The aftershocks from the 7/7 and 7/21 attacks on the London tubes and the Sharm el-Sheikh bombing in Egypt extend to Pakistan. Several of the London terrorists were of Pakistani descent and are believed to have trained and attended madrassa in Pakistan. The initial investigation of the Sharm el-Sheikh bombings in Egypt pointed to men […]
As infiltration from the Syrian Ratline into Iraq continues, another jihadi’s guide to entering Iraq from Syria has surfaced. Evan Kohlmann provides a translation of The New Road to Mesopotamia, which was purportedly written by a jihadi named Al-Muhajir Al-Islami. The guide is an interesting window into the operations of the enemy. Al-Islami covers many […]
Iran’s desire to become a nuclear power is moving forward. Negotiations between Iran and the EU-3 (Britain, France and Germany) have reached an impasse, and Iran demands the EU-3 settle the issue by today, or the UN seals on the Isfahan nuclear reactor will be broken and fuel processing and research will immediately resume. Iran’s […]
The Irish Republican Army has announced it will lay down its arms and press forward with devolution – the political process of obtaining local governing rights within the United Kingdom. The timing of the IRA decision is curious, and one cannot help think the London attacks played some part in the decision by the IRA […]
The murders of the Egyptian and Algerian diplomats in Iraq reinforces the fact that al Qaeda’s war is not only against the United States, but also against Muslim governments. As discussed in al Qaeda’s Diplomatic Mission, one goal of the murders is to discredit the Iraqi government and force foreign governments to withdraw their diplomatic […]
Syria’s involvement in hosting and facilitating foreign terrorists and elements of the Iraqi insurgency has been common knowledge for some time now. While the Asad regime claims to continue with the arrest and deportation of foreign terrorists entering Iraq, the Iraqi government appears to be losing patience. Iraq’s Minister of the Interior Bayan Jabr has […]
As Afghanistan’s September 18 election approaches, fighting intensifies in country and along the Afghan-Pakistan border. In an assault on a Taliban base camp, 50 were killed and 25 captured. Reports indicate more dead are being discovered. This follows on the heels of battles along the Pakistan border, as well as in Pakistan’s tribal region of […]
The media’s portrayal of Iraq as a miserable failure proceeds apace. Dexter Filkins and David S. Cloud, in an article titled Defying U.S. Efforts, Guerrillas in Iraq Refocus and Strengthen,, declare the following about the insurgents: “They just keep getting stronger.” The Sunday Herald claims Zarqawi is moving terrorists out of Iraq and into Europe […]
First of all, I’d like to thank Bill Roggio for giving me the opportunity to blog on recent events concerning the Sinai bombings while WoC is having its Good News Saturday. For those who haven’t been following the recent trend of Islamist violence in Egypt I would recommend this post covering the Taba bombings as […]
As the investigation into yesterday’s unsuccessful attacks in London and the manhunt for suspects proceeds, it becomes increasingly likely the perpetrators were members of the same organization that carried out the 7/7 attacks. Police indicate the backpacks, explosives and design of the bombs were identical to those used in 7/7. The bombs contained nails to […]
Exactly two weeks after the terrorist attacks on the London tubes which killed 54 and wounded over 700, London has been subjected to another round of bombings on its transit system. Reports are sketchy and still being sorted out. The Counterterrorism Blog is the best place to receive up-to-date links to news reports and expert […]
Coalition forces have encountered two hard days of fighting in the city of Rawah, located on the Euphrates River about 50 miles west of Qusaybah, which is situated on the Syrian border. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division’s Stryker Brigade Combat Team have moved into the city to interdict the ratline and establish […]
Al Qaeda in Iraq and Zarqawi now appears to recognize the futility of conducting military operations alone to achieve victory in Iraq. The SITE Institute reports the recently released publication of Zarqawi’s magazine, Thurwat al-Sinam, discusses grand strategy, which extends beyond pure combat operations. This issue is the first edition of the publication to explicitly […]
al Qaeda continues to dispense terror to the people of the Muslim world using the tool they have mastered: the suicide bomb. A day following the horrific attack on Iraqi children in Baghdad that killed 24 children and wounded and maimed scores, further attacks using suicide bombs are conducted. Al Qaeda obviously believes the tactic […]
The recent statements and arrest of Zarqawi’s mentor, Isam Mohammad Taher al-Barqawi (a.k.a Sheik Abu-Mohammed al-Maqdisi) exposes dissention in the ranks of al Qaeda’s leadership. Just prior to Barqawi’s internment, he conducted an interview for al Jazeera, ostensibly to criticize his prot
The following visual presentation is a compilation of the major al Qaeda attacks since the creation of the International Islamic Front and their subsequent declaration of war in February of 1998. Click this link to view the presentation. You will need to install Macromedia Flash Player, which can be downloaded here. The purpose of the […]
Abu Musab al-Suri (a.k.a. Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, Omar Abdel Hakim) is a prime suspect in the London 7/7 attacks. Counterterrorism expert Evan Kohlmann of Global Terror Alert and The Counterterrorism Blog provides a detailed profile of al-Suri (the Syrian) as well as video from in 2000. His connections to radical Islam run deep. Abu Musab […]
As London recovers from the attack on its transportation system, Coalition forces continue on the offensive in Iraq’s Anbar province. Operation Sword was directed at the city of Hit, which lies west of Fallujah along the Euphrates river, has completed. Unlike some recent search & destroy operations in the Anbar province, Sword has left an […]
The confirmed number of deaths at this moment is 33, with about 350 wounded. This excludes the number of those killed on the double-decker bus. While rescue operations are the highest priority, it is vital for the government to react immediately to prevent the escape of terrorist who conducted today’s attacks. Wretchard at Belmont Club […]
London has been rocked by a series of multiple terrorist attacks directed at its transportation system. Initial reports indicate six bombs were detonated in London’s subway system and one on a double-decker bus. Casualty reports are unreliable at the moment, but if the account of Roger Clark, a witness to the bombing of the double-decker […]
Al Qaeda’s diplomatic war continues in Iraq. Zarqawi has threatened to murder the Egyptian ambassador, condemning him to a sham Islamic court where the sentence has been predetermined; “the Islamic court of the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Land of Two Rivers has decided to refer the ambassador of the state of Egypt, an ally of […]
The Iraqi insurgency appears to be making another concerted effort to deter foreign governments from establishing diplomatic missions in country. Attacks on foreign diplomats are nothing new in Iraq. We have seen this in the past with attacks on the Jordanian embassy and the UN Special Mission in the summer of 2003, the Turkish embassy […]
What is the profile of the average foreign fighter entering Iraq to fight the nascent Iraqi government and US forces? As Saudis make up the majority of those entering Iraq (about 55%) it is instructive to look at the history of the Saudi Islamists killed in Iraq. Evan Kohlmann has profiled some of the Saudis […]
Saudi Arabian security forces bagged the latest leader of al Qaeda in the Kingdom. Younus Mohamed Al-Hayari has been killed in a raid Riyadh, and three unnamed members of the organization have been captured and are undergoing “questioning” – no doubt a bit more severe that those asked at Gitmo. Al-Hayari, a Moroccan, was al […]
Another member of al Qaeda has been arrested in Iraq. While Abdullah al-Romyan is not a major leader in al Qaeda, the accompanying information in the article on his arrest in the Khaleej Times provides some insight on Iraq’s centrality in the War on Terror and its attraction to foreign terrorists. Abdullah al-Romyan was arrested […]
US forces suffered a tragic blow in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. A MH-47 Night Stalker was shot down while conducting a support mission for a special operations observation team working in the mountains at about 10,000 feet above sea level, alone in perhaps the most harsh and dangerous territory on the planet. The MH-47 […]
The Flypaper theory has come under much derision since it was proposed, but it is difficult to deny the US presence in Iraq has attracted important and hard to detect members of al Qaeda. Many al Qaeda members have been killed or captured in Iraq while to engage the US Army and Marines on conditions […]
The insurgency tries its hand once more at a massed assault, this time on an Iraqi police station in Baghdad. Omar from Iraq The Model directs us to an article in the Guardian on the assault, and rightly points out the negative slant in the article (hat tip to Soldier’s Dad). The Guardian titles this […]
Martyrdom, Denial, Success and Reorganization The latest releases from al Qaeda in Iraq and Saudi Arabia provide some insight on the mindset of the organizations and the need to continue to communicate with the faithful on the status of martyrdom, the denial of Coalition successes and the status of the operations. The first communiqu
The Taliban and al Qaeda have stepped up their springtime offensive in Afghanistan in an attempt to thwart the upcoming elections this fall. So far the results have been abysmal. Operations in Afghanistan are netting Taliban bigwigs. Two commanders have been captured, and two more are said to be surrounded. Another has surrendered. The Afghani […]