The interactive Terror Story Map presented by ESRI has been updated with the latest attacks as the polar shift of terror related events appears to be turning from the Middle East toward Africa and a must listen Generation Jihad podcast that covers the interconnections of the greater al Qaeda web. While not specifically terror related, North and South Korean relations seem to be deteriorating and Iraq has a new Prime minister. These stories and more are covered in this week’s Terror Update.
I would like to have gotten this summary out a day earlier but activities related to Four’s 6th birthday took precedence. I cannot believe the youngest has two missing teeth and is six already…where has the time gone.
- The interactive Terror Story Map on ESRI, based on data accumulated by ESRI and PeaceTech Lab, utilizing Wikipedia, has been updated and can be found here. It is current through June 16, 2020. Since our last update, they have mapped attacks in Mali, the Philippines, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Ivory Coast. This is such a great resource if you want a quick check-in on the terror world.
- We have several stories from Reuters, and first we will start things off with: North Korea blows up liaison office on its side of border with South. I am not sure this belongs in our terror update but I think it is pretty big news.
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea blew up an office set up to foster better ties with South Korea in its border town of Kaesong on Tuesday after it threatened to take action if North Korean defectors went ahead with a campaign to send propaganda leaflets into the North.
The article continues…
A South Korean military source told Reuters that there had been signs North Korea was going ahead with the demolition earlier in the day, and South Korean military officials watched live surveillance imagery as the building was blown up.
This maybe more show than anything as the North maybe wanted to see the South preparing for this attack to limit casualties. Regardless the tensions have been rising and the article provides details to the affect.
- Reuters has some of the details about the attack in Mali: Mali says 24 soldiers killed in ambush on Sunday.
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Gunmen killed 24 Malian soldiers in an ambush on their convoy in central Mali on Sunday, a spokesman for the west African nation’s army said….
The attack is the deadliest since November 2019 when 53 soldiers were killed during an assault on an army post in northern Mali.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place in an area around 100 km (60 miles) south of the border with Mauritania.
But al Qaeda-linked Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) in known to operate around the area.
Jihadist groups with links to Islamic State and al Qaeda have carried out frequent attacks on the army and United Nations peacekeeping forces in Mali in recent weeks.
Two U.N. peacekeepers were killed on Saturday in a separate attack on a logistics convoy further north.
- France has been very active in the terror fight throughout Africa and apparently, there is growing concern about the role Turkey is playing there, particularly in Libya: France wants talks about ‘aggressive’ Turkish role in Libya. It appears that alliances may be shifting in ways that Western powers are not comfortable with. Honestly, I have no idea what to make of it other than this is something I think we should watch closely but hopefully, not get further involved with.
PARIS (Reuters) – France wants talks with NATO allies to discuss Turkey’s increasingly “aggressive” role in Libya, a presidential official said on Monday, and the foreign ministry accused Ankara of thwarting truce efforts by breaking a U.N. arms embargo.
Turkey, which backs the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, has secured a foothold in Libya by helping to repel an assault on the capital by the Libyan National Army (LNA) of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia.
This article may further explain Turkey’s motivations here, Turkey eyes Libya bases for lasting military foothold: source.
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognized government are discussing possible Turkish use of two military bases in the North African country, a Turkish source said on Monday, with a view to a lasting Turkish presence in the south Mediterranean.
In addition to the tensions in Libya: France launches Sahel coalition to fight rising jihadi violence.
NIAMEY/PARIS (Reuters) – France launched a coalition of West African and European allies on Friday to fight jihadi militants in the Sahel region, hoping more political cooperation and special forces would boost a military effort that has so far failed to stifle violence.
- Also at Reuters: Militants kill 20 soldiers, 40 civilians in northeast Nigeria attacks. The fight in Africa continues.
MAIDUGURI (Reuters) – Islamic militants killed at least 20 soldiers and more than 40 civilians and injured hundreds in twin attacks in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state on Saturday, residents and a civilian task force fighter said.
- For something definitely not terror related but it is a truly excellent perspective that I do not think that we will get here in the U.S., Deutsche Welle (DW) has two articles about the proposal to remove some U.S. troops in Germany. You can read them here and here. The first is a truly excellent article that details what you need to know. Personally, when it is all said and done, I think the removal of a few troops will have almost no impact and any protests or praise for that matter, are overblown.
- Over at the New York Times, there is an article that discusses Iraq’s new Prime Minister: In Iraq, a New Prime Minister Takes Stock of His Bloodied Land. I completely missed this election and hope that Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi proves to be a strong ally in the fight against terror there. The article does a great job of detailing the destruction there. For that alone, especially for those of us that are not currently in the fight, this article is a must read. You can follow the link about the Prime Minister to get more information about him and why the U.S. backed him in the latest election.
- The Long War Journal has four articles that we are going to discuss. First, Caleb Weiss writes: Jihadists target military outpost in Ivory Coast. This is further confirmation that threat in Africa is continuing to grow. Weiss notes that:
In the first attack of its kind since 2016, suspected militants from al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) killed at least 10 soldiers at an outpost in northern Ivory Coast.
Earlier today, a base near the town of Kafolo was targeted by “dozens of armed individuals” according to the AFP. Other details remain scarce, but Burkinabe sources have indicated that the attack occurred late last night.
Local reporting has also alleged that the attack was two-pronged in that it also targeted a nearby military checkpoint.
The Ivorian Ministry of Defense has confirmed today that 10 soldiers were killed and another six were wounded, while one attacker was killed.
But the AFP, citing another Ivorian source, has stated that at least 11 soldiers and one gendarme were killed in the assault. Another source indicated that at least two gendarmes may also be missing.
The article is very good and you can go down that rabbit hole of links for about an hour. There is no question how well sourced these articles are.
- Thomas Joscelyn reports: S. reportedly targets 2 senior al Qaeda figures in airstrike in Syria. If confirmed, this seems to be a pretty big deal Joscelyn writes:
Two al Qaeda leaders were reportedly killed in a drone strike in Syria’s Idlib province earlier today, according to jihadists on social media. Pictures of the car carrying them were posted on Telegram and other messaging applications.
It appears the vehicle was struck with a R9X, a version of the Hellfire missile that has been used in previous targeted killings, or a similar weapon. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that the R9X doesn’t explode upon impact, but instead deploys a “halo of six long blades” that slice through their target. The missile was intended to further limit civilian casualties.
Jihadists identified the two men killed as Abu al Qassam al Urduni and Bilal al Sanaani. If confirmed, their deaths would be significant. The U.S. government hasn’t officially commented on the report.
Abu al Qassam (also known as Khaled al Aruri and Abu Ashraf) is an al Qaeda veteran whose jihadist career dates back to the 1990s. He was one Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s closest companions, as the two grew up in Jordan and then worked together from the early 1990s until Zarqawi’s demise in 2006. He was also Zarqawi’s brother-in-law..
Joscelyn offers a lengthy report on Qassam’s close ties to Zarqawi and has been in the fight a long time and has been deeply involved in the Syrian conflict. This report is definitely worth some time.
- Joscelyn also reports: Taliban falsely claims al Qaeda doesn’t exist in Afghanistan. If you are a regular reader of Joscelyn you will continue to see him link al Qaeda to the Taliban.
General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), questioned the Taliban’s willingness to take action against al Qaeda during an online conference held last week. The U.S. is prepared “to go to zero” troops in Afghanistan, McKenzie told an online forum hosted by the Middle East Institute. But he added: “Can we be assured that attacks against us will not be generated there?” Only on that condition, the CENTCOM commander claimed, would the U.S. leave no forces behind.
Ultimately, I am not sure how they will be assured that no attacks on the U.S. will be generated in Afghanistan but it does appear that a Taliban-ISIS fight is looming there. For me, I don’t mind making the popcorn, watching and waiting to deal with whatever happens afterward. But a Taliban – al Qaeda spit will most likely not be one of the things happening.
- For me the most interesting article brought to us by The Long War Journal is Bill Roggio’s: Taliban denounces ‘deviant beliefs,’ including ‘satanic western and disbelieving ideologies’. This article doesn’t leave much wiggle room on the beliefs of the Taliban…spoiler alert…they haven’t changed much since the world was shocked by their destruction of ancient Buddhist sculptures.
“But the Deviants are those who are trained in the poisonous deviant beliefs of atheism, communism, secularism, democracy, and other satanic western and disbelieving ideologies in order to mislead the Muslims with their deviant ideologies,” The Taliban narrator states in English.
They continue…
The Taliban accused the “deviant people” of killing Muslims and imposing a non-Islamic form of government “at the behest of invaders.” This is a common Taliban narrative: that the Afghan government and military are merely “puppets” of the West who do their bidding.
I believe that it is important to actually read and watch what the enemy, adversary or oppositions says instead of only relying on what other say they say and this is a great source for that.
These articles and more are summarized in this week’s John Batchelor Show podcasts with the Long War Journal’s Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio. The first, which is about 12 minutes and can be found here, covers:
- The Six-bladed R9X Hellfire targets Al Q in Syria. This is a very good podcast that summarizes the Thomas Joscelyn story: S. reportedly targets 2 senior al Qaeda figures in airstrike in Syria. They also briefly cover the U.S. Taliban deal and the Taliban denial of foreign fighters located there.
The second podcast is about 8 minutes, can be found here, and covers: Taliban curses democracy in order to make a deal with democracy and Bill Roggio’s: Taliban denounces ‘deviant beliefs,’ including ‘satanic western and disbelieving ideologies’.
- The short podcast covers the above story, the Taliban’s denial of an al Qaeda presence in Afghanistan and briefly touches on last week’s Generation Jihad podcast that we discussed here.
In this week’s Generation Jihad Podcast brought to you by the Long War Journal’s, Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio’s, which be found here, is summarized as follows:
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the life and reported death of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s emir, Abdulmalek Droukdel. They also review some of Osama bin Laden’s files to piece together AQIM’s history.
- I was driving and could not take notes like I normally do but I highly recommend giving this podcast a listen. Roggio and Joscelyn spend a good amount of time connecting al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to the larger al Qaeda organization. They used information found in the Bin Laden files and other reporting to justify the claim. The amount of work and time they put into this reporting and connecting the interworking’s of al Qaeda are truly remarkable and this is definitely a must listen.
In summary, it appears that the polar shift of terror related event continues to shift out of the Middle East and into Africa. Afghanistan continues to be a problem that appears will need to be sorted out in a more local fashion and hopefully, Iraq has found a Prime Minister that will not only take the fight to the terrorist but will limit the Iranian influence there. If you agree or disagree with any of my analysis please drop a comment below and we will discuss!