Editor's note: Below is Thomas Joscelyn's testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security, on al Qaeda in Syria and the threat it poses to the US. Al Qaeda affiliates and allied jihadist groups dominate the insurgency in the heart of the Middle East.

Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Thompson and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the potential threats to the U.S. emanating out of Syria. Obviously, the situation inside Syria is grim, with a despicable tyrant on one side and a rebellion compromised by al Qaeda and like-minded extremists on the other. In between these two poles are the people who originally rose up against tyranny in search of a better life. As we've seen time and again in this long war, Muslims embroiled in violence in faraway lands are often the first line of defense against an ideology and an organization that pose a direct threat to the West. There are many Syrian families who deserve the free world's support today, beyond the prospect of limited airstrikes.

We should have no illusions about the nature of the Syrian war. What we are witnessing right now is a conflict that will have ramifications for our security in the West. The fighting in Syria and the terrorist campaign in Iraq are deeply linked, feeding off of one another in a way that increases the violence in both countries and potentially throughout the region. American interests outside of Syria have already been threatened by the war. We saw this late last year when al Qaeda repurposed a cell of Jordanian citizens who had fought in Syria for an attack inside their home country. They reportedly had the U.S. Embassy in their crosshairs and were planning a complex assault that involved other targets as well.

In my testimony today, I focus on the threat posed by al Qaeda and allied groups inside Syria, recognizing that al Qaeda did not start the Syrian rebellion. Moreover, there are many groups fighting on the side of the rebellion, making any clear-eyed analysis difficult. However, we can distill a number of observations.

Al Qaeda and its extremist allies have grown much stronger since late 2011. Al Qaeda does not control the entire rebellion, which is made up of a complex set of actors and alliances. However, al Qaeda and its allies dominate a large portion of northern Syria and play a key role in the fighting throughout the rest of the country. These same al Qaeda-affiliated forces have fought alongside Free Syrian Army brigades. There is no clear geographic dividing line between the most extreme fighters and other rebels. For example, al Qaeda's affiliates played a key role in the fighting in Latakia, an Assad stronghold on the coast, in early August. And within the past week we saw al Qaeda-affiliated fighters lead an attack in Malula, a Christian village not far from Damascus. These are just two examples chosen from many.

Al Qaeda has made the fight for Syria a strategic priority. Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's emir, has repeatedly called on jihadists to concentrate their efforts on the fight against the Assad regime. But al Qaeda desires much more than Assad's defeat. Al Qaeda wants to control territory and rule over others. This is consistent with al Qaeda's desire to establish an Islamic Emirate in the heart of the Levant. In his book, Knights Under the Prophet's Banner, Zawahiri discussed at length the importance of creating such a state. Al Qaeda and associated groups have consistently pursued this goal in jihadist hotspots around the globe and this is especially true in Syria today.

Two known al Qaeda affiliates operate inside Syria: Jabhat al Nusrah [Al Nusrah Front] and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (or Levant). The leaders of both groups have sworn an oath of loyalty (bayat) to Ayman al Zawahiri and al Qaeda's senior leadership. The heads of these two affiliates openly bickered over the chain-of-command in early April 2013. This forced Zawahiri to intervene, but the head of the ISIS initially rejected Zawahiri's decision to have the two remain independently-operated franchises. It appears that some sort of compromise has been brokered, however, as the two al Qaeda affiliates fight alongside one another against their common enemies, including Kurdish forces in the north.

Al Qaeda is not just a terrorist organization. Al Qaeda's leaders are political revolutionaries seeking to acquire power for themselves and their ideology in several countries. They have a plan for Syria. Al Qaeda's affiliates inside Syria are not just fighting Assad's forces, or committing various other acts of terror. They are seeking to inculcate their ideology within the Syrian population. Many Syrians have no love for al Qaeda's ideology, or its harsh brand of sharia law. But al Qaeda knows this and has adjusted its tactics accordingly. Jabhat al Nusrah and the ISIS are providing local governance in the areas they control, and are seeking to win hearts and minds by making various social services available to the population. This is a continuation of a trend that we've seen elsewhere, beginning in Yemen, where al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula launched Ansar al Sharia as its political face. Ansar al Sharia does more than fight al Qaeda's enemies. It has provided food, electricity, medical care, and various other necessities to Yemenis. Al Qaeda's affiliates in Syria have copied this strategy in Syria, and are increasing their popular support in some areas (especially in the north and east) in this manner. This model is being implemented in Raqqah, Aleppo, Deir al Zor.

Syria has become the central front in the global jihad. Other al Qaeda-linked groups have joined the fight in Syria, thereby strengthening al Qaeda's hand. Groups including the Pakistani Taliban (Tekrik-e Taliban) and the Muhajireen (Migrants) Brigade are fighting in Syria. The first group sent fighters and trainers from South Asia to Syria, while the second is comprised of Chechens and other foreign fighters. Indeed, several thousand foreign fighters from around the globe have joined the fight. Countries throughout North Africa and the Middle East have supplied a large number of jihadist recruits. In addition, a significant number of Europeans have traveled to Syria for jihad.

Some of the more powerful Syrian rebel groups are closely allied with al Qaeda's affiliates. Ahrar al Sham and its coalition of like-minded groups, the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF), fight alongside al Qaeda's fighters regularly. Brigades belonging to another Islamist coalition, the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF), have coordinated their operations with al Qaeda's affiliates and Ahrar al Sham in key battles as well. For example, fighters from Nusrah, the SIF, and the SILF overran the Taftanaz Airbase in January. The collective strength of these groups is easily in the tens of thousands of fighters nationwide.

As the 9/11 Commission recognized, there is a direct connection between terrorism "over there" and the terrorist threat to Americans "over here." Most of al Qaeda's assets are devoted to acquiring power in North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. However, some portion of their assets is always devoted to terrorist plots against the West. Before the 9/11 attacks, most al Qaeda recruits were trained to fight alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan or as part of insurgencies elsewhere. Only a small number of al Qaeda members were selected to take part in international operations. Since 9/11, al Qaeda has greatly expanded its overall footprint by directing or supporting various insurgencies. This increases al Qaeda's potential recruits, with a small percentage of them being repurposed for operations against the West. We have seen this in Yemen, for example, where al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula simultaneously increased its capacity to wage an insurgency against the government, while also increasing its ability to launch attacks on the U.S. homeland. Al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, which spawned the Al Nusrah Front, has dedicated a small part of its resources to attacking the West as well. The Department of Homeland of Security announced in 2004 that al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) was ordered by Osama bin Laden to assemble a cell capable of attacking the U.S. In 2007, failed attacks in London and Glasgow were tied back to AQI. It should be noted that during this same time-period AQI was mainly focused on winning territory, not attacking the West.

Al Qaeda has talent inside Syria today, including top operatives who currently pose a threat to the West. According to credible press reports, a top al Qaeda terrorist named Mustafa Setmariam Nasar (a.k.a. Abu Musab al Suri) was freed from prison in the wake of the rebellion. Nasar has been tied to al Qaeda's terrorist plotting inside Europe, including the networks that executed the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the 2005 attacks in London. Nasar played a prominent role in al Qaeda's operations prior to being detained in 2005 and transferred to Syrian custody. Nasar is a widely influential jihadist thinker and a key advocate of small-scale terrorist attacks inside the West. He was reportedly freed by the Assad regime in the wake of the current rebellion. One of Nasar's closest colleagues, known as Abu Khalid al Suri, was appointed by Zawahiri to a key position within the region. We should wonder what happened to Mohammed Zammar, an al Qaeda recruiter who helped convince the 9/11 Hamburg cell to travel to Afghanistan for training. Zammar was once imprisoned by the Assad regime and may very well be free today. In addition to this "old school" talent, al Qaeda has been recruiting Westerners who could be used in attacks against their home countries or elsewhere in the West. In recent months, European officials have openly worried about this possibility.

Al Qaeda's affiliates are seeking possession of chemical and biological weapons in Syria. On May 30, the Turkish press reported that an al Nusrah Front cell had been arrested and was found to be in possession of about two kilos of sarin gas. The following day, June 1, Iraqi officials announced that they had broken up an al Qaeda cell that was seeking to launch sarin nerve gas attacks in Iraq, Europe and possibly North America. If the Iraqi government's claims are accurate, then we already have evidence that al Qaeda's affiliates in Iraq and Syria intend to use chemical weapons in an attack the West. I encourage the Homeland Security Committee to investigate these claims and ascertain for itself the extent of al Qaeda's efforts in this regard.

Jihadists used two suicide car bombs in "near-simultaneous attacks" against Egyptian security installations in the Sinai Peninsula this morning. Six security personnel were killed and 17 others wounded, including seven civilians, the army's spokesman said in a statement released on Facebook.

Some press reports have indicated a higher death toll. The Associated Press reported that nine people had been killed.

According to the AP, one bombing "brought down a two-story building housing the local branch of military intelligence, while the other struck an army checkpoint." The remains of the two bombers were recovered, the AP added.

Today's attack was not the first suicide attack against Egyptian security installations in the Sinai. On Aug. 27, a suicide car bomber targeted "a security facility" in the Sinai, according to Al Monitor.

Following today's attack, Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, Ma'an News Agency reported.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, "[o]fficials believe that the Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group were behind the attacks," according to Ma'an News Agency. In a statement posted to jihadist forums on Sept. 8, Ansar Jerusalem (Ansar Bayt al Maqdis) took credit for the Sept. 5 assassination attempt on Egypt's interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim.

The statement also threatened retaliation against Egyptian security forces. 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."

Today's attack comes amid an ongoing crackdown by Egyptian security forces on Islamists militants operating in the Sinai. On Sept. 3, officials said that at least eight militants had been killed in operations in the Sinai. Four days later, Egyptian security officials claimed that 15 militants were arrested and another 30 were either killed or wounded. Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that Egyptian forces had killed 29 militants in the past four days.

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.

Shabaab's intelligence service, the Amniyatt Mukhabarat, is thought to have tracked down and killed American jihadist Omar Hammami and a Brit known as Osama al Britani after a clash in central Somalia. Hammami is wanted by the US government for his jihadist activities in Somali and ties to al Qaeda, and is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Several Somalis in Bay province said that a large Shabaab force attacked Hammami and his small group of followers who were hiding out in a village near Dinsoor, the BBC reported. An Egyptian known as Khadap al Masri, who was with Hammami, is said to have surrendered to Shabaab forces.

Shabaab forces reportedly took the bodies of Hammami and al Britani from the scene of the attack. Shabaab has not officially claimed credit for the attack, but unnamed Shabaab officials are said to have confirmed Hammami's death.

Hammami is said to have granted an Interview with Voice of America Somalia more than a week ago. In the interview, he said he had renounced his ties to Shabaab and al Qaeda but still considered himself a "terrorist."

Hammami, who is better known as Abu Mansour al Amriki, is the most well-known foreign fighter in Somalia. Hammami occupied a prominent place in Shabaab's propaganda arm. He also served as a recruiter, financier, and military commander. He was even seen with Shabaab's top leaders at a public eulogy for slain al Qaeda emir and founder Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The US added him to the list of specially designated global terrorists for his ties to al Qaeda in July 2011 and offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his captured in March 2013.

But after Abu Abdullah al Muhajir, whom the FBI believes to be Mostafa Jehad, an American who has risen in the ranks of Shabaab and has been identified as al Qaeda's emissary to Shabaab, appeared in the video in November 2011, Hammami's star was in decline. In early 2012, Hammami released a video claiming that his life was in danger and that foreigner fighters are at odds with Shabaab's leaders. Shabaab has disputed the claims, and has countered that Hammami is a narcissistic self-promoter who has taken advantage of his high-profile media presence to sow dissent between the Somali group and foreign fighters. Hammami and a small group of foreign fighters then broke with Shabaab and went in hiding. Zubayr reportedly sent intelligence agents to assassinate Hammami.

The dispute between Hammami and Zubayr created rifts within Shabaab's top leadership cadre. In a fatwa released earlier this year, Ibrahim Afghani, Hassan Dahir Aweys, Sheikh Abu Mansur Robow, and two other Shabaab leaders all accused Godane of being heavy-handed in his treatment of Hammami and two other foreign fighters.

Zubayr responded by targeting the Shabaab leaders who disagreed with him. In June, Afghani, who has had ties to top al Qaeda leaders for decades, and another Shabaab leader were gunned down by Shabaab intelligence forces [see LWJ report, Shabaab confirms 2 top leaders were killed in infighting].

Aweys fled to his tribe and then surrendered to the Somali government. Robow was said to have been negotiating with the Somali government, but the reports were never confirmed. Robow is now said to be sheltering with his tribe in Bakool.

Hammami's death signals that Zubayr is intent on consolidating his hold on Shabaab after the group suffered losses during an African Union and Somali military offensive that began in 2011. While Shabaab has lost overt most control of major town and cities in southern and central Somalia, it still dominates many villages and rural areas.

In a statement distributed on jihadist forums today, a group calling itself Jund al Islam took credit for yesterday's two suicide car bomb attacks in the Sinai that killed at least six people and wounded over a dozen. In the statement, obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, the group charged that members of the Egyptian army have "sold their religion and conscience for a cheap price" and are taking part in the "war on Islam."

The group further accused the Egyptian army of committing a number of "crimes" and "massacres," many of which had been mentioned in a statement released by Ansar Jerusalem (Ansar Bayt al Maqdis) on Sept. 10. Like Ansar Jerusalem, Jund al Islam said the army was acting on behalf of "the Jews."

As a result of the "crimes," Jund al Islam said its fighters needed "to respond quickly."

"This was done by launching two lions from the martyrdom-seeking battalion of Jund al-Islam," the statement said. According to Jund al Islam, the attacks targeted two security installations in the Sinai, "including the lair of the military intelligence in Rafah."

Although the statement did not mention the names of the two suicide bombers, the jihadist group claimed that "details of the operation will be shown in a visual release soon."

The communique concluded by warning: "Our hands will not tire from avenging the exhausted honors and the spilled blood until Islam spreads, Shariah rules and justice spreads in the land of Egypt."

Today's statement from Jund al Islam comes amid an ongoing crackdown by Egyptian security forces on Islamists militants operating in the Sinai. On Sept. 3, officials said that at least eight militants had been killed in operations in the Sinai. Four days later, Egyptian security officials claimed that 15 militants were arrested and another 30 were either killed or wounded. On Sept. 10, the Associated Press reported that Egyptian forces had killed 29 militants in the past four days.

Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi on July 3, there have been near-daily attacks by Islamist militants 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."

On Sept. 10, Ansar Jerusalem declared that "it is obligatory to repulse them [the Egyptian army] and fight them until the command of Allah is fulfilled."

The Taliban launched an early morning suicide assault today on the US Consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat. The attack is the latest in a series of suicide assaults and bombings that have taken place throughout Afghanistan over the past three weeks.

The attack began around 6:00 a.m. when a van pulled up outside the main gate of the consulate and the suicide bomber detonated his explosives. Six heavily armed Taliban fighters said to be dressed in Afghan military uniforms then entered the security perimeter and engaged Afghan security personnel. One of them is thought to have detonated his vest.

Two Afghan security personnel and all seven members of the suicide assault team are reported to have been killed after more than an hour of fighting. The main gate of the consulate was badly damaged in the explosion and windows of the building were shattered.

The US State Department confirmed that the attack had taken place. Marie Harf, a spokeswoman, said that "a truck carrying attackers drove to the front gate, and attackers - possibly firing rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles - started firing at Afghan forces and security guards on the exterior of the gates. Shortly after, the entire truck exploded, extensively damaging the front gate."

Ambassador Cunningham said no US personnel were killed, but that "Afghan civilians and Afghans on contract to the Consulate were also killed or injured." He also noted that ISAF security forces intervened. Reports indicate that US special forces arrived on the scene while US Army Apache helicopters also responded to the attack.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told Pajhwok Afghan News that the Taliban had attacked the US diplomatic facility, and he claimed that 13 Americans and 12 Afghan National Army personnel were killed in the assault.

The Taliban have now launched seven major suicide attacks in Afghanistan since Aug. 26 [see LWJ report, Taliban suicide team hits base at border crossing with Pakistan, and Threat Matrix report, Taliban suicide assault hits NDS HQ in Wardak for more details on the other attacks]. The attacks have not been concentrated in one region; they have taken place throughout Afghanistan. The suicide bombings and assaults have occurred in Herat, (west), Nangarhar (east), Ghazni (southeast), Helmand (south), Kapisa and Wardak (central),and Kunduz (north). Additionally, Taliban forces executed a major ambush along the Ring Road in Farah (west) during the same time period.

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.

Sources:

• 7 dead, scores injured in Taliban attack on US consulate - Herat, Pajhwok Afghan News
• Car bombs, firing hit U.S. consulate in Afghanistan, killing 5 and wounding 23, Xinhua
• Updated: Three Killed in Suicide Attack on US Consulate in Herat, TOLOnews
• Gunfight follows 2 suicide bombings at a U.S. Consulate in Afghanistan, CBS News

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, one of two al Qaeda affiliates fighting in Syria, has claimed that it overran an air defense base and ammunition depot in Hama province.

The ISIL said that "hundreds of the men of the Islamic State" attacked the "Air Defense Battalion and the vital depots of 66th Brigade, and tens of checkpoints, villages, and security points that are spread in the eastern countryside of Hama. The group made the claim in an official statement released yesterday on its official Twitter account; the statement was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The ISIL said that "the soldiers of Allah were able to surprise the enemy from several points in a fashion that it could not imagine, which led to the rapid breakdown of its advanced defenses and the fall of the Air Defense Battalion into the hands of the mujahideen." It claimed that the 66th Brigade's Air Defense Battalion and ammunition depot were overrun after just hours of fighting.

"Its defenses did not last more than a few hours before the total fall of this important site into the hands of the mujahideen of the Islamic State," the group said, according o the SITE translation. The ISIL also claimed that "tens" of Syrian soldiers "fell as dead and wounded and captured in the hands of the mujahideen, in addition to large amounts of weaponry and equipment of different types ...."

The ISIL and the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's other official affiliate in Syria, have led the charge to overrun multiple Syrian military bases over the past several years.

In early August, the ISIL, while commanding units from the Free Syrian Army, took control of the Minnigh airbase in Aleppo province. The ISIL sent a BMP armored personnel carrier that was driven by a Saudi suicide bomber into the base. ISIL fighters then stormed the base and killed and captured the remaining Syrian soldiers.

"Multiple units affiliated with the Syrian Military Council," a supposedly secular military command backed by the US, were involved in the assault on the Minnigh airbase , McClatchy reported. Also involved in the fighting were the Al Nusrah Front, and the Muhajireen Army, an al Qaeda-allied unit made up of foreign fighters and Syrian Islamists.

The ISIL and the Al Nusrah Front, despite a recent claim to the contrary, are active on all of the fronts in Syria. The two al Qaeda groups have been at the spearhead of the fighting and have conducted suicide attacks on every front. Attacks by the ISIL and the Al Nusrah Front have been recorded in Damascus, Hama, Homs, Aleppo, Idlib, Raqqah, Deir al Zor, Abu Kamal, Daraa, Hasaka, Latakia, Qusayr, and elsewhere.

While the ISIL is leading the fighting in Syria, it also has reignited the insurgency in Iraq. The ISIL is conducting major suicide attacks, bombings, and assaults against Iraqi security forces, government personnel, and civilians on a daily basis.

For more information on the activities of the ISIL and the Al Nusrah Front in Syria, see Thomas Joscelyn's testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security: Al Qaeda and the threat in Syria. Just yesterday, the ISIL killed 32 people in a double bombing outside a mosque in Baqubah. Today, the ISIL killed 21 people in an attack at a funeral in a village just north of Mosul.

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, an al Qaeda ally, killed a senior Pakistani Army general and two soldiers in a roadside bombing in the northwestern district of Dir today. The Taliban claimed credit for the attack as the government continues to pursue a peace deal with the terror group.

Major General Sanaullah Niazi, a lieutenant colonel, and a soldier were killed "in an IED blast today near Pak-Afghan Border in Upper Dir," the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's press office, announced on its website.

"Major General Sanaullah was on a visit to forward post near Pak-Afghan border since last couple of days," the ISPR statement continued. "After completing visits, he was on his way back when an IED planted by Terrorists on the road side blasted which resulted into shahadat [mertyrdom] of Major General Sanaullah, Lieutenant Colonel Tauseef and Lance Naik Irfan Sattar."

Sanaullah served as the senior military commander in Swat, the northwestern district which was ruled by the Taliban from 2007 to 2009 after the government negotiated multiple peace deals with Taliban commander Mullah Fazlullah. Lieutenant Colonel Tauseef commanded the 33 Baloch Regiment.

Today's attack was likely carried out by forces loyal to Fazlullah, who also commands Taliban fighters in Dir and in the greater Malakand Division, a region comprising the northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Fazlullah, who is also known as Mullah Radio for his radical sermons that are broadcast throughout the northwest, is a senior Taliban commander who has opposed polio vaccinations. He has vowed to continue the fight to regain control of Swat and the surrounding districts. Last year, he ordered the assassination of Malala Yousufzai, the young schoolgirl who passionately spoke out against the Taliban in Swat, and accused her of violating sharia, or Islamic law.

The assassination of Sanaullah took place on the same day the provincial government announced that the military would withdraw its forces from the Malakand Division beginning in October. The military launched an offensive to clear the Malakand Division of the Taliban in late 2009 after the group violated the terms of the peace agreement and advanced to within 60 miles of the capital city of Islamabad.

The military wrested control of Swat, Shangla, and Buner from the Taliban after months of heavy fighting, but failed to kill or capture most of the Taliban's top leaders. Many of the Taliban's forces withdrew from the contested districts into more remote areas such as Dir or across the border in Afghanistan's Taliban-controlled province of Kunar.

The government continues to pursue a peace deal with the Taliban even as its soldiers are coming under fire throughout the northwest. In the past 24 hours, the Taliban killed two soldiers in North Waziristan and a soldier in Bannu, and two members of a pro-government militia in Bajaur.

At a press conference in Cairo on Sept. 15, Egyptian army spokesman Ahmed Ali announced that recent operations by Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula have led to the arrests of 309 Islamist militants since July. During his remarks, Ali said that the existence of terrorist and criminal hot spots in North Sinai is a challenge and serious threat to Egyptian national security that has the potential to undermine regional and global security as well.

Ali said that since June 30, "terrorist elements" in the Sinai have increased operations against Egyptian security posts and personnel, among other targets. In response to the attacks, Egyptian forces have raided hundreds of homes, taken control of a number of weapon caches, and seized a variety of weaponry including RPGs, mortars, and anti-aircraft missiles, he said.

The army spokesman, who said operations in the Sinai will continue, also identified the town of al-Mahdiyya near Rafah as a stronghold for the jihadist group Ansar Jerusalem (Ansar Bayt al Maqdis). In response to claims by jihadist groups, such as Ansar Jerusalem and al Salafiyya al Jihadiyya, that recent army operations in the Sinai have targeted mosques and killed innocent people, including women, children, and elderly men, Ali said that none of them were targets.

Ali further charged that some of the Islamist militants operating in the Sinai have been coordinating with their counterparts in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. He called on Hamas to be more aggressive in securing its side of the Egypt-Gaza border, as Egyptian authorities have announced the discovery of booby traps along the border with wires running back into Gaza.

"Egypt deserves more than the effort we are seeing from the other side [Hamas] to secure the border," the army spokesman said.

Meanwhile, in a statement released to jihadist forums on Sept. 15, Ansar Jerusalem alleged that the Egyptian army was responsible for the deaths of at least seven civilians, including four children, in a "massacre" in the Sinai on Sept. 13. "We in Ansar Jerusalem and all the mujahideen in Sinai in Egypt as a whole stress that the blood of innocent Muslims will not go in vain," read the communiqué, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The Sinai-based jihadist group, which promised a "painful" response, released a number of photos of the alleged incident along with the statement.

On Sept. 10, Ansar Jerusalem had contended in a statement released to jihadist forums that the army and police in Egypt are "spearhead[ing]" an "all-out war against Islam in Egypt." Notably, the jihadist group claimed that they were aware of the targets security forces intended to strike. Thus, "the mujahideen ... undertook a studied evacuation operation that would make this operation lose its goal," the statement boasted. The communiqué, which accused security forces of carrying out a number of "crimes," concluded by declaring that "it is obligatory to repulse them [the army] and fight them until the command of Allah is fulfilled."

Screen shots from the video of Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham's raid on three Syrian villages in Homs. Images from the SITE Intel Group.

The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, has claimed that it and the Ahrar al Sham Islamic Movement attacked three Syrian villages in the province of Homs.

The Al Nusrah Front claimed that it and Ahrar al Sham "rose to attack the Nusayri [Alawite] villages of Maksar al-Husan, Job al-Jarrah, and al-Massoudiyya in the eastern countryside of Homs" on Sept. 10. The statement was released on Sept. 14 and obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

"These villages are located in the neighborhood of the Sunni villages, which are always hit with raids from these Nusayri villages and the barriers located on their outskirts, not to mention the indiscriminate arrests of their free Sunni children," the statement continued.

The Al Nusrah front said that the two jihadist groups pounded the villages of Job al-Jarrah and al-Massoudiyya "with 120mm mortar shells, Grad rockets, 57mm and 23 mm artillery, in addition to locally-manufactured rockets." The two groups seized "control of Maksar al-Husan for 10 hours," but abandoned the village after Syrian Army reinforcements arrived.

Ahrar al Sham is a Syrian Salafist Islamist rebel group that frequently fights alongside the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, al Qaeda's other affiliate in Syria. Two weeks ago, Ahrar al Sham posted at least two videos online showing its participation in the fighting in Maaloula, an ancient town northeast of Damascus known for its Christian population. The group admitted to fighting alongside the Al Nusrah Front in Maaloula [see LWJ report, Videos show joint Al Nusrah, Free Syrian Army attacks in ancient village].

The Syrian Islamic Front, an alliance of jihadist rebel groups led by Ahrar al Sham, rejects any US intervention in Syria against the Assad regime for its use of chemical weapons in the capital.

The Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq, despite a recent claim to the contrary, are active on all of the fronts in Syria and often execute joint operations with allied Islamist groups as well as with units from the supposedly secular Free Syrian Army. The two al Qaeda groups have been at the spearhead of the fighting and have conducted suicide attacks on every front. Attacks by the ISIL and the Al Nusrah Front have been recorded in Damascus, Hama, Homs, Aleppo, Idlib, Raqqah, Deir al Zor, Abu Kamal, Daraa, Hasaka, Latakia, Qusayr, and elsewhere.

For more information on the activities of the ISIL and the Al Nusrah Front in Syria, see Thomas Joscelyn's testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security: Al Qaeda and the threat in Syria.

The US government has added two members of Indonesian jihadist groups to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for their activities with the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah and Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid.

Today the US Treasury Department added Said Ahmad Sungkar for his "fundraising efforts" with both Jemaah Islamiyah (JI, or the Partisans of Islam) and Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT, or the Partisans of the Oneness of God); and Afif Abdul Majid for "the recruitment and training of terrorists in Indonesia."

Sungkar was designated by the US government "for providing financial, material, or technological support, or financial or other services, to JI and JAT," Treasury stated in a press release. "Sungkar has been involved in supporting Indonesia-based JI and JAT terrorist networks over a number of years. Most recently, Sungkar conducted fundraising and recruiting for JAT in 2013." He also helped wanted terrorists in Indonesia evade capture. Additionally, Sunkar had served as the "media chief" for Jemaah Islamiyah.

Sunkar is linked to Dulmatin, a top leader and military commander in Jemaah Islamiyah, al Qaeda's affiliate in Southeast Asia, before he was killed by Indonesian counterterrorism forces from Detachment 88 in 2010. Dulmatin attended al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan in the 1990s and was notorious for his bombmaking skills and deadly attacks. Dulmatin was one of the masterminds of the 2002 terror attack at a Bali resort in Indonesia.

Before his death, Dulmatin ran a training camp that was tied to a terror group that called itself Al Qaeda in Aceh, a JI subgroup.

Majid is described as a senior JAT leader who also sat on the group's governing council. He has "played a role in coordinating the activities of regional JAT leaders" and once served as "the head of JAT's Central Java branch." He is known to have "headed JAT recruitment efforts for a paramilitary wing that provided training for fighters, weapons experts, and hackers."

Majid also provided cash, weapons, and ammunition to support the Al Qaeda in Aceh training camp.

JAT and three of its leaders were added to the US government's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists in February 2012. In the designation, the State Department said that "JAT seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in Indonesia, and has carried out numerous attacks on Indonesian Government personnel and civilians in order to achieve this goal."

Among the attacks carried out by JAT are the Sept. 25, 2011 suicide bombing at a church in Central Java that wounded dozens of worshipers, and a suicide attack at a mosque in West Java on April 15, 2011 that wounded 28 policemen.

The US government said that JAT was founded in 2008 by Abu Bakar Bashir, the spiritual leader and cofounder of Jemaah Islamiyah, an al Qaeda affiliate in Southeast Asia that has been behind numerous terror attacks in Indonesia. Bashir was arrested by Indonesian police in August 2010 on terrorism charges. In June 2011, a court found Bashir guilty of "committing a criminal act of terrorism" by founding and supporting a terrorist group known as al Qaeda in Aceh. One year later, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Even though Bashir is in prison, he is known to have continued his support for jihadist activities. In September 2012, just days after Ansar al Sharia Libya attacked a US diplomatic facility in Benghazi and killed the US ambassador and three Americans, Bashir called on Indonesians to conduct a similar attack.

"What happened in Libya can be imitated," he told voa-islam.com, according to the Jakarta Post. "If it is defaming God and the Prophet [Muhammad], the punishment should be death. [There are] no other considerations."

"[I]f the one that was defamed is Allah, the Prophet or his Shariah [Islamic law], death is the punishment. The Prophet is much more precious than our souls," Bashir continued.

On Sept. 17, jihadist forums announced the death of Mohammed Za'anin (Abu Anas). Originally from Gaza, Za'anin was said to have died in a "martyrdom operation" in Syria, where he fought for the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Users on jihadist forums alleged that Za'anin had previously been arrested by Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip on a number of occasions. Today, jihadist forums published a photo of a banner noting Za'anin's death at the house of mourning established in the northern Gaza city of Beit Hanoun.

The announcement of Za'anin's death in Syria came about two weeks after the Ibn Tamiyyah Media Center (ITMC) released video of a recent Salafi jihadist demonstration in Gaza that denounced Syria's Bashar al Assad as well as Egypt's Abdel Fattah el Sisi. During the demonstration, Sheikh Ahmad Oweida declared, "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."

Za'anin is not the first Palestinian from Gaza to have been killed fighting with jihadist groups in Syria. In July 2012, a Palestinian fighter from Jaish al Islam (Army of Islam) was killed during fighting in Aleppo.

Similarly, in mid-March this year, the ITMC, a jihadist media unit tied to the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, released a video about another fighter in Syria, 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.

More recently, in late August the ITMC released a video praising Fahd Nizar al Habbash, a former Hamas policeman who died fighting alongside jihadists in Syria. In the video, a narrator boasted that "convoys of mujahideen" from Gaza have gone to Syria to fight and that some have died while there.

A number of press reports over the past year have indicated a rise in the number of Palestinians joining the fight against the Assad regime. Many of those traveling to Syria have been Salafi jihadists who joined the Al Nusrah Front.

Salafi jihadists in the Gaza Strip have also expressed support for the fight in Syria and provided military tips in statements. For example, on Jan. 20, 2013, an audio speech from Abu Abdullah al Ghazi, a Jaish al Ummah (Army of the Nation) official, was released to jihadist forums. In the speech, which was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, al Ghazi said that the Levant should be seen as an open "market of jihad." In addition, he called on fighters to "[t]ake the initiative and rise to establish the Islamic State in the Levant and reestablish the rule of Allah over His land after you pluck out that criminal tyrant [Assad] and retaliate for the blood that was spelt and the honors that were violated."

Nine days before al Ghazi's audio speech was released, a video from Jaish al Ummah was released to jihadist forums. In the video, which was dedicated to fighters in Syria, the group showed "how to manufacture a 107mm rocket," according to SITE. The video also "provided recommendations about substitute materials and quantities depending on the size of the rocket."

In related developments, in June, jihadists in Syria called on Hamas members as well as members of other Palestinian factions in Gaza to join the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem. And on May 20, a video featuring Abu Talha al Libi, the sharia official of the Muhajireen Brigade in the Levant, was released by the ITMC. In the video, titled "Fear Allah, O Hamas," al Libi slammed Hamas' campaign against Salafi jihadists in the Gaza Strip. The Muhajireen Brigade, or Emigrants' Brigade, is a unit made up of foreign jihadists who fight in Syria, and is closely allied with the al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusrah Front.

The Taliban killed at least 20 Afghan policemen in an ambush in the remote northeastern province of Badakhshan this week. The deadly ambush took place after Afghan officials announced the conclusion of an operation that supposedly cleared the area of the Taliban and resulted in the deaths of more than 50 Taliban fighters.

Both the head of the provincial council for Badakhshan and the district governor for Wardoj, where the military operation and the subsequent ambush took place, said that 23 Afghan policemen were killed, 21 were wounded, and another 24 are missing and thought to be held by the Taliban, according to TOLONews and Khaama.

The Taliban claimed to have killed "as many as 60 Arbakis [pro-government militias], ANA soldiers, and the police" during fighting yesterday, and an additional 25 security personnel on Wednesday, according to a statement released on Voice of Jihad. The Taliban routinely exaggerate the results of their operations.

Additionally, the "Mujahideen had captured 12 puppets [Afghan security personnel] on Wednesday's fight with a further 14 arrested in Thursday's chase operation taking the number of those captured to 26," the Taliban stated.

This week's ambush in Wardoj occurred just after the Afghan military and the International Security Assistance Force touted the success of Operation Hindu Kush, a nine-day-long operation that ended on Sept. 14.

The operation, led by Afghan National Army special forces and commandos, cleared "numerous Taliban strongholds in Badakhshan province's Wardoj valley," ISAF said in a press release announcing the end of the operation.

"The elite 5th Special Operations Kandak soldiers teamed up with fellow soldiers from the Afghan National Army's 209th Corps," ISAF continued. "The combined Afghan force killed more than 50 enemy fighters, including Mullah Qasi, a Taliban sub-commander."

ISAF also identified the Taliban's shadow governor for Badakhshan as Qari Fasaihuddin, and claimed that the Taliban have been "uprooted" from his home village.

The Taliban denied that Wardoj was cleared, however.

"The Kabul administration claims that the local US lapdogs (puppet forces) defeated Mujahideen in the clearance operation are completely false as its the enemy that was cleared out of Wardoj district, to be precise," the Taliban said at Voice of Jihad.

The police and military have claimed great success against the Taliban in Badakhshan this year. Afghan officials have said that more that 200 Taliban fighters have been killed in the province since April, according to a count by The Long War Journal. During an April operation in Wardoj that was similar to Hindu Kush, 100 Taliban fighters were supposedly killed. That same month, 16 Afghan soldiers were killed and 20 were captured.

The once-peaceful province of Badakhshan has become increasingly unstable over the past several years, as the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan have exerted their influence in the remote northeastern area. The province was transferred from ISAF to Afghan control at the end of January 2012.

ISAF conducted eight raids against the IMU in Badakhshan between September 2011 and June 2012, and another in August 2010 that targeted a Taliban operative who aided "foreign fighters," according to ISAF press releases compiled by The Long War Journal. The last reported operation against the IMU in the northern province took place on June 18, 2012; an IMU commander was killed and several fighters were captured. The IMU is known to have a presence in the districts of Argo, Faizabad, Kishim, Shahr-e-Buzurg, Surkh Rod, and Yaftal-e Sufla. In June this year, ISAF ceased issuing daily operational reports that detailed raids against al Qaeda and allied groups such as the IMU.

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a key ally of al Qaeda and the Taliban, and has been involved in supporting their operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan and plotting attacks in Europe. The IMU is known to fight alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan and has integrated into the Taliban's shadow government in the north [for more information on the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, see LWJ report, IMU cleric urges Pakistanis to continue sheltering jihadis in Waziristan].

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula killed more than 50 Yemeni soldiers and policemen in a coordinated attack against military installations in southern Yemen today.

Yemeni officials said that 56 soldiers and policemen were killed and an undisclosed number were captured during attacks against military camps in Shabwa province, a known haven and stronghold for AQAP. Eight AQAP fighters are said to have been killed in the attacks.

The largest attack took place at a military camp "responsible for ensuring security at oilfields in Shabwa," AFP reported. AQAP fighters attacked the camp at dawn, catching the soldiers off guard, while a suicide bomber driving a car laden with explosives was able to penetrate the perimeter. Thirty-eight Yemeni soldiers were killed in the fighting and the blast.

Another suicide bomber killed 10 more Yemeni soldiers in an attack at a military checkpoint in the Al Nushaima area of Shabwa. AQAP fighters are said to have captured an undisclosed number of Yemeni troops while other soldiers fled the fighting, AFP reported.

In Maifaa, AQAP fighters attacked a Yemeni special forces encampment, but were repelled by police. Eight policemen were killed during the fighting in Maifaa.

Additionally, AQAP is said to have failed in an attempt to attack the Balhaf liquid natural gas terminal on the coast in Shabwa. Balhaf has long been a target of AQAP.

AQAP controlled Shabwa province, including the provincial capital of Zinjibar, from May 2011 until Yemeni forces launched an offensive one year later to retake the lost ground. AQAP withdrew from the major cities as Yemeni forces advanced and were supported by US air power, including unmanned drones. AQAP retreated to remote areas of Shabwa and still control some rural areas. AQAP is known to have regrouped in the Al Mahfad area, where it is said to be running training camps, and in the eastern province of Hadramout. AQAP is also known to have safe havens in other areas throughout the country.

Nasir al Wuhayshi, AQAP's emir who was Osama bin Laden's aide de camp during the Battle of Tora Bora, also serves as al Qaeda's general manager. His job description includes coordinating al Qaeda's military and media activities, and communicating with al Qaeda's "regions," or affiliates, as well as with allies such as the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban [see LWJ report AQAP's emir also serves as al Qaeda's general manager].

Wuhayshi was at the center of a plot that was aimed at US diplomatic facilities in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The communications between Wuhayshi and other al Qaeda leaders and emirs from other groups allied with al Qaeda about plot were intercepted by US intelligence and led to the closure of more than 20 US diplomatic facilities across the world [see LWJ report, Recent embassy closures triggered by Zawahiri communications with multiple subordinates].

The disclosure of Wuhayshi's role in al Qaeda and the shuttering of US diplomatic facilities undercut the Obama administration's narrative that al Qaeda is on the verge of defeat.

Two brigades of the Free Syrian army that operate in Raqqah province have joined the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, one of two official al Qaeda affiliates in Syria.

The Raqqah Revolutionaries Brigade and the God's Victory Brigade have pledged loyalty to the Al Nusrah Front over the past several days, Reuters reported.

The Raqqah Revolutionaries Brigade is said to have more than 750 fighters in its ranks. The size of the God's Victory Brigade, which announced its merger with the Al Nusrah Front on Facebook, was not disclosed, but it is said to have "15 battalions." Battalions often have anywhere from dozens to hundreds of fighters.

The two brigades were part of the Free Syrian Army as recently as Sept. 9. The Raqqah Revolutionaries Brigade and the God's Victory Brigade, along with two other FSA brigades, formed the Raqqah Military Council over the summer, purportedly as part of an effort to counter al Qaeda's influence in the province, Allvoices reported two weeks ago.

Before the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, al Qaeda's other official affiliate in Syria, clashed with another unit belonging to the FSA's Raqqah Military Council in July, the head of the council said that "[t]here is no conflict between the military council and any other armed group: Neither the Nusra Front nor the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham," Allvoices reported.

After the clash, the Raqqah council mediated the dispute and hundreds of fighters from the FSA brigade abandoned the city. "The council itself was not party to the dispute, but it did communicate with both sides to help broker a cease-fire," a spokesman said.

Syrian rebels and entire units are known to have defected to al Qaeda's affiliates and allies. In May, a Free Syrian Army commander said that over 3,000 FSA fighters as well as whole units joined the Al Nusrah Front over the course of several months.

In March, a Chechen commander who leads more than 1,000 foreign fighters formed the Jaish al-Muhajireen wa Ansar, or Army of the Emigrants and Helpers, and integrated several Syrian fighting units into the ranks. The Brigade of Khattab and the Army of Muhammad joined the Muhajireen Army.

The merger of two FSA units with al Qaeda comes as the US and European nations are seeking to step up the arming of Syrian rebels in the wake of a chemical attack outside Damascus that is said to have been carried by President Bashir al Assad's forces. But as Islamist forces continue to grow and are now dominating the insurgency, the ability of the US to properly vet FSA units and prevent weapons from falling into the hands of al Qaeda and its allies becomes more difficult.

Just yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that an FSA weapons and ammunition depot was raided by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Long-awaited shipments of US military aid to the rebels, including lethal weapons, began arriving in August. The Supreme Military Council , which has complained of the inadequacy of US support so far, claimed on Sept. 12 that it had not received any of the military aid. In July, an ISIL leader claimed that the FSA is selling it weapons.

In the first green-on-blue attack since July 9, an individual wearing an Afghan National Security Forces uniform shot and killed three special forces troops from the International Security Assistance Force and wounded another today in Gardez, the capital of Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province.

The ISAF statement statement announcing the incident did not identify the nationalities of those killed and wounded. Most foreign troops in Paktia, which borders Pakistan and has been a hotbed of insurgent activity, are believed to be Americans.

An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed the attack, and said the attacker was killed by Afghan soldiers immediately following the attack, Reuters reported. According to Dawn news, however, the attacker was killed by Americans after the attack.

A security official in Gardez said the attack took place inside an Afghan base in Gardez, the Associated Press reported.

An account in the New York Times cited an unnamed Afghan security official who stated that the attack took place inside Forward Operation Base Lightning near Gardez. The official said that an ANA soldier shot and killed three US special operations troops who had been training Afghan soldiers.

As the Coalition drawdown continues, the US military is relying on special forces to provide mentoring to the Afghan security forces, and these special forces troops are increasingly more exposed to insider attacks.

Today's attack in Paktia is the third green-on-blue attack in the province since Jan. 1, 2008, when The Long War Journal began tracking the insider attacks [see LWJ special report, Green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan: the data, for more information]. The previous two attacks both involved US casualties, and took place on Aug. 7, 2012 at a military base in the Shwak district; and on Sept. 29, 2008 at a police station.

According to LWJ statistics, today's green-on-blue attack is the ninth so far this year. Since Jan. 1, 2008, there have been a total of 81 attacks, resulting in the deaths of 137 Coalition personnel and the wounding of 156 more. Casualties from insider attacks so far this year amount to nearly 9% of total Coalition casualties, down from a high of 15% last year.

The downturn is likely due to the introduction of security measures in 2012 such as the use of "guardian angel" soldiers to overwatch US troops, and to reduced partnering between Afghan and Coalition forces as the drawdown continues. From a peak of level of about 101,000 soldiers in 2011, the US troop presence in Afghanistan had been reduced to 63,000 by July, and that number is expected to drop to 34,000 by February 2014. On June 18, overall security responsibility for Afghanistan was officially transferred to Afghan forces.

Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in East Africa, has taken credit for the deadly assault on an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya that has so far resulted in the deaths of 39 people, including close members of President Uhuru Kenyatta's family. The attack is reminiscent of Lashkar-e-Taiba's attack on Mumbai in 2008; non-Muslims are being singled out and executed by the Shabaab assault team.

At least two, and possibly three, assault teams attacked the mall from different entrances in what the United Nations described as a "complex" assault, according to The New York Times. The UN said that two assault teams hit the Westgate Mall, while Kenyan officials said that three teams targeted the building, the Daily Nation reported.

The Shabaab assault teams, said to be made up of Somalis, "Arabs," and one woman, are dressed in black and armed with assault rifles, hand grenades, and possibly suicide vests.

The Shabaab fighters were warning Muslims to leave and questioned people about their faith. Muslims were separated from non-Muslims; the non-Muslims were executed. Some Shabaab fighters were heard yelling "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Greatest," as they gunned down innocent civilians.

The siege at Nairobi's Westgate Mall is ongoing. Shabaab fighters are said to have barricaded themselves on the second floor and on the rooftop parking garage. Hostages, including family members of diplomatic personnel, are said to be held hostage.

At least one Shabaab fighter and two Kenyan policemen, and dozens of civilians, including women and children, are said to have been killed during the fighting. More than 150 people are said to have been wounded so far.

In a burst of tweets on its Twitter account before it was shut down, Shabaab claimed credit for the attack, and said its fighters would not surrender.

"[The] Kenyan govt [government] is pleaded with our Mujahideen inside the mall for negotiations," one tweet read. "There will be no negotiations."

Shabaab said that it is currently in touch with the fighters inside the mall, and claimed to have "obtained voice recordings from some of them."

Shabaab also said that it carried out the attack at the Westgate Mall to avenge the invasion of southern Somalia by Kenyan forces.

"HSM [the name of Shabaab's now-defunct Twtitter account] has on numerous occasions warned the #Kenyan government that failure to remove its forces from Somalia would have severe consequences," Shabaab said. "The Kenyan government, however, turned a deaf ear to our repeated warnings and continued to massacre innocent Muslims in Somalia."

Shabaab also threatened to step up attacks in Kenya.

"For long we have waged war against the Kenyans in our land, now it's time to shift the battleground and take the war to their land," one tweet said.

Shabaab, and the Muslim Youth Center, its official affiliate in Kenya, have repeatedly vowed to attack Kenya for its role in battling Shabaab in Somalia. Nearly one year ago, on Sept. 20, 2012, the Muslim Youth Center threatened attacks throughout all of East Africa, and said its ultimate goal is to raise "the flag of Tawheed high over Kenya and East Africa."

Similar to Mumbai assault

Today's attack on the Westgate Mall has some striking similarities to Lashkar-e-Taiba's multi-pronged attack on various targets in the city of Mumbai at the end of November 2008.

In the Mumbai attack, well-trained and armed Lashkar-e-Taiba fighters fanned out across the city in small teams and attacked civilian targets. Members of the teams attempted to sort out Muslims from non-Muslims, and executed the non-Muslims. Hostages were taken during the Mumbai assault.

Additionally, the Lashkar-e-Taiba fighters were in contact with outside handlers who gave them instructions, advice, and encouragement. The Mumbai siege lasted for nearly 60 hours before the last attacker was killed.

Also, both the Mumbai and the Nairobi assaults took place outside of active theaters of war, such as Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and elsewhere. Al Qaeda, its affiliates, and allies frequently conduct suicide assaults, but the attacks are usually against military, police, and government targets. While Shabaab and the Muslim Youth Center have conducted small-scale bombings and shootings in Kenya, the fighting has largely been confined to the northern border with Somalia.

Today's attack in Nairobi is the largest in the country since the 1998 bombing at the US Embassy in the Kenyan capital that killed 212 people, including 12 Americans. Al Qaeda executed the 1998 bombing; some of al Qaeda's top leaders, including Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, and Saif al Adel, were indicted for their roles in ordering and executing the suicide attack.

Sources:

• Deadly mall assault caught police off guard, Daily Nation
• Islamists claim gun attack on Nairobi mall, at least 39 dead, Reuters
• Attackers Kill Dozens at Nairobi Mall, The Wall Street Journal
• Islamic militants' attack on Kenyan shopping mall leaves at least 39 dead, The Guardian
• Upscale Mall Becomes War Zone in Kenya Terror Attack, The New York Times
• Kenya mall shooting may be a 'terrorist incident', officials say, Al Jazeera America

The US killed seven suspected militants in a drone strike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. Today's strike is just the second in Pakistan this month.

The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired four missiles at "two houses suspected of being a militant hideout" in the Shawal area of North Waziristan this afternoon, Xinhua reported. The identities of the fighters thought to have been killed have not been disclosed.

The Shawal Valley is a known haven for al Qaeda and other terror groups operating in the region. A host of Taliban, Pakistani, and foreign terrorist groups gather in the Shawal Valley and then enter Afghanistan to fight US, NATO, and Afghan government forces.

The last US drone strike to hit the Shawal Valley took place on July 28. Three al Qaeda military trainers from the Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army, were among those killed in the attack. The al Qaeda fighters were identified as Abu Rashid from Saudi Arabia, Muhammed Ilyas Kuwaiti from Kuwait, and Muhammed Sajid Yamani from Yemen.

The previous strike in Shawal, on June 7, killed a key Pakistani Taliban commander who was known as Mutaqi and Bahadar Khan.

In the past, the US has focused its operations on the Shawal Valley. Last year, 10 of the 46 drone strikes in Pakistan, or 22%, hit targets in the Shawal Valley. Targeting in the area was heavy during the summer of 2012; at one point in time, seven of 10 strikes took place there.

Al Qaeda, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, and Taliban fighters under the command of Hafiz Gul Bahadar, the leader of the Taliban in North Waziristan, are all known to operate in the Shawal Valley, which is near the Afghan border. The area is used to launch attacks across the border in Afghanistan. Additionally, Central Asian terror groups are known to operate in the area. On July 1, 2012, a US drone strike killed several members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an al Qaeda-affiliated group that operates in Pakistan, China, and Central Asia.

Bahadar administers the Shawal Valley. In 2009, after the Pakistani military launched an offensive in the Mehsud areas of South Waziristan, Bahadar sheltered the families of Hakeemullah Mehsud, the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, and Waliur Rehman [see LWJ report, Taliban escape South Waziristan operation]. Earlier this year, the US killed Waliur Rehman along with his deputy Fakhar-ul-Islam, two Uzbeks, and three Taliban fighters in a drone strike in North Waziristan on May 29.

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 in Shawal is the first since Sept. 5, when the US killed four Haqqani Network fighters. Mullah Sangeen Zadran, a senior Haqqani network leader, is rumored to have been killed in the strike. His death has not been confirmed.

The US has launched 21 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 346 strikes recorded since 2004, 329, or 95%, have taken place in the two tribal agencies. But al Qaeda is known to have an extensive network throughout Pakistan.

The Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center (ITMC), a jihadist media unit tied to the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, yesterday called for jihadists to strike the Egyptian army.

In the communique, translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, the jihadist media group claimed that Egyptian soldiers recently committed a "massacre" in the Sheikh Zuweid area. The ITMC appeared to be referencing an incident from Sept. 13 that, according to the jihadist group Ansar Jerusalem (Ansar Bayt al Maqdis), resulted in the deaths of seven civilians, including four children.

The statement further denounced efforts by Egyptian security forces to stem the flow of goods and people in and out of Gaza. "[T]he criminal butcher Abdel Fattah el Sisi" has increased the siege on Gaza, the statement charged.

The ITMC statement also criticized the Muslim Brotherhood. "He [Mohammed Morsi] gave no indications, neither he nor the Brotherhood, that they wish to establish an Islamic State where the rule is for Allah," the ITMC said.

Notably, the ITMC said that the current climate in Egypt is a "great historic opportunity to regain awareness regarding the betrayal of the regimes that are established in the land of the Muslims, and their sinful soldiers." In addition, the media unit said that now is a chance to show "the necessity of confrontation and waging battle and inciting to fight those criminals."

The statement concluded by calling on "the mujahideen to hit without fail so as to thwart those criminals from among the Egyptian army." In addition, the statement urged Muslims to support the fighters "because this is the only path for achieving stability and security in Egypt, and so as to restore Egypt as the safe gate for jihad in Palestine and a supporter of the coming war ... to liberate the blessed al-Aqsa mosque and expel the Jews from Palestine without return."

The latest statement from the ITMC was released two days after the group released a 13-minute video purporting to show some of the destruction from recent Egyptian army operations in the Sinai.

Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi on July 3, there have been near-daily attacks by Islamist militants 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. On Sept. 15, an Egyptian army spokesman claimed that over 300 Islamist militants had been arrested in the Sinai since July. He also said that Egyptian forces have raided hundreds of homes, taken control of a number of weapon caches, and seized a variety of weaponry including RPGs, mortars, and antiaircraft missiles.

Jihadist statements regarding crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood

Along with the increase in attacks in the Sinai, there has 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."

More recently, on Sept. 10, Ansar Jerusalem declared that "it is obligatory to repulse them [the Egyptian army] and fight them until the command of Allah is fulfilled." Similarly, on Sept. 15, the Salafi jihadist group declared: "We in Ansar Jerusalem and all the mujahideen in Sinai in Egypt as a whole stress that the blood of innocent Muslims will not go in vain."

The Islamic State of Iraqi and the Levant (ISIL), an al Qaeda branch that operates in Iraq and Syria, launched a suicide assault against police and the military in Haditha today, killing nine policemen. The attack is just the latest in a wave of assaults, bombings, and shooting by al Qaeda as the violence in Iraq continues to spiral towards pre-surge levels.

The ISIL opened the attack by launching rockets at the military headquarters, Reuters reported. As the rocket attack was underway, a convoy of seven vehicles loaded with fighters attacked a police checkpoint in the town and killed six policemen.

The al Qaeda convoy then proceeded to the police station and suicide bombers detonated two vehicles packed with explosives outside the main gate, killing three more policemen.

The ISIL launched a similar attack in Haditha in March 2012. In that attack, a large convoy of al Qaeda fighters, some disguised as policemen, killed 27 Iraqi policemen, including two commanders, in a coordinated assault on the western Iraqi town. The ISIL videotaped the attack and later released it.

Today's attack follows another similar operation by the ISIL in Bayji on Sept 21. In that attack, a four-man suicide assault team attacked a police special forces base in the city, killing seven policemen and wounding 20 more. The suicide bombers were able to enter the compound before either being shot or detonating their vests.

Al Qaeda has conducted numerous coordinated assaults on Iraq security forces over the past year. The most prominent raid took place on July 21, when assault teams attacked prisons in Abu Ghraib and Taji. At least 26 policemen and prison guards were killed, while hundreds of prisoners, including many senior al Qaeda leaders, escaped. Many are still on the loose.

The ISIL continues to display its capacity 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 emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who is also known as Abu Du'a, on July 21, 2012.

While the ISIL has stepped up attacks in Iraq, it has also expanded its operations inside Syria. The ISIL controls areas of northern and western Syria, and, along with the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's other affiliate in Syria, and international jihadist groups such as the Muhajireen Army, attacks Syrian security forces and militias.

President Uhuru Kenyatta announced today that security forces have ended the four-day siege at the upscale Westgate Mall in Nairobi after troops entered the building and killed or captured the members of the Shabaab assault team.

Kenyatta addressed the Kenyan people on national TV to declare an end to the siege that has gripped the capital for more than four days. Sixty-two civilians and six Kenyan soldiers were killed and more than 250 were wounded during the attack, Kenyatta said, according to the Daily Nation. Security forces killed five Shabaab fighters and captured 11 others.

"We have ashamed and defeated our attackers," Kenyatta said. "We have been badly hurt, but we have been brave, united and strong. Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed. We have defeated our enemies and showed the whole world what we can accomplish."

The death toll may rise as several floors in the multistory mall collapsed during the fighting.

"Towards the tail end of the operation, three floors of the Westgate mall collapsed and there are several bodies trapped in the rubble including the terrorists," Kenyatta continued.

Rumors have swirled that Americans, Europeans, and Arabs were among the attackers, but the identities and nationalities of the attackers have not been disclosed.

"Forensic experts are working to ascertain nationalities of the terrorists," Kenyatta said.

Shabaab denied reports from an unofficial Twitter account that claimed to represent the group's media office and gave out the names of members of the assault team.

Shabaab also denied that females were members of the assault team.

"HSM [Shabaab] hereby categorically denies the involvement of any woman in Operation," the group said. "We have an adequate number of young men who are fully committed & we do not employ our sisters in such military operations."

There has been speculation that Samantha Lewthwaite, a wanted jihadist whose husband was a suicide bomber in Britain, was involved in the Westgate assault.

Kenyatta's speech took place just minutes after Shabaab's official Twitter account claimed that its fighters were still battling security forces and that it had a "big surprise" for the Kenyan people.

Shabaab's assault began Saturday, Sept. 21, when several heavily armed small teams entered the mall from different entrances and attempted to separate Muslims from non-Muslims. Shabaab fighters gunned down the non-Muslims, took hostages, and repelled Kenyan attempts to retake the mall until earlier today. Kenyan officials had previously claimed on Monday night that the mall was cleared of Shabaab fighters.

The Westgate attack is the worst terrorist act by al Qaeda and its allies in Kenya since the 1998 bombing at the US Embassy in the Kenyan capital that killed 212 people, including 12 Americans. Al Qaeda executed the 1998 bombing; some of al Qaeda's top leaders, including Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, and Saif al Adel, were indicted for their roles in ordering and executing the suicide attack.

Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in East Africa, and the Muslim Youth Center, which is a branch of Shabaab, have conducted a string of smaller attacks and plots in northern Kenya and the capital since 2011. The incidents primarily consist shootings, attacks on police and military outposts, and IED and grenade attacks.

Shabaab also demanded that Kenyan forces withdraw from southern Somalia and said it was striving to impose a global Caliphate under sharia, or Islamic law. In a statement released on Twitter today from Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage (Ali Dhere), its official spokesman, the East African terror group laid out the group's demands. The statement was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Rage said that if the "Kenyan government and those in its orbit ... want peacefulness and safety, they should leave our country, and stop their intervention in our affairs, and release our captives, and abandon all forms of fighting against our religion."

"If you refuse, you saw what happened, and this is just the beginning and some of the punishment. So, wait for dark days, for you will need to wail O enemies of the religion and humanity," Rage said.