al-Qaeda

The way al-Qaeda tells it, the West is locked in an existential war with Islam. This is how the terrorist group justifies its violence and its fundamentalist ideology. And now it has found a Westerner to back them up — top Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon graced the cover (above the fold!) of the most […]

The U.S. military executed a series of manned and unmanned aerial attacks against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) targets inside Yemen yesterday, according to the Washington Post. Yemeni sources also reported the presence of U.S. ground forces conducting raids in conjunction with the air attacks, although that was refuted by the Pentagon. The attacks […]

When I watched the documentary “White Helmets” I was somewhat less impressed than the Oscars apparently were.  This week, the White Helmets documentary took home an Oscar for best documentary in the short subject category.  The documentary is about a group of Syrians who wear white protective helmets and rescue civilians from bombed out buildings. […]

Tora Bora. We didn’t get Bin Laden because we couldn’t. WHAT!!! I thought we didn’t get Bin Laden because we mistakenly trusted the Afghans to do what they had promised, and we ignored very competent men on the ground who wanted to commit available US forces to the rear of Tora Bora to block Bin […]

WASHINGTON — In a series of conversations in Qaeda safe houses in Yemen in 2009, Anwar al-Awlaki carefully sized up a young Nigerian volunteer, decided the man had the diligence and dedication for a “martyrdom mission” and finally unveiled what he had in mind. Mr. Awlaki, an American-born cleric who had become a leading propagandist […]

Since World War II, U.N. peacekeepers have been dispatched to 69 conflicts — civil wars, border disputes and failed states. But now they are confronting an unsettling new threat: al-Qaeda. Here in the vast, lawless desert of northwest Africa, their convoys are being torn apart by improvised explosive devices and their compounds blasted by 1,000-pound […]

The nature and threat of radical Islamic terrorism has been altered and expanded by ISIS, and Al-Qaeda has been quietly rebuilding its capabilities in preparation for ISIS’ defeat on the battlefield, according to terrorism officials. Three renowned experts on terrorism testified before the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, giving detailed briefs on their assessments of the […]

Russian jets pounded rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Deraa on Tuesday for a second day in the first such intensive bombing campaign since Moscow’s major intervention in Syria more than a year ago, rebels and witnesses said. Rebel groups on Sunday stormed the heavily-garrisoned Manshiya district in a battle dubbed “Death rather than […]

If you’re looking for some light reading or to get on one of the NSA’s watch lists, this is your opportunity.  Below is a link to Al Qaeda’s renowned training manual, affectionately referred to as the “Manchester Documents,” for your reading pleasure.  While by no means a new document, the intent here is to have […]

Government forces in Afghanistan have launched a military offensive with the help of American air support against fighters loyal to the Islamic State in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. The effort comes at the same time U.S. General John Nicholson, commander of all international troops assigned to Operation Resolute Support, has requested additional U.S. soldiers to serve […]

Initial reports say a police raid in southern France has stopped an imminent terrorist attack by four suspects, including one young woman. The four suspects were found with the same explosive material used in previous terror attacks tied to ISIS in Paris and Brussels. A teenager girl, aged 16, had reportedly made jihadist posts on […]

Earlier this week, a ban on ground operations in Yemen was reported following the SEAL Team Six raid that resulted in the deaths of a Navy SEAL and several civilians, including women and children. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ahmed Bin Mubarak, Yemen’s ambassador to the US, denied the ban but instead stated that more coordination […]