Jeff Seldin Profile picture
Personal Account of National Security Correspondent @VOANews Ex @WTOP/@FederalNewsNet, @SyracuseU @NewhouseSU (RTs ≠ endorsement) / DM for Signal

Jul 28, 2020, 8 tweets

#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

#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

#alQaida core leadership "maintains close contact w/the #Haqqani Network" per @UN report, which adds AQ's #Zawahiri met w/Yahya Haqqani in Feb. 2020 "to discuss ongoing cooperation"

#alQaida in the Indian Subcontinent (#AQIS) also operating in #Afghanistan "under the #Taliban umbrella from #Nimruz, #Helmand & #Kandahar Provinces" per @UN report, with 150-200 members from #Bangladesh, #India, #Myanmar, #Pakistan

#Syria - Hurras al-Din (HAD) remains #alQaida's "favored affiliate" per @UN report, and "remains committed to preparing for external attacks despite its current focus on targeting Syrian forces"

#alQaida in the Arabian Peninsula active in #Bayda’, #Shabwah, #Ma’rib, #Abyan, #Hadramawt, #Aden & #Lahij w/approx 7,000 fighters, but "Air strikes targeting the leadership have weakened the group’s operational capabilities" per @UN member state intel

.@UN member states "doubt that [new #AQAP leader Khalid] Batarfi enjoys strong support within the group" per the report

February airstrike that killed former leader Qasim al-Rimi "may have a lasting impact on AQAP and #alQaida in general"

#AQAP "remains determined to mount external operations" per @UN member state intel, pointing to attack on @NASPCOLA in Dec 2019, but also focused on eliminating #ISIS in #Yemen

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