The Taliban launched two suicide attacks on Coalition forces in Afghanistan today, including an assault on the Provincial Reconstruction Team base in Ghazni province in the southeast. In the other attack, a suicide bomber struck a convoy in Helmand province.

The Taliban suicide assault team attacked the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghazni in the afternoon. According to Xinhua, two suicide bombers detonated outside the main gate, enabling a team of Taliban fighters to enter the perimeter, take control of a building inside the compound, and open fire on military and civilian personnel.

The International Security Assistance Force confirmed that "enemy forces" attacked a Coalition base in Ghazni.

"We can confirm enemy forces attacked a forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan today with a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, indirect fire and small arms fire," ISAF told The Long War Journal. "Currently, we are in the process of assessing the situation and will release more operational information as appropriate."

Four Afghan civilians, three police officers, and 10 Taliban fighters were killed in the attack, according to The Associated Press. ISAF later reported that one soldier was killed. Ten Polish soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

The Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghazni is manned by US and Polish forces as well as civilian experts. Its mission is to provide assistance to Afghan civilians and the government in the province.

The Taliban have used suicide attacks against PRT officials in the past. In April, a Taliban suicide bomber killed three US soldiers, a State Department official, and a Defense Department official from the PRT in Zabul as they were driving in the capital of Qalat. Four more State personnel were wounded in the blast.

In the attack in Helmand today, a Taliban suicide bomber targeted a US military convoy in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. Five Afghan civilians were killed and more than 15 were wounded, according to Xinhua. An armored vehicle was damaged in the attack.

Ghazni remains a battleground as Coalition forces continue to withdraw

With the transfer of control from the Coalition to Afghan security forces and the drawdown of Coalition personnel, violence in Ghazni province has spiked. So far in August, the Taliban have kidnapped a female member of parliament and two other civilians in the province, and then later offered to exchange the captives for eight Taliban fighters currently in prison. The Taliban have also kidnapped and then executed eight other civilians in Ghazni. Additionally, a Polish soldier was recently killed in a Taliban attack.

The Afghan military and police claim to have killed 36 Taliban fighters in Ghazni since Aug. 18. But in one of the reports, which said that security forces killed 20 Taliban fighters, the police admitted that four police personnel had been killed and policemen had abandoned several outposts during a Taliban assault.

Ghazni is a known Taliban and al Qaeda hub in the southeast. Senior Taliban, al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commanders are known to operate in the province.

Last September, the governor of Ghazni said the Taliban were bringing in "foreign militants" into the province, and the deputy chief of the Ghazni provincial council said that a large number of Pakistanis are fighting in Ghazni. Additionally, a US military commander who operated in the southeastern province in 2011 said that foreign trainers, including Arabs, Chechens, and Pakistanis operate in Ghazni while Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate is sabotaging Coalition efforts in the province.

Al Qaeda operatives and leaders often serve as embedded military trainers for Taliban field units and impart tactics and bomb-making skills to these forces. In addition, al Qaeda frequently supports the Taliban by funding operations and providing weapons and other aid. [See LWJ report, Al Qaeda's paramilitary 'Shadow Army,' for more information on al Qaeda's role in Afghanistan.]

Over the past several years, a number of al Qaeda leaders and operatives have been killed or captured in Ghazni. Aafia Siddiqui, an American-educated Pakistani scientist who has been dubbed "Lady al Qaeda" by the press, was captured in Ghazni in 2008. At least six other al Qaeda operatives have been captured, and another has been killed, in the province [see LWJ report, ISAF targets al Qaeda-linked Taliban operative in Afghan southeast].

For more information on foreign fighters operating in Ghazni, see LWJ report, 'Foreign militants' still present in Ghazni.

A federal court in Brooklyn, New York yesterday unsealed an indictment filed on Feb. 21 against Nigerian citizen Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi, who is said to have provided material support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Babafemi has been in Nigerian custody since 2012.

Court documents showed that between January 2010 and August 2011, Babafemi "traveled twice from Nigeria to Yemen to meet and train with leaders of AQAP," according to an FBI press release. While there, Babafemi allegedly received weapons training and aided AQAP in the production of Inspire magazine.

Additionally, at the "direction" of al Qaeda ideologue Anwar al Awlaki, Babafemi received nearly $9,000 from AQAP's leadership, the FBI press release stated. The money was allegedly intended to be used "to recruit other English-speakers from Nigeria to join" AQAP.

Earlier this month, the Nigerian government asked a court to approve the US request for Babafemi's extradition. According to Agence France Presse, a federal high court in Abuja approved the request today. Babafemi "shall be surrendered to the officials of the United States of America not later than 15 days from the order of this court," the presiding judge said.

According to AFP, "[t]here was no indication in the documents made public that Babafemi was linked to Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram." However, documents seized at Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan have shown that top-level Boko Haram leaders have been in touch with al Qaeda, according to the Guardian. Boko Haram is also known to receive support from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and from Shabaab, an al Qaeda affiliate in East Africa.

And earlier this month, the Daily Beast reported that Boko Haram representatives were part of recently intercepted al Qaeda communications that led to the closure of numerous US embassies.

Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi is not the first Nigerian to have worked with AQAP and al Awlaki, whom the FBI described as a "senior commander" in AQAP. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian who failed to detonate a bomb on an airliner over Detroit on Dec. 25, 2009, was praised by al Awlaki and is known to have trained at AQAP camps in Yemen.

According to the Treasury Department, al Awlaki, who has played a role in other terror plots, was responsible for "preparing Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab." Abdulmutallab "received instructions from Aulaqi to detonate an explosive device aboard a U.S. airplane over U.S. airspace," Treasury said in its July 2010 designation of al Awlaki.

The Tunisian government announced at a press conference yesterday that Ansar al Sharia, an al Qaeda-linked group that arose following the Arab uprisings, has been labeled a "terrorist organization." Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou explained that the move effectively puts a "ban" on Ansar al Sharia's activities and makes membership in the group illegal, according to Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP).

Ben Jeddou said the decision was based on "established facts, police inquiries, field investigations and intelligence reports," according to TAP's summary of the press conference. The interior minister added that the government has made substantial progress in thwarting Ansar al Sharia's "terrorist plots," with a "large number" of the group's members already in custody and others "being chased down."

Director General of Public Security Mustapha Ben Amor explained that 19 "politicians, journalists and artists" have been "threatened with death" by Ansar al Sharia, according to another account by TAP.

"This organization, which was collecting large quantities of weapons, planned to spread chaos and create a security vacuum through assassinations, before seizing power and establishing the first Islamic emirate in North Africa," Ben Amor said, according to Reuters.

In July, the Tunisian government alleged that Ansar al Sharia members were involved in the assassinations of two prominent politicians. [See LWJ report, Tunisian government alleges longtime jihadist involved in assassinations.]

During this week's press conference, Tunisian officials again claimed that Ansar al Sharia is connected to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the "Okba Ibn Nafaa" terrorist group operating in Mount Chaambi, near the Algerian border. The Tunisian army has suffered casualties hunting members of the group. According to Agence France Presse, the government says Okba Ibn Nafaa is made up of "veterans of the Islamist rebellion in northern Mali with links to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)," including Algerians and Libyans, as well as Tunisians who belong to Ansar al Sharia.

On at least two previous occasions, Tunisian interior minister officials connected Ansar al Sharia to the Mount Chaambi terrorists.

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's leaders have longstanding ties to al Qaeda and terrorism. The group is headed by Seifallah ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi), who co-founded the Tunisian Combatant Group (TCG) "in coordination with" al Qaeda in 2000, according to the United Nations. The TCG helped execute the Sept. 9, 2001 assassination of Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. The killing of Massoud was an integral part of al Qaeda's preparations for the hijackings inside the US two days later.

The TCG became an arm of al Qaeda inside Europe prior to the 9/11 attacks and was tied to noteworthy plots against Western interests, including a planned attack on the US Embassy in Rome in early 2001.

Two leaders of the TCG in Europe, Sami Ben Khemais Essid and Mehdi Kammoun, went on to become prominent figures in Ansar al Sharia, serving alongside ben Hassine. Both Essid and Kammoun have been designated by the UN and US as terrorists for their al Qaeda roles. Essid was identified as the head of al Qaeda in Italy and, according to the US State Department, was the principal architect of the plot against the US Embassy in Rome. Earlier this year, Essid was identified as an organizer of Ansar al Sharia's planned annual rally, which was suspended by authorities. [See LWJ report, From al Qaeda in Italy to Ansar al Sharia Tunisia and Threat Matrix report, Former 'head' of al Qaeda in Italy an 'organizer' of Ansar al Sharia rally.]

Ansar al Sharia was responsible for the Sept. 14, 2012 ransacking of the US Embassy in Tunis. In its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, published in May, the State Department noted that ben Hassine "was implicated as the mastermind behind the September 14 attack on the US Embassy," which involved "a mob of 2,000 - 3,000" people, "including individuals affiliated with the militant organization Ansar al Sharia."

Three days earlier, on Sept. 11, 2012, members of an Ansar al Sharia group inside Libya took part in the attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Ansar al Sharia Tunisia does not hide its affection for al Qaeda. The group's leaders have praised al Qaeda and placed their work in the context of the global jihad. In addition, Ansar al Sharia manages social media pages that are littered with al Qaeda propaganda and pay homage to slain al Qaeda leaders. Al Qaeda's jihadists, including AQIM officials, have returned the favor by openly praising Ansar al Sharia.

The Taliban killed 15 Afghan policemen in an ambush in Farah province. Two senior security officials, including the deputy intelligence chief for the western province, were killed during the attack.

An unknown number of Taliban fighters ambushed a police delegation yesterday as it was inspecting security outposts on the Herat-Kandahar highway, a segment of the Ring Road, Afghanistan's major roadway, Pajhwok Afghan News reported. The attack took place in an area between the districts of Gulistan and Balu Barak.

Both Farah's deputy intelligence chief for the National Intelligence Directorate, whom the Taliban described as "a notorious brutal commander and close aid of foreign invaders," and the chief of the highway police from Kandahar province are reported to have been killed in the attack. The Taliban also claimed on Voice of Jihad that a "deputy anti-terrorism chief" was among the 15 security officials killed in the ambush. Two Taliban fighters are said to have been killed during the fighting. Four police pickup trucks and an armored vehicle were also destroyed in the attack.

The Taliban launched a similar attack in the Gulistan district in March 2012. In that attack, a Taliban force estimated at between 70 to 80 fighters ambushed a NATO supply column on the highway. The attack resulted in the deaths of seven Afghan security guards, two soldiers, and dozens of Taliban fighters.

Yesterday's attack in Farah province highlights the growing insecurity along the Ring Road in western Afghanistan. Just two days ago, in the Balu Barak district, a Taliban force ambushed a convoy of tankers carrying fuel destined for NATO forces. Six truck drivers were killed and 40 fuel trucks were destroyed or badly damaged.

And on Aug. 19, the Taliban clashed with the Afghan Public Protection Force along the Ring Road in Gulistan. Afghan officials claimed that 72 Taliban fighters and 11 AFFP officers were killed during the fighting, but the Taliban denied taking such heavy losses.

Farah province serves as a base for al Qaeda

Farah province is a known haven for al Qaeda and allied terror groups, and is a main transit point for foreign fighters and Iranian aid flowing into Afghanistan. The presence of al Qaeda cells has been detected in the districts of Bakwah, Balu Barak, Farah, Gulistan, and Pusht-e Rod; or five of Farah's 11 districts.

Iran's Qods Force, the special operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has backed al Qaeda and the Taliban's operations in western Afghanistan, according to the International Security Assistance Force as well as the US government. The Qods Force has tasked the Ansar Corps, a subcommand, with aiding the Taliban and other terror groups in Afghanistan. Based in Mashad in northeastern Iran, the Ansar Corps operates much like the Ramazan Corps, which supports and directs Shia terror groups in Iraq [see LWJ report, Iranian Qods Force commanders linked to Taliban: US Treasury, for more information on the Ansar Corps and Iran's support for the Taliban].

ISAF targeted Iranian-supported Taliban commanders in at least 14 raids in the western provinces of Farah, Nimroz, Herat, and Ghor between June 2009 and February 2011, according to Coalition press releases compiled by The Long War Journal.

In early February 2011, ISAF inexplicably stopped reporting on raids against Iranian-supported Taliban and al Qaeda commanders. When The Long War Journal inquired about the sudden halt in reports on Qods Force-linked commanders in the Afghan west, ISAF claimed it does not discuss issues related to Iran.

"As policy, IJC [ISAF Joint Command] does not discuss Iran," Lieutenant Commander Katie Kendrick, an ISAF Public Affairs Officer, told The Long War Journal in February 2011, despite the fact that ISAF had indeed mentioned the Qods Force in its press releases as well as in followup inquiries. Further inquiries to ISAF about the sudden change in policy on discussing Iran's links to terror activities in Afghanistan have gone unanswered.

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

The US killed a local commander for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and two other fighters in the first reported drone strike in Yemen in 20 days. Kaid al Dhahab, the AQAP commander, served as the group's emir in the central province of Baydah.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers killed Kaid and the two other fighters this morning as they were traveling in a vehicle in the village of Manasseh in Baydah, tribal sources and officials told AFP. Mohammed Albasha, Yemen's official spokesman in Washington, confirmed Kaid's death in a statement on Twitter.

"AQAP's commander in Baydah, kaid al Dhahab, the Emir of AAS [Ansar al Sharia, AQAP's political front in Yemen] in Rada'a was killed in an airstrike. He evaded capture\death before," Albasha said.

AQAP has not released an official statement confirming Kaid's death. The identities of the other two fighters killed in the strike have not been disclosed.

Kaid and his brother, Nabil, who is also a senior AQAP official in Baydah, have been the target of a US drone strike in the past. On May 28, 2012, the US targeted Kaid and Nabil in a strike in the town of Rada'a.

Kaid took control of AQAP in Baydah after the death of another brother, Tariq. Before he was killed, Tariq had seized control of Baydah, raised al Qaeda's banner, sworn allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri, and warned that "the Islamic Caliphate is coming."

Kaid and Nabil were tasked with regrouping AQAP's forces in Baydah after Tariq's death. The two leaders are also the brothers-in-law of slain AQAP leader and ideologue Anwar al Awlaki, who was killed in a drone strike in the fall of 2011.

According to Albasha, Kaid "built an AQAP training camp" in Manasseh, and "commanded dozens of AQAP fighters" in Abyan, "where he was wounded" while fighting against the Yemeni military.

The US has conducted 13 drone strikes against AQAP in Baydah province since March 2012; prior to March 2012, there were no drone strikes in the province. The last strike in the province was on May 20; two AQAP fighters were reported killed in the strike.

The two previous drone strikes in Baydah province killed two notable local AQAP operatives. In January, US drones killed Mukbel Abbad, a senior AQAP leader in the province. Abbad was a brother-in-law of Tariq al Dhahab. And in December 2012, a drone strike killed Abdullah Hussein al Waeli, an AQAP operative from Marib province who escaped from prison in 2010, and an unidentified Jordanian.

Background on US strikes in Yemen

Today's strike is the first in Yemen since Aug. 10, when the US targeted AQAP operatives traveling in Lahj province. Between July 27 and Aug. 10, the US launched nine strikes in Yemen. No drone strikes were reported for seven weeks prior to July 27.

The burst in attacks was related to an al Qaeda plot that was uncovered by US officials. The US closed down more than 20 embassies and diplomatic facilities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The plot is thought to have involved AQAP.

The US has launched 22 drone strikes in Yemen so far this year. Despite the recent uptick of activity at the end of July and into the second week of August, the pace of the strikes has still decreased since last year. 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. The strikes are being reduced as the US government is facing increasing international criticism for conducting the attacks in both Yemen and Pakistan.

Although six senior AQAP operatives, including the group's deputy emir, Said al Shihri, were killed in strikes in Yemen in 2012, the group's top leadership cadre remains intact. Just two weeks ago, AQAP confirmed that al Shihri, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, was killed; he is thought to have died or to have been seriously wounded following a strike in October 2012.

The US has targeted not only senior AQAP operatives who pose a direct threat to the US, but also 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 launched its first drone strike in Pakistan in more than a month, killing four foreign fighters from Turkmenistan in an attack today in an area known to be infested with al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired a pair of missiles a vehicle as it traveled in the village of Hisokhel in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.

Pakistani intelligence officials told Dawn that the four fighters were members of the Turkistan Islamic Party. "Local militant sources" said they were from the country of Turkmenistan and were allied with North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar.

The Turkistan Islamic Party, which is closely allied with al Qaeda and fights in Afghanistan, is known to host training camps in North Waziristan, particularly in the Mir Ali area. In July, the group released a video of women training for jihad at one of its camps. In the past, the Turkistan Islamic Party has also released videos of children training to wage jihad.

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.

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. Al Qaeda and allied terror groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Group, the 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 area.

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 al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan. In June 2012, Bahadar banned polio vaccinations in North Waziristan, in protest against US drone strikes.

Today's strike is the first since July 28, and just the fifth since President Barack Obama's speech at the end of May outlining a reduced US counterterrorism role in the world. Three al Qaeda military trainers, from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Kuwait, were killed in the July 28 strike in North Waziristan.

Obama said that the drones, which are currently operated by the CIA, will eventually be turned over to the military, and that the pace of the strikes will be reduced. Even though al Qaeda has expanded its operations in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and Egypt, and in North and West Africa, Obama claimed that the terrorist organization has been sufficiently weakened.

The US has launched 19 drone strikes in Pakistan so far this year, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The number of strikes in Pakistan has decreased since a peak in 2010, when 117 such attacks were recorded. In 2011, 64 strikes were launched in Pakistan, and in 2012 there were 46 strikes.

The US has targeted al Qaeda's top leaders and its external operations network, as well as the assortment of Taliban and Pakistani jihadist groups operating in the region. The strikes have been confined mostly to North and South Waziristan. Of the 344 strikes recorded since 2004, 327, or 95%, have taken place in the two tribal agencies. But al Qaeda is known to have an extensive network throughout Pakistan.

In an audio message released to jihadist forums on Aug. 30, a spokesman from al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) called on Egyptians to take up arms and fight the Egyptian army. The spokesman, Abu Muhammad al 'Adnani al Shami, also denounced the Muslim Brotherhood and called on the Islamist group to repent "and turn back from the religion of democracy," according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group.

In the message, titled "Peacefulness is the Religion of Whom?," al Shami began by saying: "This is a message to the Sunnis in general and to our people in Egypt in particular. We incite them to fight in the cause of Allah." The ISIL went on to argue that the Islamic nation "today lives in slavery and humiliation" and that many of those who partook in the protests in the so-called Arab Spring have yet to find the "medicine" to their problems.

"They thought that salvation came in regime change and the replacement of rulers, and they thought that the best way to remove injustice and gain dignity was in peaceful protests," al Shami contended. But, according to al Shami, "our disease is not the ruling regimes, but it is the polytheistic laws with which they rule."

Thus, al Shami argued that "if we wish to remove injustice and gain dignity, we must shun the earthly, polytheistic laws and empower the Shariah of Allah, and there is no path to this except through jihad in the cause of Allah." The ISIL spokesman further contended that "[g]aining dignity and liberation from injustice and breaking the shackles of humiliation only comes through the swords, spilling blood and sacrificing one's self, and it is never through peaceful calls or parliamentary elections."

Al Shami then denounced the armies of Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia as "armies of apostasy and disbelief." "These armies were only created to protect the tyrants, defend them and steady their thrones," al Shami continued. The ISIL spokesman specifically denounced the Egyptian army for defending "the usury banks and the whorehouses" as well as "the Jews, the Copts and the Christians," among other offenses.

Al Shami also asked whether "any sane person [can] say that it is not permissible to fight this army, even if it were seen as Muslim?"

With regard to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, al Shami said the group was simply "a secular party with an Islamic garb, and they are more evil and cunning than the secularists." Al Shami further slammed the Muslim Brotherhood for being "a party that, if gaining the throne required kneeling before Satan, they would do it without hesitation."

After denouncing the Muslim Brotherhood for failing to implement sharia law in Egypt, al Shami urged Egyptians and Iraqis "to shun the peaceful calls, and to bear arms and do jihad in the cause of Allah in order to push away the invader from among the Egyptian army and the Safavid army." In addition, al Shami called on members of the Egyptian army to defect.

Recent statements by jihadist groups regarding situation in Egypt

Yesterday's message from the ISIL is the latest in a plethora of statements from jihadists in response to the ongoing crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. Most recently, Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari (also known as Muhammad al Murshidi), an official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), charged the Egyptian government with seeking "to return Egypt to the era of oppression, tyranny and the domination of the security and intelligence agencies."

Eight days earlier, jihadist ideologue Abu Sa'ad al 'Amili posted a series of tweets to his Twitter account urging Egyptian Muslims to prepare for an "open war." Likewise, Abdullah Muhammad Mahmoud of the jihadist Dawa'at al-Haq Foundation for Studies and Research warned Egyptian Muslims, in an article posted to jihadist forums on Aug. 14, that "if you don't do jihad today, then only blame yourselves tomorrow."

Similarly, on Aug. 15, Abu Hafs al Maqdisi, the leader of the Gaza-based Jaish al Ummah (Army of the Nation), called on Egyptians to wage "jihad" against Egyptian army commander General Abdul Fattah el Sisi. Four days later, al Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, urged Egyptian Muslims to "pick up arms and defend yourself."

And, on Aug. 22, al Salafiyya al Jihadiyya in Sinai released a statement that called on Muslims to fight the "apostate" Egyptian army. The communiqué was particularly notable as last fall the group said: "[T]he army and the police are not our targets and that our weapons are directed at the enemies and the enemies of our Ummah the Jews." More recently, in mid-May, the jihadist group said: "[T]he target of the Salafist Jihadist current in Sinai is the Zionist enemy and its operations are directed to them, and the Egyptian soldiers are not a target for us."

Ansarul Muhajideen, a group known to include Uzbek fighters, killed nine Pakistani Frontier Corps troops in an IED attack today on a convoy in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. The group's spokesman said the attack was carried out to avenge a US drone strike that took place in the tribal agency just days ago.

The attack took place in the Boya area of North Waziristan, according to Dawn. The paramilitary troops were traveling from the Data Khel area, a known al Qaeda haven, to Miramshah when their convoy was hit by a remotely detonated IED. Twenty troops were injured in addition to the nine who were killed.

A spokesman for Ansarul Mujahideen who is known as Abu Baseer told Dawn that the Frontier Corps troops were targeted to avenge yesterday's drone strike in the Mir Ali area that reportedly killed four members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, a terror group that is allied with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and a host of other jihadist organizations based in the area.

"This is a revenge for the attack the other day and such strikes will go on," Abu Baseer told Dawn. He also threatened to expand activities outside of the tribal areas.

"In response to the drone strikes, we are now planning to extend our attacks outside the settled areas; [it is] all the Pakistan government's responsibility as it is providing space for such drone strikes on the tribesmen," he continued.

Ansarul Muhajideen has attacked Pakistani troops in North Waziristan in the past. In January, the terror group claimed credit for a roadside bombing on a Pakistani military convoy in the tribal agency that killed 14 soldiers. Ansarul Muhajideen said it executed that attack in response to US drone strikes in the tribal areas. The US strikes have killed dozens of top leaders of al Qaeda, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, the Punjabi Taliban, and other nonaligned Taliban groups such as the Haqqani Network, the Mullah Nazir Group, and the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group.

Also, in July, Ansarul Mujahideen claimed credit for a double suicide attack in Parachinar in Pakistan's northwestern tribal agency of Kurram that killed upwards of 57 people. The group said the attack was carried out to avenge Shia involvement in the Syrian civil war.

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The Taliban launched another suicide assault, this time against a joint Coalition and Afghan base in Torkham at the border crossing with Pakistan. Although the attack today was defeated, dozens of fuel and supply trucks were destroyed during the assault.

Officials said that a Taliban suicide assault team numbering three fighters and armed with suicide vests, RPGs, and machine guns attacked a parking area adjacent to the base. The Taliban fighters were wearing uniforms belonging to the Afghan Border Police, according to Pajhwok Afghan News.

The fighting began after 6 a.m. Afghan time and lasted for nearly three and a half hours, according to the Associated Press. US Army attack helicopters intervened and killed at least three Taliban fighters.

The fighting forced the closure of the Torkham-Jalalabad road in Nangarhar, a key route from Afghanistan that is used to ferry NATO supplies from Pakistan. Dozens of trucks carrying fuel and supplies for NATO forces were destroyed.

The International Security Assistance Force confirmed that the attack took place.

"Our initial assessment of this morning's events, which occurred in the vicinity of a forward operating base located in Nangarhar province, is that it was an attempted but unsuccessful coordinated attack by enemy forces," ISAF said.

"There were three enemy forces killed during the attack," the statement continued. "We can confirm that no ISAF personnel were killed as a result of this incident."

The Taliban claimed credit for the attack in a statement on their website, Voice of Jihad, and named the fighters.

"The group of three martyrdom seeking Mujahideen, Muhammad Yasin from Nangarhar, Abdur Rahman from Kunar and Farooq Jan from Kandahar province stormed the huge base early this morning and after breaching the main base, engaged in head-on fight the with the enemy forces that lasted for about five hours," the Taliban statement said.

The Taliban claimed that the three fighters "destroyed as many as 154 armored personnel carriers, 12 mine clearing tanks, 85 trailer trucks and 9 container trucks filled with important and advanced military gears and arms, and also killed "several US-Nato invaders as well as killing and wounding 13 puppets." The Taliban routinely exaggerate the effects of their operations.

Today's attack is the fifth major suicide assault and bombing in Afghanistan in the past eight days. The attacks have taken place in different regions. On Aug. 26, a suicide assault team targeted a joint US and Afghan base in Kapisa province.

On Aug. 28, a suicide assault team attacked the Provincial Reconstruction Team base in Kapisa, killing a police soldier, four Afghan civilians, and three police officers. That same day, a suicide bomber targeted a US military convoy in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand. Five Afghan civilians were killed and more than 15 were wounded.

On Aug. 30, a suicide bomber killed a district chief and 19 other people in a suicide attack at a mosque in Kunduz province.

The Taliban promised to attack Coalition and Afghan forces as well as government officials when they announced their "Khalid bin Waleed spring operation" in April. The Taliban stressed that they would use "special military tactics" and "collective martyrdom operations," a reference to suicide assaults, and "insider attacks," or green-on-blue attacks, in which Afghan security forces attack ISAF personnel.

Egyptian security forces today carried out strikes in the Sinai Peninsula that reportedly killed at least eight Islamist militants. The strikes come just days after security forces operating in the Sinai arrested wanted jihadists tied to the recent killing of over 20 policemen.

Using Apache helicopters, Egyptian authorities struck a number of targets in the Sinai. In addition to the eight killed, an additional 15 Islamist militants were reportedly injured in the strikes. "Eight militants were killed and 15 were wounded when air strikes hit four Islamist positions south of Rafah," a security source told Agence France Presse.

According to Reuters, state-run Nile TV claimed that the number of killed militants was actually 15. A military source told the Associated Press that the death toll was at least 13.

Today's operations in the Sinai come a few days after Egyptian authorities announced the arrest of Adel Mohammed Ibrahim, a top jihadist wanted in connection with numerous attacks in the Sinai, including the Aug. 19 execution of over 20 policemen, which he reportedly masterminded.

And on Sept. 2, Egyptian authorities arrested two additional jihadists linked to the killing of the policemen. Interestingly, the two jihadists, identified by Ma'an News Agency as Adel Hussein and Muhammad Fawzi, are said to be members of the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC).

The MSC has yet to comment on the killing of the policemen on Aug. 19, but was quick to deny charges that it was responsible for the Aug. 5, 2012 attack on a Rafah military outpost that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers.

Hussein and Fawzi were also wanted in connection with recent rocket attacks from the Sinai toward Israel, according to the Associated Press.

The MSC, a consortium of Salafi jihadist groups based primarily in the Gaza Strip, took responsibility for an Aug. 13 rocket attack on the southern Israeli city of Eilat. The MSC said it fired the Grad rocket in response to the killing of four members of the Sinai-based Ansar Jerusalem jihadist group. In April, the MSC similarly claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Eilat from the Sinai.

Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi on July 3, there have been near-daily attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, which have left dozens dead. On Aug. 23, the Egyptian army claimed that recent operations by Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula have led to the deaths of 78 militants. Thirty-two of those killed were said to be non-Egyptians.

Along with the increase in attacks in the Sinai, there have been a plethora of statements from jihadists in response to the ongoing crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. For example, Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari (also known as Muhammad al Murshidi), an official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), recently charged that the Egyptian government was seeking "to return Egypt to the era of oppression, tyranny and the domination of the security and intelligence agencies."

On Aug. 17, jihadist ideologue Abu Sa'ad al 'Amili posted a series of tweets to his Twitter account urging Egyptian Muslims to prepare for an "open war." Likewise, Abdullah Muhammad Mahmoud of the jihadist Dawa'at al-Haq Foundation for Studies and Research warned Egyptian Muslims, in an article posted to jihadist forums on Aug. 14, that "if you don't do jihad today, then only blame yourselves tomorrow."

Similarly, on Aug. 15, Abu Hafs al Maqdisi, the leader of the Gaza-based Jaish al Ummah (Army of the Nation), called on Egyptians to wage "jihad" against Egyptian army commander General Abdul Fattah el Sisi. Four days later, al Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, urged Egyptian Muslims to "pick up arms and defend yourself." In addition, on Aug. 30, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant called on Egyptians to wage 'jihad' against army.

And on Aug. 22, al Salafiyya al Jihadiyya in Sinai released a statement that called on Muslims to fight the "apostate" Egyptian army. The communiqué was particularly notable as last fall the group said: "[T]he army and the police are not our targets and that our weapons are directed at the enemies and the enemies of our Ummah the Jews." More recently, in mid-May, the jihadist group said: "[T]he target of the Salafist Jihadist current in Sinai is the Zionist enemy and its operations are directed to them, and the Egyptian soldiers are not a target for us."

In a message posted on its Facebook page today, Ansar al Sharia Tunisia responded to the Tunisian government's recent decision to label the group a terrorist organization. Tunisian interior ministry officials highlighted the organization's ties to al Qaeda and terrorist plotting during a press conference last week. [See LWJ report, Tunisian government: Ansar al Sharia is a terrorist organization.]

"On this occasion, we wish to confirm our organizational independence and that we are not tied to any group outside," Ansar al Sharia's statement reads, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The group goes on to confirm its "loyalty" to al Qaeda."We remind again that our blessed method is declared and there is no hiding in it, and regarding our loyalty to Qaedat al Jihad and the jihadi formations, we have declared it from the first day and we are not ashamed to renew today our declaration with a louder voice."

Ansar al Sharia blames America for its terrorist listing, saying this "lowly conspiracy" is aimed at paving the way for America's "direct intervention" and "to justify" an American airbase in the country.

During the interior ministry's press conference last week, Director General of Public Security Mustapha Ben Amor said that Ansar al Sharia is a part of al Qaeda's global network and levied a number of accusations against the group.

According to a summary of the press conference by Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP), Ben Amor "reported the existence of close links between Ansar al Sharia and AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), showing journalists the handwritten Allegiance Act" between Ansar al Sharia's leader, Seifallah Ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi), and AQIM's emir, Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud. The document reportedly indicates that Ansar al Sharia members who swear allegiance to Ben Hassine, but then disobey his orders, "may be subject to physical extermination."

"Security investigations have confirmed that the financing of Ansar al Sharia, which was designated a terrorist organization, comes from external and internal sources," Ben Amor said, according to Magharebia. "We ascertained that the sources of financing for Ansar al Sharia come from certain Arab countries, such as Yemen, Libya and Mali," Ben Amor added.

"The group is a member of the parent terrorist al Qaeda, and those terrorists receive training first in Libya and then in Syria where they go to train on the ground," Ben Amor claimed.

Ben Amor also claimed that Seifallah Ben Hassine specifically ordered the Feb. 6 assassination of opposition politician Chokri Belaid. A slide presented at the interior ministry's press conference said that Ben Hassine "is the source of instructions for the terrorist group involved in the killing of" Belaid and "gave a fatwa to kill him," according to SITE's translation. The interior ministry also said that Ansar al Sharia targeted 19 others for assassination.

In its response to the Tunisian government, Ben Hassine's organization says the terrorist designation is an "honor." The authors of the statement "congratulate" their "brothers in Ansar al Sharia in particular and the Muslims all over the world in general with this listing on the terrorist list, and with this divine rank, which has increased our certainty in the goodness of the path that we have taken," according to SITE's translation.

Addressing the "tyrants" who rule Tunisia, Ansar al Sharia vows it "will not back down no matter how you plot and plan, and no matter what you plan to remove us or excise us." The group says it "will have the highest degrees of patience and endurance, with our certainty that the battle has bared its teeth and taken off the mask from its face."

In a statement released to jihadist forums today, al Salafiyya al Jihadiyya (ASAJ) charged that the Egyptian army was lying about its recent operations in the Sinai Peninsula. ASAJ's statement, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, began by saying claims that an Adel Mohammed Ibrahim (a.k.a. Adel Habara) was arrested and that he leads al Qaeda in the Sinai are false.

"There is no al-Qaeda in Sinai as an organization for it to have a leader to arrest," the group's statement said. The group even claimed that "there is no one named Adel Habara." A reporter with the Wall Street Journal similarly tweeted today that "Salafis in Sinai have already said they've never heard of the guy [Adel Habara] who was recently arrested."

ASAJ went on to argue that the reason the Egyptian army is lying about the arrest of Adel Habara and other operations in the Sinai is to cover their "acts of betrayal." The group's statement then laid out a number of crimes it said were recently committed by the army.

ASAJ first denounced the recent destruction of homes in Rafah along the border with the Gaza Strip, which it said would "serve the goals of the Jews and their security." On Sept. 1, Egyptian authorities destroyed a number of homes in the area "as a prelude to the possible creation of a buffer zone to reduce weapon smuggling and illegal militant crossings," the Associated Press reported. The home demolitions and talk of a buffer zone have angered Egyptians and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

After denouncing the home demolitions, ASAJ condemned the army's recent strikes in the Sinai, which security sources claimed had killed at least eight Islamist militants. According to ASAJ, the army struck mosques and homes of slain jihadists.

One of the homes that was targeted belonged to the family of Ansar Jerusalem (Bayt al Maqdis) fighter Yusri Muhaareb al Saraarkah (Yusri Muhareb al-Sawarka), who was killed on Aug. 9. ASAJ said that targeting the home of a slain fighter is "the custom of the Jews against the mujahideen in Palestine." In Egypt, ASAJ said, Israel does not need to do this as "their lackeys and agents in the Egyptian army fulfill this role."

According to ASAJ, the Egyptian army strikes in the Sinai on Sept. 3 led to much destruction at a mosque in Muqa'tah. Along with the statement, ASAJ released photos (reproduced below) showing some of the destruction at the mosque. ASAJ further said the army had struck homes that are generally occupied by women, children, and the elderly and were neither weapon caches nor training facilities.

The new communiqué concluded by stating that Egyptian army operations in the Sinai must be "repulsed and thwarted." [T]his is what the mujahideen are doing every day with operations that harm them and destroy [the army's] powers," the statement said.

Hours after the release of the new statement from ASAJ, at least six security personnel were killed in yet another attack by gunmen in the Sinai, according to Al Ahram. A report in today's Israel Hayom said IDF data has noted at least 300 attacks "launched against Egyptian forces in Sinai over the past few weeks."

Today's statement from ASAJ is not the first time the group has accused the Egyptian army of lying about its operations in the Sinai. About three weeks ago, the group denounced a number of army claims as "outright lies."

On Aug. 22, ASAJ released a statement calling on Muslims to fight the "apostate" Egyptian army. The communiqué was particularly notable, as last fall the group had said that "the army and the police are not our targets and that our weapons are directed at the enemies and the enemies of our Ummah the Jews." And similarly, in mid-May, the jihadist group had said "the target of the Salafist Jihadist current in Sinai is the Zionist enemy and its operations are directed to them, and the Egyptian soldiers are not a target for us."

The US killed four suspected Haqqani Network fighters in the second drone strike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan in six days.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired a pair of missiles today at a compound in the village of Darga Mandi in the Ghulam Khan area of North Waziristan.

Pakistani intelligence officials told Dawn that the four fighters were members of the Haqqani Network. The identities of the Haqqani Network fighters who were killed have not been disclosed.

The Haqqani Network is a powerful Taliban faction that operates in eastern, central, and northern Afghanistan, and is based in North Waziristan in Pakistan. The terror group has close links with al Qaeda, and is supported by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. Siraj is the operational commander of the Haqqani Network and leads the Miramshah Shura, one of four major Taliban regional councils. Siraj is also a member of al Qaeda's Shura Majlis, or executive council, US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal.

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 the Haqqani Network or other Taliban groups such as one run by Hafiz Gul Bahadar. The Haqqanis and Bahadar are considered "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan. But the groups shelter and support al Qaeda, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, and a host of other terror groups that attack the Pakistani state. In June 2012, Bahadar banned polio vaccinations in North Waziristan, in protest against US drone strikes.

Since 2008, nine top Haqqani Network leaders, including Sirajuddin, have been placed on the US list of terrorists; six of them were designated in 2011. All of them have ties to al Qaeda. Jalaluddin Haqqani, the patriarch of the group who is also a senior Afghan Taliban leader, has not been added to the list. For more information on the Haqqani Network, see LWJ report, US adds Haqqani Network to list of terror groups.

The US killed a Haqqani Network leader known as Maulana Akhtar Zadran along with Abu Saif al Jaziri, an al Qaeda military commander from the Lashkar al Zil, in a drone strike in North Waziristan on July 2.

Today's strike is the second since Aug. 31, when four members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an al Qaeda allied jihadist group, were killed in North Waziristan. The US has launched only six strikes in Pakistan since President Barack Obama's speech at the end of May outlining a reduced US counterterrorism role in the world.

Prior to the Aug. 31 strike, the previous drone attack took place on July 28; three al Qaeda military trainers, from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Kuwait, were killed.

Obama has said that the drones, which are currently operated by the CIA, will eventually be turned over to the military, and that the pace of the strikes will be reduced. Even though al Qaeda has expanded its operations in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, and Egypt, and in North and West Africa, Obama claimed that the terrorist organization has been sufficiently weakened.

The US has launched 20 drone strikes in Pakistan so far this year, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The number of strikes in Pakistan has decreased since a peak in 2010, when 117 such attacks were recorded. In 2011, 64 strikes were launched in Pakistan, and in 2012 there were 46 strikes.

The US has targeted al Qaeda's top leaders and its external operations network, as well as the assortment of Taliban and Pakistani jihadist groups operating in the region. The strikes have been confined mostly to North and South Waziristan. Of the 345 strikes recorded since 2004, 328, or 95%, have taken place in the two tribal agencies. But al Qaeda is known to have an extensive network throughout Pakistan.

Yesterday's drone strike in the Ghulam Khan area of Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan is reported to have killed Mullah Sangeen Zadran, a senior Haqqani Network leader who is on the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for supporting al Qaeda, as well as an al Qaeda explosives expert from Egypt who is known as Zubir al Muzi.

Pakistani intelligence sources told Reuters that Sangeen is thought to have been among those killed in yesterday's airstrike on a compound that was carried out by the US. Additionally, "a source among insurgents" in the area said that Muzi was also killed in the strike.

US intelligence officials who track al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region told The Long War Journal that they are aware of the reports of the deaths of Sangeen and Muzi, but are waiting for confirmation.

Neither the Haqqani Network nor al Qaeda have released statements confirming or denying the reports of their deaths. Al Qaeda and the Haqqani Network often do not announce the deaths of military commanders.

Sangeen is a senior Haqqani Network leader who is on the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for supporting al Qaeda and who holds a captured a US soldier in Afghanistan. Sangeen serves as the Taliban's shadow governor for Paktika province and is a top aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani Network.

Muzi, the al Qaeda explosive expert, is a mid-level commander in al Qaeda's Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army, a US intelligence official told The Long War Journal. The Lashkar al Zil fields small conventional units in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and also embeds military trainers within Taliban units in both countries. These trainers provide instructions for battling security forces in local insurgencies as well as knowledge, expertise, funding, and resources to conduct local and international attacks.

The US Treasury Department officially acknowledged the existence of this unit when it added one such Pakistan-based trainer and commander of al Qaeda's "paramilitary brigades" to the list of global terrorists in June. [For more information on this unit, see LWJ report, Al Qaeda's paramilitary 'Shadow Army,' from February 2009.]

Sangeen and Muzi are the second pair of Haqqani Network and al Qaeda commanders reported to have been killed in drone strikes this summer. On July 2, a drone strike is said to have killed Abu Saif al Jaziri, a Lashkar al Zil commander, and Maulana Akhtar Zadran, a Haqqani Network officer.

Sangeen is closely allied with al Qaeda

Sangeen has long been a supporter of al Qaeda and has encouraged foreign fighters to wage jihad in Afghanistan. He appeared in several videos released over the past year that called for Turks and Kurds to fight in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

In the past, Sangeen has openly admitted the strong links between the Haqqani Network and al Qaeda. In an interview released in September 2009 by As Sahab, al Qaeda's top media outlet, Sangeen said al Qaeda and the Taliban "are all one and are united by Islam."

"We do not see any difference between Taliban and Al Qaeda, for we all belong to the religion of Islam. Sheikh Osama [bin Laden] has pledged allegiance to Amir Al-Mumineen [the Leader of the Faithful, Mullah Muhammad Omar] and has reassured his leadership again and again. There is no difference between us, for we are united by Islam and the Sharia governs us," Sangeen told As Sahab.

US military officials have told The Long War Journal that Sangeen is considered to be one of the most dangerous operational commanders in eastern Afghanistan. Sangeen has organized numerous assaults on US and Afghan combat outposts in the region, and is currently holding Bowe Bergdahl, the only US soldier captured alive in the Afghan theater.

A video posted online by Ahrar al Sham "suggests that at least three distinct rebel groups were involved in the attack in Malula," Syria this week, The New York Times reports. In addition to Ahrar al Sham, al Qaeda's Al Nusrah Front and a Free Syrian Army brigade from Homs took part in the fighting. But it is not clear "how closely they cooperated with one another," according to the Times.

Malula is an ancient town northeast of Damascus and is known for its Christian population. The Times previously reported that the town is one of the few places left in the world where Aramaic is spoken.

Ahrar al Sham is an extremist rebel group that frequently fights alongside the Al Nusrah Front. The group posted at least two videos online showing its participation in the fighting in Malula.

In one of the videos, according to the Times, the cameraman says the attack was "coordinated" with the Al Nusrah Front.

Other videos posted by a Free Syrian Army brigade show its fighters also participating in the assault.

According to the Associated Press, the Al Nusrah Front launched the dawn raid on Sept. 4 when a suicide bomber "blew himself up at a regime checkpoint at the entrance to the village." The rebels "seized the checkpoint, disabled two tanks and an armored personnel carrier and killed eight regime soldiers in" the fighting that followed.

The AP cited a Syrian regime official and the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) in its reporting on Al Nusrah's role. Residents took sanctuary in a village convent.

Condemning Western intervention

Separately, an umbrella group of Salafi rebels led by Ahrar al Sham condemned any possible Western intervention. "The true goal behind this military operation - if it happens - is to achieve the interests of its perpetrators," the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF) said in a statement released on its Facebook page. "This operation is a prelude to political projects that are imposed and connected to these interests," SIF warned.

The SIF statement was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The group goes on to stress the "obligation of unifying ranks" against Assad's regime.

On Sept. 4, the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center (ITMC), a jihadist media unit tied to the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC), released an 11-minute, 27-second video to jihadist forums. The video shows a recent march in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip that expressed solidarity with Egyptians and Syrians.

In the video, translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, protesters are seen carrying signs with pictures of Bashar al Assad and Abdel Fattah el Sisi and text calling the two leaders "murderers and killers." Another poster seen in the video said: "O our people in Egypt and Syria ... If you seek the law of Allah, you will then only succeed through the law of Allah. Salafi Youth - Ansar al-Shariah."

A separate poster targeted at Shiites and those supporting "the tyrannical dog Bashar [al Assad]" read: "You will not evade the punishment of the people of Islam soon, Allah willing. Salafi Youth - Ansar al-Shariah."

Later in the video, the Salafi jihadists, waving and donning black al Qaeda flags, are heard chanting: "Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!"

A little less than halfway through the video, a speech from Sheikh Ahmad Oweida is heard. In a message "to our people of our Levant," Oweida said, "we will not let you down even when we run out of means." Speaking with al Qaeda flags in the background, Oweida went on to say that "the time is for blood and destruction. The time is for invasions. The time is for battles."

"Let us travel in the paths of our jihad ... Let us die so that we obtain martyrdom, for death on the path of guidance is birth," Oweida further declared.

Although the video is undated, it appears to have been filmed in recent days, as Oweida makes reference to the chemical weapons attack in Eastern Ghouta on Aug. 21. "Were it not for the borders, O loved ones, and if it were easy to get to the Ghoutah, by Allah, we would march in caravans! We would march riding, and we would march in groups, seeking the satisfaction of Allah," Oweida declared.

Oweida's comments on Egypt were relatively brief, but he said that Egyptians are the "spear of Islam in the chest of despicable secularism." "You are our hope that Shariah returns to what it was before," Oweida stated.

Video of the recent march in Gaza comes just days after the ITMC released a video praising Fahd Nizar al Habbash, a former Hamas policeman who died fighting with jihadists in Syria. In mid-March, the ITMC released a video about Muhammad Ahmed Qanitah. Qanitah, who had previously trained fighters in Hamas' Izz ad Din al Qassam Brigades, was said to have been killed in a rocket attack in December while fighting for the Al Nusrah Front during the siege of the airport in Aleppo.

In the more recent ITMC video, a narrator noted that "the marketplace of jihad opened in Syria, the youth of Islam rose from every direction to fight" against the Assad regime. The narrator similarly boasted that "convoys of mujahideen" from Gaza have gone to Syria to fight and that some have died while there.

Four days after Egyptian security sources claimed to have killed at least eight Islamist militants in the Sinai, sources today said that the army conducted another major operation. Egyptian security officials claimed that 15 militants were arrested and another 30 were either killed or wounded.

Today's operation in the Sinai was said "to be the biggest of its kind in recent years in Sinai," the BBC reported. "Around 2,500 soldiers and officers from the army, police and central security forces took part in the operation," Xinhua reported based on comments from a security source. In addition, "[a]ll telephone and internet service provider networks operating throughout Northern Sinai were shut down during the operation," according to Daily News Egypt.

An unidentified military official told the Associated Press that the operation involved tanks and helicopters and that "dozens" of militants had been injured or killed. Security sources told Reuters that 30 people had been killed or wounded. A statement from the army's spokesman said 9 militants had been killed.

Today's raids reportedly targeted around 12 villages in the Sheikh Zuwaid area and "[c]louds of smoke could be seen rising from the villages," Ma'an News Agency reported.

One tribal leader told the AP: "This is by far the largest operation we have seen and the one we have been waiting for." "Starting today, you will not hear of attacks on army or police checkpoints as before. They either have to flee or get arrested," Sheikh Hassan Khalaf said. A security official similarly told Ma'an News Agency that the plan is to "clean all the villages in Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid area from dangerous terrorists."

Today's operation was conducted two days after an assassination attempt on Mohammed Ibrahim, Egypt's interior minister. Security officials told Reuters that those behind the attempted assassination are linked to the Islamist militants operating in the Sinai.

Thus far, no evidence has been presented by Egyptian authorities to support their claims of jihadist deaths from operations conducted last week or today. Nor have jihadists announced the deaths of any fighters from either operation. In fact, in a statement released to jihadist forums on Sept. 4, al Salafiyya al Jihadiyya charged that the Egyptian army was lying about its recent operations in the Sinai Peninsula.

Additionally, this past week a number of reporters tweeted about their belief that the army exaggerates about the successes of their operations in the Sinai. "When you go to Al Arish everyone says the operations are jokes," a Wall Street Journal reporter tweeted. A reporter with the Global Post similarly said, "it's true ... they exaggerate or fabricate SOME sinai operations." "[T]estimonies from residents/eyewitnesses in area have often been at odds with the state version of events," another journalist added.

Charges that Egyptian authorities are lying about operations in the Sinai are not new. Following the August 2012 attack that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers at a military outpost in Rafah, Egyptian forces claimed to have carried out massive operations against jihadists in the Sinai. Reports soon emerged of the falsity of much of what the military was claiming, however. As one NPR reporter stated: "We found that a lot of that huge military operation was actually quite fictional. We couldn't really find evidence of these major attacks. A lot of the reports of militants being killed were really exaggerated."

Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi on July 3, there have been near-daily attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, which have left dozens dead. On Aug. 23, the Egyptian army claimed that recent operations by Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula have led to the deaths of 78 militants. Thirty-two of those killed were said to be non-Egyptians.

Along with the increase in attacks in the Sinai, there have been a plethora of statements from jihadists in response to the ongoing crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. For example, Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari (also known as Muhammad al Murshidi), an official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), recently charged that the Egyptian government was seeking "to return Egypt to the era of oppression, tyranny and the domination of the security and intelligence agencies."

On Aug. 17, jihadist ideologue Abu Sa'ad al 'Amili posted a series of tweets to his Twitter account urging Egyptian Muslims to prepare for an "open war." Likewise, Abdullah Muhammad Mahmoud of the jihadist Dawa'at al-Haq Foundation for Studies and Research warned Egyptian Muslims, in an article posted to jihadist forums on Aug. 14, that "if you don't do jihad today, then only blame yourselves tomorrow."

Similarly, on Aug. 15, Abu Hafs al Maqdisi, the leader of the Gaza-based Jaish al Ummah (Army of the Nation), called on Egyptians to wage "jihad" against Egyptian army commander General Abdul Fattah el Sisi. Four days later, al Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, urged Egyptian Muslims to "pick up arms and defend yourself." In addition, on Aug. 30, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant called on Egyptians to wage 'jihad' against army.

And on Aug. 22, al Salafiyya al Jihadiyya in Sinai released a statement that called on Muslims to fight the "apostate" Egyptian army. The communiqué was particularly notable as last fall the group said: "[T]he army and the police are not our targets and that our weapons are directed at the enemies and the enemies of our Ummah the Jews." More recently, in mid-May, the jihadist group said: "[T]he target of the Salafist Jihadist current in Sinai is the Zionist enemy and its operations are directed to them, and the Egyptian soldiers are not a target for us."

The Taliban confirmed that Badruddin Haqqani, one of the top leaders in the Haqqani Network, a Taliban subgroup that is closely allied with al Qaeda, was killed by US forces. Although the Taliban did not state how Badruddin died, he is known to have been targeted in a US drone strike in the summer of 2012, and has long been rumored to have been killed.

The Taliban confirmed his death in a video that was released by Manba al Jihad, "a media unit of the Haqqani Network within the Afghan Taliban," according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which translated the video. The video was published on Sept. 8 on Voice of Jihad, the Taliban's official website.

"While the Afghan Taliban initially denied these reports, the video confirms his death and includes a statement from Mullah Muhammad Omar acknowledging it," SITE stated [see LWJ report, Badruddin Haqqani 'is alive and healthy,' Taliban spokesman says, for the official denial by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid].

"Footage shows Haqqani officials speaking about Badruddin, including Maulvi Sangeen [Mullah Sangeen Zadran] and Ahmad Jan Ghaznavi, and covers some of the operations in which he was involved," SITE continued. Sangeen, another top Haqqani network leader, is rumored to have been killed in a US drone strike late last week.

A Taliban fighter who participated in the June 25 suicide assault in Kabul said the attack was launched to avenge Badruddin. The fighter, who spoke in English, threatened "the Americans, and the Jews, and the non-Muslims, the European people."

"Did you, you martyred our leader, shaheed [martyr] hafiz [memorizer of the Qur'an] Badruddin Haqqani, rahimahullah [may Allah have mercy on him]," the fighter said, according to SITE. "You don't think we don't be happy about this, that you martyred our holy leader - you martyred our leader, and don't think you will be happy nowadays. Insha'Allah [Allah willing], know that we are going to get the revenge of our leader shaheed Badruddin Haqqani, and insha'Allah, you the leaders, you martyred ours, you martyred our leaders, insha'Allah, we have taken revenge for our leaders and we will take revenge for our leader shaheed hafiz Badruddin Haqqani, rahimahullah."

Badruddin is believed to have been killed in one of five drone strikes that took place between Aug. 18 and Aug. 24, 2012 in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. Four of the five strikes took place in the Shawal Valley, an area known to be used by the Haqqani Network and a host of jihadist groups. The other took place in North Waziristan, the seat of power for the Haqqani Network [see LWJ report, Badruddin Haqqani rumored killed in US drone strike].

Badruddin was one of the Haqqani Network's most senior leaders. He is thought to have served as the top deputy to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group's operational commander.

The US State Department added Badruddin to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on May 11, 2011. In the designation, State said that he "sits on the Miramshah Shura [council], which has command and control over all Haqqani Network activities, and helps lead insurgents and foreign fighters in attacks against targets in southeastern Afghanistan."

The Miramshah Shura, also known as the Miramshah Regional Military Shura, is one of the Afghan Taliban's four regional commands. The US military and government often use the term "foreign fighters" to describe members of al Qaeda and allied terror groups operating along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

Jason Blazakis, the chief of the State Department's Terrorist Designations Unit, told The Long War Journal in May 2011 that Badruddin did indeed aid al Qaeda operatives in attacking US forces in Afghanistan.

"The foreign fighters supported by Badruddin include al Qaeda fighters," Blazakis said.

State also said that Badruddin was "believed to be in charge of kidnappings for the Haqqani Network." According to State, he "accepted responsibility for keeping New York Times reporter David Rohde hostage." Rohde was captured in November 2008, held in North Waziristan, and escaped in June 2009.

Badruddin was also one of several handlers for the fighters involved in the June 28, 2011 assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. He was recorded while he issued instructions to one of the fighters, and was heard laughing during the attack that killed 11 civilians and two Afghan policemen as well as nine members of the attack team. The attack and the use of Pakistan-based handlers to direct the assault team is similar to at least three other attacks carried out by terror groups in the region, including Mumbai [see LWJ report, Haqqani Network directed Kabul hotel assault by phone from Pakistan].

Badruddin is one of nine Haqqani family members who have been designated by the US as global terrorists; all of them have ties to al Qaeda. His brother, Sirajuddin, is the overall leader of the Haqqani Network as well as the leader of the Miramshah Regional Military Shura. Siraj was designated by the State Department as a terrorist in March 2008; and in March 2009, the State Department put out a bounty of $5 million for information leading to his capture. US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal that Siraj is a member of al Qaeda's top council.

In a statement posted to jihadist forums on Sept. 8, Ansar Jerusalem (Ansar Bayt al Maqdis) took credit for the recent assassination attempt on Egypt's interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim. The Sinai-based jihadist group named the attack the "Invasion of Revenge for the Muslims of Egypt," according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which translated the statement.

In the statement, the group said that a suicide bomber (whose name was not disclosed) had targeted the interior minister on Sept. 5. "The butcher of the Interior saw death with his own two eyes," the communiqué declared. The statement further warned that "what is coming is worse and more bitter."

Later in the new statement, the jihadist group apologized to Egyptian Muslims for not killing Ibrahim "this time." "We promise them that the attacks of the mujahideen will be repeated upon him and upon those like him from the imams of disbelief," the statement said.

The statement from Ansar Jerusalem also said that it sought to clarify several matters. First, the group's release stated: "We are a group that works for the establishment of Allah's religion on the ground with jihad in the cause of Allah and calling for it with wisdom and good preaching." "We have rejected the path of polytheist democracy," the group declared.

With regard to the recent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters by Egyptian security forces, Ansar Jerusalem said that the group was "horrified by what we saw." As a result of this as well as attacks on mosques throughout Egypt, in particular the Sinai, the group said that its fighters "were forced to support our Muslim brothers in repulsing he who attacks their religion, souls, and honor, so this blessed attack occurred."

The statement then threatened retaliation against those behind the attacks on Muslims in Egypt. It specifically noted that the group was prepared to target Mohammed Ibrahim and Abdel Fatteh el Sisi, and urged Egyptian Muslims "to stay away from the installations and headquarters of the Ministries of Defense and Interior, so as to preserve their souls and proper."

The Sinai-based jihadist group further called on Egypt's Muslims "to come together around their mujahideen brothers in their war against those criminals."

Ansar Jerusalem's claim of responsibility came a day after Egyptian security forces began their latest major operation in the Sinai Peninsula against Islamist militants. On Sept. 7, Egyptian security officials claimed that 15 militants were arrested and another 30 were either killed or wounded. Four days before, officials said that at least eight militants had been killed in operations in the Sinai.

Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi on July 3, there have been near-daily attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, which have left dozens dead. On Aug. 23, the Egyptian army claimed that recent operations by Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula have led to the deaths of 78 militants. Thirty-two of those killed were said to be non-Egyptians.

Along with the increase in attacks in the Sinai, there have been a plethora of statements from jihadists in response to the ongoing crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. For example, Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari (also known as Muhammad al Murshidi), an official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), recently charged that the Egyptian government was seeking "to return Egypt to the era of oppression, tyranny and the domination of the security and intelligence agencies."

On Aug. 17, jihadist ideologue Abu Sa'ad al 'Amili posted a series of tweets to his Twitter account urging Egyptian Muslims to prepare for an "open war." Likewise, Abdullah Muhammad Mahmoud of the jihadist Dawa'at al-Haq Foundation for Studies and Research warned Egyptian Muslims, in an article posted to jihadist forums on Aug. 14, that "if you don't do jihad today, then only blame yourselves tomorrow."

Similarly, on Aug. 15, Abu Hafs al Maqdisi, the leader of the Gaza-based Jaish al Ummah (Army of the Nation), called on Egyptians to wage "jihad" against Egyptian army commander General Abdul Fattah el Sisi. Four days later, al Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, urged Egyptian Muslims to "pick up arms and defend yourself." In addition, on Aug. 30, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant called on Egyptians to wage 'jihad' against army.

And on Aug. 22, al Salafiyya al Jihadiyya in Sinai released a statement that called on Muslims to fight the "apostate" Egyptian army. The communiqué was particularly notable as last fall the group said: "[T]he army and the police are not our targets and that our weapons are directed at the enemies and the enemies of our Ummah the Jews." More recently, in mid-May, the jihadist group said: "[T]he target of the Salafist Jihadist current in Sinai is the Zionist enemy and its operations are directed to them, and the Egyptian soldiers are not a target for us."

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, 2012, 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 men were said to be leaders of the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem.

On Jan. 11, a video released by Ansar Jerusalem stated: "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."

In March, the group issued a statement during President Obama's visit to Israel, which it called a "cancerous tumor." The jihadist group said that the visit's timing "has important implications" and accused "America and the Crusader West" of intervening in the so-called Arab Spring "to change the natural direction of these blessed revolutions, and prevent[ing] the Muslim peoples from achieving their true freedom and implementing their Islamic Shariah."

More recently, on Aug. 9, four members of Ansar Jerusalem who were preparing to fire rockets towards Israel were targeted and killed. On Aug. 10, Hussein Ibrahim Salem al Tihi, from the Tiyaaha tribe, and Yusri Muhaareb al Saraarkah, Ibrahim Khalaf al Munei'I, and Muhammad Hussein al Munei'i, all from the Sawaarkah tribe, were buried following an extensive funeral procession. Some of the slain jihadists were wrapped in al Qaeda flags, while vehicles in the procession had the black flags attached as well.

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An old photograph of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the former leader of the Quetta Shura who was detained in Karachi. Image from The New York Times.

Pakistan is planning on freeing Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Taliban's second in command before he was detained in Karachi in 2010, an adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said. But Baradar will be released in Pakistan and will not be handed over to Afghan officials.

"In principle, we have agreed to release him. The timing is being discussed. It should be very soon ... I think within this month," Sartaj Aziz, Sharif's advisor on foreign affairs told Reuters.

Although the reason for Baradar's planned release has not been disclosed, Sharif's government has been attempting to negotiate a peace agreement with the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, which has sworn allegiance to Mullah Omar and the Afghan Taliban. The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan has demanded the release of Baradar and other Afghan Taliban leaders, such as Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, who was captured in 2008 and released last week.

Sharif has also been making a push for the Pakistani government to be seen as facilitating peace talks in Afghanistan. Some Afghan officials have sought the release of Baradar and believe he can facilitate peace talks with the Taliban. Baradar is often portrayed as representing the "moderate" wing of the Taliban, and as potentially being instrumental in brokering peace talks with his faction. Also, the hope is that Baradar will be able to engineer the much-sought-after split between the Taliban and al Qaeda, thus allowing a US withdrawal.

But despite years in which US and NATO officials have been pinning their hopes on the rise of a moderate wing of the Taliban, no such group has come to the forefront. In fact, the Taliban have demonstrated, through their tactics and the appointment of leaders, that they have become more radical, not less, over time. And the Taliban have refused to denounce al Qaeda.

Baradar's replacement, Mullah Zakir, a former Gitmo detainee, is closely allied to al Qaeda, and he has promoted commanders who see eye to eye with him. Additionally, as of 2012, three of the four leaders of the Taliban's regional military councils -- Zakir, Siraj Haqqani, and Sheikh Mohammed Aminullah -- are closely allied with al Qaeda.

Before his capture in a joint CIA and Pakistani military raid in the port city of Karachi in February 2010, Baradar served as the Afghan Taliban's operational commander and the top deputy to and close confidant of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the group.

Baradar was one of the founders of the Afghan Taliban. He was said to direct the Taliban's Shura Majlis, or top leadership council. Baradar directed the Taliban's day-to-day operations, and was in close contact with regional military commanders and the shadow governors, the Taliban's political and military leaders in the provinces. He also was said to control the Taliban's purse strings.

While the Pakistani government may be touting the release of Baradar as part of its efforts to promote peace in Afghanistan, the move may be part of the military and intelligence establishment's efforts to bolster the Taliban's leadership cadre. The Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, Pakistan's notorious military intelligence service, has long supported the Taliban, and has allowed their leadership councils to operate unfettered in the country.

The release of Baradar inside Pakistan also runs the risk that he may return to the Taliban and rejoin the fight against the Afghan government and Coalition forces. Afghan officials have had difficulty tracking Taliban leaders once they have been released by Pakistan. Numerous Taliban commanders and fighters, including Zakir, have rejoined the fight after being released in Pakistan and Afghanistan.