Pakistan
Senior U.N. official kidnapped in Pakistan
Monthly Archives: February 2009
Israel
Israel bombs Hamas targets after fresh rocket fire
Algeria
A senior commander in al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb surrendered in the Tizi Ouzou region. Abu Touati, also known as Abu Tamime, surrendered after former GSPC leader Hassan Hattab appealed to jihadis to lay down their arms and end the fighting.
Iraq
Iraqi election hints of troubles for Shiite giant
Suicide bomber strikes in Uruzgan police station
Twenty-one policemen were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a training center in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan. The attack is the latest targeting police and intelligence compounds in the south and east.
Pakistan
Forty-five civilians, 16 Taliban fighters, and four security personnel were killed during fighting in Swat. A senior UNHCR official was kidnapped and his driver was killed in Quetta. Movie theaters are closing in Peshawar due to the rising of the Taliban.
Pakistani forces regain control of region in Swat
Heavy fighting results in at least 45 civilians, 16 Taliban fighters, and four security personnel killed.
Somalia
President Sharif said Somali groups should “unify our ranks and confront those who commit violence.” The Islamic Courts Union welcomed the election of Sharif, their former leader. Shabaab’s branch in Kismayo rejected Sharif’s election. Ethiopian troops re-entered Somalia and took control of a crossroads in Hiran province.
Iraq
An estimated 51 percent of eligible voters participated in provincial elections. The Dawa party is leading in the southern and central provinces. Bombs were detonated at the homes of politicians in Ninewa and Babil. Four al Qaeda operatives were detained in Diyala.
Afghanistan
A suicide bomber attacked a French convoy on a main road in Kabul province; two civilians and one soldier were wounded. One civilian was killed and another was wounded in an escalation of force incident in Paktia province’s Orgun district.