ISIS have executed an Al-Qaeda commander in Syria accusing him of being behind several assassination plots against the rival jihadi group. The execution photos allegedly shows an al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra fighter, who was captured in Damascus province. Named as Abu Mujahid al-Baqai, he was accused of organising attempted assassinations on ISIS members in Yarmouk.
Read more: Daily Mail
The man known as Abu Ubaydah Al Lubnani (“the Lebanese”) is one of the most senior al Qaeda leaders to defect to the Islamic State since the two jihadist organizations split in early 2014. Lubnani was once a top security official for al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But after being demoted from his sensitive post, he joined Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s organization. Lubnani quickly became a thorn in al Qaeda’s side, revealing details about his former employer’s inner workings.
Read more: The Long War Journal
ISIS has the capability to stage a Paris-style attack in the U.S. using local cells to strike in multiple locations and inflict dozens of casualties, according to the Obama administration's top U.S. intelligence official.
"They do have that capacity," Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told CNN's Peter Bergen in an exclusive interviews on "AC 360" on terrorism, Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's most virulent offshoot -- ISIS.
Read more: CNN
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives blasted water on the container found just outside Rosebud off Farm to Market Road 1963.
Flammable liquid and shotgun shells were found inside the container, according to Sheriff Parnell McNamara. He said the IED was designed to blow shrapnel and would have been "extremely dangerous" had it gone off.
"Someone had made this to create lots of damage and harm," McNamara said.
There were no injuries. The liquid was being sent to a lab for analysis. No motive or suspects were named as the investigation continued early Wednesday. Rosebud, about 40 miles southeast of Waco, is home to about 1,400 people.
Source: USA Today
For Iraqis living in the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul, news is dwindling about the U.S.-backed army massing to the south for an assault on the city that could begin this year.
Soon after Iraqi forces established a foothold in the Makhmour area in February, about 60 km (40 miles) from the northern city, the jihadists began restricting access to television for its 1 million-strong population, according to residents.
With limited and erratic access to internet and mobile networks, civilians in Mosul have depended on satellite TV for their primary source of news from the outside world since Islamic State captured the city two years ago.
The timing of the crackdown is significant, according to local officials and analysts. They said Islamic State's aim was to insulate residents and its own fighters from any further news about the advance of Iraqi forces.
This could reduce the chances of a co-ordinated uprising against Islamic State in the city and of people who could be used as "human shields" trying to flee, they said, as well as preventing morale among fighters falling.
Read more: Reuters
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