Imad Fayez Mugniyah At the outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah, I reported Imad Fayez Mugniyah, Hezbollah’s military commander, was likely behind the operation to snatch the Israeli soldiers, and documented Hezbollah and Mugniyah’s links to Iran and historical involvement in international terrorism. Dr. Magnus Ranstorp explained Hezbollah’s command structure and decision making processes, […]
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations. Click map to view. After the airstrike in the Lebanese town of Qana, which killed 57 civilians, Israel has enforced a unilateral 48 hour cessation of air strikes against targets in Lebanon. A new report indicates 28 more civilians were killed during […]
The skill and training of Hezbollah’s Army in southern Lebanon becomes clearer after details emerge about Wednesday’s fighting in Bint Jubayl, where the Israeli Defense Force’s elite Golani Brigade and Hezbollah fighters have been slugging it out since last week. The most recent combat in Bint Jubayl claimed the lives of 9 Israeli soldiers and […]
As the smoke clears from the fighting in the Lebanese border town of Bint Jubayl, Hezbollah’s military capabilities become clearer. Today, 8 Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion were killed and 22 wounded during a “well-planned Hezbollah ambush on the outskirts” outside of Bint Jubayl. This follows the 4 killed and 18 wounded […]
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations, orange recent clashes. Click map to view. The Israeli Defense Force’s Golani Brigade has taken the town of Bint Jubayl, Hezbollah’s southern command center, and is moving towards the town of Aytarun, another of the towns the IDF has warned the Lebanese […]
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied town; red IDF warned towns of operations. Click map to view. The Golani Brigade continues to slug it out with Hezbollah between the towns of Maroun al-Ras and the Bint Jubayl on the Israeli-Lebanon border. Reports indicate 15 Hezbollah have been killed, and 4 IDF killed and 18 wounded […]
Southern Lebanon. Green indicates Israeli occupied; red IDF warned of operations. Click map to view. The Israeli Defense Force is probing along the Lebanese frontier. Earlier today the IDF took control of Maroun al-Ras. Israeli army units have also occupied the towns of Yarum and Marwahin (Marwahin further west, and is currently occupied by the […]
Fighting in the Maroun al-Ras / Avivim region. Click map to view. An unknown sized force of Israeli mechanized infantry units are pushing into the Lebanese town of Maroun al-Ras. This town is the scene of the Hezbollah ambush on the Golani Brigade just two days ago, where the Israelis retreated after taking casualties. Today’s […]
In Worst Case Scenario: Hezbollah’s Conventional Forces: Hezbollah’s Conventional Forces, we discussed Hezbollah’s surprising conventional military prowess and weaponry, and reported of an ambush on a unit operating in Lebanon near Avivim. Haaretz reports that four soldiers from the Golani Brigade were killed and five wounded during the ambush, and the unit withdrew from the […]
The Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah have fought pitched battles over the past two days in the region around Avivim. Ynet News reports nine Israeli soldiers were wounded during the fighting, and two were killed in the nearby town of Maroun al-Ras. “Attempts to rescue some of the injured were carried out under relentless fire,” […]
Banner announcing Basayev’s commemoration video. Basayev’s commemoration video. Click image to view video, file size is ~5M, in Windows Media Viewer format [.mwv] Two Islamist websites have posted a video commemorating the life and death of Chechen al Qaeda commander Shamil Basayev (AKA Abdallah Shamil Abu-Idris), who was killed by Russian security forces on July […]
Israeli troops have entered southern Lebanon for the second time in two days. Like the last raid, this one had the limited objective of destroying Hezbollah strong points on the Lebanese border, as well as “searching for tunnels and mines” in the region.
Range of Iranian built missiles possibily in Hezbollah’s arsenal. Map & graphics courtesy of Kathryn Cramer. Click map to view. After a weekend of repeated Hezbollah missile strikes into Israel, including hits in Afula and the surrounding communities, and Haifa, the Israeli Defense Force has launched a ground incursion into Lebanon. The IDF “briefly entered […]
This afternoon Richard Lafayette of Global Crisis Watch hosted a counterterrorism roundtable, attended by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Douglas Farah, Nir Boms of the Center for Freedom in the Middle East, and myself. The main topic was the crisis in the Middle East, including the mood in Israel, Israel’s response to Hezbollah’s attack, and Iran, Syria, and […]
The Iranian C802 / Chinese Jing YJ-82. Click photo to view. In last evening’s post, “The War Widens, Hezbollah Strikes Egyptian, Israeli Ships with UAVs,” we reported the Israeli warship and an Egyptian civilian vessel were likely hit with missiles launched from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and not a UAV packed with explosives. The Egyptian vessel […]
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated, as Hezbollah has conducted two sea strikes against an Israeli warship and an Egyptian civilian ship, possibly a cruise liner. While initial reports are stating an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was used to ram the ships, an anonymous intelligence official indicates the Egyptian ship was struck by […]
The Raad. Click image to view. The rocket attack on the northern Israeli city of Haifa has raised the stakes in the very hot war between Israel and Hezbollah, and increases the possibility of widening the conflict with Syria and Iran. Haifa, the country’s third largest city, is home to over 250,000 Israelis, and Hezbollah […]
Map of Hezbollah rocket strikes in northern Israel. Click map to view. Since the Hezbollah raid on an Israeli outpost on the Lebanese border and kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, and the follow on Israeli raids into Lebanon attacking Hezbollah targets and road, bridge and air infrastructure, several events increased the prospect for a wider […]
Imad Fayez Mugniyah Hezbollah has conducted a highly successful raid into Israeli territory, attacking a Israeli Defense Force outpost along the Israel-Lebanese border, killing three soldiers and capturing two after they were wounded. Four Israeli soldiers were killed when their tank ran over a land mine in Lebanon during follow-up operations to free the captured […]
Map of the Bombay rail system. Orange dots indicate bombing sites. click image to view. Last Update at 4:20 pm ET. The railway system and rush hour commuters were the targets of a series of bombings in the Indian city of Bombay (Mumbai), the country’s financial capital. According to an updated Associated Press story, “Tuesday […]
The Islamic Courts Union, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia, is consolidating power in the capital city of Mogadishu. The ICU is conducting military operations against rival warlords who sat out of last month’s fighting. Over 140 Somalis have been killed in the past two days of fighting, with over a hundred estimated wounded. The ICU […]
Shamil Basayev in Dagestan, in 1999. Click image to view. Chechen terrorist leader and al Qaeda commander Shamil Basayev (AKA Abdallah Shamil Abu-Idris) has been killed by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), according to the chief of the security. Basayev was killed in an explosion during a raid in the Federal Republic of Ingushetia, which […]
Map of Baghdad, click to view. Image courtesy of Global Security The Shiite militia of Moqtada al-Sadr appear in the cross hairs of the Iraqi government for the second time in three days. Following up on Friday’s raid on Sadr’s allies in the Sadr City section of Baghdad, Iraqi Security Forces conducted an operation against […]
Map of Baghdad, click to view. Image courtesy of Global Security The new Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has taken a step to fulfill the pledge to dismantle the militias, including Shiite run militias within his own governing coalition United Iraqi Alliance. An “Iraqi-planned, Iraqi-led and Iraqi-executed operation,” supported by U.S. forces in […]
Aftermath of a bombing in Kabul on July 5, 2006. Images courtesy of Walt Gaffney. Click photo to view gallery. The string of four bombings over two days in Kabul, Afghanistan, have raised the tension level in the city and stoked media speculation of a Taliban resurgence in the capital. On July 4, two roadside […]
As-Sahab banner announcing upcoming al Qaeda tape commemorating the 7/7 London bombings. Banner courtesy of Rita Katz of the SITE Institute. Last evening, ABC News’ Brian Ross reported, via the Blotter, that al Qaeda would soon be releasing a tape commemorating the one year anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings. Al Jazeera is currently airing […]
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Sheik Yusuf Indohaadde during a news briefing, Saturday, June 17, 2006. AP photograph, click to view. Just days after Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the chairman of Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union attempted to distance his movement from Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, a senior member of the ICU has appearaed on […]
Osama bin Laden’s endorsement of the Somali al Qaeda affiliate Islamic Courts Union has caused some consternation within the organization. Osama bin Laden referred to the Islamic Courts as “our kinfolk and brother mujahidin,” and implored them to “Seek God’s help and prepare the necessary means, especially tank mines and anti-armor RPG’s. Be patient like […]
16 of 17 known locations of terror training camps. Map is from 2002. Click map to view. As the situation in Somalia deteriorates and the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts Union (or al-Ittihad Mahakem al-Islamiya) consolidates power in the capital city of Mogadishu, the Ethiopian military has crossed the border into Somalia. Approximately 200-300 Ethiopian […]