The al Qaeda group responsible for a raid on a natural gas field in eastern Algeria earlier this week has reportedly demanded the release of two well-known, al Qaeda-linked jihadists in exchange for American hostages.

Citing Mauritania's ANI news agency, press reports indicate that the two jihadists are Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman (a.k.a. the "Blind Sheikh") and Aafia Siddiqui (a.k.a. "Lady Al Qaeda").

Sheikh Rahman was the spiritual head of the two leading Egyptian jihadist groups, Gamaa Islamiyya (IG) and Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ). The latter group was headed by Ayman al Zawahiri, who merged his organization into al Qaeda. Rahman has long been revered by al Qaeda, and Osama bin Laden, who was influenced by the Blind Sheikh, repeatedly demanded his release.

Rahman was convicted for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a follow-on plot against New York City landmarks.

Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced to prison in the US after grabbing a gun and firing at two Americans in July 2008 in Afghanistan. The Americans were attempting to question Siddiqui about her many nefarious ties. According to American intelligence and law enforcement officials, Siddiqui was a member of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's al Qaeda network and was involved in its plotting against the US after Sept. 11, 2001.

The group responsible for the raid in Algeria and the hostage-swap proposal is headed by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an infamous al Qaeda commander. In December, a spokesman for Belmokhtar said that he remains loyal to al Qaeda central even though he has broken off from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Belmokhtar's new group has been calling itself the "Those who Sign with Blood" brigade.

The demand to free Rahman and Siddiqui is a common one, especially from al Qaeda-linked groups, despite the slim to nonexistent chance that either will be released.

In a video released on Sept. 10, 2012, for instance, al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri issued the same ultimatum as the one released by Belmokhtar's group.

"And we, by the grace of Allah, have announced that we will not release the American captive Warren Weinstein, Allah willing, until the Crusaders release our captives including Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and Aafia Siddiqui," Zawahiri said, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group.

At a minimum, the latest demand is further evidence that Belmokhtar's group identifies itself as part of the global jihadist cause. Some accounts have attempted to portray Belmokhtar as a mere criminal despite his longtime service in al Qaeda-affiliated groups dating as far back as the 1990s.

But one of the first statements issued by Belmokhtar's brigade after the assault in Algeria referenced the ongoing jihad in Syria. According to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, the statement also read: "This invasion comes in the global campaign of fighting the Jews and the Crusaders."

Abdul Rahman al Nigeri. Image from the Nouakchott News Agency, via the SITE Intelligence Group.

The commander of the raid on an Algerian facility that produces 10 percent of the country's natural gas exports and who is still holding foreign hostages has been identified as a seasoned jihadist from the country of Niger.

Abdul Rahman al Nigeri, who is also known as Abu Dujana, is leading the raid at the In Amenas facility in southeastern Algeria that has so far resulted in the deaths of several foreign and Algerian hostages.

Reports of the exact number of foreigners and Algerian hostages killed and still in the custody of the al Qaeda-linked group remain unclear more than one day after Algerian security forces launched an attack on the facility to retake the complex and free the hostages. The al Qaeda-linked jihadists are demanding the release of Omar Abdel Rahman (the "Blind Sheikh") and Aafia Siddiqui ("Lady Al Qaeda"), as well as an end to the French intervention in Mali [see LWJ report, Al Qaeda group demands release of 2 well-known jihadists].

Al Nigeri is leading an assault team estimated at 40 fighters from the al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam, or Those who Sign with Blood Brigade, according to two articles published by the Nouakchott News Agency, a Mauritanian news service that has close links to jihadists in the region. The articles were obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The jihadist assault team is said to have infiltrated Algeria from Niger, according to the Nouakchott News Agency. CNN reported that the attack was launched from Libya and and the fighters were trained at camps linked to al Qaeda.

The al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam assault unit was split into two teams, one that was led by Abu al-Bara'a al-Jaza'iri, who took hostages in the residential area of the facility, and another by al Nigeri himself, who targeted the factory and is also holding hostages there. Al Jaza'iri is reported to have been killed during the Algerian military assault. Al Nigeri claimed that the Algerian military killed 16 of his fighters and 35 hostages in an airstrike on vehicles that were transporting the hostages. Several foreign fighters, including a Frenchman, a Malian, two Tunisians, two Libyans, and three Egyptians are said to have been killed.

According to the Nouakchott News Agency, al Nigeri "is from one of the Arab tribes in Niger and joined the Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat in Azawad during the first half of 2005." The Salafist Group for Call and Combat, or GSPC, officially joined al Qaeda in 2007 and adopted the name al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Al Nigeri is a senior lieutenant to Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the head of the al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam. Although Belmokhtar split with AQIM in December 2012, he still conducts joint operations with the group. Belmokhtar reports directly to al Qaeda's central leadership, according to his spokesman. Al Qaeda central tightened its control over AQIM's hostage operations in late 2010. [see LWJ report, Analysis: Al Qaeda central tightened control over hostage operations].

Al Nigeri is described as "the man of difficult missions in the brigade," or essentially the leader of Belmokhtar's special operations team. In June 2005, al Nigeri led the GSPC team that assaulted a Mauritanian military barracks in Lamghiti in northern Mauritania. Seventeen Mauritanian soldiers were killed in the attack.

The US killed eight people, including two Saudi al Qaeda fighters, in a drone strike yesterday in Marib province in central Yemen. The strike is the first recorded in Yemen in 16 days.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched two missiles at a car as it traveled in the Abieda Valley in Marib province, according to The Associated Press and Reuters.

Two of those killed "were known al Qaeda militants of Saudi nationality," AP reported. One of the Saudis is thought to be Ismail bin Jamil. Tribesmen blocked the road from Marib to the capital of Sana'a to protest the strikes, according to Reuters.

Today's strike is the second this year, and the first in Yemen since Jan. 3, when US drones killed local AQAP commander Mukbel Abbad and two fighters in an attack as their vehicle traveled in the town of Rada'a in the central Yemen province of Baydah.

The US conducted five drone strikes in Yemen between Dec. 24, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013. Prior to the Dec. 24 attack, the last recorded attack by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7, 2012.

The US launched 42 drone strikes against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, in Yemen in 2012. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

[For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US air strikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2013.]

Al Qaeda commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Image from Sahara Media.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the head of the jihadist brigade that launched the deadly suicide assault on the In Amenas gas facility in southeastern Algeria, has claimed the attack in al Qaeda's name.

Belmokhtar, the emir of the al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam, or Those who sign with Blood Brigade, released a video today in which he claimed the attack under al Qaeda's banner. The video was released to Sahara Media, an Arab-language website that is based in Mauritania. The videotape was recorded on Jan. 17, two days before Algerian forces launched their final assault yesterday to regain control of the gas facility.

"We in al Qaeda announce that we carried out the blessed commando operation," Belmokhtar said in the video, according to Sahara Media.

Belmokhtar stated that "40 mujahid immigrants and supporters from various Muslim countries, and even from Western countries," carried out the assault on In Amenas to punish the West for intervening in Mali. His description matches a report that an estimated 40 fighters led by a jihadist special operations commander known as Abdul Rahman al Nigeri carried out the suicide assault [see LWJ report, Nigerien jihadist identified as commander of Algerian hostage operation].

Additionally, several fighters from outside Algeria, including a Frenchman, a Malian, two Tunisians, two Libyans, and three Egyptians, are reported to have been killed during the fighting at the gas facility. An Algerian force launched its final counterattack to retake the facility yesterday; 23 hostages, including several foreigners, are thought to have been killed, along with 32 jihadists from the Those who sign with Blood Brigade, but officials expect the death toll to rise.

The terrorist assault on In Amenas began on Wednesday, just five days after French warplanes struck the jihadist alliance in Mali that is made up of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Dine, and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). Several weeks ago, the jihadist alliance began advancing into central and southern Mali after taking control of the north in March 2012.

In the video, Belmokhtar said that his group would negotiate with the West and Algeria providing that France and other countries withdraw from Mali.

"We are ready to negotiate with Western countries and the Algerian regime, provided they end the aggression and bombing of Muslim people especially in the territory Azawad [northern Mali] and respect his choice in arbitration in the land of Sharia in Azawad," he said.

Belmokhtar reiterated the call for the US to release Omar Abdel Rahman (the "Blind Sheikh") and Aafia Siddiqui ("Lady Al Qaeda"). The Blind Sheikh is serving a life sentence in the US for his involvement in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and a subsequent plot against New York City landmarks. Siddiqui is serving an 86-year-long sentence for attempting to kill US personnel in Afghanistan in 2008.

Al Qaeda and allied groups often call for the release of the Blind Sheikh and Siddiqui [see LWJ report, Al Qaeda group demands release of 2 well-known jihadists].

Belmokhtar has been tied to jihadists in North Africa and Central Asia. He waged jihad against the Soviets in the 1980s, and fought in Algeria's civil war in the 1990s with the al Qaeda-linked Armed Islamic Group and its successor, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, which renamed itself al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in 2007. AQIM is al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa.

Although Belmokhtar split with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in December 2012, he still conducts joint operations with the group. Belmokhtar reports directly to al Qaeda's central leadership, according to his spokesman. Al Qaeda central tightened its control over AQIM's hostage operations in late 2010. [See LWJ report, Analysis: Al Qaeda central tightened control over hostage operations].

The Taliban launched their second suicide assault against a security installation in the capital of Kabul in six days.

The suicide assault team targeted the traffic police headquarters in western Kabul at about 5:30 a.m. local time today. The five-man team was heavily armed with suicide vests, assault rifles, and hand grenades, according to reports.

The Interior Ministry stated that three policemen were killed in the initial attack. Two of the suicide bombers were shot and killed, and their explosive vests detonated afterward. The rest of the Taliban team entered the compound and fought for eight hours before being killed.

"Two suicide bombers were shot dead and their explosive vests went off shortly after the attack began and three other militants, who entered the building, were killed by security forces inside the facility during the counter-attack operation," the Ministry of Interior said, according to Xinhua.

Eight civilians and four policemen were wounded when a car bomb was detonated outside of the police headquarters. It is unclear if the car bomb was detonated remotely or by a suicide bomber.

Officials told Xinhua that the Taliban fighters fired rocket-propelled grenades at the nearby Afghan Border Police and Civil Order Police headquarters. The Interior Ministry did not report any casualties or damage to the two facilities.

The Taliban claimed credit for today's attack in Kabul, saying that four fighters carried out the attack. The Taliban identified the fighters as "Mohammad Nabi from Ghazni province, Amir Khan from Nangarhar, Habibullah from the Deh Sabz area of Kabul, and Abdul Latif from Baghlan," according to Pajhwok Afghan News.

The attack on the traffic police headquarters was the second against a security installation in the capital in six days. On Jan. 16, a suicide assault team attacked the National Directorate of Security headquarters in Kabul. All six fighters and one NDS guard were killed. The Taliban entered the compound before being repelled.

Today's attack, like the Jan. 16 assault on the NDS headquarters, 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.

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 in Iraq's affiliate in Syria, has claimed credit for two suicide attacks against the Syrian military that took place two weeks ago. The two suicide attacks are the first claimed by the terror group this year.

In a statement released on jihadist forums two days ago, the Al Nusrah Front, one of several jihadist groups in Syria battling the Assad regime, claimed credit for two suicide attacks that were conducted on Jan. 8. The statement was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Al Nusrah said the two suicide attacks, along with an assault on a military outpost and a remotely detonated car bomb, were launched in response to the "massacre committed against our people in the village of al-Mastumah" in Idlib province, according to SITE. Al Nusrah claimed that Syrian security forces had killed "nearly 100 from the Muslim public ... and their houses and properties were burned and sanctities were violated."

The terror group said that an outpost in Dawar al-Mutlaq was attacked by a suicide bomber known as Abu Omar al-Janubi. Another suicide bomber, identified as Abu al- Darda'a al-Shami, struck a group of soldiers at an outpost in the village of Nabigh Barakat. The Al Nusrah Front did not say how many soldiers were killed in either suicide attack.

The Al Nusrah Front has now claimed credit for 45 of the 54 suicide attacks that have taken place in Syria in the past 12 months.

Al Nusrah spearheads military assaults

Al Nusrah has also served as the vanguard for jihadist forces in the major attacks on Syrian military bases. In concert with allied jihadist groups such as the Ahrar al Sham, the Islamic Vanguard, Mujahedeen Shura Council, and the Muhajireen Group, the terror group has overrun three large Syrian installations since last fall.

On Jan. 11, Al Nusrah, Ahrar al Sham, and the Islamic Vanguard overran the Taftanaz airbase in Aleppo. The airbase was used by government forces to launch airstrikes on anti-regime forces. More than 60 helicopters operated from Taftanaz, and were deployed to attack nearby towns and cities as well as rebel forces.

On Dec. 10, 2012, the Al Nusrah Front, the Mujahedeen Shura Council, and the Muhajireen Group took control of 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, 2012, 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

On Dec. 11, 2012, the US designated the Al Nusrah Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The designation stated that the emir of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Du'a (a.k.a. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi), "is in control of both AQI and Al Nusrah."

At the same time, the US added two senior Al Nusrah leaders, Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab, both members of al Qaeda in Iraq, to the list of global terrorists; the US did not add the emir of Al Nusrah, Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani, to the list, 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 is the flag of al Qaeda) [see LWJ report, Syrian National Coalition urges US to drop Al Nusrah terrorism designation].

US drones struck again in Marib province in central Yemen, killing three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives. The strike is the second in the central province in three days.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched two missiles today at a car as it traveled outside the city of Marib in the province of the same name, according to The Associated Press. Three AQAP members, identified as Ali Saleh Toaiman, Qassim Nasser Toaiman, and Ahmed al Ziadi, a local commander in the province, were killed in the attack, and two more were wounded.

The three AQAP members had previously been captured after the Yemeni military took control of Abyan province from AQAP, which seized the province in May 2011, but were released as part of an amnesty in April 2012, according to AP.

Today's strike is the third this year, and the second in Marib province in three days. On Jan. 19, US drones fired at a vehicle in the Abieda Valley in Marib, killing eight people, including two Saudi AQAP fighters.

The US conducted five drone strikes in Yemen between Dec. 24, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013. Prior to the Dec. 24 attack, the last recorded attack by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7, 2012.

The US launched 42 drone strikes against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, in Yemen in 2012. Although five senior AQAP operatives were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

[For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US air strikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2013.]

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighter Abdullah Bawazir, after his escape from a Yemeni prison in 2011. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula recently eulogized a jihadist who was killed in a US drone strike late last year. The jihadist, Abdullah Bawazir, fought against US forces in Iraq and escaped from a Yemeni prison in June 2011.

The eulogy was released in the form of "a pictorial biography" by the Al Furqan Foundation, al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula's propaganda outlet, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained and translated the information.

"The series of twelve images contained images and descriptions of Bawazir's life as a combatant for both the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

Bawazir was killed in the Dec. 24, 2012 drone strike in the town of Shehr in the eastern province of Hadramout, according to AQAP. Four AQAP fighters were killed after the remotely piloted US strike aircraft opened fire on a group that was driving motorcycles in the town [see LWJ report, US drone strikes kill Jordanian, Yemeni AQAP operatives]. Another jihadist identified as Nabil al Kaldi was also killed, according to AQAP.

"The mujahid martyr Abdullah Bawazir, he died on Monday night on 24-12-212 as a martyr, Allah permitting, as result of American bombing over the city of al-Shehr in Hadramout. He was buried with his brother Nabil al Kaldi who was martyred in the same raid and the people attending were in large masses," the caption on one of the photos read.

Both Bawazir and al Kaldi were first reported to have been killed on Dec. 27, when a jihadist who served with them posted on the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Mujahideen forum. But few details were released about the fighters. [See LWJ report, Jihadist identifies 2 AQAP fighters killed in recent drone strike.]

AQAP claimed that Bawazir fought in Iraq and was imprisoned by the Yemeni government for five years upon his return from Iraq.

"He carried out heroic acts all over the Islamic State of Iraq," AQAP stated, without providing further details of his activities. More than 1,800 Yemenis are known to have fought against the US in Iraq between 2003-2007, often with the support or approval of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government.

"He stayed more than five years in the school of Yusif," another caption stated, referring to the prison in Mukalla in Hadramout where Bawazir was detained before escaping with dozens of other terrorists on June 11, 2011. SITE noted that Bawazir featured in two AQAP propaganda videos that celebrated the Mukalla jailbreak.

After his escape, Bawazir "did jihad for several years with his Mujahideen brothers in the Arab Peninsula" before he was killed. Two of the photos showed Bawazir with other armed AQAP fighters.

So far this year, the US has launched three drone strikes against AQAP in Yemen. The US launched 42 drone strikes against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, in Yemen in 2012. Although five senior AQAP operatives were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

The US has targeted both senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, and low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10]. Obama administration officials have claimed that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland, and not those fighting AQAP's local insurgency against the Yemeni government.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula continues to threaten the US and the West. 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 in 2012. The terror group has planned multiple attacks against targets in the US. On Christmas Day, 2009, an AQAP underwear bomber nearly blew up an airline over Detroit. The plot failed as the bomber was unable to trigger the detonator.

US drones targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for the third time in four days, with a strike aimed at members of the terrorist group in the northern province of Al Jawf.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched missiles at a vehicle as it traveled in the desert in Al Jawf province, according to Reuters. Four AQAP members are reported to have been killed in the attack.

The drones "targeted a gathering of al Qaeda members who had made the area a center for training," a Yemeni official told the news agency. The province borders Saudi Arabia, and is considered a base for fighters crossing the border between the two countries.

US drones have struck AQAP in Al Jawf two other times in the past. Both strikes targeted top AQAP leaders. In September 2011, the US killed Anwar al Awlaki, the American propagandist, ideologue, recruiter, and operational commander, in an airstrike in the province. Awlaki sheltered at the homes of Islah leaders in Al Jawf before he was killed. And in January 2010, an airstrike targeted Qasim al Raymi, AQAP's top military commander. He and other senior AQAP officials survived the strike.

Today's strike in Al Jawf is the third in Yemen in four days, and the fourth strike this month. The US launched two strikes in Marib province on Jan. 19 and Jan. 21; two Saudis are reported to have been killed in the Jan. 19 attack.

The US conducted five drone strikes in Yemen between Dec. 24, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013. Prior to the Dec. 24 attack, the last recorded attack by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7, 2012.

The US launched 42 drone strikes against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia, in Yemen in 2012. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

Although five senior AQAP operatives were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. Said al Shihri, the deputy emir of AQAP, is thought to have recently died from wounds suffered in a drone strike in December 2012; however the report has not yet been confirmed.

The US has targeted both senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, and low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012]. Obama administration officials have claimed that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland, and not those fighting AQAP's local insurgency against the Yemeni government.

[For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US air strikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2013.]

A suicide bomber killed 42 Iraqis in an attack inside a Shia mosque in northern Iraq earlier today. The suicide bombing, which was likely carried out by al Qaeda in Iraq, is the fourth such attack in Iraq over the past nine days.

The suicide bomber detonated his vest after entering a Shia mosque in the city of Tuz Khurmatu. The bomber attacked "the funeral of a relative of a politician who was shot dead a day earlier," according to AFP. At least 42 people were killed and 75 more were wounded in the deadly blast.

Tuz Khurmatu is located in Salahadin province, which, like Kirkuk province, occupies an area where ethnic tensions between Sunnis, Kurds, and Turkmen persist. The Kurdish Regional Government wants to annex Tuz Khurmatu into its semiautonomous state, while the central Iraqi government has resisted such moves. Al Qaeda in Iraq has exploited these fault lines by conducting attacks such as the one today.

While no group has claimed credit for today's attack, it was very likely executed by al Qaeda in Iraq, which continues to conduct suicide bombings throughout Iraq. Abu Muhammad al 'Adnani, al Qaeda in Iraq's spokesman, has advocated the targeting of Iraqi Shias, in propaganda tapes that have been released by the terror group over the past several years. [See Threat Matrix report, Al Qaeda in Iraq rails at Shias, claims deadly attacks.]

Al Qaeda in Iraq has conducted three other suicide attacks in the past nine days. In the most high-profile attack, a suicide bomber killed Sheikh Aifan Sadoun Aifan al-Issawi, a prominent Iraqi parliamentarian and anti-al Qaeda leader, three of his bodyguards, and two civilians, in an attack near Fallujah on Jan. 15. Aifan was a member of the secular, Sunni-backed Iraqiya political bloc and one of the leaders of Iraq's Sunni tribal Awakening. Al Qaeda in Iraq later claimed credit for Aifan's assassination.

On Jan. 18, Iraqi Police and Awakening fighters killed a suicide bomber as he approached their checkpoint on a motorcycle; one policeman was wounded in the attack. And yesterday, a suicide bomber killed seven people in an attack outside an Iraqi military base in Taji, a city just north of Baghdad.

Security in Iraq has slowly deteriorated after the withdrawal of the US military at the end of 2011. While al Qaeda in Iraq does not openly control territory as it did in 2007, before US and Iraqi forces drove it from strongholds throughout the country, the terror group 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, al Qaeda 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.

US drones yet again targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in Yemen, this time outside the capital of Sana'a. The strike today is the fourth by the US in Yemen in five days. The US has expanded the drone campaign throughout all of Yemen over the past year.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers attacked a vehicle as it traveled in a rural area outside of Sana'a, according to Reuters. Six AQAP members are said to have been killed in the attack. No senior AQAP fighters are reported to have been killed in today's strike.

US drones have struck AQAP in Sana'a one other time in the past. On Nov. 7, 2012, the remotely piloted attack aircraft killed Adnan al Qadhi, an al Qaeda commander who was involved in the attack on the US Embassy in Sana'a in 2008, along with two fighters. Al Qadhi commanded local AQAP forces in and around the capital at the time of his death.

Today's strike in Sana'a is the fourth in Yemen in five days, and the fifth strike this month. The US launched two strikes in Marib province on Jan. 19 and Jan. 21; two Saudis are reported to have been killed in the Jan. 19 attack. In another strike, on Jan. 22, the US killed four AQAP fighters in a strike on a vehicle in Al Jawf province in northern Yemen.

The US appears to be launching several strikes over a short period of time, followed by weeks in which no strikes occur. Between Dec. 24, 2012 and Jan. 3, 2013, the US conducted five drone strikes in Yemen. But prior to the Dec. 24 strike, the last recorded strike by the US in Yemen took place on Nov. 7, 2012.

Additionally, over the past eight months, the US has begun to target AQAP outside of the traditional strongholds of Abyan and Shabwah provinces in the south. Of the 25 strikes against AQAP since the beginning of June 2012 that have been recorded by The Long War Journal, only four have hit AQAP in Abyan and Shabwah. The other 21 strikes have targeted AQAP operatives in the provinces of Aden, Al Baydah, Al Jawf, Hadramout, Marib, Saada, and Sana'a. Of the 18 strikes that were conducted between January 2012 and the end of May, 10 occurred in Abyan and Shabwah.

In 2012, the US launched 42 drone strikes in Yemen against AQAP and its political front, Ansar al Sharia. The previous year, the US launched 10 drone and air strikes against the al Qaeda affiliate.

Although five senior AQAP operatives were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. Said al Shihri, the deputy emir of AQAP, is thought to have recently died from wounds suffered in a drone strike in December 2012, but the report has not yet been confirmed.

The US has targeted both senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, and low-level fighters and local commanders who are battling the Yemeni government. This trend was first identified by The Long War Journal in the spring of 2012 [see LWJ report, US drone strike kills 8 AQAP fighters, from May 10, 2012]. Obama administration officials have claimed, however, that the drones are targeting only those AQAP leaders and operatives who pose a direct threat to the US homeland, and not those fighting AQAP's local insurgency against the Yemeni government.

For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US air strikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2013.

The US State Department has added a wanted Saudi citizen who serves as a senior al Qaeda leader and ideologue in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region to the list of Specially Designated Global terrorists.

Ahmed Abdullah Saleh al Khazmari al Zahrani, who is better known as Abu Maryam al Zahrani, was added to the list of designated terrorists today. Al Zahrani is on Saudi Arabia's list of 85 most-wanted terrorists that was issued in February 2009.

State said that al Zahrani is "currently wanted for extradition by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for participating in terrorist activities and for his ties to al Qaeda."

"Abu Maryam al Zahrani travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan from Saudi Arabia to join al Qaeda prior to 2007 and is closely connected to many senior al Qaeda leaders," State continued.

In 2009, Asharq Alawsat described al Zahrani "as a part of al Qaeda's new generation" of leaders. He is thought to be based in Pakistan but has also been spotted in Iran, the newspaper reported.

Al Zahrani is also known to have released jihadist propaganda. In August 2012, he distributed an article titled "The Legacy of Jihad," according to the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. In the article, he discussed two essays by Abu Musab al Suri, the influential Syrian al Qaeda ideologue.

"According to al Zahrani, in both essays al Suri draws attention to the need for jihadist literature to encompass a broader range of issues, so as to guide the mujahideen," the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism reported. "Al Zahrani urges his readers to heed al Suri's appeal, especially given the revolutions raging in the Arab world, which are spurring the growth of the jihadist movement and creating a demand for jihadist literature. In other words, al Zahrani would like to establish a comprehensive corpus of jihadist literature, as a legacy and guide for mujahideen."

Al Zahrani is the second Saudi al Qaeda leader to have been added to the US's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists in six months. On Aug. 7, 2012, the US added Azzam Abdullah Zureik Al Maulid Al Subhi, a Saudi who is better known as Mansur al Harbi, to the list. Al Harbi is said to manage a training camp in Afghanistan and "is tied to numerous senior al Qaeda leaders including Abdel Aziz Migrin and Saif al Adel."

Saudis are known to hold top leadership positions in al Qaeda's branch in Afghanistan. A classified US military assessment identified al Qaeda's current leader in Kunar and Nuristan provinces as Farouq al Qahtani. US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that Qahtani is a Saudi citizen. Several other Saudi al Qaeda members have held top leadership positions in Kunar as well [see LWJ report, Senior al Qaeda leader, facilitator killed in airstrike in Kunar].

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.]

Said al Shihri, from the second edition of Inspire, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's propaganda magazine, which was obtained by The Long War Journal.

The Yemeni government claimed today that the deputy leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Said al Shihri has died "after succumbing to wounds received in a counter terrorism operation" late last year. A prominent jihadist and the Middle Eastern press have also recently claimed that al Shihri is dead.

"The Supreme National Security Committee of the Republic of Yemen announced today the death of Sa'id al Shihri, known also by the pseudonym 'Abu Sufyan Alazdi', the cofounder and second-in-command (Deputy Emir) of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), after succumbing to wounds received in a counter terrorism operation in the governorate of Saadah on the 28th of November, 2012," read a statement that was translated by the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, DC.

The Yemeni government indicated that al Shihri was killed in a joint operation with the US, which is known to operate drones that target AQAP leaders and fighters in Yemen.

"The security committee highlighted Yemen's cooperation with the international community in the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism," the statement continued. "Al Shihri who has survived multiple operations in the past, was buried in undisclosed location inside Yemen by al Qaeda linked militants."

The statement by the Yemeni government was issued just one day after rumors of Shihri's death appeared in Middle Eastern newspapers. Additionally, a jihadist linked to AQAP announced that the deputy AQAP emir is indeed dead. [See Threat Matrix report, AQAP deputy emir Said al Shihri likely killed in US drone strike.]

According to Al Arabiya, al Shihri's family "said he was severely injured after a joint Yemeni-U.S. operation targeting al-Qaeda members in Yemen in the second week of December, 2012."

"After falling into a coma, Shihri was later declared dead and was buried in Yemen," the newspaper reported.

And two days ago, "prominent jihadist Abdullah bin Muhammad" released a statement announcing al Shihri's death, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

"I send to the Ummah [Muslim community] news of the martyrdom of Sheikh Said al Shahri after a long journey in fighting the Zio-Crusader campaign," bin Muhammad said. The jihadist has access to AQAP propaganda, SITE noted, as he "released missing audio from the AQAP video 'Jihad of the Ummah' that announced a bounty on American Ambassador to Yemen, Gerald M. Feierstein."

The date of the operation in which al Shihri was wounded is unclear. The Yemeni government claimed he was wounded in an operation on Nov. 28, while family members said he was wounded in mid-December. No drone strikes were reported in Yemen between Nov. 8, 2012 and Dec. 23, 2012.

However the US is known to have conducted a strike in Saada on Oct. 28, 2012. In that strike, US drones targeted two compounds, killing four AQAP fighters, including two Saudis [see LWJ report, US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in rare strike in northern Yemen].

AQAP has not released an official statement to announce the death of al Shihri.

Al Shihri has been reported killed or captured several times in the past. Most recently, On Sept. 10, 2012, the Yemeni military claimed that he was killed in a military operation. Al Shihri released a statement on Oct. 20, 2012 in which he denied the reports of his death. In February 2011, he was rumored to have been killed while working with explosives. In January 2010, Yemeni officials claimed that al Shihri was captured. And in December 2009, al Shihri was said to have been killed by a US cruise missile attack.

Background on Said al Shihri

Shihri is a Saudi citizen who was detained by the US in Afghanistan in 2001 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2002 for his connections to al Qaeda. He had served as an "al Qaeda travel facilitator" in Mashad, Iran, where he would help al Qaeda operatives enter Afghanistan. He was also connected to the Saudi 'charity' al Wafa, which has been designated under Executive Order 13224 as a terrorist organization and is briefly mentioned in the 9/11 Commission's report as an al Qaeda front.

In November 2007, Shihri was released from Guantanamo and placed into Saudi custody, where he then entered a government-run rehabilitation program for former jihadists. Less than a year later, in September 2008, Shihri played a direct role in al Qaeda's attack on the American embassy in Sana'a, Yemen's capital. That attack killed 10 civilians, along with six terrorists.

In February 2009, when Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda in Yemen merged to form Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Shihri was named as deputy to AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi.

For more information on Said al Shihri, see LWJ report, Return to Jihad.

On Thursday, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency or Shabak) released its 2012 Annual Summary: Data and Trends in Terrorism report. In contrast to previous annual reports from the Shin Bet, this year's includes a section devoted to the Sinai Peninsula. According to the new report, elements of the "global jihad" are using the Sinai as a base to wage terror attacks against Israel.

Of the 10 Israelis killed in 2012 in terror attacks in Israel, two were killed as a result of attacks originating in the Sinai, the report noted. On June 18, the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem carried out a cross-border attack, which it said was "a gift to our brothers in Qaedat al Jihad and Sheikh Zawahiri," that killed one Israeli civilian. On Sept. 21, Ansar Jerusalem carried out an attack that killed one Israeli soldier near the Har Harif area on the border with the Egyptian Sinai.

The report further said that the Sinai continues to be a key space for the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip. During 2012, "hundreds" of high quality weaponry, including long-range rockets and advanced antitank and antiaircraft missiles, from Libya and Sudan ended up in Gaza through the Sinai, the report said.

Additionally, the report noted an increase in attacks originating in the Sinai in 2012. Whereas in 2011 only one terror attack came from the Sinai, in 2012 there were 11 such attacks, the majority of which were rocket attacks. Additionally, the report revealed that five attempts by terrorists to infiltrate from the Sinai into Israel were thwarted in 2012.

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, international 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 at least several hundred jihadists, some of whom are from Yemen and Somalia, are now operating in the Sinai. Egyptian officials have also recently expressed concern that militants from Algeria and Libya are now operating in the Sinai Peninsula.

Over the past month, Egyptian authorities have seized a number of weapons and explosives in the Sinai believed to be destined for the Gaza Strip, including short-range rockets and antiaircraft and antitank missiles.

Press reports have indicated that Egyptian authorities are worried that Islamist militants in the Sinai may soon resume attacks in response to the Egyptian army's statements that it does not intend to stop its operations or negotiate with the militants.

The International Security Assistance Force reported yesterday that an operation targeting an "al Qaeda associated Taliban leader" was conducted in Kunar province, Afghanistan on Jan. 23. Two insurgents were killed during the raid, but ISAF has not confirmed if the targeted leader was among the dead.

Afghan and Coalition security forces launched the operation in Kunar's Ghaziabad district, not far from the Pakistani border. According to the ISAF statement, the targeted leader "organizes attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and enables insurgent movements throughout the province."

This is the first insurgent targeted in 2013 with direct ties to al Qaeda. However, on Dec. 31, 2012, ISAF conducted a joint raid in Ghaziabad district that killed "several" insurgents who were "believed to be associated with the Taliban, but also have links to al Qaeda."

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, Ghazibad, Marawana, Nari, Pech, Shaikal Shate, Sarkani, Shigal, and Watahpur; or 11 of Kunar's 15 districts, according to press releases issued by ISAF that have been compiled by The Long War Journal.

The 2012 New Year's Eve operation marked the 16th raid in Kunar province in 2012 that targeted insurgents connected with al Qaeda. Based on The Long War Journal's investigation, Kunar province has remained a hotbed for al Qaeda throughout the surge of Coalition forces in Afghanistan, which ended last fall. Prior to the surge in 2009, there were six reported raids in Kunar targeting insurgents who were members of al Qaeda or were affiliated with the group. The number of raids increased slightly in 2010 to seven, then decreased in 2011 to three at the height of the surge. However, the spike in 2012 to 16 presents a discouraging indication that many of the al Qaeda-linked fighters who may have sought safe haven in Pakistan are now crossing back into Afghanistan as Coalition surge forces began to draw down.

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 2012 said that al Qaeda maintains "a small haven" in Kunar and neighboring 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.
US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal that Qahtani is a Saudi citizen. Several other Saudi al Qaeda members have also held top leadership positions in Kunar [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, 2012. 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.

A banner showing al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri and former emir Osama bin Laden is placed outside the French Embassy in Cairo, Egypt during a protest organized by Mohammed al Zawahiri. Image from Euronews.

Within the past few days, Mohammed al Zawahiri, the younger brother of al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri, has threatened France and the West while condemning the intervention in Mali. The younger Zawahiri promised that if France and its allies continue to fight in Mali, then Westerners will be the "first to burn."

During an interview broadcast by Euronews on Jan. 22, Mohammed al Zawahiri claimed that Muslims are obligated to resist France's intervention.

"As Muslims, and not only Salafist Jihadists, we must do everything we can. He among us who can speak will speak, he who can act with his hands will also," Zawahiri said. "This is aggression. Will I stay quiet as someone comes to attack and kill me? That is unreasonable and unacceptable. France lit the fire, it started the war and if this continues the first to burn will be Western people."

In the same interview, Mohammed al Zawahiri claimed that he and his movement inside Egypt are non-violent, a claim that is plainly at odds with his threat against the West. Euronews called Mohammed al Zawahiri's words "a stark warning for Westerners."

Euronews and Egyptian newspapers have identified Mohammed al Zawahiri as the leader of the Salafist Jihadist movement inside Egypt. Earlier this week, leaders of the movement issued a statement that is headlined: "Our Military Operations will Target All States which Helped France in the War on Mali."

In the statement, which was reported on by Al Watan, an Egyptian daily, the Salafist Jihadist movement warned "the peoples of the Western and Arab States which helped France logistically, financially, and in the intelligence field" that they will feel the effects of the war in Mali.

The statement listed all of the nations that are contributing to the effort against the al Qaeda-linked coalition in Mali. Those nations were broken down into several categories, according to Al Watan, including those that "contributed help and aircraft," "others which contributed money," and those that "contributed intelligence and logistical support," "opened their airspace and ground territories," or contributed ground forces.

More than a dozen nations were included on the list, including the United States, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Russia, and several African nations, among others.

The same Al Watan account quotes Mohammed al Zawahiri as saying that Western peoples must "get rid of their aggressor regimes or the fire will reach them."

"All those who supported the aggression on Mali are traitors and agents," Mohammed al Zawahiri continued. "We shall seek to help our brothers by all possible means. France has to withdraw otherwise there will be dire consequences and matters will escalate."

Claims Algerian government to blame for death of hostages

Algeria was one of the many nations listed by the Salafist Jihadist movement in its recent statement on Mali as a target for reprisal. A brutal civil war that began in the early 1990s claimed tens of thousands of lives in Algeria. In the eyes of many Algerians, the violence discredited jihadist groups, which used especially savage tactics in their fight against the Algerian military. (There are numerous accounts of the military's brutality as well.)

Perhaps because he is sensitive to this history, Mohammed al Zawahiri was quick to issue a statement to El Khabar, an Algerian newspaper, saying that he has not threatened attacks against Algerian civilians.

"We have not threatened to carry out military operations against Algeria," Mohammed al Zawahiri said, according to a translation by Al Monitor. "Such statements are unfounded and fabricated."

Mohammed Zawahiri's Jan. 23 statement to El Khabar continued: "We have made explicit threats against France, which sparked the clashes and killed our Muslim brothers in Mali. We will never consider launching military attacks against Algeria, as we believe Algerians are Muslims and we are well aware that they are not satisfied with their government's performance."

In his statement, the al Qaeda emir's younger brother also called on "all Muslims across the world to support Muslims in Mali, as this is their religious duty as Muslims. Those who refuse to perform such duty are traitors to their religion and homeland." He made similar remarks during an interview with the Associated Press.

During his interview with Euronews, Mohammed al Zawahiri was asked about the recent raid on a natural gas facility in eastern Algeria and the resulting hostage crisis. The interviewer pointed out that Algerian workers were among the casualties of the siege.

This put Zawahiri on the defensive. He did not denounce the kidnappers, who answer to the al Qaeda commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Instead, he blamed the Algerian government and France for the deaths of some of the hostages.

"Who began this war? Who started the aggression? Who is behind the killing of those hostages? It is the country which sent aircraft and troops to Mali," Zawahiri said.

French embassy protest

Last week, Mohammed al Zawahiri orchestrated a protest in front of the French embassy in Cairo. Euronews reported that he "organized" the event and called for the expulsion of the French ambassador, the severing of diplomatic ties with France, and support for the al Qaeda-linked jihadists fighting in Mali.

Footage from the protest shows a banner with pictures of Ayman al Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. Between the al Qaeda leaders' pictures is Arabic text that reads: "God bless the Mujahideen, these are the men who championed [the cause] of God and His Messenger. Where are you?" (The banner can be seen at the beginning of this article.)

The last part of the text on the banner can be read as a call to action. Protesters flew al Qaeda flags during the protest and a banner of Osama bin Laden was also hung at the rally.

According to Al Watan, Egyptian security forces feared that the protesters planned to burn down the French embassy. Guards formed a perimeter to hold the demonstrators back.

A banner showing former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is placed outside the French Embassy in Cairo, Egypt during a protest organized by Mohammed al Zawahiri. Image from Euronews.

Mohammed al Zawahiri previously helped instigate, both in person and online, the Sept. 11, 2012 protest in front of the US Embassy in Cairo. Al Qaeda symbolism permeated throughout that protest as well.

While endorsing al Qaeda's ideology, Mohammed al Zawahiri claims that he is not a member of the terrorist organization. It is a self-serving claim, of course, and difficult to believe as he calls for jihad in Mali and threatens the West with al Qaeda flags flying nearby.

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 in Iraq's affiliate in Syria, launched a complex suicide assault on a Syrian military base near the border with Israel. The terror group sent five suicide bombers to attack the Syrian military in what it described as "a compound special operation."

In a statement released on jihadist forums yesterday, the Al Nusrah Front said it attacked "one of the biggest fortresses" in Sa'sa' in Quneitra province near the Golan Heights, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. While the Al Nusrah statement did not give a date that the attack took place, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights noted that several car bombs were detonated in the town on Jan. 25.

"Several explosions shook the Sa'sa' town of Reef al-Quneitra, initial reports indicate that the explosions are of detonated cars leading to several casualties and injuries as well as material losses," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated on its Facebook page.

The Al Nusrah Front claimed the attack was carried out in "four stages," and named the five suicide bombers who participated in the assault, according to SITE, which obtained and translated the statement:

The first stage: The heroic martyrdom seeker Abu Hamza al-Halabi entered with a booby-trapped vehicle laden with one ton, to open the way for the second vehicle.

The second stage: The heroic martyrdom seeker Abu Huzayfa al-Halabi entered with his booby- trapped vehicle laden with four tons, to detonate it inside the building

The third stage: The immersing storming [suicide bombers who detonate within crowds] Abu Omar al-Hamzi and Abu Bakr al-Shami enter.

The fourth stage: Blowing up Sa'sa' barrier with a booby-trapped vehicle driven by the hero Abu Duha al-Janoobi.

The Syrian al Qaeda affiliate claimed that "at least 60 apostates" were killed and more than 500 were wounded in the complex attack. According to Bloomberg, eight Syrian intelligence officials were killed in the attack.

The Al Nusrah Front has launched two other complex suicide assaults on major military installations in the past several months. On Sept. 28, 2012, the group sortied suicide bombers in a sophisticated attack, which included an assault team, on the Syrian Army headquarters in Damascus. And on Oct. 9, 2012, Al Nusrah executed a complex suicide assault on an Air Force intelligence headquarters on the outskirts of Damascus.

The Al Nusrah Front has now claimed credit for 46 of the 55 suicide attacks that have taken place in Syria since December 2011, according to a tally of the operations by The Long War Journal (note that multiple suicide bombers deployed in a single operate are counted as part of a single attack).

Al Nusrah spearheads military assaults

Al Nusrah has also served as the vanguard for jihadist forces in the major attacks on Syrian military bases. In concert with allied jihadist groups such as the Ahrar al Sham, the Islamic Vanguard, Mujahedeen Shura Council, the Muhajireen Group, and Chechen fighters, the terror group has overrun three large Syrian installations since last fall.

On Jan. 11, Al Nusrah, Ahrar al Sham, and the Islamic Vanguard overran the Taftanaz airbase in Aleppo. The airbase was used by government forces to launch airstrikes on anti-regime forces. More than 60 helicopters operated from Taftanaz, and were deployed to attack nearby towns and cities as well as rebel forces.

On Dec. 10, 2012, the Al Nusrah Front, the Mujahedeen Shura Council, and the Muhajireen Group took control of 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, 2012, 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 has led a siege against a strategic base in Wadi Deif in the province of Idlib, and is 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

On Dec. 11, 2012, the US designated the Al Nusrah Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The designation stated that the emir of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Du'a (a.k.a. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi), "is in control of both AQI and Al Nusrah."

At the same time, the US added two senior Al Nusrah leaders, Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al Juburi and Anas Hasan Khattab, both members of al Qaeda in Iraq, to the list of global terrorists; the US did not add the emir of Al Nusrah, Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani, to the list, 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 is the flag of al Qaeda) [see LWJ report, Syrian National Coalition urges US to drop Al Nusrah terrorism designation].

Warning: the video is extremely graphic and shows al Qaeda in Iraq fighters brutally executing Iraqi soldiers and policemen.

The Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaeda in Iraq's political front in the country, recently released a video demonstrating a series of attacks against Iraqi military barracks, checkpoints, and security forces in Baghdad, Diyala, and Anbar provinces.

A version of the video released by al Qaeda in Iraq's al Furqan media wing and subsequently posted on the LiveLeak web site shows footage from 12 separate, undated attacks. Four of the attacks specifically target Iraqi Army soldiers and facilities. At least two of the operations are aimed at Iraqi police officers and facilities, and two show assassinations of specific individuals who are driving in personal vehicles.

Several clips show al Qaeda operatives executing individuals or pumping rounds into dead bodies with suppressed handguns, with accompanying text declaring the assassins "knights of the silencers," according to a translation of the video provided by Steven Miller, a Research Associate at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Five of the attacks are identified as taking place in Baghdad and two are said to be in Diyala province, including a large attack on a base which is shown at the 0:30 mark in the clip. A major attack seen through night vision, at 8:11 in the video, was executed against an Iraqi army base in Anbar province.

The video is similar to a previous release detailing a March 2012 raid in Haditha that killed 27 Iraqi policemen, including two commanders. Both videos tout the execution of ISF personnel, and display AQI's continuing ability to plan and execute coordinated operations against security facilities. These attacks are part of multiple 'waves' of al Qaeda's "Destroying the Walls" campaign, which was announced by AQI emir Sheikh Mujahid Abu Bakr al Baghdadi on July 21, 2012.

On Jan. 20, AQI claimed responsibility for the most recent "third wave" of the campaign, which included the assassination of Iraqi member of parliament Sheikh Aifan Sadoun Aifan al-Issawi on Jan. 15. Aifan, a prominent founder of Fallujah's tribal "Awakening" against al Qaeda begun in 2006, was killed when an AQI operative dressed as a worker detonated a suicide vest at a construction site south of Fallujah.

Al Qaeda in Iraq has shown a resurgence after the withdrawal of the US military from Iraq at the end of 2011. While AQI does not openly control territory as it did in 2007, before US and Iraqi forces drove it from strongholds throughout the country, the terror group can still organize and execute significant attacks, such as the Haditha raid, and a number of suicide bombings, including one that killed 42 Iraqis at Shia mosque in the city of Tuz Khurmatu on Jan. 23.

Al Qaeda in Iraq has also been empowered by recent unrest in Syria, expanding its operations in the neighboring country under a new banner, that of 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 US State Department designated Al Nusrah as a global terrorist entity on Dec. 11, 2012, stating that the group is a "new alias" for al Qaeda in Iraq and is in fact directly controlled by AQI's emir.

On Jan. 25, the International Security Assistance Force reported another operation in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province targeting a Taliban leader associated with al Qaeda. This follows a report three days ago of a similar operation on Jan. 23 in Kunar province that targeted an al Qaeda-linked Taliban leader.

According to the Jan. 25 report, Afghan and Coalition forces succeed in locating the target and killing him on Jan. 24. Alhough it is not clear if he was the same leader targeted in the raid the day before, ISAF identified him as "Wali," a "Taliban leader and al-Qaeda facilitator." He was killed in Dangam district, as opposed to Ghaziabad district where the previous raid occurred. Apart from being the second operation targeting al Qaeda in Kunar province in two days, it was also the second this year.

ISAF said that Wali "coordinated activities between the Taliban and al Qaeda within the province." He also "organized attacks against Afghan and coalition forces" in the district and "oversaw the movement of weapons and suicide vest components." ISAF revealed to The Long War Journal that Wali was of Pashtun descent, meaning he likely originated from somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

The previous report said that a joint Afghan and Coalition force conducted an operation in Ghaizabad district, Kunar province on Jan. 23. This raid did not locate the targeted al Qaeda-associated Taliban leader, however, but did kill two unidentified insurgents.

Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, has emerged as one of the most active areas of operation for al Qaeda in Afghanistan. According to The Long War Journal's investigation of ISAF operations targeting the group within Afghanistan, there were 16 raids targeting members of al Qaeda, or insurgents linked to the group, in Kunar province in 2012. That is more than double the number of raids against al Qaeda in the province that were conducted prior to the surge of NATO forces, according to The Long War Journal study [see LWJ report: Al Qaeda-linked Taliban commander targeted in Kunar raid, for more details on al Qaeda's continued presence in Kunar province].

Kaid al Dhahab, the new AQAP emir for Baydah province. Photo from The Yemen Post.

The Yemeni Army launched an offensive against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the central Yemeni province of Baydah in an effort to free three Western hostages who were kidnapped by tribesmen in the capital and then sold to the terror group.

Dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers, along with supporting infantry and artillery, moved into the Maneseeh area of Baydah province last night to hunt for a Finnish couple and an Austrian man. Three people were killed during the initial stages of the fighting; it is unclear if they were soldiers, AQAP fighters, or civilians.

AQAP responded to the offensive in Maneseeh by attacking Yemeni forces in the nearby city of Rada'a. Three soldiers were killed and 10 more were wounded in an ambush that targeted a military checkpoint, according to Reuters. In another retaliatory move, a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a military checkpoint in Rada'a, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding another 10, Al Jazeera reports.

The Yemeni operation is targeting three "brothers of Tariq al Dhahab," who are thought to be holding the hostages, according to AFP. While the wire service has not identified the Dhahab brothers, they are no doubt. Kaid, Nabil, and Abdelrauf Dhabab, three local AQAP commanders who have been the target of US drone strikes in the past.

AQAP in Baydah

AQAP has increased its presence in Baydah province over the past two years, and the US has pursued the terror group with drone strikes. The US has launched three drone strikes in the Maneseeh area since September 2012; two took place at the end of December. On Dec. 24, the drones killed Abdullah Hussein al Waeli, a Yemeni operative who escaped from prison two years ago, and a Jordanian fighter. And on Dec. 29, the US killed Saleh Mohammed al Ameri, another senior AQAP leader, and two fighters.

Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after the death of his brother Tariq, who was murdered by the eldest brother, Hazam, a tribal leader who feared that the family's involvement with AQAP would incur the wrath of the government. Tariq's followers retaliated for their leader's death and killed Hazam.

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."

After Tariq's death, Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah. They were targeted by a US drone strike on May 28, 2012, but survived.

Abdelrauf has also been targeted by the US. He was the focus of the Sept. 2, 2012 drone strike in Rada'a that killed 13 civilians.

The Dhahabs are brothers-in-law of Anwar al Awlaki, the US citizen who served as a senior al Qaeda operational commander and ideologue. Awlaki was killed in a US drone strike in the fall of 2011.