Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #zawahiri
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#alQaida's #Zawahiri "was the singular leader" per NCTC's Abizaid
"He was both symbolically important but also strategically important for what was a diverse network of affiliates"
"He was both symbolically important but also strategically important for what was a diverse network of affiliates"
NEW: US facing "diverse, geographically dispersed & highly unpredictable threat environment" Nat'l Counterterrorism Center Dir. Christine Abizaid tells @WashInstitute
Attack/threat "most likely to occur in the #UnitedStates from lone actors...motivated by a range of ideologies" from #ISIS #alQaida to racism & white supremacy, sometimes a combination, per NCTC's Abizaid
"The threat is unpredictable" both in US & the Western world, she says
"The threat is unpredictable" both in US & the Western world, she says
The other side of #Gaza that terror groups try to hide
Sharing this side of #Gaza immediately unsettles and disturbs sympathizers of foreign-backed militant groups who rush to hide this under their one-sided narrative to keep Gaza residents hostage and continue exploiting their misery:
A terrorist commander was taken out in #Gaza in the same way that Al-Qaeda's #Zawahiri was taken out in #Afghanistan. This innocent #Palestinian child did not deserve this brutal end because of militant groups hiding behind civilians to launch rockets:
Con la muerte de #Zawahiri se cierra una etapa en la historia del terrorismo, donde la generación responsable del #11S ha dejado de estar al frente del movimiento yihadista. Dejo algunas reflexiones sobre la importancia de este evento (abro hilo):
elpais.com/internacional/…
elpais.com/internacional/…
1) Ha sido habitual criticar la falta de carisma de AZ en comparación con OBL. Sin embargo, su liderazgo no pretendió ser transformador. Su principal objetivo fue mantener vivo un grupo asediado por EE.UU y la emergencia de su competidor Estado Islámico.
icct.nl/publication/wh…
icct.nl/publication/wh…
2) Tras su muerte todo el mundo mira a Saif al-Adl, último superviviente (de cierto nivel) de la generación de árabes-afganos que crearon AQ. Sin embargo, las sucesiones terroristas son procesos opacos muy difíciles de intuir desde el exterior del grupo.
ctc.usma.edu/al-qaidas-soon…
ctc.usma.edu/al-qaidas-soon…
Quick 🧵on jihadist reactions to #Zawahiri's death: Online supporters of al-Qaeda, including heavyweight clerics, have mourned the "martyrdom" of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, seeming to largely accept US announcement of 1 Aug that he was killed in a drone strike in Kabul /1
Al-Qaeda itself, however, has yet to officially comment on the subject /2
It is not yet clear who will succeed al-Zawahiri - a matter supporters have not yet been observed to discuss publicly. His only publicly-known deputy, Sayf al-Adl, is reportedly living in Iran, possibly under movement and security restrictions, according to jihadist accounts /3
#Kabul .. this is one of two locations struck Sunday morning.. this seems to be the house where #Zawahiri was killed #AlQaeda #Afghanistan 
The targeting & killing of AQ #1 in a Kabul safe-house raises a number of questions for me.
1. This type of targeted strike by the CIA needs needs massive amounts of intel. SIGINT & IMINT (usually from drones), and HUMINT (informants). Talibs? 2/
theguardian.com/world/2022/aug…
1. This type of targeted strike by the CIA needs needs massive amounts of intel. SIGINT & IMINT (usually from drones), and HUMINT (informants). Talibs? 2/
theguardian.com/world/2022/aug…
2. #Zawahiri Strike.
Should it come as a surprise that the AQ #1 is found in Kabul? Just one year after the chaotic and tragic withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan (Biden), and a complete capitulation of power to the Taliban (generated by Trump at Doha) 3/
Should it come as a surprise that the AQ #1 is found in Kabul? Just one year after the chaotic and tragic withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan (Biden), and a complete capitulation of power to the Taliban (generated by Trump at Doha) 3/
3. #Zawahiri strike.
Reminder, the reason for the U.S commencing kinetic activity in Afghanistan was post 9/11 and to eradicate AQ training camps from Afghan. The efficacy of the strategy was poor as most senior AQ operatives fled across the porous PAK border (Bin Laden). 4/
Reminder, the reason for the U.S commencing kinetic activity in Afghanistan was post 9/11 and to eradicate AQ training camps from Afghan. The efficacy of the strategy was poor as most senior AQ operatives fled across the porous PAK border (Bin Laden). 4/
Wow -- #Zawahiri killed in a U.S. drone strike in the #Kabul area over the weekend -- the 1st strike since the #Taliban's takeover of #Afghanistan in August 2021.
BIG blow for #AlQaeda's central leadership, but huge questions about how he was located (or who sold him out).
BIG blow for #AlQaeda's central leadership, but huge questions about how he was located (or who sold him out).
In Nov 2020, I wrote about #AlQaeda's looming "succession crisis" -- as the group's most likely No.2 (Sayf al-Adel) is based in #Iran, a location that for most AQ affiliates, has resulted in deep distrust.
jihadica.com/al-qaedas-lead…
AQ's decentralization will only increase now.
jihadica.com/al-qaedas-lead…
AQ's decentralization will only increase now.
For years, #AlQaeda has been under a self-reinforcing process of decentralization (& localization) -- whereby the central leadership remained a key guide, but an increasingly irrelevant source of strategic command.
More on that, in this lengthy piece:
hudson.org/research/15533…
More on that, in this lengthy piece:
hudson.org/research/15533…
Something big is going down in NW #Syria -- (a) U.S. helicopter gunships firing on a target in the #Jinderes area of #Afrin & (b) a possible SOF raid targeting Tauqir Sharif, a [former] #UK citizen in the Atmeh area of #Idlib.
Personally, I'd be amazed if such an operation was launched at Tauqir Sharif (Abu Hossam al-Britani) -- while his #UK citizenship was revoked, the cause for doing so never seemed more than tenuous.
NEW: Just released @UN report warns of "heightened threats emerging" from #ISIS #alQaida affiliated groups worldwide
"This is especially true in parts of West and East #Africa" per the report, based on member state intelligence
"This is especially true in parts of West and East #Africa" per the report, based on member state intelligence
De source propre #AQMI évoque
(1)« la campagne de la #France pour nuire au Prophète [...] les Français doivent savoir que la poursuite de cette campagne par leur Président ne fera qu’augmenter la détermination des musulmans de venger ceux qui s’attaquent au prophète [...] »
(1)« la campagne de la #France pour nuire au Prophète [...] les Français doivent savoir que la poursuite de cette campagne par leur Président ne fera qu’augmenter la détermination des musulmans de venger ceux qui s’attaquent au prophète [...] »
(2) #AQMI appelle « au boycott des produits français est le minimum pour un croyant » évoque nommément « le tchétchène tueur du prof mort en martyr comme tout musulman en capacité d’exécuter cette sentence qui ne revient pas exclusivement au gouverneur mais à tout musulman »
#alQaida "further entrenching in regions beyond its historical stronghold in #Afghanistan" per latest @UN report
"It exploits the tarnished #ISIL [#ISIS] brand & societal fractures to enhance legitimacy & gain local traction & recruits" per the report
"It exploits the tarnished #ISIL [#ISIS] brand & societal fractures to enhance legitimacy & gain local traction & recruits" per the report
#alQaida "is covertly active in 12 #Afghan provinces & Ayman al-#Zawahiri remains based in the country" per @UN report based on member state intel
Total number of AQ core fighters in #Afghanistan est. to be 400-600
Total number of AQ core fighters in #Afghanistan est. to be 400-600
Amid the ongoing conflict in NW #Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (#HTS) continues to evolve in intriguing ways - into a more politically mature & intelligent jihadist movement.
It's current leadership clearly seeks to position itself somewhere between #MuslimBrotherhood & #AlQaeda.
It's current leadership clearly seeks to position itself somewhere between #MuslimBrotherhood & #AlQaeda.
