The Long War Journal (Site-Wide)

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• Pentagon confirms French al Qaeda member, Islamic State leader killed in airstrikes
• Zawahiri argues Islamic State’s ‘caliphate’ not based on ‘prophetic method’
• Taliban overruns outpost in eastern Afghanistan

Pentagon confirms French al Qaeda member, Islamic State leader killed in airstrikes Posted: 22 Sep 2015 12:46 PM PDT Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters today that David Drugeon, a French bombmaker who belonged to al Qaeda's so-called "Khorasan Group," and Abu Bakr al Turkmani, a senior Islamic State leader, have been killed in airstrikes. Drugeon was killed in July, while al Turkmani perished earlier this month.

Zawahiri argues Islamic State’s ‘caliphate’ not based on ‘prophetic method’ Posted: 22 Sep 2015 11:38 AM PDT Al Qaeda has released the third installment of its long-delayed "Islamic Spring" series, which features long-winded speeches by Ayman al Zawahiri. As in past editions of the series, Zawahiri argues that the Islamic State's "caliphate" is illegitimate.

Taliban overruns outpost in eastern Afghanistan Posted: 22 Sep 2015 11:06 AM PDT As the jihadist group mounts offensives in the northern province of Kunduz and the southern province of Helmand, it has also been consolidating its grip on areas in eastern Afghanistan, including within the Haqqani Network stronghold of Paktika.