Shabaab, al Qaeda's branch in East Africa, carried out a complex suicide assault against the presidential compound in a highly secured area of Mogadishu, Somalia today. Several government officials are reported to have been killed during the assault.

A suicide assault team estimated at 10 men strong launched the attack today as officials were praying at a mosque inside the compound. The heavily armed fighters, who were traveling in three cars and dressed in uniforms worn by guards at the presidential palace, were able to talk their way past the outer perimeter of security.

One of the cars was rigged as a suicide bomb, which was rammed into a wall inside the compound. The other fighters dismounted their cars and engaged Somali troops.

"All the Shabaab fighters perished, some blew up themselves while others were shot dead. Several government guards also died," a senior police official told Reuters.

Several Somali soldiers are reported to have been killed. Other officials said that the secretary of the prime minister's office as well as the former National Intelligence and Security Agency chief were killed in the fighting, Garowe reported.

Today's suicide attack is the second in the capital in a week. On Feb. 14, a suicide bomber killed seven people in an attack that targeted a United Nations convoy as it traveled through Mogadishu.

Shabaab has been making a push to regain control of areas of the capital after being ousted during an African Union and Somali offensive that began in 2012. Fighting broke out in the Huriya district of Mogadishu two days ago after Shabaab attacked military bases there. Before launching its attacks, Shabaab distributed letters to businesses warning the owners not to open.

In the past, Shabaab has shown it can penetrate security at the heavily protected areas in the capital and carry out deadly attacks. AMISOM, Somali government and military officials, and nongovernmental organizations have been the target of Shabaab suicide assaults and bombings. In one such incident, in September of 2012, three suicide bombers attacked Somalia's president and Kenya's foreign minister as they were speaking at a hotel in Mogadishu.

The last major suicide assault in the capital city took place in June 2013, when a Shabaab team struck at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) compound in Mogadishu. Several UNDP employees were killed and Shabaab briefly took over the compound.

Shabaab has also executed a suicide attack outside Somalia's borders: the July 11, 2010 double suicide attack in Kampala, Uganda, that killed 74 people. It was carried out by a suicide cell called the Saleh ali Nabhan Brigade, which is named after the al Qaeda leader who served as Shabaab's military commander before he was killed in a US special operations raid in September 2009.

Although Shabaab abandoned Mogadishu, Kismayo, and other large cities in Somalia after a combined African Union, Kenyan, Ethiopian, and Somali offensive, it still controls several major towns and cities along the coast between Kismayo and Mogadishu, including Jilib, Baraawe, and Merca, as well as other areas throughout the country.

Shabaab and its Kenyan branch, the Muslim Youth Center, formally joined al Qaeda in February 2012. The east African terror groups were closely tied to al Qaeda for years prior, however; Shabaab leaders had openly proclaimed their allegiance to al Qaeda long before the official merger.

Al Qaeda and its affiliates and allies have carried out numerous suicide assaults such as the one in Somalia today in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Algeria, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger.

The Afghan Taliban denied that a former senior official who was dismissed in 2010 represented the group in peace talks with the Afghan government. Additionally, the Taliban denied that it is currently conducting peace talks with the Afghan government in Dubai.

The Taliban again reiterated that Agha Jan Mutasim, the former finance minister for the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" and the son-in-law of Mullah Mohammed Omar, does not represent the group. The Taliban also said that Mutasim's actions are "detrimental" to both the Taliban and "the goals of the sacred Jihad."

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan once again declares to all parties that Agha Jan Mutasim does not hold a position in the Islamic Emirate and neither can he represent it," the Taliban said in a statement released on Feb. 20 on Voice of Jihad, its official website. "Similarly the Islamic Emirate considers the recent actions and activities of Agha Jan Mutasim detrimental to both the principles of the Islamic Emirate as well as to the goals of the sacred Jihad while being beneficial for both the invading Americans and their stooges."

Additionally, the Taliban denied press reports that its officials have been or are currently in talks with the Afghan government.

"No representatives of the Islamic Emirate have either attended a meeting in Dubai and neither has talks taken place with the stooge Kabul regime or it's so called High Peace Council," the statement continued. The Taliban said that it has an official office in Dubai established to hold negotiations, and the fact that Mutasim would not or could not name officials involved in the talks should have raised alarms with the media.

The Taliban was responding to a report from The Express Tribune, which interviewed Mutasim in mid-February. In that interview, Mutasim claimed that a meeting was attended by "nearly 20 senior Taliban leaders, including seven former ministers in the Taliban government, eight senior military commanders and four former Taliban diplomats."

The Taliban had previously distanced itself from Mutasim in August 2012, when it released an official statement on Voice of Jihad, which was titled "Clarification of Islamic Emirate regarding Agha Jan Mutasim." In that statement, the Taliban said that Mutasim "was dismissed from his post by the leader of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the year 2010 for stepping over his bounds and for lacking transparency in his work."

"He currently does not hold any posts with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and neither can he represent the Islamic Emirate in any of his statements and actions," the statement continued.

Like the Taliban's most recent statement, the one from August 2012 also accused Mutasim of furthering the goals of the Afghan government and the West.

"While looking at the recent actions of Agha Jan Mutasim, it can be noted that they are not of his choice but are dictates handed down from others," the Taliban said.

Mutasim is part of a circle of former Taliban leaders and spokesmen who have been expelled from the Taliban and still claim to represent the group in negotiations with the Afghan government and the US. This group includes Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, and Mullah Mohamed Tayeb Agha. The Taliban has openly denounced many of these leaders as "stooges" and pawns of the Afghan government and the West.

Mutawakil served as the Taliban's foreign minister in 2001 and broke ranks after Omar refused to hand over Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 attacks. He surrendered to US forces in 2002 and has repeatedly tried to negotiate peace agreements.

Zaeef served as the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan at the time of the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He was detained by Pakistani security forces in 2002 and was sent to the Guantanamo Detention Facility in Cuba before he was released in 2006. Prior to his arrest he had been considered a candidate to join the interim Afghan government.

Agha was a spokesman for Mullah Omar in the 1990s but has since fallen out of favor with the Taliban leadership.

And Mutasim's fall from grace with the Taliban was swift. Almost immediately after being dismissed from his post in 2010, he was gunned down and left for dead in Karachi, Pakistan. Mutasim survived and fled to Turkey, where he received medical treatment.

Abu Khalid al Suri, whose real name is Mohamed Bahaiah, has been reportedly killed in a suicide attack in Aleppo. Al Suri's death has been confirmed on several Twitter feeds managed by Ahrar al Sham and the Islamic Front.

Al Suri, a longtime al Qaeda operative, was a founding member of Ahrar al Sham and a senior leader in the organization at the time of his death. Ahrar al Sham is arguably the most powerful rebel organization within the Islamic Front, a coalition of rebel groups that was formed late last year.

Hassan Abboud, a top official in Ahrar al Sham and the Islamic Front, confirmed al Suri's "martyrdom" in a Tweet early this morning. The official Twitter feeds for the Islamic Front and Ahrar al Sham say that al Suri was killed along with his "comrades" in a suicide attack at one the Front's headquarters in Aleppo. And a hashtag commemorating al Suri's death is already being used on jihadist Twitter pages.

As of this writing, there has been no official claim of responsibility for al Suri's death. Some reports on social media implicate the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), which was recently disowned by al Qaeda's general command, as the group responsible for the attack.

Al Suri was a key figure in the dispute between ISIS and other jihadist groups inside Syria, including Ahrar al Sham and the Al Nusrah Front, which is an official branch of al Qaeda.

In a May 2013 letter, al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri named al Suri as his intermediary in a leadership disagreement between ISIS and the Al Nusrah Front. The dispute became public the previous month when ISIS emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi attempted to subsume control of the Al Nusrah Front. Abu Muhammad al Julani, the emir of Al Nusrah, rejected al Baghdadi's order and directly reaffirmed his allegiance to Zawahiri instead.

Al Suri's mediation efforts failed and the dispute between the groups grew more vehement in the months that followed as Ahrar al Sham, Al Nusrah, and other jihadists rejected ISIS' power grab.

One last attempt at mediation in January, spearheaded by a popular pro-al Qaeda Saudi cleric named Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini, failed after ISIS rejected the initiative. All of the other major rebel groups, including Ahrar al Sham and the Al Nusrah Front, endorsed Muhaysini's proposal, which was released just hours after a similar appeal by Zawahiri. [See LWJ report, Saudi cleric's reconciliation initiative for jihadists draws wide support, then a rejection.]

Al Qaeda's general command, or senior leadership, officially disowned ISIS after it rejected Muhaysini's proposal. The decision was apparently prepared beforehand in the event that ISIS failed to accept the reconciliation initiative.

The Long War Journal reported on Dec. 17, 2013 that al Suri was a senior leader in Ahrar al Sham in addition to being Zawahiri's main representative in Syria. US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that al Suri's placement within Ahrar al Sham, alongside other senior al Qaeda operatives in the group, revealed that al Qaeda has influence in organizations that are not officially recognized as affiliates or branches of the group.

Al Suri's al Qaeda role was long known in counterterrorism circles. The Spanish government accused him of serving as Osama bin Laden's chief courier in Europe prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Spanish officials found that he carried surveillance tapes of the World Trade Center and other American landmarks from the operative who made the videos to al Qaeda's senior leadership in Afghanistan. [See LWJ report, Syrian rebel leader was bin Laden's courier, now Zawahiri's representative.]

Shortly after The Long War Journal reported on al Suri's dual-hatted role in Ahrar al Sham and al Qaeda in December 2013, the US Treasury Department described al Suri as "al Qaeda's representative in Syria." Treasury revealed that an al Qaeda supporter in Qatar had transferred nearly "$600,000 to al Qaeda via" al Suri in 2013 and was preparing to transfer an additional $50,000.

Abu Khaled al Suri's death, therefore, is a major development in the history of the Syrian war and al Qaeda's role in it. However, al Qaeda retains the loyalty of numerous other senior jihadists on the Syrian battlefield.

Eight South Waziristan Taliban commanders, pictured in a 'wanted' poster: 1. Hakeemullah Mehsud, 2. Waliur Rehman Mehsud, 3. Qari Hussain Mehsud, 4. Azam Tariq, 5. Maulvi Azmatullah, 6. Mufti Noor Wali, 7. Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, 8. Mohammad Anwar Gandapur.

Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, a senior leader who was appointed interim emir for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan last fall after the death of the group's leader in a drone strike, has been gunned down in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

Asmatullah, his driver, and bodyguards were ambushed and killed as they were driving near Darga Mandi in the Ghulam Khan area of the Pakistani tribal agency. Family members and Pakistani officials confirmed his death, according to Dawn. The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan has not released an official statement announcing his death.

No group has claimed credit for killing Asmatullah, who has been the target of several assassination attempts, according to The News. The likely culprits are rival Taliban commanders, Pakistan's military intelligence service, and a shadowy assassination squad thought to be operating inside Pakistan.

Asmatullah is known to be a rival of a Khan Said, a senior Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan leader who is also known as Sajna Mehsud. Sajna was rumored to have been appointed emir in early November 2013 after Hakeemullah Mehsud, the group's former emir, was killed by the US in a drone strike last fall. But one day later, Asmatullah, who led the group's shura, or executive council, was officially named interim emir. Several days later, Mullah Fazlullah was selected by the shura and appointed by Asmatullah to lead the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.

The Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or ISID, also may have been gunning for Asmatullah. He is known to have captured and executed Pakistani troops in the past. And while last week's execution of 23 Frontier Corps has been claimed by Omar Khalid al Khurasani and has not been linked to Asmatullah, the Pakistani military and ISID have been launching punitive raids against the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan's forces in North Waziristan, Khyber, and Hangu.

Asmatullah may also have been in the crosshairs of what is believed to be an assassination team that is thought to be operating in Pakistan and directed by US intelligence. Nasiruddin Haqqani, a top leader in the Haqqani Network, was assassinated under similar circumstances in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad in November 2013. Nasiruddin's assassins have yet to be named. The same network is said to be helping the US target jihadists in drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Asmatullah was a dangerous Taliban leader

Before joining the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, Asmatullah was a member of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, an al Qaeda-linked group that operates in Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. Harkat-ul-Mujahideen's emir is closely tied to al Qaeda and its leader operates openly in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Asmatullah had served as a senior commander in the tribal areas for nearly a decade. He is among the 20 most-wanted Taliban commanders operating in South Waziristan, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan. In 2009, the Pakistani government placed a $120,000 bounty on his head.

Before being appointed to the shura, Asmatullah was the military commander in the towns of Jandola and Tank in the district of Tank and reported directly to Hakeemullah. In late 2009, many Taliban commanders fled the Mehsud tribal areas of South Waziristan to avoid the Pakistani Army offensive that was launched in October of that year. Seeking to escape the military dragnet, the Taliban commanders fled to North Waziristan, Arakzai, Kurram, Khyber, and to areas in South Waziristan that are under the control of the Mullah Nazir Group.

In 2009, Asmatullah and some of his fighters relocated to the southern port city of Karachi, where he continued attacks. On Dec. 30, 2009, Asmatullah claimed that one of his fighters carried out the Dec. 28 suicide attack against a Shia religious procession in Karachi that killed 43 people and wounded more than 100.

By 2011, Asmatullah was back in the tribal areas conducting military operations. In December 2011, his forces overran a Frontier Corps fort in the settled district of Tank. Fifteen Frontier Corps troops were captured and one was killed during the raid.

After the assault on the Frontier Corps outpost in Tank, Asmatullah claimed credit for the attack and said it was carried out to avenge the death of Taj Gul Mehsud, who was killed along with 12 other fighters in a US airstrike on Oct. 26, 2011. Taj Gul Mehsud was a senior deputy to Hakeemullah.

Asmatullah has also waged jihad against US and Coalition forces in Afghanistan. In 2006, he openly recruited fighters to battle in Afghanistan and called for the imposition of sharia, or Islamic law, in Pakistan.

"We are leaving for Afghanistan tomorrow, those who want to participate in Jihad can join us," Asmatullah told a group of Pakistanis in the town of Jandola in the district of Tank.

Hassan Abboud, a top official in the Islamic Front and Ahrar al Sham, has posted a series of pictures of Abu Khalid al Suri on his Twitter feed. Al Suri was Ayman al Zawahiri's chief representative in Syria until he was killed by a suicide bomber this past weekend.

As The Long War Journal reported on Dec. 17, 2013, al Suri was a founding member of Ahrar al Sham. He was a senior leader in the group at the time of his death. Ahrar al Sham is arguably the most powerful organization within the Islamic Front, a coalition of Syrian rebel groups formed late last year. Abboud is a senior leader in the Islamic Front.

Shortly after The Long War Journal reported on al Suri's dual-hatted role in Ahrar al Sham and al Qaeda in December 2013, the US Treasury Department described al Suri as "al Qaeda's representative in Syria."

Abboud's photos underscore his close relationship with al Suri and provide additional evidence showing al Suri's importance within Ahrar al Sham.

In the picture below, al Suri (whose real name was Mohamed Bahaiah) is pictured on the left and Abboud is on the right.

Al Suri can be seen sitting over Abboud's right shoulder in the photo below.

And in this photo the pair can be seen sitting next to one another.

Like other prominent jihadists online, Abboud also changed the photo at the top of his Twitter feed to an image of al Suri after his "martyrdom." The header for Abboud's Twitter page can be seen below.

Ahrar al Sham also used its official Twitter page to commemorate Abu Khalid al Suri's "martyrdom."

Other prominent jihadists have also posted pictures of Abboud with al Suri. For example, Eyad Qunaibi, a radical Jordanian preacher who is openly pro-al Qaeda, posted the picture below on his official Twitter feed.

The leader of the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's branch in Syria, warned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham to end its attacks on jihadist and rebel units in Syria or the groups will destroy the ISIS in both Syria and in Iraq. The statement by Al Nusrah emir Abu Muhammad al Julani took place after Ayman al Zawahiri's emissary was killed in a suicide attack over the weekend.

Al Julani made the threats in an audiotape that was released by the Al Nusrah Front today. His ultimatum gave ISIS five days to come to an agreement or face a concerted effort to "banish it" from both Syria and Iraq. Al Qaeda's general command recently disowned ISIS as it would not agree to mediate its disputes with the Al Nusrah Front and other groups. The ISIS has been clashing with the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic Front, and remnants of the Free Syrian Army in several provinces.

"If you refuse God's ruling, and do not cease afflicting the ummah (Muslim community), it will act against this aggressive, ignorant way of thinking and banish it - even from Iraq," al Julani warned the ISIS, according to the BBC, which obtained the statement.

Al Julani also accused the ISIS of killing Abu Khalid al Suri, a.k.a. Mohamed Bahaiah, who once served as Osama bin Laden's courier and was appointed by Zawahiri to represent him in Syria. Bahaiah was a founding member of Ahrar al Sham and a senior leader in the organization before he was killed on Feb. 22 in a suicide attack in Aleppo. Ahrar al Sham is arguably the most powerful rebel organization within the Islamic Front, a coalition of Islamist rebel groups that was formed late last year.

"We say to his killers: may your hands perish and your deed be damned. You, those who give you your orders, and those who write your fatwas are wretched, O deceived ones," al Julani said.

He also said the ISIS had "abandoned the fight against the Nusayris," or Alawites, a Shia sect that backs Syrian President Bashar al Assad, in order to fight the rebel groups.

Al Julani's warning that the ISIS will be targeted in both Iraq and Syria indicates there may be dissent within the leadership of ISIS as well as its rank and file over the very public dispute between the two jihadist groups that resulted in the ISIS' ouster from al Qaeda. The ISIS surged in Iraq over the past year, and since January has seized control of many areas in Anbar province, including the city of Fallujah. A split within the ISIS as well as open warfare with the Syrian jihadist groups would jeopardize ISIS gains in Iraq.

The Syrian military and its ally Hezbollah killed more than 170 Islamists from the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's branch in Syria, and the Islamic Front during an ambush in an area just outside of the capital of Damascus. "Saudis, Qataris, and Chechens" were among those killed, according to the government-owned news agency.

"A military source said that an army unit eliminated scores of terrorists of 'Jabhat al Nusrah' and the so-called "Islam battalion" according to intelligence information in an ambush in the Eastern Ghouta in Damascus Countryside," the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, or SANA, reported.

An estimated "175 terrorists were killed" and "most of them [were] Saudis, Qataris, and Chechens." according to SANA.

The SANA report was corroborated by the independent Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as well as Al Manar, a news outlet run by Hezbollah.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that "no less than 70 fighters from Islamic battalions, were killed by an ambush by Hezbollah and regime forces, between the towns of Al-Eteba and Myda'a in the eastern Ghouta." An additional 89 fighters were separated from the main group and "they may have been killed [in] the ambush."

The Observatory often uses the term "Islamic battalions" to describe the Islamic Front, the coalition of six major Islamist brigades that was formed late last year and is allied with the Al Nusrah Front. Abu Khalid al Suri, a senior Islamic Front leader who was killed last weekend, served as Ayman al Zawahiri's personal representative for Syria.

Al Manar reported that "up to 170 terrorist militants, including foreigners" were killed "through a perfect ambush" by the Syrian military. Al Manar did not report on Hezbollah involvement in the attack.

Foreign fighters often join with Al Nusrah or the rival Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, but also are known to fight in the brigades of the Islamic Front.

Chechens fight within the ranks of the Muhajireen Army, which has split into two factions. One faction fights for Al Nusrah, and another fights for the ISIS. Saifullah al Shishani, a Chechen commander who led a large unit in Al Nusrah, was killed by the Syrian military in early February during fighting in Aleppo.

Kamel Zarrouk. Photograph from Magharebia.

The deputy emir of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia is reported to have left his home country and traveled to Syria to wage jihad alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham.

Kamel Zarrouk, who is described by Magharebia as Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's "second-in-command," fled Tunisia after security forces raided the Ettawba mosque in Tunis in January. Tunisian police tried to detain Zarrouk at his mosque in September 2013, but failed after his followers halted the raid and allowed him to escape.

Zarrouk is reported to have traveled to Libya before departing for Syria.

In 2011, Zarrouk began speaking at mosques as a "khatib" in 2011, and he once "likened Osama Bin Laden to the prophet's companions."

Zarrouk has praised al Qaeda and its allies in his sermons. In May 2013, he claimed that a host of al Qaeda-linked groups, including two known to operate in Syria, "stand united."

"I would like to declare loud and clear, that the Al Nusrah Front, Ansar al Shariah, al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the mujahedeen in Somalia, Mali, and Algeria, we all stand united against our enemies," Zarrouk said, according to Al Monitor.

Additionally, Zarrouk is known to to have recruited youths in Tunisia to wage jihad in Syria.

"Zarrouk is known in his neighborhood as someone who encouraged young people to go for jihad in Syria, which he considers to be the springboard for establishing an Islamic state from the Gulf to the ocean," Magharebia reported.

Tunisians are fighting in large numbers alongside the Al Nusrah Front, the ISIS, and other Islamist units inside Syria. More than 5,000 Tunisians are thought to have traveled to Syria to fight against President Bashir al Assad's government. In early February, Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou claimed that the government has prevented more than 8,000 of his countrymen from traveling to Syria to wage jihad.

Tunisians who have fought in Syria have appeared prominently in Ansar al Sharia's propaganda. Ansar al Sharia Tunisia has released numerous images of Tunisian "martyrs" who died while waging jihad in Syria. So many Tunisians have fought in Syria that in March 2013, Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's leader Seifallah ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi) discouraged the practice and said the wars in Syrian and Mali have "emptied Tunisia of its young."

Jihadist groups in Syria have also featured Tunisians in their propaganda. The ISIS lauded a Tunisian suicide bomber in July 2013. That same month, the Muhajireen Army, an al Qaeda group that has ties to both the ISIS and the Al Nusrah Front and is led by Chechen commanders, released a video of a Tunisian who urged others to travel to Syria for jihad.

On Jan. 10 of this year, the US added Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, along with two Ansar al Sharia groups in Libya, to its list of global terrorist organizations. Seifallah Ben Hassine, who has deep ties to al Qaeda and its top leaders, was also added as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on the same day.

The Tunisian government listed Ansar al Sharia as a terrorist group in August 2013.

Responding in September 2013 to Tunisia's terrorism listing, Ansar al Sharia announced 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."

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan announced that it would implement a ceasefire lasting one month in order to continue to conduct peace talks with the Pakistani government. The announcement took place the same day that 11 tribal policemen and civilians were killed in attack targeting a polio vaccination team in Pakistan's northwest.

The announcement of the ceasefire was made in a statement released today by Shahidullah Shahid, the Taliban's main spokesman.

"The [Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] is a responsible organization which works through the consensus of a higher council and an Amir [leader] for decision making," the statement said, according to The Express Tribune. "[T]he decision has been taken in view of the appeal made by the ulema [legal clerics], in honor of the representative committee and for the betterment of Islam and the country."

"The senior leadership of the Taliban advises all subgroups to respect the Taliban's call for a ceasefire and abide by it and completely refrain from all jihadi activities in this time period," the statement continued, RFE/RL reported.

Shadid's announcement occurred as jihadists in the Khyber tribal agency killed 10 Khasadars, or tribal policemen, who were guarding a polio vaccination team, and a child in IED attacks. It is unclear if the attack in Khyber occurred before or after Shadid's statement was issued.

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan's announced ceasefire takes place after peace talks between the government and the jihadist group collapsed. The Taliban had accused security forces of conducting assassinations and executing prisoners, and in turn executed 23 captured Frontier Corps troops. The military responded by launching airstrikes against the Taliban in North Waziristan, Khyber, and Hangu.

Other jihadist groups in Pakistan are unlikely to adhere to the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan's ceasefire. A group of jihadists recently split from the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and formed Ahrar-ul-Hind. Although the group said it is still "brothers" with the Taliban, it vowed to continue to conduct attacks inside Pakistan's cities and said it would not abide by any peace agreement. [See LWJ report, Pakistani jihadists form Ahrar-ul-Hind, vow to continue attacks.]

Over the past several years, the Pakistani government and the military have cut numerous peace deals with the Taliban, only to have them collapse. The peace agreements, which have been struck throughout the tribal areas and in Swat and other settled districts in the northwest, required the Taliban to accept the writ of the state and eject "foreigners," or al Qaeda and allied groups, from their areas. But the Taliban have refused to abide by the agreements, and instead have established mini-Islamic emirates while continuing to expand their control into neighboring areas.

Peace agreements are still in effect in South Waziristan in areas controlled by the Mullah Nazir Group, and in North Waziristan with the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group. Both groups, which are not part of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, are considered "pro-government Taliban" by the Pakistani military and government as they do not advocate attacks against the state. The Nazir and Bahadar Taliban groups continue to shelter al Qaeda and other terror organizations, however, and conduct attacks inside Afghanistan.

The newly formed Ahrar-ul-Hind claimed credit for a suicide assault today at a courthouse that killed a judge and 10 other people in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad. The attack took place after both the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and the Pakistani government announced over the weekend that they would suspend attacks against each other.

Two Ahrar-ul-Hind suicide bombers armed with weapons and hand grenades attacked the court, and killed judge Rafaqat Awan, a female lawyer, and nine others. Thirty more people were wounded in the assault, which may have been designed to free a prisoner who was brought to court to face trial.

Asad Mansoor, the spokesman for Ahrar-ul-Hind, told Dawn that the group carried out the suicide assault and that it would continue to conduct attacks until sharia, or Islamic law, is imposed throughout Pakistan.

Shahidullah Shahid, the spokesman for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, said his group was not responsible for the attack, The News reported.

Ahrar-ul-Hind, which was formed by elements of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and "other jihadi organizations," sent emails to The Long War Journal on Feb. 9 announcing its formation and vowing it would not participate in peace talks or adhere to a ceasefire unless sharia is imposed in Pakistan. Ahrar-ul-Hind said it is entrenched in Pakistan's major cities and would conduct attacks there. It also said fighters in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan are still "our brothers," despite its separation from the larger group. [See LWJ report, Pakistani jihadists form Ahrar-ul-Hind, vow to continue attacks.]

Also today, jihadists killed two Frontier Corps troops and wounded seven more in an IED attack in the tribal agency of Khyber. No group has claimed credit for the IED attack. The Taliban and a host of jihadist groups are based in the tribal agency.

Today's suicide assault in Islamabad and the IED attack in Khyber occurred after the Taliban and the government agreed over the weekend to cease hostilities in order to continue peace talks. On Saturday, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan's spokesman announced a month-long ceasefire. And on Sunday, the government said it would end its airstrikes in northwestern Pakistan. Negotiations between the government and the Taliban are being brokered by radical Pakistani clerics, including one who supports jihad and led an insurrection in Islamabad in 2007. [See Threat Matrix report, Taliban 'negotiator' Abdullah Aziz appears with armed guards.]

The US killed three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a drone strike in Yemen today. The strike is the first recorded in Yemen in more than five weeks. The target of the attack was a senior AQAP commander who in the past said he is not afraid of dying in a US airstrike.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired a missile at a vehicle near Mayfa in Shabwa province. An AQAP operative known as Mujahid Gaber Saleh al Shabwani and two other AQAP operatives are reported to have been killed, The Hindu reported.

Al Shabwani was on a list of 25 wanted al-Qaeda operatives that was released by the Yemeni government in August 2013. He was among those who are wanted for attacking Yemeni government and security installations.

Abdul Razzaq al Jamal, a Yemeni journalist who is closely tied to AQAP and who often releases the group's propaganda, reported on his Facebook account that the target of today's airstrike was Sheikh Ma'moun Abdulhamid Hatem, an AQAP leader and cleric who is also a tribal leader in Ibb province. Hatem "escaped," according to al Jamal. US officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not comment on the target of the strike, but one intelligence official said Hatem is "a person of interest."

Hatem was interviewed by al Jamal in March 2013, and said he did not fear death from US drones as martyrdom while waging jihad is welcomed. Hatem also said that the drone strikes were increasing local support for AQAP.

AQAP is known to operate in Shabwa province. Most of the province was under AQAP control between May 2011 and May 2012.

Background on US strikes in Yemen

Today's strike is the first recorded in Yemen since Jan. 23. The US has launched two other strikes in Yemen this year.

The pace of the drone strikes in Yemen decreased last year from the previous year (26 in 2013 versus 41 in 2012). The reduction in the number of strikes coincided with a speech by President Barack Obama at the National Defense University in May 2013. The strikes are being reduced as the US government is facing increasing international criticism for conducting the attacks in both Yemen and Pakistan.

The number of strikes might have been much lower in 2013 were it not for an al Qaeda plot emanating from Yemen that was uncovered by US officials in late July. The plot led the US to close down more than 20 embassies and diplomatic facilities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The plot involved AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi, who now also serves as al Qaeda's general manager.

Between July 27, after the plot was disclosed, 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 intended to disrupt the plot and take out AQAP's top leadership cadre and senior operatives. The US killed Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir for Al Baydah province, during that time period.

For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2014.

Members of the ISIS suicide assault team in Samarra, identified as Abu Ya'ala al Harbi, Abu Anas al Tunisi, and Abu al Bara'a al Ghamdi. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

An Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham suicide assault team dressed in Iraqi military uniforms stormed a government complex in the city of Samarra earlier today. A Tunisian was among the ISIS fighters in the assault team.

The ISIS claimed credit for the complex attack in a statement that was released today and obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The ISIS said it killed "tens among soldiers of the federal and local police, and the Awakenings," the anti-al Qaeda tribal units that support the government.

The National Iraqi News Agency seemed to corroborate the ISIS' claim of high casualties. NINA reported that "dozens of the council staff and other civilians as well as of army and police members" were killed. Other news outlets put the number of Iraqis killed in the single digits, however. Reuters reported that four policemen and three civilians were killed during the fighting and another 47 Iraqis were wounded.

The fighting in Samarra lasted for nearly four hours before Iraqi security forces cleared the building. The ISIS fighters are reported to have detonated their suicide vests before they could be captured.

Numerous suicide assaults such as today's ISIS attack in Samarra have been carried out by al Qaeda, its affiliates, and its allies, in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Algeria, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger, as well as in Iraq.

The ISIS has been in control of the cities of Fallujah and Karma in Anbar province, as well as several other towns along the Euphrates River, since the beginning of January. The ISIS also controls some areas of Ramadi, the provincial capital. The group, which has ramped up attacks in the country since the US withdrew its forces at the end of 2011, has conducted numerous attacks and suicide bombings in Baghdad and throughout the country over the past year.

Tunisian jihadists in Iraq and Syria

The ISIS identified the members of the suicide assault team as "Abu Ya'ala al Harbi, Abu Anas al Tunisi, and Abu al Bara'a al-Ghamdi."

Tunisians are known to serve as senior leaders in the ISIS as well as fight in its ranks in both Iraq and Syria. Tunisians have served in Iraq with al Qaeda in Iraq, the ISIS' predecessor, after the US invasion and occupation of the country. In September 2007, US special operations forces killed Abu Usama al Tunisi, an al Qaeda in Iraq leader, in an airstrike in Musayyib, Iraq along with two other jihadists. Abu Usama was "in the inner leadership circle of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq and was a likely successor to him," the US military said at the time.

Tunisians also are known to have played an integral role in the network of Abu Khalaf, an al Qaeda in Iraq commander who operated in both Syria and Iraq and was killed by US forces in January 2010.

The Tunisian government has estimated that more than 5,000 Tunisians have traveled to Syria to fight against President Bashir al Assad's government. Most are believed to have joined the ISIS or the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.

The deputy emir of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, a terrorist group that has direct links to al Qaeda, is believed to have traveled to Syria over the past month and joined the ISIS. [See LWJ report, Ansar al Sharia Tunisia deputy leader reportedly in Syria.]

Tunisians who have fought in Syria have appeared prominently in jihadist proganda. Ansar al Sharia Tunisia has lauded Tunisian "martyrs" who died while waging jihad in Syria. The ISIS lauded a Tunisian suicide bomber in July 2013. That same month, the Muhajireen Army, an al Qaeda group that has ties to both the ISIS and the Al Nusrah Front and is led by Chechen commanders, released a video of a Tunisian who urged others to travel to Syria for jihad.

Israeli forces this morning intercepted a Panamian-flagged cargo vessel near Port Sudan in the Red Sea. The vessel, identified as the Klos-C, was carrying "advanced weaponry intended for terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip," and was shipped by Iran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

According to the IDF, the weaponry on board, which included 302 mm rockets, was "concealed in between commercial cargo." The IDF has not yet tallied all of the weaponry seized, but "dozens of rockets" have been found thus far. Israeli forces are currently bringing the shipment of Klos-C to Israel, where it should arrive in about 3 days.

"We have conclusive evidence that there were rockets on board the ship, and we have proof and can say with certainty that Iran is behind this operation," a senior IDF official said.

A summary video released by the IDF said that Israeli intelligence services "several months ago" identified a weapons shipment departing Damascus International Airport. From Damascus, the weaponry was flown to Iran's capital, Tehran, where it was subsequently taken to Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran.

In Bandar Abbas, the weaponry was loaded onto the Klos-C. After departing Bandar Abbas, the Klos-C traveled to Umm Qasr port in Iraq, where additional cargo was loaded over a five day period. Following this, the vessel headed for Port Sudan, but was intercepted by Israeli naval forces in the Red Sea.

According to the IDF, the rockets would have been "smuggled via land through the Sinai Peninsula and into Gaza" had the interception not occurred. The IDF did not specify which Gaza-based terror group the rockets were destined for. Relations between Hamas and Iran have loosened in recent years as a result of differences over the Syrian conflict. Recent press reports indicate, however, that the two are currently trying to rebuild ties. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is widely viewed as Iran's primary proxy in the Gaza Strip today. Iranian officials met with PIJ's senior leadership in Beirut in January and again in Tehran in early February.

Today's operation marks at least the fourth time since 2002 that Israel has publicly announced that its forces had intercepted a sea-based Iranian weapons smuggling attempt. In 2002, Israeli forces boarded the Karine A in the Red Sea, and subsequently found 50 tons of weaponry destined for the Gaza Strip. In 2009, Israeli naval forces intercepted the MV Francop in the Mediterranean Sea and found an extensive cache of weaponry destined from Hezbollah. Two years later, Israeli forces boarded the Victoria vessel and found another cache of weaponry, including C-704 anti-ship missiles, destined for Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

Today the US launched the second drone strike in Yemen in three days. The strike, which took place in northern Yemen, killed a jihadist who fought in Iraq.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired two missiles at a vehicle as it traveled in the Khalka area of Al Jawf province province. Four "militants," including a local commander known as Ali Juraym, were killed in the strike.

Yemeni news sources claim that Ali Juraym, whose full name is Ali Saleh Juraym Al Olyan, was an al Qaeda commander known to have returned from Iraq. Al Olyan was reportedly from the Al Sayda tribe hailing from the Al Jawf province in northern Yemen. Yemeni tribal sources said that they could not identify the other AQAP fighters who were killed with Al Olyan due to the severity of their injuries. They also confirmed that al Qaeda operatives arrived at the scene shortly after the drone strike to collect the militants' remains.

Yemenis are known to fight in Iraq and in other theaters of jihad. In the past, the government encouraged its young men to fight in Iraq and then return to fight against the Houthis, a Shia rebel group in the north. In early 2007, a Yemeni newspaper counted more than 1,800 Yemenis who had traveled to Iraq for jihad; their families said the young men were trained by top-level Yemeni military commanders.

Al Jawf is a known haven for top al Qaeda leaders. US drones have struck AQAP in Al Jawf four other times since the beginning of 2010. The last strike in the province took place in June 2013. An AQAP commander known as Saleh Hassan Jredan, his brother, and four other fighters were reported killed in that strike.

Two of the five strikes in Al Jawf targeted top AQAP leaders. In September 2011, the US killed Anwar al Awlaki, the American propagandist, ideologue, recruiter, and operational commander, and Samir Khan, an American who ran Inspire Magazine, in an airstrike in the province. Awlaki sheltered at the homes of Islah leaders in Al Jawf before he was killed. And in January 2010, an airstrike targeted Qasim al Raymi, AQAP's top military commander. He and other senior AQAP officials survived the strike.

Background on US strikes in Yemen

Today's strike is the second by the US in Yemen in the past three days. On March 3, US drones killed Mujahid Gaber Saleh al Shabwani and two other jihadists in a strike on a vehicle in the province of Shabwa. Al Shabwani was on the Yemeni government's list of 25 most wanted. The US has launched two other strikes in Yemen this year; both were in January.

The pace of the drone strikes in Yemen decreased last year from the previous year (26 in 2013 versus 41 in 2012). The reduction in the number of strikes coincided with a speech by President Barack Obama at the National Defense University in May 2013. The strikes are being reduced as the US government is facing increasing international criticism for conducting the attacks in both Yemen and Pakistan.

The number of strikes might have been much lower in 2013 were it not for an al Qaeda plot emanating from Yemen that was uncovered by US officials in late July. The plot led the US to close down more than 20 embassies and diplomatic facilities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The plot involved AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi, who now also serves as al Qaeda's general manager.

Between July 27, after the plot was disclosed, 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 intended to disrupt the plot and take out AQAP's top leadership cadre and senior operatives. The US killed Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir for Al Baydah province, during that time period.

For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2014.

Sanafi al Nasr. Photograph from Saudi Interior Ministry.

Not long after Ayman al Zawahiri's chief representative in Syria, Abu Khalid al Suri, was killed in late February, a prominent online jihadist known as Sanafi al Nasr condemned the assassins on his Twitter feed.

Nasr praised al Suri and prayed for Allah to fight his killers. Nasr claimed to have met with al Suri "in a great session" just two weeks prior. And during their meeting, Nasr said, al Suri spoke of his "strong relationship" with Osama bin Laden, as well as his longtime friendship with Abu Musab al Suri, a key al Qaeda ideologue.

Abu Khalid al Suri knew his death might be imminent, according to Nasr. Al Suri told Nasr that "they had promised him five attackers," according to a translation of one of Nasr's tweets by the SITE Intelligence Group. When another Twitter user asked Nasr who he meant by "they," Nasr responded, "The state of injustice and evil" -- an obvious reference to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), which is suspected of killing al Suri.

Nasr is a well-known jihadist who has been active online for approximately a decade. But according to US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal, he is much more than that.

Nasr, whose real name is Abdul Mohsin Abdullah Ibrahim Al Sharikh, has risen through al Qaeda's ranks to become one of the organization's most senior leaders.

According to US officials, Nasr leads al Qaeda's "Victory Committee" (or Shura al Nasr), which is responsible for developing and implementing al Qaeda's strategy and policies. The nom de guerre he uses, "Sanafi al Nasr," actually means "Cultivator of Victory."

And as Nasr's tweets following Abu Khalid al Suri's death indicate, he has relocated to Syria. In other words, Nasr now leads an elite al Qaeda committee from Syria, and not from Afghanistan or Pakistan where he was previously based.

An al Qaeda family

Sanafi al Nasr, a Saudi, is a member of Osama bin Laden's extended family. According to US officials, he is one of bin Laden's third cousins. Nasr has six brothers, and most of them are known to have joined al Qaeda's jihad.

Two of Nasr's brothers, Abdulhadi Abdallah Ibrahim al Sharikh and Abd al Razaq Abdallah Hamid Ibrahim al Sharikh, were once detainees at Guantanamo. Leaked and declassified files prepared by Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) provide numerous details about the brothers and their involvement in al Qaeda.

The two Sharikh brothers were transferred from Guantanamo to their home country of Saudi Arabia on Sept. 5, 2007. In threat assessments prepared just a few months earlier, JTF-GTMO recommended that they both be retained in the Defense Department's custody. JTF-GTMO deemed both brothers "high" risks "likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests, and allies."

Despite JTF-GTMO's warnings, the Bush administration transferred the two brothers home. One year after their transfer, in September 2008, the brothers were arrested inside Saudi Arabia for "supporting terrorism," according to an analysis published by the Department of Defense.

Prior to their detention at Guantanamo, the JTF-GTMO files state, the Sharikh brothers were "selected and prepared by al Qaeda senior leadership for a special mission to attack US forces at the Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB) in Saudi Arabia."

The two brothers were picked for the mission by senior al Qaeda leader Saif al Adel and by Abu Hafs al Masri, al Qaeda's military chief who was killed in late 2001. Al Adel and another top al Qaeda operative, Ibn Sheikh al Libi, then oversaw their specialized training on shoulder-fired SA-7 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).

Although the brothers were captured before they could carry out the attack, JTF-GTMO's analysts found that an SA-7 SAM was fired into the air base in May 2002 but did not explode. "This attack was likely the realization of the plot" the brothers had been training to execute, JTF-GTMO found.

Other senior al Qaeda leaders, such as Abu Zubaydah and Walid Bin Attash, recognized the Sharikh brothers during questioning. Both Zubaydah and Bin Attash were placed in the CIA's detention and interrogation program before they were transferred to Guantanamo.

Zubaydah told American officials that he recognized four of the Sharikh brothers, and first met the pair once held at Guantanamo in Kabul in 2000 or 2001. Zubaydah also knew the father of the family, saying that he had stayed in an al Qaeda guesthouse for one month.

JTF-GTMO concluded that the Sharikh father is a "probable al Qaeda member."

Another Sharikh brother identified in the JTF-GTMO files was killed while waging jihad in Chechnya.

Based on the intelligence assembled by JTF-GTMO, it is easy to see how Nasr became so trusted within al Qaeda. His kin served al Qaeda's most senior leaders well before the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

JTF-GTMO found that Abd al Razaq al Sharikh was likely a member of the 55th Arab Brigade, which al Qaeda created to serve as its primary fighting force in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. And the brothers continued to serve al Qaeda through its darkest days, including during the Battle of Tora Bora.

Abd al Razaq al Sharikh even admitted to US officials that he witnessed a high-level al Qaeda meeting in the Tora Bora Mountains. In addition to Saif al Adel, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, was in attendance.

It is not clear where Abdulhadi and Abd al Razaq al Sharikh are today. There has been little reporting on them since they were arrested inside Saudi Arabia in 2008.

Online jihadist who joined the jihad in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Sanafi al Nasr's online presence is well known in jihadist circles. He became active on jihadist forums and websites nearly a decade ago, posting as early as 2005, if not earlier. Many of his posts and tweets have been devoted to praising key jihadist leaders who have been killed. In an April 2013 tweet, for instance, Nasr praised Abu Ubaydah Abdullah al Adam, al Qaeda's deceased intelligence chief, as a "martyr."

Nasr has also frequently heralded the arrival of his fellow online jihadists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In one piece, Nasr advised new recruits to commit an act of violence in their home country before leaving to fight in the jihad abroad.

Nasr himself relocated to Afghanistan or Pakistan in 2007, according to his writings.

In February 2009, Nasr was included on Saudi Arabia's list of 85 most wanted terrorists and extremists. Nasr was number 12 on the list. According to BBC Monitoring, Nasr is connected to other jihadists on the Saudis' list, including Salih al Qarawi, the former leader of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades in Lebanon.

It became clear in 2011 that Nasr was an important al Qaeda figure when he first contributed to the Vanguards of Khorasan magazine, al Qaeda's flagship publication. His article focused on female prisoners held in Saudi Arabia.

Until now, however, Nasr's role as the head of an elite committee within al Qaeda was not publicly known.

Infighting in Syria

From al Qaeda's perspective, the infighting between factions inside Syria threatens to spoil the jihad. The fighting has pitted ISIS, the former al Qaeda affiliate, against al Qaeda's official branch, the Al Nusrah Front, and the al Qaeda-linked Ahrar al Sham, as well as other organizations.

Nasr is clearly on the side of Al Nusrah and Ahrar al Sham. He largely stayed out of the infighting on social media until late 2013. But he then became a vocal critic of ISIS and its online supporters, denouncing their "intolerance."

In a series of tweets in October 2013, Nasr criticized unnamed jihadist leaders inside Syria. He accused them of ignoring the teachings of al Qaeda ideologue Abu Musab al Suri. Nasr's endorsement of Abu Musab's teachings is telling. In his extensive writings, Abu Musab examined the reasons why the jihadist project had failed in many countries, including in Syria in the 1980s and in Algeria in the 1990s, and he made specific recommendations for avoiding the same mistakes in the future.

The Al Nusrah Front openly follows Abu Musab's teachings. Ahrar al Sham appears to be following a course similar to the one advocated by Abu Musab as well. Abu Musab's longtime companion and friend, Abu Khalid al Suri, was a founding member of and senior leader in Ahrar al Sham until his death last month.

Both the Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham have attempted to unify the jihadists' ranks inside Syria and avoid infighting. Abu Musab warned against such internecine fighting in his writings.

ISIS, however, has pursued its own goals and sought to establish itself as the premier authority in charge of the jihad. This has brought ISIS into direct conflict with other jihadist organizations, thereby repeating the mistakes of the past, from al Qaeda's point of view.

As the head of al Qaeda's "Victory Committee," ISIS' actions have certainly challenged Nasr. The Long War Journal has reviewed months' worth of tweets by Nasr. His posts show that he is clearly allied with the ideologues who have attempted to rein in ISIS, including Sheikh Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini, his fellow Saudi. Muhaysini attempted to broker a peace deal between the rival jihadist factions, but his initiative failed in late January when ISIS rejected the proposal. Al Qaeda's general command then disowned ISIS in early February.

The killing of Abu Khalid al Suri in late February was a major escalation in the conflict.

After al Suri's death, Nasr changed the photo at the top of his Twitter feed to honor his fallen comrade. Previously, the photo had been the one used by Saudi authorities in 2009 in announcing that Nasr was on their most wanted list; the picture is a dated one and shows Nasr as a young man. The new photo shows al Suri after his "martyrdom."

The conflict with ISIS remains unresolved. After al Suri's death, Nasr tweeted, "I ask Allah to take vengeance upon your killers."

Russian jihadists seconds before they execute Syrians in Aleppo. Click the image to view the video at the Syrian Center for Documentation's Facebook page. Warning: the video is extremely graphic.

A video of jihadists executing a group of Syrians in the city of Aleppo has emerged. The execution is carried out by Russian-speaking fighters, and one of those to be killed was said to be mentally ill.

The graphic video was published today on the Facebook page of a group known as the Syrian Center for Documentation. The group claimed that civilians, including children, were among those killed. Although the date and exact location of the execution has not been disclosed, the Syrian Center for Documentation indicated that it took place in Aleppo.

In the video, a number of well-armed fighters are seen moving civilians into a large room. A group of young and middle-aged males appears arranged in a line, while others are huddled in small groups or are being moved around the room. Some of the captives are flex-tied. Lying on the floor of the room are the bodies of several men who appear to have been executed.

The fighters speak in Russian, according to a translation of the video by Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Boris Zilberman.

"They spoke pretty decent Russian ... better than some of the folks that you can usually find on Kavkaz Center," Zilberman said, referring to one of the propaganda arms of the Islamic Caucasus Emirate.

The fighters seem eager to proceed with the execution, while the cameraman is concerned about the angle he should use to film it.

"Come on, come on, what about this injured?" one of the fighters says.

"Should I film from the front or back?" the cameraman asks. He decides to film from the rear.

Seven men are lined up, kneeling on the ground. One of the fighters walks behind the men, and buttstrokes each of the men in the back of the head. A group of fighters then lines up and opens fire, killing the men.

After shooting the men, one of the fighters asks, "Whose phone is this?" and then walks over to a fighter in military fatigues and a helmet who appears to be the group's leader.

"This is what happens to those that fight against Islam," the fighter says to the leader. The leader then points to a man on the ground who appears to be still alive, and orders the men to shoot him again.

Just before the execution, one of the men who about to be killed says in Arabic that another in the group is "Darwish," a term used locally to describe the mentally ill, according to the Syrian Center for Documentation. The jihadists do not respond. It is unclear if the mentally ill man was among those seen killed in the video.

Jihadists from the Russian Caucasus are known to fight in both the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) and the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, which is al Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria.

There is controversy over which group carried out the execution, and when it took place. The Syrian Center for Documentation reported that the ISIS carried out the execution, and that the video was shot recently in the village of Hretan just north of Aleppo.

Others claimed that the execution was carried out by an Al Nusrah Front unit commanded by a Chechen known as Abu Muslim al Shishani, and that it took place 10 months ago. Abu Muslim is said to have fought alongside Ibn Khattab, the famed Saudi jihadist who led al Qaeda's International Islamic Brigade in Chechnya before he was assassinated by Russian forces in 2002.

Omar al Shishani is the overall commander of the Caucasus jihadists who fight in the ranks of the ISIS. Al Shishani received permission from Doku Umarov, the emir of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Caucasus Emirate, to join the ISIS.

Omar's forces often serve as the ISIS' shock troops, and his unit functions as the vanguard for the ISIS.

The ISIS has been denounced by al Qaeda's General Command for failing to resolve its dispute with the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic Front, and other rebel groups. The ISIS rules with a heavy hand and refuses to cooperate with the other jihadist groups to resolve disputes. The dispute caused a large group of Chechens to break ranks with the ISIS and join the Al Nusrah Front.

ISIS suicide bombers Fatih al Denmarki and Abdul Aziz al Uzbeki.

A Danish citizen and an Uzbek are among the 30 suicide bombers who were recognized by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham just two days ago. At least 24 of the 30 suicide bombers have last names that indicate they are from outside Iraq.

The ISIS' "North Baghdad division" publicized the 30 suicide bombers by posting a photograph and a brief description of their attacks on its Twitter feed. The suicide bombers executed their attacks between Sept. 11, 2013 and March 6, 2014, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained the information.

The 30 suicide bombers were involved in massed assaults as well as individual attacks against the "North Baghdad Awakening," police and army headquarters, and a prison. The attacks took place in Baghdad (including in Sadr City), Mashahada, Taji, and Tarmiyah. Among the attacks described is the Jan. 30, 2014 suicide assault on the Ministry of Transportation.

"North Baghdad" is one of several theaters where the ISIS routinely launches suicide attacks and assaults, as well as IED, small arms, and mortar and rocket attacks on a regular basis. The ISIS is also active in Anbar province, where Fallujah and other towns have been under ISIS control since the beginning of the year; and in Diyala, Salahuddin, Tikrit, and Ninewa provinces.

Of the 30 suicide bombers who were identified, the noms de guerre of 24 of them indicate that they were from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Seven suicide bombers have the last name "al Maghribi," which denotes origins in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, or Tunisia. Seven more are from Tunisia (al Tunisi); three are from Egypt (al Masri); three are from Syria (al Suri and al Shami); one is from Uzbekistan (al Uzbeki); one is from Afghanistan or Pakistan (al Khurasani); and one from Denmark (al Denmarki). Additionally, one of the suicide bombers used the last name "al Muhajir," which means "the emigrant."

The Danish suicide bomber was identified as "Brother Fatih al Denmarki," according to SITE. He and two other suicide bombers, identified as Abu Muhammad al Maghribi and Abu Ayyub al Jazrawi, were involved in a suicide assault in November 2013 that targeted "the headquarters of the 22nd Brigade of the intelligence of the Safavid [Iranian] army" in the city of Taji, which is just north of Baghdad. The three suicide bombers "stormed the headquarters" and killed and wounded "more than 50 apostates," the ISIS claimed.

The Uzbek suicide bomber was identified as "Brother Abdul Aziz al Uzbeki." In September 2013, the Uzbek and Abu Dujana al Tunisi "stormed" a "large gathering of elements of the al Dajjal Army [Mahdi Army] in Sadr City in Baghdad." The ISIS claimed that "395 apostates" were killed or wounded in the attack.

Foreign fighters have flocked to fight alongside the ISIS in both Iraq and Syria. A Chechen commander known as Omar al Shishani is a senior commander in the ISIS in Syria. And the deputy emir of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia recently traveled to Syria to join the ISIS.

Despite the ISIS' falling out with al Qaeda over the former's attempt to dominate jihadists in Syria, the group still seeks to attack the United States.

"So as to let you know, you the protector of the cross, that the war of agency will not enrich you in Syria as it did not enrich you in Iraq, and very soon you will be in the direct confrontation - you will be forced to do so, Allah permitting," ISIS emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi said in a statement released on Jan. 19. "The sons of the Islam have settled their selves for this day."

Today Lebanon's head of General Security, General Abbas Ibrahim, said that 13 Syrian nuns and three maids kidnapped in early December were released after negotiators had worked out "logistical obstacles" for their handover.

The women are now in the custody of Lebanese security forces, according to Naharnet. The decision to release the women comes after months of negotiations involving the Assad regime, Lebanese officials, the Qatari government, and the captors.

The nuns were kidnapped on Dec. 2, when the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, and allied rebels took over the ancient Christian town of Maaloula. The following day, Vatican Radio said that the nuns were moved to Yabroud, 13 miles to the north, where they have been kept until now.

Later that month, Al Monitor reported that the Al Nusrah kidnappers were holding out for military concessions in exchange for the nuns' freedom. It also noted that three separate negotiations channels had been opened -- by a Syrian figure, Qatari officials, and the United Nations -- and that the Vatican had sought to open a fourth channel.

The negotiations were complicated by the fact that Free Syrian Army officials were involved in the kidnapping and transferral of the nuns from Maaloula to Yabroud and had sought immunity as part of the deal, according to the Al Monitor report. Mithqal Hamama, an FSA official, "played a major role in taking the nuns out of the Mar Taqla monastery in Maaloula after he and a group of fighters of the Tahrir al Sham Brigade stormed the monastery." The Tahrir al Sham brigade is an FSA unit based primarily in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta that is rumored to be funded by Qatar. Ahmad al Maqmabar, another FSA official, was also said to be involved in the negotations.

Incidentally, there seems to be very little reporting on the Tahrir al Sham, although last May it claimed to be the victim of chemical attacks in Jobar (note that the OPCW described an Aug. 24 chemical weapons attack in Jobar as being small-scale and directed at regime forces). In August, the Tahrir al Sham claimed it targeted the convoy of President Bashar al Assad. Moreover, there is very little information to be found on the nature and identity of the rebel groups backed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In October 2012, The New York Times reported that "the [arms] shipments organized from Qatar, in particular, are largely going to hard-line Islamists."

Hamama allegedly took the nuns to his home town of al-Sakhra in Qalamoun, where they were handed over to the Al Nusrah Front, which moved them to Yabroud. Once in Yabroud, they were held by a local Al Nusrah emir, Abu Malek al Tilli, a Syrian, and his deputy Hamdi Abu Azzam al Kuwaiti, Al Monitor explained.

On March 6, a source told Agence France Presse that negotiators had lost contact with the nuns, and that they were being held by an Al Nusrah Front group headed by Abu Malek al Kuwaiti.

In addition to security guarantees, Al Nusrah was demanding a number of military concessions as well as the release of hundreds of regime detainees. It is unclear to what extent the captors' demands were met in the recent deal. The December Al Monitor article noted: "Someone involved in the negotiations told As-Safir that the army's advance toward Yabrud will not leave Jabhat al-Nusra with a lot of options and that protecting the nuns may become a burden for the kidnappers in the coming days."

Yabroud is currently the site of heavy fighting between regime forces and Hezbollah fighters against rebels, including the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, and the Islamic Front. Today Syrian Greek Orthodox Bishop Louka al-Khoury credited recent gains by regime forces with helping to free the nuns, observing that "[w]hat the Syrian army achieved in Yabroud facilitated this process," according to Reuters.

Today's report in Naharnet, which cites Sky News Arabia, states that the deal for the nuns' freedom called for "the release of 153 detainees from the prisons of the Syrian regime." Reuters quoted a rebel source as saying the deal involved the release of 138 female prisoners.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades and the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon have claimed joint responsibility for rocket attacks on Hezbollah's "strongholds." On March 8, both groups published the same statement claiming credit for the attacks on their respective Twitter feeds.

The six Grad rockets "targeted strongholds of the Party of Iran [Hezbollah] in the Lebanese area of Hermel ... in response to the Party of Iran killing our people in Syria and continuing to oppress our people in Lebanon especially our brothers the prisoners," the statement reads. The statement was first obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The war in Syria has led to a string of attacks against Iranian interests in Lebanon. Hezbollah is backed by the Iranian government and Bashar al Assad's regime.

The Al Nusrah Front is al Qaeda's official branch in Syria and has expanded its operations into Lebanon and throughout the Levant. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades was established by terrorists with ties to al Qaeda's senior leadership, as well as al Qaeda in Iraq.

The two al Qaeda-affiliated groups have launched rocket attacks on Hezbollah positions in Hermel on three occasions since December 2013, according to SITE. Hermel is located close to the Syrian border in the Bekaa Valley, which is dominated by Hezbollah.

On Feb. 19, two suicide bombers from the Abdullah Azzam Brigades attacked the Iranian cultural center in Beirut, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen more. The group issued a statement on March 7 saying that an "error" during the bomb detonations led to the deaths of civilians. The statement showed a clear sensitivity to civilian casualties, stressing that the al Qaeda-linked group's "war" is with Hezbollah and that "its interests ... are legitimate targets."

On Jan. 16, the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Hermel on its Twitter feed. The attack took place near a government building. Another Al Nusrah Front suicide bomber struck a gas station in Hermel on Feb. 1.

Iran's cultural attache and 22 others were killed during a suicide bombing by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades outside of the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Nov. 19, 2013.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), which has been disowned by al Qaeda's general command, has also carried out attacks in Lebanon. The group claimed responsibility for the Jan. 2 car bombing in Beirut, which killed four people and wounded more than 70 others.

Blowback, of sorts

According to the US Treasury and State Departments, the Iranian regime continues to allow al Qaeda to operate a "core pipeline" on Iranian soil despite their divergent interests in Syria.

"Al Qaeda's network in Iran has facilitated the transfer of funds from Gulf-based donors to al Qaeda core and other affiliated elements, including the al Nusrah Front in Syria," Treasury stated in a terrorist designation on Feb. 6. "The Iran based al Qaeda network has also leveraged an extensive network of Kuwaiti jihadist donors to send money to Syria via Turkey."

It is not clear why the Iranians would allow senior al Qaeda operatives to support the Al Nusrah Front while that group also launches attacks on Iran's and Hezbollah's interests in Lebanon.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades has also operated inside Iran, although it is not known if the organization is still active inside the country. Saleh al Qarawi, one of the brigades' first leaders, based his operations inside Iran for a time.

Qarawi was added to Saudi Arabia's most wanted list in early 2009. Contemporaneous State Department cables, which were leaked to the public, noted that Qarawi had "received explosives training in Iran." The cable does not say the Iranians provided the training.

Citing a Saudi security official, The New York Times reported in February 2009 that "Qarawi is in charge of leading Al Qaeda's operations in the Persian Gulf and Iran, and of bringing new members into Afghanistan." Qarawi was also "believed to have more than 100 Saudis working for him in Iran, where they move about freely, the official added."

[For more on the Abdullah Azzam Brigades' al Qaeda ties and relationship with Iran, see LWJ report: Abdullah Azzam Brigades claims credit for attack on Iranian embassy.]

There have been conflicting accounts regarding Qarawi's fate. According to jihadist sources on social media, Qarawi was badly wounded in a US drone strike in northern Pakistan at some point. He was then allowed to return to his native Saudi Arabia, where he is reportedly in custody.

In June 2012, the leader of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades released a statement calling on Syrians to support the effort to topple Bashar Assad's regime. The statement, from Majid bin Muhammad al Majid, was distributed by the Al Fajr Media Center, which disseminates al Qaeda's propaganda.

Majid was subsequently captured in Lebanon and died in prison. However, his group continues to target Iranians and members of Hezbollah.

Aftermath of a US drone strike that targeted two vehicles in Marib province on March 10. Image from Al Khabar Now.

Late last night a US drone strike killed four al Qaeda commanders and fighters in Marib province east of Sana'a, the Yemeni capital. The strike is the third in Yemen so far this month.

Arabic media reports indicate that the drones fired two missiles at two vehicles carrying al Qaeda operatives as they traveled in the Wadi Abida area of Al Shabwa district in Marib.

The two al Qaeda leaders confirmed killed in the attack were identified as Ebad Mobarak Al Shabwani and Ja'afar Mohammad Jaber Al Shabwani. Ebad and Ja'afar were not on Yemen's most recent list of wanted al Qaeda leaders. The identities of the other two killed in the strike were not confirmed, but Arabic new sources suggest that they too were members of al Qaeda.

The Al Shabwan tribe has been recurrently involved in al Qaeda activity in the country, and drone strikes have targeted a number of the tribe members. Most recently, Mujahid Jaber Saleh al Shabwani, an AQAP leader who had returned from fighting in Iraq, was killed in Shabwa province by a US drone strike [see LWJ report, US kills 3 AQAP operatives in Yemen drone strike]. AQAP is known to operate in Shabwa province, where much of the Shabwan tribe is based. Most of the province was under AQAP control between May 2011 and May 2012.

The US has targeted AQAP in Wadi Abida in Marib four other times in the past. The last strike in Wadi Abida took place on Jan. 23, 2014; four AQAP fighters were reported killed in the attack. Two of the strikes took place in 2013 and the other in 2012. A few years earlier, in March 2008, Wadi Abida was identified as the base of an al Qaeda group known as the Yemen Soldiers Brigade. The group claimed credit for mortar attacks against the US Embassy, the Italian Embassy, and a Western housing complex in Sana'a in 2008.

Background on US strikes in Yemen

Last night's strike is the third by the US in Yemen in the past eight days. On March 3, US drones killed Mujahid Jaber Saleh al Shabwani and two other jihadists in a strike on a vehicle in the province of Shabwa. Al Shabwani was on the Yemeni government's list of 25 most wanted. And on March 5, the US killed Ali Saleh Juraym Al Olyan, an AQAP commander in the northern province of Al Jawf. He had previously fought alongside al Qaeda in Iraq.

In addition to the three strikes this month, the US has launched three other strikes in Yemen this year; all three were in January.

The pace of the drone strikes in Yemen decreased last year from the previous year (26 in 2013 versus 41 in 2012). The reduction in the number of strikes coincided with a speech by President Barack Obama at the National Defense University in May 2013. The strikes are being reduced as the US government is facing increasing international criticism for conducting the attacks in both Yemen and Pakistan.

The number of strikes might have been much lower in 2013 were it not for an al Qaeda plot emanating from Yemen that was uncovered by US officials in late July. The plot led the US to close down more than 20 embassies and diplomatic facilities across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The plot involved AQAP emir Nasir al Wuhayshi, who now also serves as al Qaeda's general manager.

Between July 27, after the plot was disclosed, 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 intended to disrupt the plot and take out AQAP's top leadership cadre and senior operatives. The US killed Kaid al Dhahab, AQAP's emir for Al Baydah province, during that time period.

For more information on the US airstrikes in Yemen, see LWJ report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Yemen, 2002 - 2014.