The main event of the week was the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri by the US in Afghanistan.This week there was a decline in the scope of ISIS’s activity around the globe. Most of the activity was concentrated in Africa. Ethiopia: An attack by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab organization near the border with Somalia. Over 100 Al-Shabaab operatives were killed.
A moderate increase in the scope of ISIS activity around the globe. According to senior Turkish officials, ISIS leader was detained in a raid by Turkish counterterrorism forces in a house where he was hiding in Istanbul. The Egyptian security forces continued their counterterrorism efforts. Africa: Continued counterterrorism activity by the African Coalition forces against ISIS’s West Africa Province and Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region.
The downtrend in ISIS activity around the globe continued. Israel: Israel Police arrested five Jerusalem residents on suspicion of membership in ISIS. The Sinai Peninsula: A relatively calm week after two weeks of intensive fighting between the Egyptian security forces and ISIS in northern Sinai. Syria: A large-scale operation by the Syrian army, pro-Iranian militias, and the Russian Air Force against ISIS in the desert region. Iraq: ISIS carried out a small number of attacks this week. The attacks were concentrated in the provinces of Kirkuk and Al-Anbar.
The main event of the week was a multi-casualty suicide bombing attack carried out by operatives of ISIS’s Khorasan Province in a Shiite mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. A total of 63 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded. Syria: 13 soldiers were killed and 18 others were wounded east of Palmyra when their bus was attacked by armed men, apparently ISIS operatives. Iraq: Relatively sparse ISIS activity was detected this week as well, most of which took place in the Al-Anbar Province. The Sinai Peninsula: According to eyewitness reports, armed men, apparently ISIS operatives, attacked the headquarters of the Egyptian army's 101st Battalion in Al-Arish. Several soldiers were killed or wounded. Official Egyptian sources have denied the report. The US Department of the Treasury has designated four major ISIS funding sources in Africa, who work for ISIS’s branches in Syria, Iraq and Mozambique.