On Jan. 6, a member of the Afghan National Army turned his weapon on ISAF troops in southern Afghanistan, killing one soldier and wounding six more. This latest green-on-blue, or insider, attack, is the first such incident in 2013 and the 73rd reported since Jan. 1, 2008, according to The Long War Journal's statistics in Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data.

The attack took place in Afghanistan's restive Helmand province, where 18 green-on-blue attacks have already been conducted over the past five years. According to the BBC, the latest attack occurred at Patrol Base Hazrat in the Nahr-e Saraj area. The soldier who was killed served as an engineer with the 28 Engineer Regiment, attached to the 21 Engineer Regiment, the UK Ministry of Defence stated.

The BBC report indicates the attack may have been preceded by an argument between Afghan troops at the base. The Telegraph says that according to the Ministry of Defence, "the attacker had initially turned his weapon on fellow ANA members, before turning his fire on ISAF soldiers."

The attacker, who was been identified by Pajhwok Afghan News as a man named Sheikh from the eastern province of Laghman, tried to escape after shooting the British troops but was shot and killed by Afghan security forces.

The attacker had joined the Afghan National Army about a year ago, and was "well-known as being religious and would lead prayers, acting as an imam," according to an Afghan soldier quoted by the Telegraph.

The Taliban quickly claimed the attack, as they have done in the past with such incidents. According to a statement released on the Taliban's website today and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, the attack was conducted at about 7 p.m. by an ANA officer named Qasim, who "kill[ed] 8 invaders" and then left the outpost and was engaged by Afghan troops. The statement claimed that the attacker wounded two Afghan troops before he was killed. The Taliban routinely exaggerate casualty counts in their propaganda.

Just six months ago, there was another green-on-blue attack in the same district in Helmand. On July 1, 2012, three British military advisers were killed, and another member of ISAF personnel was wounded, in an attack by an Afghan Civil Order policeman in the Nahr-e Saraj district. The assailant was shot and wounded following the attack.

At a news conference after the recent attack, ISAF spokesman Gunter Katz said that despite the continuing threat posed by insider attacks, they would not impact the mission or cooperation between Coalition troops and Afghan forces, Pajhwok reported. He said the Coalition would continue to implement its strategy for preventing insider attacks, which includes vetting of Afghan forces "whether or not they have ties with rebels ...."

Insider attacks on Coalition forces have risen steeply over the past two years. In 2012, they caused 15% of Coalition casualties, as compared to 6% in 2011; and 2% or less in preceding years. They have become an important part of Taliban strategy as the Coalition drawdown continues in anticipation of the complete handover of security responsibility to Afghan forces in 2014.

The BBC report noted that in 2012 "a quarter of the British troops who died in Helmand, were killed in such attacks" and that ["a]ll six of the British troops killed during the latest six-month tour of duty have died this way."

The US government has added two al Qaeda-linked operatives who murdered a US diplomat and his driver in Khartoum in 2008 to the list of global terrorists. Additionally, the US Department of State's Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $5 million each for information leading to the capture of the jihadists. The two operatives were seen on a videotape that was recently released by Sudanese jihadists.

State added Abdelbasit Alhaj Alhasan Haj Hamad and Mohamed Makawi Ibrahim Mohamed, both Sudanese citizens, to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists earlier today. Abdelbasit and Makawi were directly involved in the assassination of US Agency for International Development (USAID) diplomat John Michael Granville and his driver in Khartoum, Sudan on Jan. 1, 2008.

"Abdelbasit shot Granville and Makawi killed Abbas Rahama during the attack," State said in a press release announcing the designations. Granville and Abbas were shot at least 17 times after leaving a New Year's Eve party held at the British Embassy in Khartoum.

Rewards for Justice described Makawi as "the leader of the attack that killed Granville and Abbas" and said he had "ties to the Sudan-based terrorist organization al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Niles, which conspired to attack other US, Western, and Sudanese targets." Abdelbasit was described as "the second shooter" who "also speaks English and Arabic."

The murder of Granville and his driver was claimed by both al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Niles and by another Sudanese terror group, Ansar al-Tawhid (Partisans of Monotheism). Al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Niles claimed the attack was part of the global jihad, while Ansar al-Tawhid said it was to halt the spread of Christianity and avenge the humiliation of Muslims. The father of Abdul Raouf Abu Zeid Muhammad Hamza, one of the convicted assassins, is a senior cleric in Ansar al-Tawhid.

US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that the two groups operate in close coordination and often pool resources and personnel.

Assassins escape from prison, travel to Somalia

Not long after the New Year's Day attack in Khartoum, Sudanese authorities detained five men believed to have committed the assassination: Makkawi; Abdelbasit; Mohannad Osman Youssef; Abdul Raouf Abu Zeid Muhammad Hamza; and Murad Abdel-Rahman Abdullah. Two of the men were arrested in February 2008 by Sudanese authorities after a brief shootout in a suburb of Khartoum's twin city, Omdurman. In 2009, a Sudanese court sentenced all of the suspects to death except Abdullah, who was sentenced to two years in prison. In June 2010, however, all four men who had been sentenced to death managed to escape from the heavily fortified maximum-security Kober federal prison. A police officer was killed during the escape.

Sudanese officials reported in September 2010 that the fugitives were likely hiding in Darfur in Sudan. Hamza was recaptured within three weeks of his escape from prison. Mohannad Osman Youssef "was reportedly killed in Somalia in May 2011," according to Rewards for Justice.

But "Abdelbasit and Makawi remain at large and are believed to be in Somalia."

Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, welcomes foreign fighters in its ranks, including Sudanese. Abu Talha al Sudani, who is also known as Tariq Abdullah, served as al Qaeda's ideological and strategic leader in East Africa before he was killed in 2007 during the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. He was behind the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Recent video shows Abdelbasit and Makawi escape from prison

In late December 2012, a jihadist media group calling itself the "al-Hijratain Foundation," a possibly al Qaeda-affiliated group tied to Ansar al-Tawhid, released a video detailing the June 2010 prison escape of the four men [see LWJ report, Sudanese jihadist media front releases video detailing prison escape of convicted militants]. Abdelbasit and Makawi were featured prominently in the video.

The video sheds light on the escape, and raises questions about the security at the supposedly heavily fortified maximum-security Kober federal prison. The jihadist claimed they stole the keys of a prison guard, which they used to unlock their shackles and were thus able to construct a 125-foot-long tunnel underneath the prison.

The video is narrated mostly by Makawi, who appears in it sitting in front of al Qaeda in Iraq's flag.

A Tunisian court has freed Ali Harzi, a key suspect in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

US authorities initially sought Harzi's detention after they discovered that he had posted real-time information about the Benghazi attack online, The Daily Beast first reported.

Harzi was detained in Turkey and deported to Tunisia, where he had been held for months. The FBI was first granted access to Harzi for questioning in December.

Despite his reported role in the US Consulate attack, on Jan. 7 a Tunisian judge ordered that Harzi should be freed due to a lack of evidence. Anwar Oued Ali, Harzi's lawyer, says that his client has been "conditionally freed" and has to remain in the Tunis area, according to the Associated Press.

Press reporting on Harzi's precise terrorist affiliation has been ambiguous. 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.

And at least one of Harzi's brothers fought against the US-led coalition in Iraq previously. According to the Associated Press, Harzi's father has said that he encouraged his sons to wage "jihad in the cause of God." This raises the possibility that the Harzi family became involved with al Qaeda in Iraq's operations. In 2005, Harzi and another of his brothers were sentenced to more than two years in prison for contacting their jihadist kin.

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 a militia named Ansar al Sharia in Benghazi took part in the attack on the US Consulate.

And there are reasons to suspect that Harzi is a member of the Ansar al Sharia group in Tunisia.

Shortly after the FBI interviewed Harzi for three hours in December, Ansar al Sharia Tunisia released pictures of the three investigating FBI agents online. The organization criticized the Tunisian government for allowing the FBI to question Harzi. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, the title of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's post read: "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 also released a video on YouTube of a lawyer discussing Harzi's case. The group prayed for Harzi's freedom. An introductory sentence to the video reads: "Lawyer Hafiz Ghadoun talks about the case of Brother Ali al Harzi - Allah free him - and confirms the presence of investigators from the FBI [sent there] to interrogate him."

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia was responsible for the assault on the US Embassy in Tunis on Sept. 14, 2012. Anwar Oued Ali, Harzi's lawyer, told the Associated Press that the FBI asked Harzi not only about the events in Libya on Sept. 11, but also the pillaging of the US Embassy in Tunisia three days later.

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia 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."

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, 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.

The al Qaeda-linked Movement for Tawhid [Unity] and Jihad in West Africa recently announced the formation of a new "brigade" with four "battalions" in order to conduct operations in northern Mali. The terror group named three of the four new battalions after top leaders in al Qaeda. The announcement takes place as Islamist groups consolidate their grip on northern Mali.

The Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO as it is commonly called, announced the formation of the brigade and four new battalions in a statement that was released on jihadist forums on Jan. 4. The statement, which was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, was signed by the "Emir of the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Islamic Emirate of Gao Abu al Walid al Sahrawi."

Al Sahrawi said the new brigade is called Ansar al Sunnah and that it has four battalions: the "Abdullah Azzam" (named after the Osama bin Laden mentor and al Qaeda co-founder who was killed in a bombing in 1989); the "Al Zarqawi" (named after al Qaeda in Iraq emir Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was killed in an airstrike in 2006); the "Abu al Laith al Libi" (named after the al Qaeda ideologue and senior leader who was killed in a drone strike in 2008); and the "Martyrdom-Seekers."

Al Sahrawi said that the Ansar al Sunnah Brigade "is comprised primarily from the sons of the region, especially the Songhai tribes."

Al Sahrawi also vowed to target neighboring countries who attempt to intervene in northern Mali to break the Islamists' grip on the region.

"Tawhid and Jihad Group in West Africa promises to wage attacks across a wide geographical range, targeting the countries of the apostate regimes that participate in preparing for the invasion of northern Mali ...," he said.

The MUJAO emir also addressed the issue of the reported defection of the "Salahuddin Brigade," which is led by Abu Ali al Ansari. Al Sahrawi claimed that the brigade did not defect from MUJAO and join Ansar Dine, another al Qaeda-linked Islamist group. Instead, Al Sahrawi claimed that al Ansari's defection was personal, and that he was not successful in bringing fighters over to Ansar Dine.

Four battalions named after al Qaeda leaders

MUJAO now has four battalions named after top al Qaeda leaders. During last year's battle for Gao, MUJAO deployed its "Osama bin Laden Battalion" to defeat the MNLA forces. MUJAO's Osama bin Laden Battalion teamed up with more than 300 fighters from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's El Moulethemine Battalion.

Al Sahrawi said that MUJAO formed the brigade and four new battalions "as a result of the expanding influence of the group and its control over several areas and cities of northern Mali, and the increasing number of fighters in our ranks."

Background on MUJAO

MUJAO formed in late 2011 as an offshoot from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the al Qaeda affiliate in North Africa, in order to wage jihad in western Africa. Although MUJAO leaders are purported to have leadership differences with the Algerian-dominated AQIM, MUJAO conducts joint operations with AQIM in northern Mali and other areas. At the time of its formation, MUJAO expressed affinity to al Qaeda and its founder, Osama bin Laden, and Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

MUJAO is one of three major al Qaeda-linked groups that participated in last spring's invasion of northern Mali. Along with AQIM and Ansar Dine, MUJAO took control of northern Mali after the Malian military overthrew the government in the south. MUJAO, AQIM, and Ansar Dine fought alongside the secular Tuaregs from the Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) to take control of northern Mali, but then quickly cast aside the MNLA and imposed sharia, or Islamic law, in areas under their control.

Mali has become a new and dangerous front and safe haven for al Qaeda and its allies. Foreign jihadists from West African countries such as Togo, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast, as well as Egyptians, Algerians, and Pakistanis, are filling out the ranks of MUJAO, AQIM, and Ansar Dine. Additionally, at least two training camps have been established in Gao, the largest city in northern Mali [see Threat Matrix reports, West African jihadists flock to northern Mali, and Foreign jihadists continue to pour into Mali].

MUJAO currently controls the northern town of Gao and surrounding areas. At the end of November, MUJAO defeated an MNLA assault to regain control of Gao.

Once in control of the region, MUJAO and allied jihadists have enforced a strict, Taliban-like interpretation of sharia. The groups have leveled Islamic shrines and have executed, mutilated, or beaten those accused of violating sharia.

The US recognized the threat of MUJAO in the beginning of December 2012, when it added the group to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. At the same time, two top MUJAO leaders and founders, Hamad el Khairy and Ahmed el Tilemsi were added to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Both men have links to AQIM; Tilemsi serves as the terror group's military emir.

The US launched yet another airstrike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan today, killing six "militants" in an area known to host al Qaeda and other foreign terror groups. The drone strike is the seventh this year.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired four missiles at compound and a motorcycle in the village of Hisokhel Khel near the town of Mir Ali, according to AFP. Pakistani officials claimed that six "militants" were killed in the attack.

The target of the strike has not been identified, and no senior Taliban or al Qaeda commanders have been reported killed at this time.

The US has now launched seven drone strikes in Pakistan this year. Four of the strikes have taken place in North Waziristan, and the other three in South Waziristan, another safe haven for al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terror groups.

Four senior and midlevel al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are reported to have been killed in the seven strikes since the beginning of the New Year. The US killed Mullah Nazir, the leader of a Taliban group in South Waziristan who was closely allied with Bahadar, al Qaeda, and the Afghan Taliban, in a strike on Jan. 3. In a second strike on Jan. 3, the US killed Faisal Khan, commander in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan commander. In one of two strikes on Jan. 6, the US killed Wali Mohammed, a Taliban commander who is said to have directed suicide operations for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. And in one of the two strikes on Jan. 8, an al Qaeda leader known as Sheikh Yasin Al Kuwaiti is reported to have been killed.

Last year, the US launched 46 strikes in Pakistan, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. In 2011, the US launched 64 strikes; in 2010, when the program was at its peak, there were 117 strikes.

The program was ramped up by President George W. Bush in the summer of 2008 (35 strikes were launched that year) and continued under President Barack Obama after he took office in 2009 (53 strikes that year). From 2004-2007, only 10 strikes were recorded. Although some of al Qaeda's top leaders have been killed in drone strikes since the program began in 2004, al Qaeda has been able to replace those lost in the attacks. [For data on the strikes, see LWJ reports, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2013; and Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2013.]

The US has targeted al Qaeda's top leaders and its external operations network, and the assortment of Taliban and Pakistani jihadist groups operating in the region. The strikes have largely been confined to a small kill box consisting of North and South Waziristan. Of the 332 strikes recorded since 2004, 315, or 95%, have taken place in the two tribal agencies.

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. He is rumored to have been killed in a US drone strike last year, but the report was never confirmed.

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.

The US killed a senior al Qaeda military commander during a recent drone strike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

Sheikh Yasin Al Kuwaiti, who was killed in a US drone strike on Jan. 8, was a "key al Qaeda paramilitary commander" who was "very high up the food chain," a US intelligence official who tracks the terror group in Pakistan's tribal areas told The Long War Journal. Sheikh Yasin was a top commander and trainer for the Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army, al Qaeda's military cadre [for more information on the the Lashkar al Zil, see LWJ report, Al Qaeda's paramilitary 'Shadow Army'].

Sheikh Yasin was also described as a "foreign tactical trainer" by Reuters and "a senior Al Qaeda operative" by Dawn on the day that he was reported killed.

Two unidentified "Uzbeks," likely from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan or its splinter group, the Islamic Jihad Group, as well as Sheikh Yasin's wife and daughter, were also reported to have been killed in the airstrike that targeted his home.

Sheikh Yasin, a Kuwaiti citizen, was "married [to] the daughter of a local tribesman," according to Dawn. Al Qaeda commanders and fighters have lived in Pakistan's tribal agencies for decades, and often marry locally to cement ties to the Taliban and the tribes.

Sheikh Yasin is part of al Qaeda's deep bench of leaders who have replaced others killed by drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas and by US airstrikes and special operations raids across the border in Afghanistan. He stepped in for top al Qaeda leaders in the Lashkar al Zil who have been killed in strikes over the past several years, such as Abdullah Said al Libi, the unit's commander, and Zuhaib al Zahibi, a "general." Additionally, Pakistani jihadists have played an increasingly important role in backfilling leadership positions for foreign al Qaeda leaders who have been killed in drone strikes and special operations raids in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The targeting of Sheikh Yasin contradicts Obama administration claims 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. Abu Yahya al Libi was killed in a drone strike in June 2012; and five other senior and midlevel al Qaeda leaders have also been killed in strikes since his death. Ayman al Zawahiri remains untouched and has released numerous propaganda tapes indicating that al Qaeda's infrastructure remains in place. Several other top al Qaeda leaders are also thought to be operating in Pakistan, beyond the reach of the US, as the drones have been confined to small kill boxes in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agencies of North and South Waziristan.

Afghan and Coalition troops killed a facilitator for the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) during a raid in Afghanistan's northern province of Takhar yesterday.

The International Security Assistance Force identified the slain IMU facilitator as Mazlum Yar. ISAF revealed to The Long War Journal that Mazlum, also known as Qari Asrar or Tufan, was an Afghan national. He "planned and executed improvised explosive device attacks targeting Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials, as well as Afghan and coalition forces," according to the ISAF report. He is also known to have facilitated suicide bombers in Takhar and neighboring Baghlan province, and he was "organizing IED emplacement for an impending attack" prior to his death. Three suspected insurgents were also detained during the operation.

The northern Afghan provinces of Baghlan, Faryab, Kunduz, Sar-i-Pul, and Takhar are known strongholds of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. In early 2011, ISAF noted the location of IMU-linked suicide camps in both Sar-i-Pul and Samangan.

Mazlum is the first al Qaeda-linked operative known to have been targeted inside Afghanistan this year and the first IMU operative targeted since Dec. 4. However, ISAF does not issue press releases for all of its raids against al Qaeda and allied groups. During a raid on Dec. 4, Afghan and Coalition forces detained a facilitator who directed the emplacement of IEDs in neighboring Kunduz province.

Last year 38 raids were conducted against the IMU, according to an investigation by The Long War Journal of ISAF operations that targeted al Qaeda-affiliated groups. The vast majority of those raids took place in Afghanistan's northern provinces, targeting IMU leaders and facilitators who often work, and sometimes lead, Taliban fighters. Mazlum's role as an IMU facilitator fits a common pattern of al Qaeda-affiliated militants serving as advisers and experts in IED use.

Background on the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a key ally of al Qaeda and the Taliban, and supports operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as plots attacks in Europe. The IMU is known to fight alongside the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and has integrated into the Taliban's shadow government in northern Afghanistan. [For more information on the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, see LWJ report, IMU cleric urges Pakistanis to continue sheltering jihadis in Waziristan.]

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan fighters often serve as bodyguards for top Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda leaders. Apart from its operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the IMU has stepped up attacks in Central Asian countries as well. In September 2010, the IMU took credit for the Sept. 19 ambush that killed 25 Tajik troops, and also threatened to carry out further attacks in the Central Asian country.

The IMU has claimed credit for numerous suicide assaults in Afghanistan, including the May 19, 2010 attack on the US military airbase in Bagram, the Oct. 15, 2011 assault on the Provincial Reconstruction Team base in Panjshir, and the Oct. 29, 2011 suicide attack that targeted an armored bus in Kabul.

The IMU has been a prime target of special operations forces in Afghanistan. Last year, special operations forces conducted at least 38 raids against the IMU; in Badakhshan, Baghlan, Faryab, Logar, Helmand, Kunduz, Takhar, and Wardak, or eight of Afghanistan's 34 provinces; according to ISAF press releases compiled by The Long War Journal.

In October 2012, the US Treasury Department added Qari Ayyub Bashir, the "head of finance" for the IMU, to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Bashir also serves as a member of the group's shura, or executive council. Identified as an Uzbek national, Bashir is based out of Mir Ali, in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. As the IMU's lead financier, he provides financial and "logistical" support for IMU operations in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, and fundraises from outside the region.

Last spring, ISAF killed the two previous IMU leaders for Afghanistan, in raids just a few weeks apart in Faryab province. [See LWJ report, Special operations forces kill newly appointed IMU leader for Afghanistan, for more information.]

Additionally, the US has targeted the IMU's leaders and network in Pakistan's tribal areas. US drones have killed the last two emirs of the IMU. On Aug. 4, 2012, the IMU announced that its emir, Abu Usman Adil, was killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan, and named Usman Ghazi as the new leader of the al Qaeda-linked terror group. Adil had 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 is in the Central Asian republics.

Suspected Islamist militants attacked an Egyptian police patrol near the Israeli border today. Egyptian security officials told the Associated Press that four police vehicles came under fire near a pipeline that has been attacked numerous times since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

Seven policemen were reportedly wounded during the attack, "including a high ranking officer."

Meanwhile, in what appears to be a separate incident, an Egyptian army officer was killed by a sniper "seemingly affiliated to extremist groups" in el Arish in the Northern Sinai on Friday.

Since the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring, a number of Salafi jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda have sprouted up in the Egyptian Sinai. The terror groups have conducted attacks against the Egyptian military and policemen, Israel, UN peacekeepers in the Sinai, and a pipeline transporting natural gas to Israel and Jordan.

Israeli intelligence believes that most of the attacks originating in the Sinai have been carried out by Ansar Jerusalem, also known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. According to a recent report, Western officials estimate that there are at least several hundred jihadists, some of whom are from Yemen and Somalia, now operating in the Sinai.

In recent weeks, Egyptian authorities have seized a number of weapons in the Sinai believed to be destined for the Gaza Strip, including short-range rockets and antiaircraft and antitank missiles. On Jan. 7, Egyptian authorities foiled a car bomb plot in the city of Rafah, near Gaza; the intended target is still unclear.

Following the Rafah incident, Egyptian authorities issued a security alert for the Sinai as intelligence services received information about potential attacks by extremist groups in the Sinai.

Today the Israel Defense Forces announced an order "prohibiting civilians from traveling in the area of Israel's Highway 10 near the Israeli-Egyptian border, except with special permission, for the next year." The directive was issued following "a thorough security assessment conducted by the IDF."

Israel recently completed most of its border fence with Egypt. The barrier is intended to help prevent the influx illegal migrants as well as stop jihadists operating in the Sinai from carrying out attacks in Israel.

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 overran a key Syrian air force base in Idlib province after fighting a pitched battle with government forces.

A jihadist alliance made up of the Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, and the Islamic Vanguard stormed the key air base in Taftanaz earlier today. At least seven jihadist fighters and one of their commanders were killed during the assault of Taftanaz, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on its Facebook page. An unknown number of Syrian soldiers were also killed during the fighting.

"The fighting at Taftanaz military airport ended at 11:00 am and the base is entirely in rebel hands," Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told The Voice of Russia.

Although the Syrian government claimed to have repelled the assault, videos of the jihadists touring the base and inspecting seized tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters have been posted on YouTube, LiveLeak, and other video sharing websites. Crates of weapons are seen in the background. Additionally, jihadists posted videos of Syrian soldiers who had been either killed during the fighting or executed; their bodies were thrown into a ditch.

Taftanaz, which is located between the cities of Idlib and Aleppo, was used by government forces to launch airstrikes on anti-regime forces. More than 60 helicopters operated from Taftanaz, and were used to attack nearby towns and cities as well as rebel forces.

Al Nusrah leads assaults on major Syrian bases

Taftanaz is the third major military base to have been overrun by the Al Nusrah Front. On Dec. 10, the Al Nusrah Front and allied jihadists took control the Sheikh Suleiman base, or Base 111. Arab and Chechen fighters participated in the assault on Sheikh Suleiman, which is said to be a key research facility linked to the regime's chemical weapons program [see LWJ report, Al Nusrah Front, foreign jihadists seize key Syrian base in Aleppo].

And on Oct. 11, Al Nusrah, the supposedly secular 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].

Al Nusrah is also leading a siege against a strategic base in Wadi Deif, which is also in the province of Idlib, and attempting to seize control of the main airport in Aleppo [see Threat Matrix report, Al Nusrah Front on the offensive in Aleppo].

The terror group has become one of the most powerful and effective units in the Syrian insurgency, and it has begun to absorb elements of the Free Syrian Army. The Al Nusrah Front also conducts joint operations with the Free Syrian Army and other supposedly secular groups, and has numerous foreign fighters in its ranks.

An al Qaeda affiliate

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. The emir of Al Nusrah, Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani, was not added to the list of global terrorists, however. [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.]

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. Immediately after the US designated Al Nusrah as a terrorist group, 29 Syrian opposition groups signed a petition that not only condemned the US's designation, but said "we are all Al Nusrah," and urged 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].

Denis Allex, from one of two Shabaab propaganda tapes.

Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, killed one French commando and captured another during a failed French attempt to rescue Denis Allex, an intelligence operative who has been in the terror group's custody since 2009.

The French Defense Ministry confirmed that one of its soldiers was killed and another was captured, and that 17 Shabaab fighters were killed during the early morning raid, France24 reported. French officials said they now believe that Allex is dead, but would not provide further details of the raid. The raid was carried out by the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE), the Defense Ministry's external intelligence and paramilitary force.

Shabaab denied reports that Allex was killed in the raid, in an official statement released on its Twitter site, @HSMPress (Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen Press Office). The statement also provided additional details on the raid and confirmed that Shabaab captured a French soldier.

"At around 0200 hours Saturday morning five French helicopters attacked a location in the town of Bula-Marer, around 30 km South of Marka in the Islamic Administration of Lower Shabeelle, in a botched rescue attempt aimed at releasing the French hostage Dennis Allex," Shabaab said.

Shabaab said the fighting "lasted for about 45 minutes" and that their forces "managed to repel the French forces," killing several and capturing one after he was wounded. Shabaab denied that Allex was at the house where the raid took place, and said the French forces targeted the wrong location in what it described as "a fatal intelligence blunder."

"Several French soldiers were killed in the battle and many more were injured before they fled from the scene of battle, leaving behind some military paraphernalia and even one of their comrades on the ground," the statement continued. "The injured French soldier is now in the custody of the Mujahideen and Allex still remains safe and far from the location of the battle."

Shabaab said it has warned the French in the past not to attempt to rescue Allex, and then issued an ominous statement that indicated the group may execute him.

"As a response to this botched rescue operation by the French forces, Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen assures the French people that it will give its final verdict regarding the fate of Dennis Allex within two days," the statement concluded.

Allex and Marc Aubriere, two DGSE agents, were captured in July 2009 at a hotel in Mogadishu. Both men were posing as journalists and trainers for the Somali military. Aubriere escaped under mysterious circumstances and it is rumored the French government paid a ransom for his release.

France's failed rescue mission in Somalia took place just one day after President François Hollande announced that the military would intervene in Mali as three al Qaeda-linked jihadist groups are advancing southward. The rescue mission was executed as the government fears Shabaab would kill him due to French intervention in Mali.

An Uzbek group that calls itself the "Mujahideen Ansar" claimed credit for today's roadside bomb attack on a Pakistani military convoy in North Waziristan that killed 14 soldiers. The attack took place one day after the emir of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan called for jihadists in North Waziristan to cease fighting the Pakistani military and turn their guns on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani soldiers were ambushed as they traveled on a road in the Ramzak area of North Waziristan, Dawn reported. Ramzak is close to the border of the neighboring tribal agency of South Waziristan, and hosts a large Pakistani military contingent as well as a military school. In addition to the 14 soldiers killed in the attack, 25 more were wounded.

A spokesman for the Mujahideen Ansar told Reuters that the group carried out the attack. The Mujahideen Ansar, which is said to be dominated of Uzbek fighters, claimed the attack was carried out to retaliate for Pakistani military complicity in the US drone campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas.

US drones have killed scores of Uzbek jihadists and commanders, including the previous two leaders of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Abu Usman Adil, in 2012 and his predecessor, Tahir Yuldashev, in 2008. The US has also killed dozens of top leaders of al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, the Punjabi Taliban, and other non-aligned Taliban groups such as the Haqqani Network, the Mullah Nazir Group, and the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group.

Today's attack in North Waziristan occurred just one day after Hakeemullah Mehsud, the emir of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, ordered his forces in North Waziristan to halt attacks on the Pakistani military. He also appealed to foreign jihadists to quit their attacks on Pakistani forces. However, Hakeemullah's order did not apply to Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan forces outside of the tribal agency [see Threat Matrix report, Hakeemullah Mehsud orders Taliban to end attacks on Pakistani military in North Waziristan].

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan has waged a deadly insurgency against the Pakistani state, and has killed thousands of soldiers, policemen, government officials, and civilians in suicide attacks and military assaults since its establishment in 2007. By 2009, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan took control of most of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (then the Northwest Frontier Province) and advanced to within 60 miles of the capital of Islamabad before the military launched a counteroffensive. The group still controls large areas of the tribal agencies and maintains a strong presence throughout the province.

The Pakistani government considered the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan to be "bad Taliban" as they threaten the state. Meanwhile, groups such as the Haqqani Network, the Mullah Nazir Group, and the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group are considered "good Taliban" as they focus their efforts on maintaining control of their areas and attacking NATO forces in Afghanistan. The so-called "good Taliban" shelter top al Qaeda leaders and fighters, as well as the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and other allied jihadist groups.

All four Taliban groups are part of the Shura-e-Murakeba, an al Qaeda-brokered alliance that was formed at the end of 2011. The members of the Shura-e-Murakeba agreed to cease attacks against Pakistani security forces, refocus efforts against the US, and end kidnappings and other criminal activities in the tribal areas. Despite the agreement, Hakeemullah and Bahadar's forces have occasionally attacked Pakistani military units.

Shabaab has released photographs of a French commando who was captured during a failed raid to free a hostage late last week. The French commando, who was initially reported as captured, died in Shabaab custody, the al Qaeda affiliate said. Shabaab also said it has "reached a unanimous verdict on the fate" of Denis Allex, the French intelligence operative who has been in custody since the summer of 2009, but has not disclosed what will be done with him.

French commandos attempted to free Allex, who they believed was being held at a safe house in Bula-Marer, a town under Shabaab control. Two French commandos and 17 Shabaab fighters are reported to have been killed; Shabaab has claimed that only two of its fighters and numerous civilians were killed during the the French operations.

Shabaab released three photographs of the commando as well as a photograph of captured weapons along with an official statement on its Twitter site, @HSMPress (Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen Press Office). The terror group claimed the Frenchman pictured was the "the French commander leading the operation." The rank of the commando who was captured has not been confirmed by French officials.

"The commander was deserted by his comrades after a fierce firefight and subsequently captured by the Mujahideen," Shabaab stated. "HSM paramedic teams arrived at the scene shortly after the firefight had ended and transferred him to a hospital at the base, but he succumbed to his injuries hours later."

One photograph shows the French commando placed on a tarpaulin, surrounded by gear, including weapons, magazines, body armor, a helmet with night vision goggles, and other equipment [pictured above]. Another photograph shows silenced submachineguns and and a silenced pistol, magazines, and what appears to be a map of the area where the commandos conducted their mission. On Twitter, Shabaab described the seized equipment as "Ghaneema," or prizes captured during war.

Shabaab also claimed it "managed to retrieve valuable information from the soldier before his death," but did not specify what information was obtained.

One of the photos zooms in on the commando's face and upper body to show a cross around his neck, while the accompanying tweet likened the soldier to a crusader.

"A return of the crusades, but the cross could not save him from the sword," Shabaab tweeted.

Shabaab also taunts the French on its Twitter page, asking the country's president if the raid was "worth it."

"François Hollande, was it worth it?," another tweet stated.

In its press release accompanying the photos, Sahaab also stated that it "reached a unanimous verdict on the fate" of Denis Allex "after three and a half years in captivity."

"The details of that verdict and some background information of the events leading up to the failed rescue operation will be published in the coming hours Insha'allah [Allah willing],"

Although the French government has claimed that Allex died during the raid, Shabaab claimed that he was not at the compound that was raided. According to a report at Shabelle, Shabaab was tipped off after the French force landed via helicopter at the nearby town of Daaydoog for the assault on the safe house in nearby Bula-Marer that was suspected of holding Allex.

In addition to the commando who was captured and subsequently died in custody, the French military said that one other soldier was killed during the raid. It is unclear if the soldier's body was evacuated, but his weapon does appear to have been left behind during the raid, as Shabaab shows two submachineguns in one of the photographs.

Allex and Marc Aubriere, two French intelligence agents, were captured in July 2009 at a hotel in Mogadishu. Both men were posing as journalists and trainers for the Somali military. Aubriere escaped under mysterious circumstances and it is rumored the French government paid a ransom for his release.

France launched the rescue mission to free Allex as it was feared the hostage would be executed by Shabaab in retaliation for the French intervention in Mali. French forces have launched airstrikes against al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine, and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa after the three al Qaeda-linked groups advanced southward to take control of Bamako, the capital. The three militant Islamist groups have controlled northern Mali since the spring of 2012.

On Jan. 11, Ansar Jerusalem, also known as Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, released a 52-minute video, detailing the group's attack from the Sinai into Israel on Sept. 21 that killed one Israeli soldier. As in its original statement claiming responsibility for the attack, Ansar Jerusalem says that the attack was carried out in response to the controversial "Innocence of Muslims" film and the alleged Jewish involvement.

The video was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. On Jan. 5, Ansar Jerusalem released a 52-second preview video, according to SITE.

With regard to the cross-border attack, the narrator of the video alleges that Israel "attempted to cover up the extent of what happened to them out of fear that the truth will be exposed, and that was in collusion with the Arab and global media, in an attempt to veil the truth and maim it." According to an unidentified member of the group, they intended to attack an IDF patrol of two jeeps, and "annihilate the patrol." In addition, they sought to "take a dead body and throw it over [a] cliff ... in order to spread to the Jews that a kidnapping operation was carried out." Following this, the group planned to wait in ambush for IDF reinforcements.

In a later part of the video, the narrator exclaims that "[t]he operation was carried out as planned." He goes on to say that "[t]he wish of our heroes came true by attaining this great honor, and they are not equal, for our dead are in Paradise and theirs are in the hellfire." The narrator also reiterates claims made in Ansar Jerusalem's original statement that eight IDF soldiers had been killed in the attack.

A good portion of the video is focused on the three members of the group involved in the attack -- Baha Zaqzuq, Ahmed Waji, and 'Awf. Egyptian media outlets had previously noted that Zaqzuq and Waji were educated middle class Egyptians from the Nile Delta, and not Bedouins from the Sinai. The narrator appears to reference these facts when he says that "[t]hey left their towns and homes in which they grew up, and departed their loved ones, families and children, and the jewels of their eyes."

According to Waji, he was originally a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but became upset with the group when it gained power but did not implement its slogan, "Allah is our goal, the Qur'an is our constitution, jihad is our way, and death in the Cause of Allah is the most sublime of our hopes."

In the video, the three men are seen training as well as giving speeches encouraging jihad by Muslims, in particular those in the Sinai. "O youth of Islam: If you want to support your Prophet ... and your religion, then commit to your first path and return to your religion and to the path of jihad in the Cause of Allah," Zaqzuq says. He later tells the "mujahideen in [the] Sinai," to "stand firm and be patient, perseverant and patient, and lie in wait for the Jews."

With regard to Egypt's relationship with Israel, Ansar Jerusalem believes that it is favorable to Israel, and must be stopped. The group makes a number of references to its targeting of a gas pipeline, which used to provide Israel with gas.

"This theft, which delivered our resources to our enemy [Israel], is a major act of treason, even if it was sold for many times its price," the narrator says. According to the narrator, "The mujahideen don't see a solution to confront Israel but with preparation and jihad."

In addition to providing details about the September attack, the video also provides information related to the formation of Ansar Jerusalem. A group of Egyptians "prepared themselves and formed the group Ansar Jerusalem, to preserve the necessities of the Ummah and protect its religion and support its sons and retrieve its wealth and preserve its honor, and this is without slipping into political games and their traps," the narrator explains. He explains further that "[t]his preparation started years ago, when the group targeted the gas-looting pipelines 14 times, and stormed the border of the Jews in several operations, and struck them with a number of missiles...."

Near the end of the video, the narrator declares: "Here in Egypt, the fortress of the Ummah, the light of victory has begun to shine, and the light of dawn has appeared in the horizon. The Ummah has begun preparing for the moment to attack the occupying entity and get rid of its evil."

Ansar Jerusalem

Ansar Jerusalem is thought to be behind most of the recent attacks originating from the Sinai, according to Israeli intelligence. The group, which is said to recruit within Egypt and abroad, has claimed credit for a number of attacks against Israel over the past year, including the attack on Sept. 21. The deadliest attack was the Aug. 18, 2011 assault on a bus traveling near the border with Egypt in Eilat, which resulted in the deaths of eight Israelis and at least seven terrorists. Three Egyptian security personnel were also accidentally killed in the crossfire.

In addition, Ansar Jerusalem has taken credit for a number of attacks against the Arish-Ashkelon natural gas pipeline as well as a number of rocket attacks against Israel.

On Oct. 15, the group threatened to attack Israel for the targeted killing of Abu al Walid al Maqdisi, the former emir of the Tawhid and Jihad Group in Jerusalem, and Ashraf al Sabah, the former emir of Ansar al Sunnah. The two were said to be leaders of the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem.

Sheikh Aifan Sadoun Aifan al-Issawi in 2011. Photo by Saif Ahmed / Mawtani.

A suicide bomber killed a prominent Iraqi parliamentarian and five others near Fallujah on Tuesday afternoon. Sheikh Aifan Sadoun Aifan al-Issawi, a member of the secular, Sunni-backed Iraqiya political bloc and one of the leaders of Iraq's Sunni tribal Awakening, was attacked as he inspected a road construction project south of the city. Two civilians and three of the sheikh's bodyguards were also killed in the explosion, and at least four others were wounded.

The suicide bomber, who was likely a member of al Qaeda in Iraq and its political front, the Islamic State of Iraq, had posed as a construction worker, according to a number of witnesses.

"The moment [Aifan] stepped out of the car to check out this road between Fallujah and Amriyah, at this moment, there was a man. He came to him, hugged him, said Allahu Akbar, and blew himself up," said Sohaib Haqi, the lawmaker's office chief, quoted by Agence France-Presse.

"One of the workers at the site went toward him, he thought he wanted something. The worker hugged him and then blew himself up," said Sadoun Ubaid, deputy head of the Anbar provincial council, in an interview with Reuters.

In addition to being a member of Iraq's national parliament, Aifan was a sheikh of the Albu Issa tribe and one of the founders of Fallujah's tribal "Awakening" movement during 2006 that was largely responsible for the improvement in Iraq's security over the subsequent two years. Known to many American military personnel from that period by his nickname, "Dark," Sheikh Aifan was the first Fallujan to form and lead an American-allied militia against al Qaeda on the rural peninsula south of the famously restive city.

After his role in improving security, Aifan reaped significant financial benefit from his enhanced stature and his relationship with American forces prior to their departure from Iraq. He was a member of Anbar's provincial council, followed by his appointment as a national parliamentarian after a lawmaker was assassinated in September 2011. Aifan held important security positions at both levels, including his last post as the national parliament's security and defense committee chairman.

Target of multiple assassination attempts

Aifan has survived numerous attempts on his life since his public opposition to radical insurgents allied with al Qaeda in Iraq and their shadow government, the Islamic State of Iraq. On March 16, 2007, al Qaeda-affiliated insurgents detonated a dump truck filled with explosives and chlorine gas canisters in his village of Albu Aifan, in an attempt to kill him and other tribal leaders who had defied the Islamic State of Iraq. Several civilians were killed in the chemical attack, including three children and Aifan's mother. The event is widely regarded as an atrocity that galvanized widespread tribal support against al Qaeda in the Fallujah area.

"They killed a lot of kids and innocent people," Aifan told the Long War Journal in a 2011 interview. "I told my people, you see, they killed the kids, they killed the women. Why did they send the big tank with the chlorine? And a lot of people when they saw these bad things happen, they stopped sitting in their house, they felt they should fight, or at minimum, they should support us to fight al Qaeda. And thankfully, the people Awakened."

Sheikh Aifan survived at least three additional assassination attempts that year, including a roadside bomb attack on May 5, 2007 that maimed two of his bodyguards. In the second of two attacks in October 2007, a suicide bomber attempted to detonate a vest filled with explosives as the sheikh attended Friday prayers at a local mosque.

When asked about past and continuing threats on his life, Aifan told the the Long War Journal: "Every day when I woke up in the morning I thought, 'maybe I won't stay alive for the [whole] day.' A lot of people around me were killed, they lost their hands, their legs, because they fought. But we were fighting because ... al Qaeda killed any good people, they made rules, they kidnapped people, they were [earning] money from kidnapping and killing. Because of this we fight, because of this we believe. And I am happy because we fight al Qaeda."

Led the fight against al Qaeda

Despite numerous assassination attempts, Aifan led a largely successful campaign against al Qaeda in Iraq that significantly improved security in Fallujah, and he continued actions against the insurgent group until his death. Iraqi security forces have pressed a campaign against AQI, catching one of Aifan's main enemies, "Mullah" Fallah Hamadi, the insurgent group's emir for the Fallujan peninsula during the height of the war, near the city of Abu Ghraib in 2011. Aifan was recently quoted at length by Mawtani al Shorfa after Iraqi National Police caught six al Qaeda leaders in Kirkuk province on Dec. 28. The sheikh expressed his confidence in the security forces and reasserted his commitment to defeat of the insurgent group.

"It is expected that the six terrorists and the details of the daring raid launched by the Iraqi forces will be shown on television to inform the public of the scope and horror of the crimes committed by the terrorists," Aifan told the Iraqi news outlet. The news report would demonstrate "the security forces' ability to confront terrorism, as well as the importance of co-operation between citizens and security forces in defeating al-Qaeda in this country."

Despite Iraq's relative stabilization -- largely attributed to success of the Awakening movement -- security has deteriorated after the withdrawal of the US military at the end of 2011. While the terror group does not openly control territory as it did in 2007, before US and Iraqi forces drove it from strongholds throughout the country, al Qaeda in Iraq can still organize and execute large-scale attacks, such as a March 2012 raid in Haditha that killed 27 Iraqi policemen, including two commanders. The group has also launched a number of coordinated attacks, including large-scale bombings, in multiple cities throughout Iraq. Furthermore, AQI has been empowered by recent unrest in Syria, regenerating under a new banner, the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, one of the most prominent rebel groups fighting the regime of Bashar al Assad.

The sheikh's death comes at a time of political unrest in Iraq. A coalition of Sunni politicians and tribal leaders is leading protests against Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's Shia-led government, claiming that Maliki has targeted leading Sunni figures as part of a campaign of sectarian revenge.

In December 2011, Aifan told the Long War Journal that al Qaeda in Iraq had become less of a problem than sectarian policies pursued by the Maliki government, asserting that formerly competitive Sunni political parties had put their differences aside because "we are all Ahl as-Sunnah" (Sunni).

Despite Iraq's current sectarian political conflict, the assassination is almost certainly a reflection of Aifan's longstanding feud with al Qaeda. The organization commonly employs suicide bombers as its assassins, and it has maintained a price on the sheikh's head in light of his effectiveness against the organization.

Ali Ani al Harzi. Courtesy of the SITE Intelligence Group.

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, an extremist group headed by a UN-designated terrorist with longstanding ties to al Qaeda, has published a video of one of the key suspects in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. The video, which was posted on the group's Facebook page earlier this month, shows Ali Ani al Harzi being released from prison and greeted by his comrades.

The FBI questioned Harzi in December, after being denied access to him for months. But the FBI's questioning lasted just three hours, according to press reports. Harzi's lawyer told journalists that the FBI asked Harzi about not only the attack in Benghazi, but also the assault on the US Embassy in Tunis on Sept. 14, 2012.

Members of a Libyan militia named Ansar al Sharia reportedly took part in the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, while Ansar al Sharia Tunisia orchestrated the assault on the US Embassy in Tunis three days later.

Despite the US government's keen interest in Harzi, a Tunisian court freed him from custody on Jan. 7.

Ali Ani al Harzi being congratulated on his freedom by his comrades. Courtesy of the SITE Intelligence Group.

Harzi thanks God for his freedom in the Ansar al Sharia Tunisia video. "Your brothers in prison send their greetings to you all, one by one," Harzi says, according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal. Harzi adds: "Praise be to God, Who bestowed on us this gift of release from prison. The brothers in prison ask you: Do not forget us. They are waiting for your help and your prayers."

This is at least the third occasion on which Ansar al Sharia Tunisia has used social media to publish an update on Harzi's legal status.

Shortly after Harzi was questioned by the Americans in December, the group released photos of the three investigating FBI agents online. In the same posting, Ansar al Sharia Tunisia criticized the Tunisian government for allowing the US to question Harzi.

According to the SITE Intelligence Group, 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)." The group claimed that "despite being forcefully prevented from taking pictures, we were able to take some exclusive pictures" of the FBI Agents.

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia also released a video on YouTube in December showing a lawyer discussing Harzi's case. The lawyer confirmed that the FBI was present for questioning. In the video, Ansar al Sharia Tunisia prayed for Harzi's release. An introductory sentence in the video reads: "Lawyer Hafiz Ghadoun talks about the case of Brother Ali al Harzi - Allah free him - and confirms the presence of investigators from the FBI [sent there] to interrogate him."

According to The Daily Beast, Harzi's ties to the Benghazi attack were first discovered after US officials learned that he had "posted an update on social media about the fighting shortly after it had begun." This was "[o]ne of the first clues the intelligence community had about the perpetrators" in Benghazi.

Harzi was apprehended in October in Turkey at the behest of US officials. He was making his way to Syria, a hotbed for jihadist recruitment and al Qaeda, at the time. During a televised interview, Tunisian Interior Minister Ali Larayedh explained that Harzi was "strongly suspected to have been involved in the attack of Benghazi."

It was not the first time Harzi had been arrested.

In 2006, according to Magharebia, the Tunisian government arrested Harzi for "a desire to join jihad in Iraq" under a counterterrorism law. After the fall of the Tunisian government, however, Harzi was released under a "general legislative pardon," which also freed some of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's top leaders.

Harzi reportedly sought help from one of his brothers in his ill-fated attempt to wage jihad in Iraq. That brother is believed to be Tariq Abu Ammar, an al Qaeda facilitator.

Citing US intelligence officials, The Daily Beast reported last week that Ammar is "a midlevel planner for al Qaeda's franchise in Iraq," whose "main job" today "is arranging the travel of fighters from North Africa to Syria's al Qaeda-linked opposition, known as the al-Nusra Front."

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, which orchestrated the Sept. 14 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis, 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."

MEMRI noted that in the eulogy, 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."

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. Both Essid and Kammoun were convicted in Italy of terrorism charges, deported to Tunisia for further imprisonment, but released in 2011 after the Tunisian revolution.

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.

Denis Allex, from one of two Shabaab propaganda tapes.

Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia and East Africa, announced today that it would execute a French intelligence operative who was captured in Mogadishu in 2009. The hostage, Denis Allex, was the subject of a failed rescue attempt last week by French commandos. Shabaab said he was killed after the group "reached a unanimous decision."

The al Qaeda affiliate announced the decision to execute Allex in an official statement that was released on its Twitter site, @HSMPress (Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen Press Office). In the statement, Shabaab pinned the blame for Allex's death sentence on France, and denied the French claim that the hostage was killed during the rescue attempt. Shabaab has maintained this position since the first report of the raid, while French officials claimed that Allex was indeed killed during the rescue attempt [for more information on the French raid, see LWJ reports, Shabaab releases photos of French commando captured in failed rescue mission, and Shabaab kills, captures French soldiers during failed rescue mission in Somalia].

"With the rescue attempt, France has voluntarily signed Allex's death warrant. Following the failed operation, [French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian], aware that execution is the natural corollary of treachery, announced that the punishment had already been meted out, despite the fact that Allex was at the time alive and safe in another safe house," the group said.

Shabaab said it would kill Allex after years of attempting to negotiate with France, and finally decided to kill him after the French commandos killed civilians during the rescue attempt. Two French commandos were killed; one of them was captured and subsequently died of his wounds, according to Shabaab. Two days ago, Shabaab released photographs of the captured French commando, who they claimed was the mission commander, and displayed his body with his weapons and gear.

"The death of the two French soldiers pales into insignificance besides the dozens of Muslim civilians senselessly killed by the French forces during the operation," Shabaab stated.

Shabaab also claimed Allex was sentenced to death for France's involvement in military operations in Afghanistan, Mali, and other "Muslim lands." French troops have entered Mali to help the government retake the north from an Islamist alliance made up of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine, and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa. Last week, the jihadist groups advanced southward to take control of Bamako, the capital. The three militant Islamist groups have controlled northern Mali since the spring of 2012.

"Avenging the deaths of these civilians and taking into consideration France's increasing persecution of Muslims around the world, its oppressive anti-Islam policies at home, French military operations in the war against Islamic Shari'ah in Afghanistan and, most recently, in Mali, and its continued economic, political and military assistance towards the African invaders in Muslim lands, Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen has reached a unanimous decision to execute the French intelligence officer, Dennis Allex," the terror group said.

Shabaab also provided some details on the "botched rescue operation," which it described as "an abysmal failure; both in terms of intelligence and the ground operation." The group claimed the French assault team landed outside of the Shabaab-held town of Bulo-Marer and killed "all the villagers that crossed their path."

"But before the French forces could reach their destination, the Mujahideen in Bulo-Marer were alerted by HSM intelligence teams who had information of the French movements," Shabaab stated. The description of events roughly matches a report that was published by Shabelle.

Allex and Marc Aubriere, two French intelligence agents, were captured in July 2009 at a hotel in Mogadishu. Both men were posing as journalists and trainers for the Somali military. Aubriere escaped under mysterious circumstances and it is rumored the French government paid a ransom for his release.

France launched the rescue mission to free Allex as it was feared he would be executed by Shabaab in retaliation for the French intervention in Mali.

Shabaab officially merged with al Qaeda in February 2012 after working closely with the global terror group for years.

The Taliban claimed credit for today's suicide assault on the main headquarters of the Afghan National Directorate of Security in the capital of Kabul.

A suicide assault team made up of six heavily armed Taliban fighters was repelled by NDS guards as the team attempted to breach the main gate and storm the headquarters. The Taliban opened the attack by detonating a suicide truck bomb at the main gate of the NDS headquarters, in an effort to pave the way for the five remaining fighters to enter the compound.

NDS security guards opened fire on the Taliban assault team after the fighters entered the compound, killing all five. One NDS guard was also killed during the fighting; 33 civilians and security personnel were wounded in the blast and resulting gunfight.

All of the Taliban fighters were "equipped with suicide vests, explosives, Kalashnikovs [AK-47 assault rifles," according to Pajhwok Afghan News. Additionally, "water jell explosives were used for the first time-ever in a bomb attack in the country," an NDS official said, without providing further details on the explosives. Security forces also found another car bomb that was not detonated.

In a statement released on their propaganda website, Voice of Jihad, the Taliban claimed the attack, and said they would provide further details.

"Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate conducted a martyrdom attack on the main local spy agency in the center of Kabul city today at about 12:00 p.m. inflicting the enemy fatal losses," the statement said. "The attack comes as a large number of the invading ISAF advisers came to the agency."

No International Security Assistance Force personnel are reported to have been killed or wounded in the attack.

Today's suicide assault is the second against the NDS in Kabul in the past two months. On Dec. 6, a suicide bomber seriously wounded NDS chief Asadullah Khalid as he was welcoming visitors at an NDS guesthouse in Kabul.

Today's attack took place in a high-security area of Kabul. Over the years, the Taliban have been able to penetrate sensitive areas of the capital to launch suicide bombings and assaults against Afghan ministries, ISAF headquarters, the US Embassy, hotels, and other targets.

The Taliban have also executed multiple suicide assaults against major ISAF bases outside of Kabul. The most successful attack against a major base took place on Sept. 14, 2012, when a suicide assault team attacked Camp Bastion in Helmand province. The 15-man Taliban team penetrated the perimeter at the airbase, destroyed six USMC Harriers and damaged two more, and killed the squadron commander and a sergeant. In the course of the assault, 14 of the 15 members of the assault team were killed, while the last was wounded and captured. Camp Bastion is a sprawling military base shared by US Marines and British troops that is located in the middle of the Dashti Margo desert in Helmand province.

Today's attack takes place as the Afghan government claims it is making progress on negotiations with the Taliban. But the Taliban have insisted that all foreign forces withdraw from the country before any agreement can be reached. Additionally, the Taliban have refused to denounce their ally, al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group

A notorious al Qaeda commander named Mokhtar Belmokhtar has claimed credit for kidnapping more than 40 foreign nationals at a BP oil field in eastern Algeria today, according to multiple press reports.

A Frenchman, a Briton, and an Algerian security guard are reported to have been killed in the initial attack. Seven Americans, five Japanese citizens, and several Europeans are said to be among those who are being held hostage. The precise number of hostages remains murky.

According to Reuters, BP said that armed men still occupy the "facilities at the gas field, which produces 9 billion cubic meters of gas a year (160,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day), more than a tenth of [Algeria's] overall gas output."

A spokesman for Belmokhtar's terrorist organization, the al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam (Those who Sign with Blood) Brigade, said the assault and kidnappings were retaliation for the French-led invasion of neighboring Mali.

"Algeria's participation in the war on the side of France betrays the blood of the Algerian martyrs who fell in the fight against the French occupation," the spokesman said, according to a translation provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.

In a subsequent statement, also translated by SITE, the group demanded that France end its fighting in Mali. The group said that its "blessed invasion" was retaliation for the French trying to "to break the Islamic ruling system in" Mali, "while the Muslims are moaning under the butcher Bashar al Asad in wounded Syria, in the sight and ear shot of the whole world."

"This invasion comes in the global campaign of fighting the Jews and the Crusaders," the statement reads, echoing al Qaeda's many calls for global jihad.

Belmokhtar, who is also known as Khalid Abu al Abbas, long served as an al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) commander, but had a falling out with the group's senior leadership. Late last year, he formed his own splinter group, but that group still answers to al Qaeda's senior leadership.

In an interview with the Associated Press in December, one of Belmokhtar's confidants confirmed the move and explained his motivation.

"It's true," said Oumar Ould Hamaha, who has held positions in AQIM, Ansar al Din, and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad (MUJAO). Hamaha continued: "It's so that we can better operate in the field that we have left this group which is tied to the 'Maghreb' appellation. We want to enlarge our zone of operation throughout the entire Sahara, going from Niger through to Chad and Burkina Faso."

The AP added: "Hamaha said, however, that while he and Belmokhtar have left the North African branch, they remain under the orders of al Qaeda central."

Belmokhtar was designated an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist by the United Nations in 2003. The UN described him as "a former Algerian soldier with experience in training camps in Afghanistan" and explained that he had belonged to the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), as well as its successor, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Belmokhtar has compiled an extensive dossier of illegal activity, according to the UN, including kidnappings, gunrunning, robbery, "forming terrorist groups," and murder. He also reportedly runs an extensive cigarette smuggling operation.

In March 2008, an Algerian court sentenced Belmokhtar "in absentia to lifetime imprisonment for the murder of 13 custom officers." In December 2008, he was involved in the kidnapping "of two Canadian diplomats working for the United Nations." Dozens of other kidnappings also have been attributed to Belmokhtar.

Just last month, a spokesman for Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist suspected of executing the siege of an oil field in eastern Algeria, said that Belmokhtar continued to follow orders from al Qaeda central.

The Associated Press interviewed Oumar Ould Hamaha, "an associate" of Belmokhtar's, by phone. Hamaha, who has held leadership positions in each of the three main al Qaeda-linked groups that rule northern Mali, explained Belmokhtar's motivation for breaking away from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to form his own splinter group. This same group, operating under the name of "Those who Sign with Blood," has claimed credit for the attack in Algeria.

"It's true," Hamaha explained. "It's so that we can better operate in the field that we have left this group which is tied to the 'Maghreb' appellation. We want to enlarge our zone of operation throughout the entire Sahara, going from Niger through to Chad and Burkina Faso."

The AP's report continued: "Hamaha said, however, that while he and Belmokhtar have left the North African branch, they remain under the orders of al Qaeda central."

Hamaha's admission is just the latest of several made by AQIM-affiliated terrorists. (Belmokhtar's and Hamaha's forces reportedly continue to fight alongside AQIM, despite apparent differences that have developed between the factions.)

More than two years ago, al Qaeda central decided to exercise more control over AQIM's hostage-taking operations.

In November 2010, Abdelmalek Droukdel, the emir of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, made a surprising claim in a video that was aired on Al Jazeera. Droukdel said that France would have to negotiate with Osama bin Laden himself to secure the release of several French hostages.

Droukdel said that "any form of negotiations on this issue in the future will be done with no one other than our Sheikh Osama bin Laden... and according to his terms," according to Agence France Presse.

If you "want safety for your citizens who are held captive by us," Droukdel continued, "then you have to hasten and take your soldiers out of Afghanistan according to a specific timetable that you announce officially."

Two months later, in January 2011, bin Laden released an audio message addressed to the French people. "President Nicolas Sarkozy's refusal to remove his forces from Afghanistan is nothing but a green light for killing the French hostages," bin Laden said, according to the Telegraph (UK). "But we will not do this at a timing that suits him."

According to a summary prepared by Reuters, France Info radio reported in September 2011 that bin Laden intended "to discredit President Nicolas Sarkozy and his security policy ahead of a presidential election...possibly by killing them."

Bin Laden "had issued written instructions to members of al Qaeda's north African offshoot, known as AQIM, on how to handle a group of hostages, including five French nationals, captured in Niger" in 2010.

French intelligence sources told France Info that authorities learned this from "documents found in bin Laden's residence in Abbottabad, Pakistan," where he was killed in May 2011.

More evidence of al Qaeda central's role in AQIM's kidnapping operations surfaced just last month.

On Dec. 25, Sahara Media reported on a video of Abu Zeid, an AQIM commander who has been heavily involved in the kidnappings, that the press outlet had obtained. In the video, Zeid responded to inquiries from the family members of some of the French hostages still in AQIM's custody.

Zeid said that the hostage file "was at first in the hands of the Al Qaeda mother in Afghanistan." But "when the file [was] returned to the hands of AQIM," the affiliate informed France it would negotiate. Zeid blamed the French government for not cooperating.

Some have argued that bin Laden was an isolated fanatic during his final days. But the fact pattern here, as with other evidence, shows that he was still involved in managing the terror network's operations just months before his death.

The outcome of al Qaeda central's power play is not entirely known. But this episode demonstrates that in the not-too-distant past, al Qaeda central was able to order AQIM to stand down in its hostage negotiations.

Given that Belmokhtar's spokesman admitted that he was operating "under the orders of al Qaeda central" just last month, we are left to wonder what role (if any) bin Laden's successor, Ayman al Zawahiri, has played in recent events.

A Taliban faction in the western half of South Waziristan vowed to avenge the death of its emir, Mullah Nazir, and continue his mission, which includes supporting al Qaeda and conducting attacks in Afghanistan, according to a pamphlet released by the group. Also, the group named its new leaders.

The Mullah Nazir Group distributed the pamphlet in the bazaar in Wana, the main town in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency, according to The Express Tribune, which obtained and translated the Urdu-language document. Nazir, who has professed his allegiance to al Qaeda and sheltered some of the group's top leaders, was killed along with several of his top commanders in a US drone strike on Jan. 3.

"We will avenge the blood of our great emir. The joy of our enemies will not last long. Every drop of his blood will create another Mullah Nazir," the pamphlet stated.

"We inform the tribesmen of South Waziristan generally and Wana sub division particularly that our morale is high on the martyrdom of Emir Sahib (Mullah Nazir), his slaying didn't weaken but made us more strong," the pamphlet noted, while denying reports of splits within the group.

"There is no disunity among our ranks and we are more united than ever by proving helpful to each other."

The Taliban identified their new leader as Salahuddin Ayubi, and also named other top leaders as Commander Malang, Haji Tehsil Khan, Haji Ainullah, Taj Muhammad, and Muhammad Shoaib. Ayubi, who is also known as Bahwal Khan, was named as Nazir's replacement on Jan. 4, just one day after the drone strike that killed Nazir.

According to The Express Tribune, the Taliban "expressed the determination to continue the mission of their former leader Mullah Nazir."

Before he was killed, Nazir openly supported Taliban emir Mullah Omar and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and waged jihad in Afghanistan. In an interview with the Asia Times in 2011, Nazir rejected claims that he opposed al Qaeda, and affirmed that he considered himself to be a member of the global terror organization [see LWJ report, 'Good' Pakistani Taliban leader Nazir affirms membership in al Qaeda].

Additionally, Nazir's Taliban faction is one of four major Taliban groups that joined the Shura-e-Murakeba, an alliance brokered by al Qaeda in late 2011. The Shura-e-Murakeba also includes Hafiz Gul Bahadar's group; the Haqqani Network, a close al Qaeda ally; and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, another al Qaeda ally, which is led by 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.

The Taliban's pamphlet confirms a report by The Long War Journal just one day after Nazir was killed that Ayubi would continue to support al Qaeda and conduct attacks in Afghanistan. Ayubi has served under Nazir for 16 years and fought Coalition forces in Afghanistan.

"Little will change with Khan's appointment to lead Nazir's faction of the Taliban," one US intelligence official who tracks the Taliban in Pakistan told The Long War Journal on Jan. 4 [see LWJ report, Taliban name Mullah Nazir's replacement].

"It will be business as usual, and we'll continue to have to take shots at al Qaeda leaders and others in the Wazir areas" of South Waziristan, the official continued, referring to the drone strikes.