Afghanistan
Dutch pilot killed in F-16 crash in Afghanistan
Yearly Archives: 2006
Israel
Major Hamas Tunnel-Terror Attack Thwarted
Afghanistan
US Says Expects UN To Announce ‘Significant Increase’ In Afghan Opium Crops
Iraq
Violent deaths in Iraq drop in August – govt stats
Iraq
Iraqi Ground Forces Command assumes command and control of 8th Iraqi Army Division
Al Qaeda
Media Department of Jund al-Sham Presents a Video: “The Emirs of War”
NATO led forces kill 200 Taliban in Operation Medusa
ISAF continues offensive operations in southeastern Afghanistan, as Operation Medusa follows on the heals of Operation Mountain Thrust Canadian and Afghan forces have kicked off a new operation in Kandahar Province. Operation Medusa began on Saturday, and is aimed at rooting out Taliban forces Kandahar Province’s Panjwai and Zhari districts, the scene of much fighting […]
Iraq
In Ramadi, U.S. Army and Marine engineers are destroying “buildings that stand directly opposite Ramadi’s long-embattled government center.” These buildings have been used as bases of fire against U.S. and Iraqi forces. In Baghdad, Coalition and Iraqi forces uncovered an IED factory and weapons cache while clearing the neighborhood of Adhamiyah.
Senior Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader Captured; Is He Number 2?
A joint Iraqi-Coalition raid nets Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi, a member of the Mujahideen Shura Council the leader of the Omar Brigade Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi Iraqi and Coalition forces continue to exploit the intelligence windfall gained after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi (a.k.a. Abu Humam, Abu Rana), who Iraqi […]
Azzam – The American al Qaeda’s “Invitation to Islam”
Banner announcing “Invitation to Islam, al Qaeda’s latest videotape. Links to video below. As Sabah, al Qaeda’s media production company, has released the anticipated videotape of Ayman al-Zawahiri and Adam Gahadn (a.k.a. Azzam the American). This video is the latest in an al Qaeda media campaign designed to influence westerners, supporters and sympathizers. In the […]
Russia
Chechen terrorists continue to surrender since the death of Shamil Baseyev on July 10. Chechen terrorist Abukhamid Shamilev, a “deputy commander responsible for logistics” surrendered this week, along with a group of 49 Chechen fighters, and another group of 6.
Philippines
The Philippine military is bolstering its forces in the fight against al Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf terrorists on Jolo island. Abu Sayyaf commander Khaddafy and Indonesian members of Jemaah Islamiyah are the targets of operations. U.S. and Filipino troops arriving in Jolo were cheered by locals. Three suspects (including a member of MILF) in a […]
Somalia
al Qaeda connected Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of the radical Islamic Courts in Somalia is “prepared to talk peace” as talks between the ICU and the Transitional Government. The ICU has suspended “all trade and public transportation during prayer times.” The autonomous region of Puntland is beginning to arrest ICU friendly Islamist clerics. […]
United Kingdom
Police in the United Kingdom arrested 14 in a terror sweep at a restaurant and a mosque. The arrests are unrelated to airline plot or 7/7 attacks. MI5 indicates they are are keeping tabs on “thousands of people” who may be involved in terrorism. This news comes as BBC releases a program on the radicalization […]
Egypt
Egyptian authorities are preparing for al Qaeda attacks in the southern Sinai, as hundreds of Israeli tourist flee the region. Police are hunting “five suspected al Qaeda members in the Sinai Peninsula” who are believed to be Egyptians.
Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency has “found new traces of enriched uranium in Iran.” Iran refuses to give up its nuclear program. The U.S. State Department has approved a visa for former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami to visit the country. Khatami was sponsored by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Al Qaeda
A jihadi website has announced the pending release of a video from Ayman al-Zawahiri and “Azzam al-Ameriki (Adam Gadahn). The GSPC has also released a propaganda video of “Mujahideen operations tracking training, preparation, attack, and celebration.” The Global Islamic Media Front is launching a professional-quality German language website aimed at sympathizers and disaffected Westerns. New […]
The Lost Territories
North Waziristan and Quetta: Pakistani Tribal regions continue to slide into the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda The Afghan-Pakistan border regions. News from Pakistan’s western tribal belt is less than encouraging these days. The Taliban and their al Qaeda backers continue to operate from safe havens within Pakistan, particularly in North Waziristan and […]
The Battle Against Sadr Intensifies
Signs indicate the Iraqi government and the Coalition are putting additional pressure against Muqtada al-Sadr and his radical Mahdi Army The fighting between the Iraqi Army and the forces of Iranian backed radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army earlier in the week has increased the tensions between the government and the militia. The battles […]
The Battle for Baghdad Continues
Sadr’s Mahdi Army and political party become targets of the Iraqi government Baghdad and Operation Together Forward. Green is cleared, Yellow is ongoing operations, Red is untouched. Diamonds indicate locations of violence. Operation Together Forward, the plan to secure Baghdad, is still in its second phase, with Iraqi and Coalition forces clearing and securing the […]
A Hard August for the Taliban in Afghanistan
The “Taliban Offensive” continues to produce Taliban bodies but the Taliban and al Qaeda continue to grow in Northwestern Pakistan The Taliban’s summer of 2006 “offensive” continues to produce inordinately large numbers of Taliban casualties with little to show for the slaughter. But the Taliban still possess its bases of operation in northwestern Pakistan, and […]
Aftermath of the Hezbollah-Israeli War
Disarming Hezbollah no longer an option Israel’s failure to fully pursue Hezbollah in the region below the Litani River in southern Lebanon as well as in southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley is a model of what not to do when fighting terrorist organizations. The Israeli government’s strategy of over reliance on air power during […]
Islamic Courts Consolidates Power in Somalia
Map of Somalia, recent gains by the Islamic Courts marked in red. Click map to view. Somalia continues the slide into the darkness of a radical Islamist state. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the al Qaeda linked leader of the Islamic Courts is consolidating power in Somalia by taking control of vital lines of communications, organizing […]
The Ongoing Battle for Baghdad
Phase 2 of Operation Together Forward is in its early stages. Click map to view. The city of Baghdad, as well as Baghdad Province has become the epicenter of violence in Iraq. In a recent press briefing, Major General Bill Caldwell stated an estimated eighty percent of the violence in Iraq is occurring in Baghdad […]
The Kidnapping of Jill Carroll
Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor reporter who was kidnapped by insurgents in Iraq last January and released 82 days later, has begun to tell the story of the long days she spent in captivity following her kidnapping. In a series called Hostage: The Jill Carroll Story, Jill provides a first person account of her […]
Rehman, Rauf, suspected London Airline Plotters Captured, and the Pakistani Connection
Wanted photo of Matiur Rehman. Click photo to view. Two of the suspected ring leaders of the al Qaeda London Airline Plot to destroy aircraft en route to the United States have been captured by Pakistani intelligence. Matiur Rehman, who is believed to be a high-ranking leader in al Qaeda’s Pakistan operations, was captured in […]
MNF-Iraq Update on Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Major General William Caldwell’s August 16th briefing on the state of counterinsurgency operations in Baghdad also includes an interesting, extended look at efforts to fight al Qaeda in Iraq and intelligence gleaned from the terror organization based on the capture of detainees (as well as the examination of documents, computers and other materials, which are […]
Podcast at Global Crisis Watch
On Sunday afternoon Richard Lafayette and Nick Grace of Global Crisis Watch interviewed Daveed Gartenstein-Ross about the London Airline Plot and counterterrorism efforts. Also, I participated in a round table forum with Nir Boms of the Center for Freedom in the Middle East and Leah Soibel of the Israel Project. The topic was the war […]
After Action Report: Winners and Losers in the Hezbollah-Israel War
With the cessation of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel largely holding after 24 hours, it is time to look at the likely winners and losers of the Hezbollah-Israel war. Israel spent the weekend scrambling to reach the Litani River and consolidate their positions south of the river before the fighting ended, launching an attack which […]
Matiur Rehman, the London Airline Plot and the Road from Pakistan and Talibanistan
Matiur Rehman, image from ABC News Like the 7/7 London Tubes bombing in 2005, the London Airline Plot to destroy over 10 airplanes transiting from London to the United States is being traced back to Pakistan. Pakistan’s Daily Times reports seed money was sent to Pakistan under the guise of earthquake relief and diverted to […]