Al-Qaeda

The Iron Swords – The war in the south of Israel (Updated to 1 p.m., October 17, 2023)

The IDF continued its activity in the Gaza Strip, mainly by conducting airstrikes against terrorist targets of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Several thousand terrorist targets have been attacked since the beginning of the war. Using precision-guided munitions, Israeli Navy ships attacked Hamas military-terrorist targets from the sea. Two barrages were fired at the Jerusalem area during the opening of the Knesset's winter session. About 6,930 rockets have been fired at Israel since the beginning of the war.So far, more than 1,400 civilian and soldier deaths have been reported, and 199 civilian and soldier abductees are currently held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the war, The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is worsening. Tensions continued mounting in northern Israel. Iran has ramped up its threatening messages, apparently concerned that an Israeli ground attack could challenge Hamas' survival. Iran does not necessarily regard Hezbollah as its only option for an attack on Israel and might prefer other options, such as activating the pro-Iranian Shi'ite militias in Syria or Iraq. Read more...

The Iron Swords – The war in the south of Israel (Updated to 1 p.m., October 16, 2023)

Israeli Air Force attacks on Gaza City continued after at least some of the residents of the northern Gaza Strip had responded to the IDF's calls to evacuate; during the past day there were more than 250 air strikes. The Palestinians reported the night of October 15, 2023, had been the worst since the outbreak of the war. The IDF displayed huge amounts of terrorist weapons and equipment which showed Hamas' intention to take over large sections of southern Israel and remain in the territory for an extended period of time.The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is worsening. As of 1 p.m. on October 16, calls for a Tensions continued mounting in northern Israel. During the past day Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at IDF forces, killing an IDF soldier. A rocket barrage was launched at the settlements of the Western Galilee, for which Hamas' military-terrorist wing claimed responsibility. The IDF responded with air strikes, artillery fire and tank fire. Israeli security forces detained several dozen Palestinians suspected of terrorist activities. Mahmoud Abbas' feeble condemnation of Hamas' barbaric attack on the Israeli villages near the Gaza Strip was deleted shortly after it was issued. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (September 14-20, 2023)

This week, there was a decline in ISIS’s activity around the world. The organization’s activity focused on Syria and Africa. In the Idlib area, fighting continued between the forces of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated HTS and the Syrian army. In the desert area, three pro-Iranian militia fighters were killed in an ISIS attack. In Nigeria ISIS attacked Nigerian army targets in the northeast of the country. In Somalia operatives of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab continued to attack targets of the Somali army and the forces supporting it. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have formed a new defense alliance to jointly fight jihadi terrorist organizations headed by Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Al-Qaeda’s branch in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) renewed the publication of the magazine Sada al-Malahim, apparently to enlist support and operatives. Unofficial media arms affiliated with Al-Qaeda published posters threatening the United States and its allies and Sweden and its “sisters.” Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (September 7-13, 2023)

This week, there was an increase in ISIS’s activities around the world. The organization’s activities were concentrated in Syria and Africa. In ISIS’s activity in the desert area, nine members of the forces supporting Syria and three civilians were killed. In the rebel enclave in Idlib, exchanges of fire continued between the Syrian army and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated HTS. An operation by the Kurdish SDF forces against ISIS in the Deir ez-Zor area killed 29 militants and 25 SDF fighters. In Iraq ISIS operatives attacked the building of a government company engaged in mining east of Rutba, in western Iraq. This is the most significant attack carried out by ISIS in Iraq in recent times. The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen (JNIM) announced that it had attacked a Burkina Faso army force near the border with Mali. According to the organization, at least 50 soldiers were killed.Al-Qaeda and ISIS marked the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by glorifying the event and inciting violence against the “infidels.” Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (August 9-16, 2023)

This week, there was an increase in the scope of ISIS’s activity around the world. Syria: ISIS operatives ambushed Syrian army buses in the desert area south of Al-Mayadeen. A total of 33 Syrian soldiers were killed. Africa: Mozambique: ISIS operatives attacked a Mozambican army compound in northeastern Mozambique. Seven soldiers were killed and ten wounded. Mali: The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), Al-Qaeda’s branch in the Sahel, announced that its operatives had attacked Malian army soldiers and Wagner Group mercenaries on the periphery of the city of Timbuktu. Dozens of soldiers from the Malian army and the Wagner Group were killed and wounded. Somalia: The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab carried out several attacks against the Somali security forces and Somali civilians, and at the same time suffered dozens of fatalities. Nigeria: Boko Haram operatives attacked civilians and military forces in the northeast. Iran: A gunman opened fire at people at the Shiite shrine of Shah-e Cheragh in the city of Shiraz. One man was killed and eight others were wounded. The perpetrator was captured. The attack was apparently carried out by ISIS. It should be noted that on October 26, 2022, an ISIS operative shot at this shrine, killing 12 people and wounding more than 20. ISIS is believed to be behind the attack. UN terrorism experts claim that ISIS still has thousands of operatives in Syria and Iraq and that the organization poses a real threat in Afghanistan. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (March 16-22, 2023)

This week there was a decrease in the scope of ISIS activity around the world. In Afghanistan An IED was activated against a vehicle carrying the governor of the Sherzad region.Two Syrian soldiers were killed by gunfire, apparently by ISIS operatives, in the Palmyra Desert. In The Democratic Republic of the Congo An ISIS attack was carried out for the first time in the area of the town of Lubero. According to ISIS, it is an expansion of the organization’s activity outside the areas of Beni and Ituri, in the northeast of Congo. According to the findings of the Global Terrorism Index summing up 2022, which was published in Australia, ISIS is the deadliest terrorist organization. Read more...

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Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda is a global Islamic terrorist organization founded by Palestinian terrorist operative Abdullah Azzam in 1988. Al-Qaeda originated in Afghanistan as an underground movement that operated against the Soviet occupation. Since its establishment, Al-Qaeda operated under the leadership and funding of Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda was officially defined as an organized entity in 1988 by its founder and first leader, Osama bin Laden. Since being defined as an organized entity, Al-Qaeda has become a global Islamic terrorist organization operating in many arenas around the world. Ideologically, Al-Qaeda relies on the Salafi school of Islam, viewing jihad as the personal duty of every Muslim.

Al-Qaeda does not operate in a clear hierarchical framework, but rather as a confederation of terrorist organizations that carry out the organization’s ideology and tactics. Osama bin Laden served as a source of inspiration and guidance for carrying out terrorist activity. The organization also provides various types of assistance and support to terrorist organizations that advocate global jihad around the world.

Al-Qaeda was behind a series of showcase attacks against the United States, the most prominent of which was the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. Al-Qaeda’s activities also included harming the civilian population and damaging the holy sites of various religions. After a prolonged manhunt, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by US Army forces on May 2, 2011. He was replaced by his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian who was also one of the founders of Al-Qaeda.

In recent years, Al-Qaeda’s center of power in Afghanistan and Pakistan has grown weaker. At the same time, local networks affiliated with Al-Qaeda in various Muslim countries have grown stronger, including Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), based in Yemen; Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and the Fateh al-Sham Front in Syria.