The Long War Journal (Site-Wide)

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• Analysis: The Islamic State hasn’t been defeated
• Al Qaeda branch pressures governments for ransom payments
• Islamic State video purportedly shows fight with Shabaab

Analysis: The Islamic State hasn’t been defeated Posted: 19 Dec 2018 01:07 PM PST President Trump claimed earlier today that the Islamic State has been "defeated" in Syria. But an unknown number of the group's top leaders, including presumably Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remain alive. And there are likely thousands of fighters in both Syria and Iraq, where they operate as insurgents.

Al Qaeda branch pressures governments for ransom payments Posted: 18 Dec 2018 08:35 PM PST In a new video, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM, or the “Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims”) says it has decided “to discontinue the release and production of videos concerning the captives held by the group for undisclosed reasons.”

Islamic State video purportedly shows fight with Shabaab Posted: 18 Dec 2018 05:15 PM PST The Islamic State released its first video footage of a clash with Shabaab, al Qaeda's branch in Somalia and East Africa.