The Islamic State has issued via its 'Amaq News Agency' initial claims of multiple improvised explosive device (IED) attacks against the Taliban in 'Jalalabad' in east Afghanistan, marking the group's first claimed attacks in Afghanistan since the completion of the U.S. withdrawal. This was followed by an official claim issued in the name of the 'Khorasan province' (Wilayat Khorasan) of the Islamic State. Reports with translation below.

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https://aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/islamic-state-attacks-on-taliban

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By now, the conflict between the al-Qa'ida-loyalist group Hurras al-Din and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham in northwest Syria is well known. The latter, which broke off from al-Qa'ida, began cracking down extensively on Hurras al-Din when the al-Qa'ida-loyalist group set up an independent operations room with other jihadist factions. That operations room was quickly dismantled by the much stronger Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, but as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham perceives Hurras al-Din as a threat to its authority and standing in northwest Syria, it has continued to launch regular security inspections and campaigns in the areas of its control, apparently aimed at arresting wanted members of Hurras al-Din. Some prominent figures of Hurras al-Din like Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Makki have been imprisoned. Attempting to demonstrate its ongoing relevance, Hurras al-Din has resorted to conducting operations deep inside enemy territory, claiming one operation in Raqqa province and another more recently in Damascus.

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This week's issue of the Islamic State's al-Naba' newsletter features a 'story of a martyr.' The subject of this article is a man called Abu Omar al-Khalayfawi, who is said to have been a veteran of the jihadist insurgency in Iraq since the early days of the American invasion and his pledge of allegiance to Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi. Abu Omar's timeline can be summarised as follows:

. Born in 1405 AH (i.e. 1984-1985) in the al-Taji area (north of Baghdad) to a religious family.

. Pledged allegiance to Zarqawi and fought the American occupiers in north Baghdad, al-Karma and Fallujah.

. Joined Islamic State of Iraq and commanded a detachment in the Sheikh Aamer area in al-Taji.

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Omar Omsen, who led the French muhajireen (foreign fighter) group 'Firqatul Ghuraba' operating in northwest Syria, was arrested by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (the dominant faction in the region) more than a year ago. It turns out that Omsen's son Bilal has also been arrested by the group. A clarification on the matter comes in a new statement issued in the name of Omar Omsen's family. Below is my translation of the statement (thanks Wassim Nasr for drawing the statement to my attention).

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https://aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/new-statement-by-omar-omsens-family

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Has the Taliban of today changed at all from the Taliban that ruled most of Afghanistan in the period of 1996-2001? What is the extent of ideological difference between the Taliban and the Islamic State? These are common questions that have arisen in light of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. As it happens, an article in a recent issue of the Taliban's Arabic-language magazine 'al-Sumud' addresses these matters, in an article entitled 'Between the Taliban of today and the Taliban of yesterday: what is it that has changed?' To preface, I thank Aaron Zelin for suggesting that I translate this article.

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