the area of infiltration in the ranks of the enemy and to bring about better order and array in the work." The statement continued: "We call on the Afghans who still stand with the stooge regime to turn to full-fledged cooperation with their Mujahid people like courageous persons in order to protect national interests and to complete independence of the country. Jihadic activities inside the circle of the State militias are the most effective stratagem. Its dimension will see further expansion, organization and efficiency if God willing."

Omar had previously addressed the issue of green-on-blue attacks at length in a statement released on Aug. 16. Omar claimed that the Taliban "cleverly infiltrated in the ranks of the enemy according to the plan given to them last year," and urged government officials and security personnel to defect and join the Taliban as a matter of religious duty. He also noted that the Taliban have created the "Call and Guidance, Luring and Integration" department, "with branches ... now operational all over the country," to encourage defections. [See Threat Matrix report, Mullah Omar addresses green-on-blue attacks.]

As insider attacks continue to spike, Coalition officials are starting to acknowledge that the Taliban are behind a larger proportion of the attacks, and ISAF has intensified its efforts against the perpetrators. Many of the attackers appear to come from the eastern Afghan provinces, a BBC reporter wrote in September, where Taliban influence is prevalent. And in early October, ISAF commanders admitted that attackers from Pakistan with links to the Taliban and its subgroup, the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network, were significantly involved in the attacks, the Associated Press reported.

The US targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the first reported drone strike in Yemen in seven weeks.

A Yemeni and a Jordanian AQAP operative are said to have been killed after remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired several missiles at their vehicle as they traveled in the Manaseeh area of Baydah province in central Yemen, local intelligence officials and tribesmen told AFP. Three more "militants" are said to have been wounded.

The Yemeni AQAP operative was identified as Abdullah Hussein al Waeli, a "member from Marib province who was wanted after he escaped from prison two years ago," according to AFP. The identity of the Jordanian was not disclosed.

Jordanians are known to fight in Yemen as members of AQAP. Two Jordanian operatives, including a cousin of slain al Qaeda in Iraq emir Abu Musab al Zarqawi, are reported to have been killed in drone strikes in Yemen this year [see LWJ reports, Jordanian cleric extols jihad at funeral of AQAP fighter, and Zarqawi's nephew killed in Yemen drone strike].

US drones have targeted AQAP fighters in Manaseeh in the recent past. On Sept. 2, the US accidentally killed 13 civilians while targeting AQAP fighters in the area.

AQAP has increased its presence in Baydah province this year, and the US has pursued the terror group with drone strikes. On May 28, the US targeted Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir in the province of Baydah, and his brother Nabil, who is also a senior leader in the terror group, in a strike in the town of Rada'a.

Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after his brother, Tariq, was killed in February by another brother, Hazam, a senior tribal leader in the town who was concerned that Tariq's affiliation with AQAP would incur the wrath of the Yemeni government. Before he was killed, Tariq had seized control of Baydah, raised al Qaeda's banner, sworn allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, and warned that "the Islamic Caliphate is coming."

Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah after Tariq's death. The two leaders are also the brothers-in-law of slain AQAP leader and ideologue Anwar al Awlaki.

US strikes in Yemen

The US is known to have carried out 39 airstrikes against AQAP in Yemen so far this year: one in January, six in March, six more in April, nine in May, two in June, one in July, five in August, two in September, four in October, one in November, and one this month. Other recent airstrikes are believed to have been carried out by the US also, but little evidence has emerged to directly link the attacks to the US.

Since December 2009, the CIA and the US military's Joint Special Operations Command are known to have conducted at least 52 air and missile strikes inside Yemen, including last night's strike. [For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US air strikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2012.]

The pace of the US airstrikes increased as AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, took over vast areas of southern Yemen starting at the end of May 2011. AQAP seized control of the cities and towns of Zinjibar, Al Koud, Jaar, and Shaqra in Abyan province, and Azzan in Shabwa province.

In May of this year, the Yemeni military launched an offensive to retake the cities and towns held by AQAP. Hundreds of AQAP fighters, Yemeni soldiers, and civilians have been reported killed during fighting that liberated Zinjibar, Jaar, Shaqra, and Azzan.

Since the beginning of May 2011, the US is known to have carried out 48 airstrikes in Yemen. This year, the US has been targeting both AQAP leaders and foot soldiers in an effort to support Yemeni military operations against the terror group. AQAP had taken control of vast areas in southern Yemen and had been expanding operations against the government, with raids on military bases in locations previously thought to be outside the terror group's control.

Five senior AQAP operatives, including Sheikh Abu Zubeir 'Adil al'Abab, have been killed in the 38 strikes so far this year. On Aug. 31, Khaled Batis, a wanted AQAP operative who is said to have been the mastermind of the 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker Limburg, was killed in that attack.

On May 6, the US killed Fahd al Quso in a drone attack in Shabwa province. Quso, who has been described as AQAP's external operations chief, was involved in numerous terrorist attacks, including the 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 US sailors. The information leading to Quso was obtained by the US from a Saudi operative who had penetrated AQAP.

The US killed Mohammed Saeed al Umda (a.k.a. Ghareeb al Taizi) in an April 22 drone strike on a convoy in the Al Samadah area of Marib province. Prior to the downfall of the Taliban regime in 2001, he had attended the Al Farouq military training camp in Afghanistan. Umda served as a member of Osama bin Laden's bodyguard in Afghanistan before returning to Yemen, and was involved in the October 2002 suicide attack on the French oil tanker Limburg. He escaped from a Yemeni jail in 2006.

And on Jan. 31, US drones killed Abdul Mun'im Salim al Fatahani near the city of Lawdar in Abyan province. Fatahani was also involved in the suicide attack on the USS Cole, as well as the bombing that damaged the Limburg oil tanker in 2002. AQAP said that Fatahani had fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US intelligence officials believe that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula poses a direct threat to the homeland. The latest AQAP plot against the West, involving an underwear bomb that is nearly undetectable and was to be detonated on an airliner, was foiled earlier this year. The terror group has planned multiple attacks against targets in the US. A strike in Yemen last year killed both Anwar al Awlaki, the radical US-born cleric who plotted attacks against the US, and Samir Khan, another American who served as a senior AQAP propagandist.

ISAF kills another al Qaeda commander in Kunar raid

Al Nusrah Front, foreign jihadists seize key Syrian base in Aleppo

US adds Al Nusrah Front, 2 leaders to terrorism list

2 Somali Islamists arrested in suspected pipe bomb attack at Bonn train station

Syrian jihadists, including al Qaeda's Al Nusrah Front, form Mujahideen Shura Council

Al Qaeda's emir calls on Egyptian Salafi leader to continue revolution

Syrian jihadists form 'Supporters of the Khilafah' Brigade

Zarqawi's brother-in-law reported killed while leading Al Nusrah Front unit

Hitherto unreported insider attack in Afghanistan raises questions

Taliban suicide bomber attacks US contracting company in Kabul

Shabaab rebukes American commander Omar Hammami

Al Qaeda's Al Nusrah Front denies reports of death of its emir

Reports of Israeli drones operating in Azerbaijan spark Iranian condemnation, threats

'Foreigners' reported killed in US drone strike in Pakistan

Pakistani Taliban commander killed in bombing in Wana

Tunisian government arrests al Qaeda cell tied to Ansar al Sharia

Taliban suicide bomber kills Pakistani provincial minister

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia releases pictures of FBI agents

Afghan policewoman kills US military adviser inside Interior Ministry

US drone strike kills Jordanian, Yemeni AQAP operatives