The Long War Journal (Site-Wide)

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• Remote district in northwestern Afghanistan falls to the Taliban
• Number of suicide attacks claimed by the Islamic State dipped in September
• Qassem Soleimani: Islamic State was created to fight Iran

Remote district in northwestern Afghanistan falls to the Taliban Posted: 11 Oct 2016 09:48 AM PDT The Taliban regain control of Ghormach district in Faryab province. The district has been contested since the Taliban controlled it one year ago.

Number of suicide attacks claimed by the Islamic State dipped in September Posted: 10 Oct 2016 10:03 AM PDT The Islamic State's Amaq News Agency claims that the so-called caliphate launched 53 "martyrdom operations" in Iraq and Syria in September. This is less than any previous month in 2016. But the Islamic State has claimed 782 suicide bombings in Iraq, Syria and Libya during the first nine months of 2016, for an average of 87 per month. If accurate, this is a historically high rate.

Qassem Soleimani: Islamic State was created to fight Iran Posted: 10 Oct 2016 07:32 AM PDT Two top officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF) delivered remarks commemorating the most senior IRGC commander killed in Syria last year. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC-QF, spoke about the strategic importance of Syria, and claimed that the Islamic State was established with the goal of threatening Iran.