Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Ayman al Zawahiri	Ayman al Zawahiri	Gamaa Islamiya	Africa North				20060214	Link
	Ayman al Zawahiri	al-Qaeda	Afghanistan-Pak-India	Egyptian	At Large	Second in Command	20051027	Link
Ayman al-Zawahiri	Ayman al-Zawahiri	al-Qaeda	Terror Networks	Egyptian	At Large	Second in Command	20040111
	Ayman al-Zawahiri	Egyptian Islamic Jihad	Terror Networks				20011011
	Ayman al-Zawahiri	Jamaat al-Jihad al-Islami	Africa: North				20040421	Link
	Ayman al-Zawahiri	Al-Tawhid wal Jihad	Africa North				20060327	Link
	Ayman al-Zawahiri	al-Gamaa al-Islamiya	Africa North				20020615
	Ayman al-Zawahiri	Muslim Brotherhood	Britain				20050712
	Ayman al-Zawahiri	Fath-e-Islam	Afghanistan				20020830
	Ayman al-Zawahiri	Learned Elders of Islam	Terror Networks				20031123

Afghanistan

Islamic Emirate Rejects Reports of Al-Qaeda Presence in Afghanistan

2026-09-15

[ToloNews] The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan says that no foreign groups are operating in Afghanistan and that the country’s territory is not being used against any other country.

Taqqiya.

Zabihullah Mujahid told TOLOnews that reports about al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan are propaganda against the current government, adding that there is no evidence of such groups being present in the country.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said: "These claims and propaganda may come from certain biased circles and intelligence groups that seek to fuel tensions and create scenarios of regional insecurity. They may be behind such propaganda. The reality is that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not allow this, and the facts on the ground show that there is no need for foreign groups to be present."

Recently, The Washington Post, citing U.S. and other Western intelligence officials as well as a United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
body responsible for monitoring terrorist groups, reported that al-Qaeda has once again established training camps in Afghanistan, 25 years after the September 11 attacks.

The report claimed that the group has opened at least eight training centers in Afghanistan over the past three years.

Yousuf Amin Zazai, a military analyst, said: "In my view, this is an exaggeration by the United States for political purposes, aimed at portraying the situation as sensitive once again and creating a justification for its presence in the region, while in reality this is not the case."

Although the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly assured the international community that Afghanistan’s territory will not pose a threat to other countries, it appears that these assurances have not convinced some countries and organizations.

The Taliban are responding to this story reported in the Times of Israel:

A quarter century after 9/11, al-Qaeda and other terror groups are regrouping in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal and the return of the Taliban to power in 2021, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing US and Western security officials and a United Nations organization.

Al-Qaeda and its offshoots have established at least eight bases in Afghanistan over the past three years, while Islamic State, al-Qaeda’s main rival, has also opened training sites in Afghanistan in recent years, The Post said.

According to the report, the groups have successfully established a presence in at least 14 of the country’s 34 provinces.

A UN report cited by The Post said the Taliban has reintroduced “a permissive environment” that has allowed al-Qaeda “to consolidate, with the presence of safe houses and training camps across Afghanistan.”

Nonetheless, terror groups gaining a foothold in Afghanistan appear to focus more on regional conflict than worldwide jihad, and seem to be constrained by the Taliban’s reticence to invite new international intervention in the country, according to officials and counterterrorism experts cited by The Post.

Al-Qaeda’s Afghan training camps played a central role in the run-up to the September 11, 2001, attacks. According to the US 9/11 Commission, the idea of hijacking planes was introduced at an al-Qaeda complex in Tora Bora in 1996, while then-leader Osama Bin Laden later approved the 9/11 plot at a site near Kandahar.

A UN report cited by The Post said the Taliban has reintroduced “a permissive environment” that has allowed al-Qaeda “to consolidate, with the presence of safe houses and training camps across Afghanistan.”

Nonetheless, terror groups gaining a foothold in Afghanistan appear to focus more on regional conflict than worldwide jihad, and seem to be constrained by the Taliban’s reticence to invite new international intervention in the country, according to officials and counterterrorism experts cited by The Post.

According to the report, UN and other security officials recently investigated claims that al-Qaeda was seeking to re-establish itself at Tarnak Farms, a former bin Laden compound near Kandahar Airport, though a Washington Post review of satellite imagery found no visible signs of renewed activity.

Officials said the new camps teach weapons, explosives and guerrilla tactics alongside newer technologies such as encryption, artificial intelligence and drones. Colin Smith, who coordinates a UN team monitoring terror groups, estimated that core al-Qaeda has no more than around 100 militants in Afghanistan.

Smith told The Post that al-Qaeda has taken more of a “consulting service” role for other terror organizations, such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), “giving them advice and training on things like covert operations and information security.”

A 2024 UN report cited by The Post said al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan were “conducting suicide bomber training for TTP.”

Meanwhile, Islamic State-Khorasan, an Islamic State offshoot for the Afghan region of Khorasan, has been using the country’s north as a “main hub” for training and planning operations, recruiting some 2,000 members, The Post reported, citing officials and UN reports.

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State remain bitter rivals for dominance of the jihadist movement, officials said, but both now recruit primarily from Afghanistan and neighboring countries, unlike the thousands of foreign fighters al-Qaeda drew from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East in the 1990s.

Monitoring the new camps has been hindered by the loss of intelligence capabilities following the United States’ 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and the diversion of resources to Iran and other priorities, US and other security officials said. Still, the 2022 drone strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul demonstrated Washington’s enduring intelligence and strike capabilities.

Al-Qaeda is now led by Egyptian Saif al-Adel, a veteran of its Afghan training camps who is believed to be hiding in Iran, officials said.

Meanwhile, post-9/11 travel surveillance and other measures have made sending recruits to Afghan camps riskier, prompting al-Qaeda and the Islamic State to increasingly recruit online and encourage Western sympathizers to carry out “lone wolf” attacks at home.

Link

Home Front: WoT

Sebastian Gorka: Have We Defeated the Jihadists?

2026-09-12

[BB] The slaughter of almost 3,000 Americans in 102 minutes in Manhattan, Washington, DC, and the brave men and women of Flight 93 that went down in a lonely filled in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, was followed for decades by the Global War on Terror. Twenty-five years later we must ask: have we won?

Let us start by asking what were the goals of the jihadists, beyond the mayhem and destruction of that one day. Have they achieved any of their goals since 9/11.

You don’t need a Top Secret clearance to know the strategic objectives of groups like al Qaeda or ISIS. All modern jihadi groups are all built on the writings and public pronouncements of key Islamist ideologues, starting with Sayyid Qutb of the Muslim Brotherhood, and through to Abdullah Azzam, S.K. Malik, Osama bin Laden himself, and Ayman al Zawahiri, all who promoted the same objectives to justify their horrific violence. What follows is a short list of their diabolic goals based upon an analysis by one of my smartest counterterrorism colleagues in government.

Whether it is the monsters of al Qaeda, the killers of ISIS, or the barbarians of Hamas, they all wish to topple the Arab monarchies of the Middle East, which they deem to be “un-Islamic,” starting with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, because it is home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In this they have failed.

Thanks to President Trump’s Abraham Accords and the Iranian regime’s drone and missile barrages over the last few weeks, the Gulf States are closer to America than any point since World War Two, partners in our fight against the terrorists.

All jihadi terrorists also want to see the destruction of Israel and the destruction or subjugation of America. In this too they have failed. Israel remains a vibrant and powerful country, the freest nation of the Middle East that despite the horrors of their own 9/11, the October 7 massacre of the innocent, has dealt death on a massive scale to Hamas and their paymasters in Iran.

Modern jihadists has been explicit in their goal to eliminate Western influence in the World. In this they have failed. With President Trump back in the White House, America is the strongest nation the World has ever seen, the shining city on a hill leading Western nations who believe in Peace Through Strength, sovereignty, borders, and Judeo-Christian values.

For all jihadists, the ultimate goal, after all of the above is achieved by means of terror and mass slaughter, is to re-establish the Islamofascist Caliphate, one global theocracy for the Muslim ummah, or community, where all must worship Allah or be second class citizens or slaves. In this, they have also failed. ISIS did establish a Neo-Caliphate in Iraq and Syria under Obama’s watch, but then Donald Trump became President and our military was unleashed and the jihadi Caliphate destroyed within a matter of months.

The objective truth is that with President Trump back in the Oval Office, we are back in the business of counterterrorism, so much so, that I can reveal today, that in the last eighteen months our warfighters have permanently removed 1,081 jihadists from the battlefield. Not only that, President Trump has rescued 110 Americans who were held hostage or wrongfully detained by jihadi sympathizers like the Taliban, some who shared their incredible stories and gratitude to president Trump last night at the RNC Convention.

We are not permanently safe for as long as there are men with evil in their hearts. We must be vigilant and, if necessary, use violence to stop them from hurting the innocent. But the jihadists are losing, and losing badly.

Today we pay respects to the memory of those whose lives they took on that sunny Tuesday morning twenty five years ago. To quote President Trump’s Presidential Proclamation for today: “They sought to divide us — they could not. They sought to make us afraid — instead, they awakened the mightiest force for justice the world has ever known.” Peace through Strength.

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India-Pakistan

Section 144 imposed in several areas of Upper, Lower South Waziristan amid security concerns

2026-06-16

[Dawn] The district administrations of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Upper South Wazoo and Lower South Waziristan imposed Section 144 in several areas on Monday due to security concerns and the movement of security forces, officials said.

According to separate notifications issued by the deputy commissioners of both districts, restrictions have been enforced on public movement in designated areas, while several key roads have been temporarily closed to ensure the smooth movement of security personnel and logistical convoys.

Lower South Waziristan Deputy Commissioner Musarrat Zaman said Section 144 would remain in force from 6am to 6pm on Monday. The restrictions were imposed as a precautionary measure in view of prevailing security concerns in and around Wana and adjoining localities.

The district administration announced the temporary closure of several key routes, including Wana-Tiarza Road, Karab Kot, Azizabad Chowk, Dargai and the route leading to Toi Khula Gul Kach. Authorities said all forms of movement on these roads would remain restricted during the specified period.

Zaman urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel and strictly comply with the instructions issued by the district administration and law enforcement agencies. He emphasised that the measures had been taken in the larger interest of public safety and regional security.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's knife out of his hand......
Upper South Waziristan’s DC Irfan Ali imposed Section 144 in the subdivisions of Sararogha and Servekai. Under the restrictions, public movement in certain sensitive areas has been prohibited for the duration of the order.

According to the district administration, the restrictions were introduced due to security-related concerns and to facilitate the safe transportation of logistical supplies for security forces operating in the region.

Several major roads and routes in Upper South Waziristan have also been closed, including those linking Ladha, Makeen, Kotkai, Spinkai Raghzai and Nazar Khel. Additional restrictions have been placed on routes passing through Asman Manza, Kaniguram, Karama to Kotkai, Dargai Bridge, Madi Jan, Moley Khan Sarai and Chagmalai.

Officials advised commuters to use alternative routes where available and cooperate fully with security personnel deployed across the affected areas.

The deputy commissioners of both districts also issued public safety advisories, directing motorists to maintain a minimum distance of 50 metres from security forces’ vehicles. Citizens were warned not to obstruct the movement of official convoys or engage in activities that could compromise ongoing security arrangements.

Authorities said the temporary restrictions were necessary to maintain law and order, ensure public safety and facilitate security operations in the region.

The district administrations also appealed to residents to cooperate with security forces, police and civil authorities, rely only on verified information from official sources and refrain from spreading rumours. Officials expressed hope that public cooperation would contribute to maintaining peace and stability and help ensure the successful implementation of security measures across both districts.

After two consecutive months of improvement, Pakistain’s security situation deteriorated sharply in May 2026, driven primarily by escalating terrorist violence in KP and Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, according to the Pakistain Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

As the two provinces continue to grapple with militancy, with attacks often targeting security personnel and law enforcers, the state has intensified counter-terrorism operations.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday, 21 bad boyz were potted within 72 hours in intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in North Waziristan.

On June 2, the district administration imposed Section 144 for an indefinite period in the Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
subdivision, restricting all movement and traffic amid security concerns.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's knife out of his hand......
elders in a peace jirga on Wednesday expressed concern over surge in the incidents of kidnapping for ransom, assassinations, bomb explosions and other acts of violence in South Waziristan.

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Africa North

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso launched joint airstrikes against militants

2026-05-02

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Combined forces from Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali carried out airstrikes on militant positions in northern Mali, Niger's press service reported.

"The Government of Niger welcomes <…> the swift and decisive response of the Joint Forces units, which carried out intensive air campaigns following the cowardly attacks, " Africanews quoted the cabinet as saying on April 30.

The republic's authorities also accused foreign countries, primarily France, of sponsoring the terrorist attacks that occurred in Mali last weekend. The Niger government canceled nationwide parades planned for May 1st due to security concerns.

On April 25, militants attacked Bamako-Sénou International Airport in Mali, as well as the country's largest military base located nearby. Explosions and gunshots were heard at the scene. The republic's military command reported that same day that the situation in several districts of the country had been brought under control.

According to the Malian Foreign Ministry, terrorist groups simultaneously attacked military installations in several cities: Bamako, Kati, Sevare, Gao, and Kidal. Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed during the fighting.

On April 28, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Afrika Korps fighters had prevented a coup d'état in Mali. They repelled a superior militant force numbering approximately 12,000. According to the ministry, mercenaries from Ukraine and Europe were involved in the coup plot.

On April 30, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia will continue to help fight terrorism and provide assistance to the Malian authorities.

From Skidmark’s comment, below, for future searchability: the parties to the conflict are the Mali military government and Russia’s Africa Corps, Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM-Al Qaeda in the Maghreb), Islamic State - Sahel Province (ISSP) Note that Wikipedia describes JNIM as

Salafi Jihadist organisations in the Maghreb and West Africa formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, al-Mourabitoun and the Saharan branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Its emir Iyad Ag Ghali swore allegiance to al-Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Taliban's leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in 2017. In the early 2020s, JNIM was reported to be the fastest-growing militant organization in the world. As of 2025, it is considered the most heavily armed militant group in the Sahel and one of the most powerful globally.

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India-Pakistan

Child killed, four injured after mortar shell allegedly fired from Afghanistan lands in North Waziristan neighbourhood

2026-03-09

[Dawn] A child was killed and four people were left injured on Sunday after a mortar shell allegedly fired from the Afghan side landed in a residential area during an exchange of fire near the Pak-Afghan border in North Wazoo

Wazoo, police said.

According to police sources, the incident occurred at around 7:30pm when heavy firing erupted between both sides of the border in the Ghulam Khan area.

During the exchange of fire, a mortar shell fired from across the border fell in the nearby village of Golakhel and went kaboom! in a residential locality, they added.
It's a Ramadan tradition!
As a result of the earth-shattering kaboom, they said a minor went titzup while four other people sustained injuries.

Local residents immediately took the injured to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
, where they were being provided medical treatment.

Hospital sources said some of the injured were at death's door, while doctors and medical staff remained engaged in emergency treatment.

Following the incident, Tehsildar Miranshah Ghani Wazir and Tehsildar Ghulam Khan Aziz Wazir reached the hospital’s emergency ward on the directives of North Waziristan Deputy Commissioner Yousaf Karim.

They directed doctors and hospital staff to ensure the provision of all necessary medical facilities to the injured.

Officials said the emergency department of the hospital had been put on high alert and treatment of the injured was continuing.

The Ghulam Khan border crossing in North Waziristan is an important route for trade and travel between Pakistain and Afghanistan. However,
women are made to be loved, not understood...
the crossing remains completely closed at present due to the prevailing security situation.

Link

Afghanistan

Claim: Bin Laden son Hamza seen in Afghanistan footage

2025-12-04

[X]

A security research consortium claims new footage may show Hamza bin Laden in Afghanistan.https://t.co/Z7VB3HDVtD
— Khaama Press (KP) (@khaama) December 2, 2025

A transatlantic intelligence consortium monitoring al Qaeda activities has released a video it claims shows Hamza bin Laden inside Afghanistan. The group says the footage was recorded several months ago and digital identifiers were removed to prevent tracing.

The Taliban have yet to comment on the claim. They have repeatedly denied hosting al Qaeda figures and insists no foreign militant networks are active in Afghanistan.

In the released footage, Hamza bin Laden appears in an outdoor setting with what looks like an urban environment in the background. The consortium did not specify the location but said the video aligns with intelligence assessments suggesting he may have relocated to Afghanistan after years of secrecy.

The report comes more than two years after al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul’s Sherpur district in August 2022, an incident that raised renewed concerns over the Taliban’s ties with al Qaeda after the U.S. withdrawal.

Previous United Nations Security Council monitoring reports have stated that al Qaeda maintains close relations with other groups and continues to operate multiple training camps in Afghanistan. Confirmed locations were cited in Parwan, Ghazni, Laghman and Uruzgan provinces.

A paper published by the Paris Geopolitics Academy suggests Hamza bin Laden may be present in Panjshir, though the claim has not been independently verified.

Link

Arabia

sheikh Osama al-Odah, as an advocate for peace - come on!

2025-10-02

[X] sheikh Osama al-Odah and Middle East Democracy Center

A Washington, D.C., think tank with ties to Democrat and Republican administrations posted a video on X on Sept. 11 depicting Osama Bin Laden's mentor, sheikh Osama al-Odah, as an "advocate for democratic reform" and as a moderate.

The post by the Middle East Democracy Center…
— John Rossomando ☦ (@John_Rossomando) October 1, 2025

… Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC) called for the release of the sheikh, a prominent Saudi cleric and jihadist preacher.

Saudi authorities arrested al-Odah in 2018 on charges that he belonged to al-Qaida and allegations that he helped found Syria's former al-Qaida affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, that now rules Syria as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Tess McEnery, the group's executive director, served as director for Democracy and Human Rights on the National Security Council and Global Affairs Section Chief in the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the Biden and Trump administrations.

McEnery is a typical Washington insider; however, other leading individuals who work for her have ties to the sheikh and other Islamic extremists.

The organization's senior director, Abdullah Alouadh (also Alodah), is the son of Sheikh Salman al-Odah.

Despite his father's long history of extremism and terror ties, Abdullah Alouadh is his most fervent supporter in America. He always omits his father's extreme pronouncements.

Alouadh declined a request for comment.

Al-Odah blamed America for the 9/11 attacks, saying the number of skulls "caused by American oppression" would "build pyramids that would have surpassed twice the height of the collapsed World Trade Center, adding that the U.S. is the "lordship of terror."

In 2004, al-Odah signed a communique with other Saudi clerics sanctioning jihad against the American and allied forces in Iraq.

"Fighting the occupiers is a duty for all those who are able. It is a jihad (holy war) to push back the assailants," the letter said. "Resistance is a legitimate right. A Muslim must not inflict harm on any resistance man or inform about them. Instead, they should be supported and protected."

The son appears to have inherited at least some of his father's extremism. Alaoudh supports Islamist political agendas such as those found in the 10 Principles of Hassan al-Banna in the Muslim Brotherhood, with which he says the secretive Islamist movement Tablighi Jamaat
A peaceful group of itinerant Deobandi preachers who form one of al-Qaeda's recruiting arms...
's teachings have similarity. He condemned Saudi Arabia for banning the group.

He noted that Tablighi is formally apolitical. However, it promotes victimhood narratives used by terrorist groups like al-Qaida to recruit jihadist terrorists. The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs banned Tablighi Jamaat in December 2021 calling it a "gateway to terror."

Tablighi Jamaat's members have included Britain's 7/7 bombings and Madrid's 2004 transit system attacks; convicted al-Qaida terrorist and dirty bomb plotter Jose Padilla; American Taliban John Walker Lindh; "Lackawanna Six", a group of six Yemeni-Americans who trained in Afghanistan in 2001 to fight for al-Qaida on U.S. soil.

Hamas was founded as the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Alouadh is careful with his public commentaries but has called the Jewish state an "apartheid state." He has also posted videos on TikTok documenting his participation in an anti-Israel protests in Washington, D.C., in May 2021.

In June 2022, he denounced Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for "sheltering" behind "the racist occupying state." In 2024, Alouadh disclosed his friendship with Fuad Kawther, a radical exiled Saudi academic residing in northern Virginia, who endorses Hamas on his social media and celebrated the "martyrdom" of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Kawther has also reportedly praised Osama bin Laden and denied his involvement with the 9/11 attacks. In February, Alouadh appeared with another exiled Saudi activist, Emad Mubaid, who openly endorses Hamas, calling the terror group a "unique and inspiring liberation movement of the modern era."

The sheikh praised the Oct. 7 attacks, reportedly declaring, "May Allah bless your days with joy and happiness" and prayed that Muslims would rejoice in the "victory" of the massacres.

Alouadh's connections also include those supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen.

Alouadh has worked together and shared platforms with Yemeni Nobel Prize winner Tawakkol Karman, a leading member of Al-Islah, Yemen's Muslim Brotherhood party, social media posts show. Karman served on the board of directors of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) during Alaoudh's tenure as the organization's research director.

Al-Islah is controversial because of its historical connection with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Its late leader was Sheikh Abdel Majid al-Zindani, who the U.S. Treasury identified in 2013 as a spiritual adviser to the terrorist group. Karman eulogized al-Zindani in an April 2024 post on X.

"May God have mercy on Sheikh Al-Zindani. To God we belong and to Him we shall return. My deepest condolences and sympathy to his family and loved ones," she wrote.

The U.S. Treasury designated al-Islah leader Nayif Salih Salim al-Qaysi as a specially designated terrorist in 2016, likewise identifying him as "a senior AQAP official and a financial supporter of AQAP." AQAP's emir acknowledged cooperation between al-Islah and AQAP against the Houthis in 2015 that was later suspended in 2018.

Karman has previously shared statements by late al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, favorably quoting Zawahiri saying "democracy is a failed path and it is not accessible to those who belong to the Islamic stream."

MEDC legally is the alter ego of the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), an Islamist group that received significant funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), according to Influence Watch. Last year, POMED merged with the Freedom Initiative to form the MEDC.

POMED appeared to attract other radical staff. Alouadh's former research assistant at POMED, Nour Taha, has written an essay defending Hamas, seeking to distance the terror group from ISIS. Taha condemned calling Hamas "radical Islamic terrorists" in an undated letter to the University of California Davis newspaper, in which he lauded the terror group as a "grassroots resistance movement."

Between 2019 and 2023, NED provided $2.9 million to the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), today known as the MEDC.

Mohamed Soltan, the founder of the Freedom Initiative, now serves as the merged organization's treasurer. Soltan was released Egyptian prison in 2015, having been imprisoned by the Sisi regime, which accused Soltan of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Soltan has a history of involvement with radical causes. According to Canary Mission, Soltan participated in a "flotilla" to Gaza in 2009 that met top Hamas leaders. He has supported the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement and has spoken at a conference of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), whose reported "ties" to the designated terrorist organization Hamas have been noted by members of Congress.

In recent years, Egyptian media outlets have continued to accuse Soltan of serving as a secret Brotherhood member whose role is to engage in public relations on the group's behalf in the West.

Meanwhile, Egyptian journalist Hany Ghoraba reported in 2019 that Soltan cofounded a group called Egyptian Americans for Freedom and Justice (EAFJ), a leading advocacy group for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Soltan's sister, Hanaa Soltan, is also a MEDC board member. She organized the political movement that secured her brother's release from prison in 2015. Their father, Salah Soltan, is a notorious senior Muslim Brotherhood preacher, who said in 2012 that people all over the world "thirst for the blood of the Jews."

The elder Soltan has been imprisoned for over 10 years because of his involvement with the late Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

Public funding of organizations that employ or endorse individuals who glorify terrorists undercuts American foreign policy and national security interests. Greater transparency and oversight are essential — not only to protect taxpayer dollars but also to ensure these funds do not facilitate extremism under the guise of promoting democracy.

Groups such as this use liberal-sounding terms while supporting authoritarian individuals who reject American values.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

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India-Pakistan

'Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan' (IMP) reportedly shot down an Armed Drone used by Pakistani Forces.

2025-08-25

#Pakistan 🇵🇰: "Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan" (#IMP) reportedly shot down an Armed Drone used by Pakistani Forces.

IMP militants seemingly seized a DJI Matrice 350 RTK Drone carrying at least one 60mm POF HE P2A1 High-explosive Bomb. pic.twitter.com/5NYMexakWE
— War Noir (@war_noir) August 24, 2025

Emergence of ‘Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan’: A New Militant Alliance Challenges TTP’s Monopoly.
Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies: Weekly Report 11-17 April,2025

The most significant development in Pakistain’s krazed killer landscape during the week was the formation of a new krazed killer alliance titled Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistain (IMP), comprising the Hafiz Gul Bahadur
...a member of the Madda Khel clan of the Uthmanzai Waziris. Educated in a Deobandi madrassa located in Multan, he is affiliated with the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007, he was announced as the group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Wazoo, but has largely distanced himself from the TTP due to rivalries with the Mehsuds and disagreements about the TTP's attacks against the Pak state..
Group (HBG), Lashkar-e-Islam
...a group of Islamic bandidos infesting Khyber Agency. It was headed by a former bus driver and eventually folded into the TTP...
, and the newly emerged Harkat Inqilab-e-Islami Pakistain (HIIP). The announcement was made on April 11, 2025, simultaneously released through the official media wings of all three groups. It declared the formation of IMP as a unified front for "elevating the word of Allah," supporting the oppressed, and waging armed struggle (jihad fi sabilillah) under a shared ideological and organizational structure.

According to the founding statement, Mahmood ul-Hasan (محمود الحسن) will serve as the official spokesperson of IMP, while its media wing will operate under the name "Sada-e-Ghazwat-ul-Hind" (صدائے غزوۃ الہند). Following this announcement, all attack claims and public communications by the constituent groups have been issued exclusively under the IMP banner, signaling full operational consolidation.

Between April 12 and 16, IMP grabbed credit for multiple attacks targeting security forces in North Wazoo and the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency

... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though...
. These included sniper strikes, rocket launcher and grenade attacks, ambushes on convoys, and a notably advanced drone kaboom using a quadcopter in Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
. The use of such technology, coupled with multilingual claims in Urdu, Pashto, and English, suggests a deliberate effort to signal operational sophistication and trans-regional reach.

Although the operational footprint of IMP remains confined for now to two tribal districts, its potential for rapid expansion cannot be overlooked. The presence of Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which has already been responsible for several high-profile attacks across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in recent years, gives the alliance considerable tactical depth and field experience. Furthermore, there are credible indications that loyalists of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA)—a faction that once rivalled TTP in scale and reach—may join IMP due to growing rifts with Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud’s leadership. Should this occur, IMP’s operational scope could extend nationwide, significantly altering the balance of krazed killer power in Pakistain.

The emergence of IMP has triggered a defensive ideological response from Tehrik-e-Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
Pakistain (TTP), which sees itself as the sole standard-bearer of jihadi militancy in the country. While avoiding direct reference to the new alliance, TTP disseminated a series of ideological messages through its Bunyanum Marsoos media outlet. These included a written version of a speech by Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, emphasizing the need for unity under a single leadership, flag, and structure. He invoked the success of the Afghan Taliban as a model rooted in discipline and central authority and warned against divisions, which he blamed for past setbacks.

Further articles titled "One Ameer, One Flag, One Movement: The Secret of Victory" and "The Necessity of Centralized Jihad" reinforced this theme. These narratives framed the emergence of independent groups as a threat to the cohesion of the Islamic struggle in Pakistain and suggested that such splintering allows infiltration by enemy intelligence agencies. Earlier, on April 13, senior TTP leader Mufti Nadeem Darwaish also published a short essay calling TTP the most structured and legitimate jihadi group in Pakistain and urging others to formally join its ranks through bay’ah.

While the discourse has remained doctrinal rather than confrontational, the tone reflects clear anxiety over the emergence of a rival pole. The ideological battle underway between TTP and IMP is as much about narrative ownership as it is about ground control.

SECURITY IMPLICATIONS FOR PAKISTAIN:
The formation of IMP adds a new layer of complexity to Pakistain’s internal security landscape. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a core member of the alliance, has a history of high-profile attacks, including ambushes on military convoys and targeted assaults in North Waziristan and Bannu. The potential regrouping of scattered Death Eaters under a new operational command raises the threat of renewed murderous Moslem activity in tribal districts that had recently seen relative calm.

More significantly, if JuA-linked elements gravitate toward IMP, this could reignite violence in settled districts of Punjab
...1. Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2. A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3. A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots
....
, Sindh, and urban KP, where JuA once maintained active cells. A growing IMP could also lead to inter-group rivalry and splinter violence, especially if both alliances (TTP and IMP) begin competing for fighters, funding, and influence. The possibility of parallel command structures conducting independent operations may pose challenges for intelligence coordination, force deployment, and threat attribution.

In the short term, Pakistain’s security apparatus must monitor whether IMP’s operational activities remain localized or begin to spread. In the medium to long term, the durability of the alliance—and its ability to absorb disgruntled cadres from TTP or other defunct factions—will determine its potential as either a temporary rupture or a sustained krazed killer force.

PICSS will continue to track the alliance’s evolution, propaganda patterns, and recruitment outreach, particularly in the event of any formal alignment with Jamaat-ul-Ahrar elements or other disaffected actors within the broader krazed killer ecosystem.

A search for organization name yields a bunch of articles published mostly during the second quarter of this year ranging in seriousness from the Daily Times of Pakistan to the Jamestown Foundation. MEMRI has the following paywalled in June, but the headline conveys the essence: In June 2025, Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP) Executed 77 Attacks In Pakistani Tribal Districts, Killing And Wounding 125 Pakistani Soldiers

Link

Government Corruption

U.S. Revokes Security Clearance of Former Afghanistan Envoy Tom West and 36 Officials

2025-08-23

[KhaamaPress] The U.S. revoked the security clearance of former Afghanistan envoy Tom West and 36 officials, citing misuse of intelligence, politicization, unauthorized disclosures, and breaches of professional standards.

The U.S. National Intelligence Agency has revoked the security clearance of Tom West, former Special Representative for Afghanistan, along with 36 other current and former officials.

In its statement, the agency accused them of politicizing intelligence, misusing classified information, and acting against national security priorities. It added that they had failed to meet professional standards.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a separate post that those who place personal interests above their oath to the Constitution “destroy the sacred trust” they promised to uphold.

She emphasized that security clearance is a privilege, not a right, and accused the officials of manipulating intelligence, unauthorized disclosures, and serious breaches of professional conduct.

Tom West was appointed in October 2021 after Zalmay Khalilzad stepped down. He had previously served as Khalilzad’s deputy during the Doha peace negotiations with the Taliban.

During his tenure, West faced criticism from human rights and women’s rights activists who accused him of whitewashing the Taliban and helping create conditions for global engagement with the group.

He resigned from his post in 2024 and now works with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His case illustrates Washington’s growing push for accountability and the protection of sensitive information.

Mr.West was included in this list from three days ago, courtesy of Frank G:

How many of these names were on the Hunter Biden laptop letter? https://t.co/z7re52NWQM
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) August 19, 2025

Link

India-Pakistan

Fresh polio case in North Waziristan takes national tally to 14

2025-07-04

[GEO.TV] The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed a fresh case of polio
polio

...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set. Currently the disease is only found in Pakistain and Afghanistain...
in North Wazoo, pushing Pakistain's national count to 14 for the year 2025.

The latest case involves a 19-month-old boy from Union Council Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
-3 in District North Waziristan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

This marks the eighth case from KP alone this year, with the remaining cases reported from Sindh (4), Punjab
...1. Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2. A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3. A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots
....
(1), and Gilgit-Baltistan (1).

Polio is a highly contagious, incurable disease that can result in permanent paralysis. Repeated doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) during each campaign, along with completion of all essential immunisations, remain the only effective safeguard for children under five.

Although vaccination drives across the country continue to improve in scope and quality, the southern districts of KP remain a persistent challenge.

Limited access and difficulties in carrying out house-to-house vaccination campaigns have led to thousands of children missing doses and remaining exposed to the poliovirus.

In response, targeted efforts are underway. From June 23 to 28, a special vaccination campaign in six union councils of Bannu administered OPV to 17,485 children. A similar drive is being planned for 11 union councils in North Waziristan.

Moreover, preparations are in progress for a large-scale vaccination campaign across South KP in August.

Link

Home Front: WoT

Did Team Trump Get the Wrong Abbey Gate Bad Guy?

2025-03-07

[PJMedia] During President Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, he announced that with the help of American intelligence agencies and Pakistain, the planner of the Abbey Gate terrorist attack in Afghanistan was being brought to America at that moment to "face the swift sword of American justice."

It was an exhilarating moment. The news may have prompted a small feeling of "closure" among the families of the 13 American service members who died in that Afghanistan calamity on Joe The Big Guy Biden
Joe <q>The Big Guy</q> Biden

...46th president of the U.S. I'm not working for you. Don't be such a horse's ass....
's watch.

But the Paks may have handed over the wrong guy. They say that Mohammad Sharifullah is "a commander of the ISIS (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP) [and was] an Afghan national captured in an operation conducted in the Pakistain-Afghanistan border
...also known as Pashtunistan, home of ignorance, poverty, and automatic weapons...
region." The Pak Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump in a statement for "appreciating Pakistain’s role and support in counterterrorism efforts across the region."

But, could it be that the Paks, who hid the late Osama bin Laden
...... who has left the building......
from the Americans for years, engaged in yet another subterfuge to stick it to us? Of course the Paks could have done that.

A former CIA "targeter" whose job was to find bad guys in Afghanistan says whoever told the Trump team that this Mohammad guy was the shot-caller for the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
is lying to them.

Someone is lying to you @realDonaldTrump

Here are the names responsible below for Abbey Gate. The attack had two joint Masterminds, Sirajuddin Haqqani and Sanaullah Ghafari.

This is like when we picked up a fake mastermind for the 2012 Benghazi attacks, Ahmed Abu Khatallah.… https://t.co/qfEGAuMaO6 pic.twitter.com/W5sgFU3I4e
— Sarah Adams (@TPASarah) March 5, 2025

Adams, who now works for the Defense Department, uses open source materials and sometimes calls her old contacts in Afghanistan to run down leads while looking for bad guys and connecting the dots for articles and books.

She thinks a different person was the actual shot-caller for a suicide kaboom at Abbey Gate at the Kabul Airport in those frantic days before the U.S. ignominiously bugged out.

The man who helped plan the attack, Adams believes, is Hafiz Haqqani, of the notorious Haqqani terror network, and who has connections to Al Qaeda's one-time number-two bad guy, Ayman Al Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...>
. In fact, Adams believes the man who told the boom jacket-wearing terrorist the precise place to detonate his bomb for maximum U.S. casualties is Zawahiri's son-in-law.

Here’s a hard truth:

Hafiz Haqqani—the terrorist on the ground at Abbey Gate who told the suicide bomber he was in the best position to kill the most U.S. soldiers and to detonate—is the son-in-law of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Yes, you read that right. He’s a Zawahiri and a…
— Sarah Adams (@TPASarah) March 5, 2025

First, you have to understand what Adams believes is the leadership apparatus of the Taliban. She believes the Taliban is wholly infused by Al Qaeda. Adams says the families have intermarried. She says three of the top leaders of the Taliban have the last name of Bin Laden.

Adams is the first to point out that the United States bankrolls the Taliban — and by extension Al Qaeda and the Bin Laden family — $40 to $80 million per week.

As I reported previously, USAID money was used for a lot of the payoff to the terrorists.

Adams's claims were verified in a February congressional hearing.

Adams isn't new to finding ~~bandidos~~ Death Eaters who try to hide. She's written a recent work about the Abbey Gate terror plot called "HKIA: Know Thy Enemy."

She also found all the planners of the Benghazi terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2012, and wrote about them in her book, "Benghazi: Know Thy Enemy."

Remember that Secretary of State Crooked Hillary Clinton
...former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, Conqueror of Benghazi, Heroine of Tuzla, formerly described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as The Thing That Wouldn't Go Away. Politix is not one of her talents, but it's something she keeps trying to do...
, Jake Sullivan, and Obama aide Susan Rice told Americans that the Benghazi attack was a misunderstanding that grew out of a movie no one watched — for which the movie maker was tossed in the calaboose
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
in America by President Obama. But Adams wouldn't rest until she tracked down every one of the ~~bandidos~~ Death Eaters who killed her CIA compatriots and America's Ambassador to Libya.

After last night's announcement, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.com that the FBI and American intelligence worked to get their hands on the planner.

But Patel need only remember his own frustrations as a DOJ investigator involved for a time in the Benghazi prosecution to inform this latest case. In his book, "Government Gangsters," Patel was frustrated that "when it came to Benghazi, the B.O. regime, the F.B.I. and the D.O.J. wanted to seem tough on terrorism, so they kept minimal prosecutions open and brought up big-sounding charges that we couldn’t support."

And before he became the nominee to head the FBI, Patel told the Shawn Ryan show that the top brass "went and got basically the wrong guy [involved in Benghazi]. And then we prosecuted that wrong guy. Not that he wasn’t a part of it. He just wasn’t like the top tier of guys I would have gone after. And they screwed up the prosecution because they didn’t listen to us."

🚨BREAKING NEWS: The masterminds behind the Abbey Gate attack are Sirajuddin Haqqani and Sanaullah Ghafari. So why was a fake mastermind detained and extradited to the U.S.—and who is telling our American President @realdonaldtrump it was someone else?

If you haven’t read our… pic.twitter.com/JCM8nOi0Z6
— Sarah Adams (@TPASarah) March 5, 2025

Patel, more than most, understands that he'd better get the right guy targeted and act accordingly.

Link

Afghanistan

RUMINT: Hamza, son of Osama bin Laden, alive and preparing attacks on the West

2024-09-15

[KhaamaPress] According to new intelligence reports, the late Osama bin Laden
...... who is no longer with us, and won't be again......
’s son, who was reported to have been killed in 2019, is alive and is allegedly taking control of al-Qaeda while planning attacks against Western targets.

The Daily Mail, citing defense experts, reported that Hamza bin Laden is alive and secretly leading the terrorist organization. According to the reports, his brother Abdullah is also connected to the group. al-Qaeda is reportedly regrouping and preparing for future attacks on the West.

In September 2019, former U.S. President Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
confirmed that Hamza bin Laden had been killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in an area between Afghanistan and Pakistain.

However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie...
on Thursday, the Mirror reported, based on intelligence analysis, that Hamza bin Laden survived the U.S. attempts to kill him.

Colonel Richard Kemp, the former head of British forces, has warned that Hamza is using Afghanistan’s territory, where "he seems to have a wide and open field for activity" and "intends to avenge his father’s death and achieve victory."

It is noteworthy that Osama bin Laden, the criminal mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, was later killed in a 2011 operation in Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
, Pakistain.

The report suggests that Hamza, along with his brother Abdullah bin Laden, is secretly leading and reviving al-Qaeda.

Under Hamza bin Laden’s leadership, al-Qaeda has reportedly established around 10 training camps in Afghanistan and has built ties with other anti-Western terrorist groups.

This bit matches other reports we’ve seen.

The report states that Hamza bin Laden, 34, spends most of his time at a terrorist base in Jalalabad, Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
Province. The report claims that the Taliban
Taliban

...mindless ferocity in a turban...
leaders are reportedly aware of Hamza bin Laden’s efforts to revive al-Qaeda and regularly meet with him.

Yet, the Taliban has not issued any comment regarding the report.

Despite the assumption that Saif al-Adel
...holed up in Iran from 2002 until 2010, when he made bail and moved back to the Pak-Afghan border...
now leads al-Qaeda after Ayman al-Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...>
’s death, the Mirror reports that Hamza bin Laden is becoming a prominent figure in the group’s resurgence, aiming to carry on his father’s legacy and planning attacks on Western targets.

The resurgence of al-Qaeda under Hamza bin Laden’s leadership raises concerns about the group’s renewed strength and capacity to orchestrate global terror attacks. The possibility of coordinated efforts with other terrorist organizations, like ISIS, amplifies the threat.

Reports claim that the situation is eerily similar to the conditions that preceded the 9/11 attacks, highlighting the growing threat to global security.

Link

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