The Long War Journal (Site-Wide)

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• Al Qaeda has launched more than 100 attacks in West Africa in 2016
• The Islamic State’s prolific ‘martyrdom’ machine
• Abu Azrael sends message from Fallujah
• Qods Force commander an official advisor to government, Iraq’s foreign minister says

Al Qaeda has launched more than 100 attacks in West Africa in 2016 Posted: 08 Jun 2016 10:26 AM PDT With over 100 attacks just halfway through 2016, this worrying number represents a staggering difference from previous years and of possible things to come.

The Islamic State’s prolific ‘martyrdom’ machine Posted: 08 Jun 2016 05:01 AM PDT Amaq News Agency claims that the Islamic State has carried out 489 "martyrdom operations" in Iraq, Syria and Libya during the first five months of 2016, with 119 in May alone. If Amaq's figures are accurate, then the Islamic State is executing more suicide attacks per month in 2016 than all terrorist organizations combined in 2015.

Abu Azrael sends message from Fallujah Posted: 07 Jun 2016 06:23 PM PDT Abu Ezrael, a famous commander in Iranian-backed Shiite militias who has burned an Islamic State fighter alive, taped a message addressing both the enemies and friends of Iran.

Qods Force commander an official advisor to government, Iraq’s foreign minister says Posted: 07 Jun 2016 11:16 AM PDT Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jafari defended Qassem Soleimani's role in bolstering sectarian militias that have often acted outside of the law in Iraq as they battle the Islamic State.