GET THE APP
Monday, February 23, 2026

Tag: al qaeda
November 10, 2025
William Upton
World

Al Qaeda Could Soon Control This Country.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A jihadist terror group affiliated with al Qaeda is on the brink of seizing control over the African nation of Mali.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the country of Mali.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Late October into November 2025.

🎯IMPACT: If JNIM captures Bamako, this would be the first time a U.S.-designated terrorist organization controlled a nation.

IN FULL

A jihadist terror group affiliated with al Qaeda is on the brink of seizing control over the African nation of Mali. Late last week, the group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin—which translates as Support Group for Islam and Muslims—settled in for a long-term siege of the country’s capital, cutting it off from access to food and electricity.

Already, JNIM—which was formed in 2017 after the merger of several al Qaeda groups—has seized large swaths of Mali. Areas under JNIM’s control have been subjected to barbaric Islamic law, with a popular TikTok star in the country, Mariam Cisse, having been kidnapped and beheaded by the group in a public square last Friday.

The United Nations (UN) considers JNIM to be the most well-organized and well-armed of the jihadist groups in the Sahel region of Africa. It is widely believed that should they maintain their siege of Mali’s capital Bamako for an extended period, the city will likely fall. If JNIM captures Bamako, this would be the first time a U.S.-designated terrorist organization controlled a nation.

Concerningly, it is believed that the JNIM group maintains close ties to central al Qaeda figures in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. This has resulted in their fighters receiving advanced training in tactics and bomb-making skills, which have allowed them to overrun Mali’s defense forces quickly.

While the rapid expansion of JNIM’s territory appears to be a relatively sudden event, in fact, it coincides with the decline of the Russian mercenary presence in the region. The National Pulse reported in March of 2024 that satellite imagery showed renewed Russian construction at a military base previously used by the Russian Wagner Group at Mali’s Modibo Keita International Airport. However, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has dragged on, the country has shifted resources from its Africa ventures, leaving a power vacuum that JNIM has filled.

Image by aharan_kotogo.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less
show more
September 11, 2025
News

9/11 Families Hail Court Ruling Likely Allowing Lawsuit Against Saudi Arabia to Proceed.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A federal judge ruled that a lawsuit alleging Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the 9/11 attacks can proceed, with evidence suggesting Saudi officials supported the hijackers.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Families of 9/11 victims, Judge George Daniels, and Saudi government officials allegedly connected to the attacks.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued two weeks ago by the Southern District of New York, with a press conference held in New York City on Wednesday.

💬KEY QUOTE: “There were at least 13 Saudi government officials connected to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs… funneling support… to the hijackers’ handlers, right down to the hijackers themselves.” – Plaintiff Brett Eagleson

🎯IMPACT: The case is likely headed for trial, potentially exposing Saudi Arabia’s alleged role in the 9/11 attacks.

IN FULL

A group of family members of 9/11 victims is celebrating a federal court ruling that allows their lawsuit, aimed at holding Saudi Arabia accountable for its alleged role in the 2001 terrorist attacks, to proceed. Senior U.S. District Court Judge George Daniels found it is reasonable to infer, as claimed in the lawsuit, that two individuals named in the lawsuit were sent by elements of the Saudi government to the United States in an effort to provide support to the al-Qaeda terrorists plotting the attack.

“Some of the disputed facts cannot be resolved at this stage of the litigation, because weighing the evidence or assessing witnesses’ credibility will need to take place at trial,” Judge Daniels wrote in his 45-page ruling. The federal judge continued: “Nonetheless, the entire body of undisputed facts, and the Court’s preliminary assessment of certain disputed facts, are adequate for the Court to conclude that the exercise of subject matter jurisdiction is appropriate here.”

One of the lead plaintiffs, Brett Eagleson—the son of 9/11 victim Jon Eagleson—called the ruling a “historic, landmark decision” that is based on “indefensible evidence” that the Saudi government played a role in the attack.

“There were at least 13 Saudi government officials connected to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. They were working and operating in and out of the Saudi consulates and the Saudi embassies,” Eagleson said, continuing: “They were funneling support from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Washington, D.C., to their embassies in San Diego, to the hijackers’ handlers, right down to the hijackers themselves.”

“It’s been 24 years of pain and anguish and fighting for our families. What happened to this community, what happened to America that day, was horrific. However, what’s happening currently and what’s been happening for the past 24 years has been an abomination,” he added.

The ruling likely clears the way for the lawsuit to proceed to trial. Saudi Arabia has persistently denied claims of its involvement in 9/11.

Image by Robert J. Fisch.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less
show more
July 16, 2025
News
War

Israel Just Started ANOTHER War.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Israeli aircraft launched airstrikes on key military targets of the new Syrian regime after attacks on the Druze minority.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syrian military, Druze minority.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The strikes took place on Wednesday, July 16.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Do not cross the border. You are risking your lives; you could be murdered, you could be taken hostage, and you are impeding the efforts of the IDF.” — Benjamin Netanyahu.

🎯IMPACT: The attacks could resume the hostility between the two nations that subsided somewhat following the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad. Notably, Netanyahu’s corruption trial has been adjourned due to the strikes.

IN FULL

Israel has a series of major military strikes against the Syrian capital of Damascus and against a tank unit that was approaching Syria’s southern city of Suweida. The city is predominantly Druze—a religious minority group that the Israelis say they intend to protect. The strikes in Damascus targeted and destroyed the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff Headquarters of the Syrian military.

Notably, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial has been adjourned as a result of the strikes.

The renewed conflict, which could reignite hostilities across the region, stems from what began as a Sunni Bedouin attack on the Druze population of Suweida. This escalated as Syrian government forces appeared poised to join the Bedouin tribal fighters against the Druze, who are alleged to remain loyal to the ousted Assad regime.

The Israeli military confirmed the operation, stating it was a “message to [Syrian President Ahmed] al-Sharaa regarding the events in Suweida.” Israel has also targeted Syrian tanks and conducted drone strikes over the past three days, killing regime soldiers.

Israel has drawn a red line in southern Syria, vowing to protect the Druze minority from what it sees as renewed oppression by the Syrian regime. However, Netanyahu has warned Druze from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, attempting to cross into Syria, “Do not cross the border. You are risking your lives; you could be murdered, you could be taken hostage, and you are impeding the efforts of the IDF.”

Many in the Druze community remain wary of appearing aligned with Israel. Nevertheless, the ongoing violence, sparked by a robbery involving Bedouin tribesmen and escalating into sectarian warfare, has forced many to seek outside help. Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, a leading Druze spiritual figure, has publicly appealed for international intervention.

The Assad regime’s fall left a power vacuum in southern Syria. Damascus has struggled to reassert control, and its attempt to reenter Suweida over the weekend was met with fierce resistance from local militias. A ceasefire announced Tuesday collapsed within hours.

The Syrian interior ministry insists the only solution is the reintegration of Suweida into the central state. But ongoing attacks on Druze fighters and civilians have fueled resentment. Civilians trapped in Suweida report being cut off from power and supplies, with snipers making the streets deadly.

President al-Sharaa, previously known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Sunni jihadist previously wanted by the U.S., whose Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is an offshoot of al-Qaeda previously aligned with the Islamic State. In addition to persecuting Druze, al-Sharaa’s regime has also overseen massacres of Syria’s Christians, who were largely protected by Assad.

Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.

show less
show more
March 29, 2025
NatSec

Islamist ‘Army of Darkness’ Sets Up U.S. Base in Texas.

PULSE POINTS:

❓ What Happened: A global Islamic missionary network, Tablighi Jamaat, has established its headquarters in Garland, Texas. This group is considered a potential gateway to extremist activities by various intelligence agencies.

👥 Who’s Involved: Tablighi Jamaat, a South Asian-based movement with numerous followers worldwide, is linked to the Islamic Association of Arabi, which relocated from Louisiana.

📍 Where & When: The group’s new headquarters, the Masjid Yaseen mosque, was established in Garland, Texas, in 2011.

💬 Key Quote: “Recruiting ground for Al-Qaeda, an antechamber to terrorism, and a Trojan Horse for Islamic conquest,” intelligence and national security officials claim.

⚠️ Impact: The establishment of the headquarters raises concerns about potential extremist activities and indoctrination within the U.S.

IN FULL:

Garland, Texas, now hosts the new headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat, a global Islamic missionary network that intelligence agencies contend acts as a potential entry point for jihadism. The network–also known as the ‘Army of Darkness’–has set up operations inside the Masjid Yaseen mosque in Garland, Texas, which now serves as its American nerve center, following its relocation from Louisiana.

Tablighi Jamaat, originating in South Asia in 1926, is seen by security authorities across Western nations as a “recruiting ground for Al-Qaeda” and a “Trojan Horse for Islamic conquest,” with The National Pulse’s Editor-in-Chief, Raheem Kassam, having written extensively about the group in his 2017 bestselling book No Go Zones.

Operating away from public scrutiny, the group shuns any political agendas outwardly while fostering long-term societal domination through religious transformation internally. Tablighi Jamaat’s objective–linked to the San Bernardino terror attack of 2015–is the global implementation of Sharia (law) while disregarding existing legal systems, free speech, and democratic governance. With mosques and missionary centers now expanding in various Texas locations like McKinney and Plano, the movement continues its quiet yet strategic growth.

Critics describe Tablighi Jamaat’s methods as secretive, with no formal leadership structure made public, prohibiting transparency by avoiding media and organizational scrutiny. Additionally, they stress the movement’s global event gatherings, such as those in Pakistan and its historical links to known terrorist activities, which contribute to concerns over possible indoctrination efforts that could spread extremism.

Intelligence agencies in the U.S. believed that despite the group’s claims of being apolitical, Tablighi Jamaat could act as a clandestine platform supporting extremist ideologies. Moreover, multiple nations, including France and Saudi Arabia, have taken measures to curb its activities and associate it with domestic security threats. However, in the U.S., the network operates with little examination or restriction.

Counterterrorism experts suggest actions such as demanding financial transparency and assessing foreign affiliations of entities like Masjid Yaseen to ensure community awareness and security efficacy.

Image from MuslimGuide.com.

show less

PULSE POINTS:

show more
March 14, 2025
Wake Up Right
World

New Syrian Government Massacres Religious Minorities.

More than 1,000 religious minorities in Syria—Christians, Alawites, and Druze—have been killed by government forces in recent days, despite the new ISIS-affiliated leader’s promises of religious tolerance.

The details: More than 1,300 Syrians were killed in just three days. According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that figure is made up of roughly:

  • 830 civilians
  • 231 Syrian security forces
  • 250 Alawite militia

Back up: In December, the Sunni Muslim rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by former ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa, toppled the long-standing Assad regime.

Glossary: Let’s get acquainted with the various groups in this story:

  • Sunni Muslim: The most hardline sect of Islam, followed by ISIS and al-Qaeda
  • Alawites: Part of the Shiite branch of Islam that Bashar al-Assad belonged to
  • Druze: Blends Islamic and Greek philosophy with other spiritual traditions
  • Christians: In Syria, they are typically Greek Orthodox

What HTS says: The newly-minted rulers of Syria claim the violence erupted when holdout members of the former Assad regime attacked them. In response, they began attacking Alawite cities as Sunni leaders in the region began calling for “Jihad” against the religious minorities.

According to humanitarian groups: Christians, Alawites, and others are being “ethnically cleansed” from the area — with entire families being slaughtered. Over the past week, countless videos have emerged online of the brutal killings.

  • According to first-hand accounts, the government forces “started shooting everything,” and one man in hiding, identified as Abu Ali, told reporters, “Four young people, civilians. They killed them and passed by.”

Zoom out: This comes as al-Sharaa signed a temporary constitutional declaration guaranteeing women’s rights and freedom of expression.

Trump predicted this in 2016 when he was running against Hillary Clinton. He criticized the U.S. arming rebel fighters, saying: “The problem is the other side; we have no idea who they are. They probably are ISIS… We give them weapons, we give them ammunition, we give them everything. [But] maybe it’s worse than Assad… I look at Assad, and Assad, to me, looks better than the other side.”

Put another dollar in the ‘Trump was right’ jar.

What now? The UN called for action to protect the religious minorities, and the U.S. condemned the “radical Islamic terrorists” who carried out these killings.

Be sure to subscribe to the Wake Up Right newsletter! 

show less
More than 1,000 religious minorities in Syria—Christians, Alawites, and Druze—have been killed by government forces in recent days, despite the new ISIS-affiliated leader’s promises of religious tolerance. show more
March 10, 2025
William Upton
Religion
War
World

The Islamist Persecution of Christians in Syria is the Rotten Fruit of U.S. Foreign Policy.

The new Islamist regime in Syria’s genocide of the country’s ancient and indigenous Christian population is a direct result of long-standing United States foreign policy in the Middle East. While U.S. government officials insisted the ouster of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December last year would not result in reprisals against Syrian Christians and other minority groups, including the Alawite Muslim sect to which Assad belonged, over 1,000 religious and ethnic minorities have been killed since late last week.

According to human rights observers, Christians, Alawites, and other minorities have been targeted by Syria’s Islamist government security forces as they also clash with pro-Assad fighters in coastal enclaves. During her Senate confirmation hearing earlier this year, President Donald J. Trump‘s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, warned that the United States’s decade-long policy of backing al-Qaeda-aligned forces against the Assad regime could embolden the Islamist fighters to carry out genocidal attacks against Syria’s Christians and other minorities once they were in power.

“I have no love for Assad or any dictator. I just hate al-Qaeda. I hate that our leaders cozy up to Islamist extremists, calling them ‘rebels’, as Jake Sullivan said to Hillary Clinton, ‘al Qaeda is on our side in Syria,'” Gabbard said. She added: “Syria is now controlled by al-Qaeda offshoot HTS, led by an Islamist Jihadist who danced in the streets on 9/11, and who was responsible for the killing of many American soldiers.”

LEGACY OF THE IRAQ WAR.

Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq under former President George W. Bush, the United States has funneled weapons and provided military training for several Islamic extremist organizations aligned against Iraq’s late dictator, Saddam Hussein, Syria’s Assad, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. While American government officials were aware of the extremist nature of the Islamist groups, they were viewed as useful assets in undermining Iranian-aligned forces.

In Iraq, the United States’s policy of aggressive de-Bathification resulted in thousands of Sunni Muslim soldiers and government workers being forced into unemployment. Subsequently, these Sunni Muslim men flocked to the Islamic State group (ISIS), and in 2014, ISIS overran the cities of Fallujah and Mosul—effectively capturing a large swath of northern Iraq. However, during his first term in the White House, President Donald J. Trump effectively ended ISIS’s presence in Iraq—culminating in the 2019 death of the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

REGIME CHANGE IN SYRIA.

Meanwhile, following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the United States actively backed the Free Syrian Army (FSA)—a decentralized coalition of rebel groups that included Islamist forces associated with al-Qaeda. U.S. policy in Syria culminated in the shocking December 2024 overthrow of Bashar al-Assad with Abu Mohammad al-Julani—leader of the al-Qaeda franchise Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly al-Nusra—declaring himself the country’s interim President.

While al-Julani initially claimed he would ensure the protection of Syrian Christians and other minority groups, that pledge appears to have been entirely discarded. Human rights groups dedicated to protecting the Middle East’s Christian minorities contend that al-Julani’s security forces are using the clashes with pro-Assad forces as cover to carry out a genocidal campaign and have wiped out numerous Christian villages. Even more troubling is that the weapons being used to carry out the religious and ethnic genocide may have been—at least in part—provided by the U.S. government.

show less
The new Islamist regime in Syria's genocide of the country's ancient and indigenous Christian population is a direct result of long-standing United States foreign policy in the Middle East. While U.S. government officials insisted the ouster of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December last year would not result in reprisals against Syrian Christians and other minority groups, including the Alawite Muslim sect to which Assad belonged, over 1,000 religious and ethnic minorities have been killed since late last week. show more
February 3, 2025
Jack Montgomery
Corruption

DEI Musicals, Transgender Operas, and Meals for al-Qaeda: A Catalog of USAID Waste.

President Donald J. Trump’s Rapid Response team has cataloged some of the wasteful spending disbursed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which looks set to be abolished as an independent entity and absorbed into the U.S. State Department after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) concluded it was beyond saving.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, the Rapid Response team noted that USAID has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and promoting transgenderism. For instance, $1.5 million was spent to promote DEI in Serbian workplaces, and $70,000 was spent on a “DEI musical” in Ireland.

In Latin America, USAID allocated $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru, and $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala.

Spending beyond the realm of DEI and transgenderism also appears questionable, with $2.5 million spent promoting electric vehicles in Vietnam, resulting in the construction of just one battery station. $6 million was directed towards boosting tourism in Egypt.

Even more controversially, USAID funded a non-profit linked to designated terrorist organizations and EcoHealth Alliance, which had connections to research at the Wuhan lab. USAID funding was also used to provide al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists in Syria with meals.

Similarly, USAID funds were used to support poppy farming in Afghanistan, bankrolling the Taliban, and bolstering the international heroin trade.

show less
President Donald J. Trump's Rapid Response team has cataloged some of the wasteful spending disbursed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which looks set to be abolished as an independent entity and absorbed into the U.S. State Department after Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) concluded it was beyond saving. show more
January 30, 2025
Jack Montgomery
War
World

THANKS, NEOCONS! Syria’s New President is an Al Qaeda Operative.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, until recently known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has declared himself interim President of Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa, leader of the al-Qaeda franchise Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly al-Nusra, will lead a provisional legislative body that will function until a new constitution is established.

Before Assad’s ouster, HTS was a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., and Sharaa was a recognized terrorist with a $10 million government bounty on his head. The U.S. government’s Rewards for Justice website charged him with crimes, including kidnapping hundreds of Kurds and massacring villagers from Syria’s Druze religious minority.

However, U.S. efforts to bring Sharaa to justice were abandoned in the dying days of the Biden government, with Western media rebranding his organization as “diversity-friendly” jihadists.

The Sharaa government now claims the jihadist militias involved in ousting Assad have been disbanded. However, the reality is that they are being incorporated into, if not outright displacing, the official military.

Sections of Syria remain outside Sharaa’s control, including the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, or Rojava, long controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. However, it is likely that Turkey, which supported Sharaa’s offensive against Assad, will now move to destroy this administration.

show less
Ahmed al-Sharaa, until recently known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has declared himself interim President of Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa, leader of the al-Qaeda franchise Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly al-Nusra, will lead a provisional legislative body that will function until a new constitution is established. show more
December 16, 2024
Jack Montgomery
War
World

Assad Breaks Silence, Claims He Intended to Continue Fighting from Russian Base.

Former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has issued his first statement since his ouster by Turkey-backed jihadist rebels, denying he fled the country as “part of a plan” and claiming he initially intended to carry on fighting from the Alawite heartland of Latakia. “As terrorism spread across Syria and ultimately reached Damascus on the evening of Saturday 7 December 2024, questions arose about the president’s fate and whereabouts,” reads the statement—posted to a Telegram account associated with the Syrian presidency but not yet independently verified. It complains of “a flood of misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth, aimed at recasting international terrorism as a liberation revolution for Syria.”

Assad, if he is the author of the statement, said he traveled to the Russian airbase of Hmeimim in Latakia, only hours after rebel forces had entered Damascus, intending to “oversee combat operations.” Latakia is home to most of Syria’s Alawite minority, which the Assad clan hails from, and he may have hoped members of the Shia offshoot sect would offer stiffer resistance to the mostly Sunni jihadists of the Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group than government forces elsewhere.

However, Assad claims he found that Syrian soldiers had already left their posts and that the Russians made the decision to exfiltrate after Hmeimim began to be targeted by drones.

“With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8 December,” Assad said. “This took place a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions.”

NO PLAN TO LEAVE. 

“At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or part,” Assad insisted, claiming that, in his mind, the “only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist onslaught,” and he “did not leave the country as part of a plan as it was reported earlier.”

The whereabouts of Assad, his wife Asma, and their three children were initially unclear. Russian officials later confirmed their departure following negotiations with rebels. There are concerns hundreds of thousands of Syrians, including Alawites like Assad, may attempt to leave the country like their former leader, fearing reprisals by the al-Qaeda-linked new regime.

READ:

Image by watchsmart. 

show less
Former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has issued his first statement since his ouster by Turkey-backed jihadist rebels, denying he fled the country as "part of a plan" and claiming he initially intended to carry on fighting from the Alawite heartland of Latakia. "As terrorism spread across Syria and ultimately reached Damascus on the evening of Saturday 7 December 2024, questions arose about the president's fate and whereabouts," reads the statement—posted to a Telegram account associated with the Syrian presidency but not yet independently verified. It complains of "a flood of misinformation and narratives far removed from the truth, aimed at recasting international terrorism as a liberation revolution for Syria." show more
December 10, 2024
Jack Montgomery
News

WATCH: Syria’s New Leader Vows to Take Jerusalem After Damascus.

Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the wanted terrorist and de facto leader of Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, declared in 2018 that his Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization—a rebrand of al-Qaeda franchise al-Nusra—intended to take not only Damascus but the Israeli capital of Jerusalem.

In a video released as Assad’s forces had gained the upper hand over the various rebel factions, al-Julani told his followers, “There is no significance to the defeat of one village to another. Our goals are much loftier than that… It is a war of ideas, a war of minds, a war of will, a war of steadfastness.”

“We must use everything that we have to protect the Sunnis,” he said—a bad signal for the Alawite minority from which Assad hailed, as well as Syrian Christians, Druze, and other minorities, now al-Julani has taken power.

“Allah willing, we will reach not only Damascus. Jerusalem awaits us as well. Every bullet we fire here will reverberate throughout the Islamic world. Your place as a Jihad fighter on this blessed land is in itself a grace of Allah, Who chose you from among billions of people.”

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has taken credit for Assad’s ouster by al-Julani and appears satisfied that it is a positive development, having eliminated a regional rival in Assad and weakened his erstwhile allies in Hezbollah and Iran.

However, with the “al-Julani” name being a nom de guerre referencing the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, plus al-Julani’s past remarks on Jerusalem, the Israelis may find the Turkey-backed jihadists prove to be a greater threat than Assad.

show less
Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the wanted terrorist and de facto leader of Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, declared in 2018 that his Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization—a rebrand of al-Qaeda franchise al-Nusra—intended to take not only Damascus but the Israeli capital of Jerusalem. show more