The Iraqi government aired the confession of a man who claimed the Ba’ath party was behind last week’s attacks in Baghdad that killed more than 90 people. Insurgents killed a policeman in Mosul and an Awakening official in Diyala, targeted a tribal leader for assassination near Fallaujah, and bombed the home of a policeman in […]
Afghanistan war ‘serious’ and ‘deteriorating,’ Mullen says
The top US military officer said the situation in Afghanistan is “serious” and “deteriorating.” Presidential candidate Abdullah accused President Karzai of “rigging the election.” ISAF and Afghan troops killed four Taliban fighters and captured 13 more during separate operations in Kandahar province.
Hizbul Islam leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys rejected the government’s call for a Ramadan ceasefire. “We will redouble the war against infidels,” Aweys said. Aweys also rejected reports that Hizbul Islam is in negotiations with the government. Nine people were killed during clashes in Mogadishu on Aug. 22.
Egypt: 26 suspected Hezbollah spies stand trial
Pakistani intelligence is claiming that Hakeemullah Mehsud, Baitullah Mehsud’s successor to lead the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, is dead and that his appointment to lead the Taliban is a ruse to hide infighting: Pakistani intelligence officials have said Hakeemullah Mehsud is also dead, killed in a shootout with rivals days after Baitullah Mehsud […]
The Obama administration is betting that the ‘surge’ of nearly 21,000 US forces to Afghanistan will produce positive results within the next year. What will happen if the situation doesn’t improve in that year isn’t stated, and leaves much cause for concern. If you are hoping the influx of US forces into Helmand province and […]
US shifts, giving names of detainees to the Red Cross
‘Saudi Arabia planning to build nuclear power plant’
Pak Taliban planned to target Gilani, Shahbaz Sharif: Report
The Iraqi government has decided to rebuild the concrete blast walls around sensitive sites in Baghdad. Insurgents killed a mayor and two children in Mosul. Iraqi security forces detained six wanted men in Basrah, two Naqshabandiya group members in Diyala, three insurgents in Khanaqin, and a senior al Qaeda leader in northern Diyala.
Doku Umarov, the leader of the Caucasus Emirate, said that “Ramadan is the best time for Jihad! ” The Russian government dismissed claims by the Riyad-us Salihiin martyrs brigade that the group was behind a massive blast at the Sayano-Shushenskaya power station in southern Siberia on Aug. 17.
A suicide bomber killed two security personnel in Swat; another bomber killed himself during a military raid in Swat. A car bomb in Peshawar killed two Ansar-ul-Islam members. Two children were killed in a rocket attack in Landi Kotal. A tribe in Mardan is raising a lashkar to fight the Taliban.
An Afghan Army commander and three soldiers were killed during an IED attack in Jalalabad. Two policemen were killed as a Taliban assault team attempted to storm a police headquarters in Jalalabad; police repelled the assault. An Afghan soldier killed three Taliban fighters as they attempted to kill civilians who voted. Six civilians were killed […]
Gaddafi hugs Lockerbie bomber; Britain denies deal
Pakistani Taliban quiz Mehsud kin over spying
Hakeemullah Mehsud has taken command of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. Azam Tariq was appointed the new spokesman. The Taliban shura appointed Hakeemullah to replace Baiullah in a unanimous decision during the two-day meeting in Arakzai.
Hakeemullah was appointed by the Taliban shura just days after Faqir Mohammed named himself the temporary leader of the group. The appointment gives new weight to claims that Baitullah was killed during an Aug. 5 Predator strike.
Over 100,000 people displaced by Yemen fighting: UN
India gives Pakistan info on PM’s ‘credible threat’
Khalil Pareja, the leader of the Rajah Solaiman Movement, a group of Catholics who converted to Islam, was detained after police surrounded his hideout. The group has been behind some of the most deadly terror attacks in the Philippines.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb released a statement offering condolences to those who lost family members in the Boko Haram uprising in northern Nigeria. AQIM praised their “Salafist, jihadist brothers in particular, led by martyr Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf” for standing against the “Christian minority in Nigeria” who are seeking to “destroy Islam and annihilate […]
Siraj Haqqani, the military commander of the Haqqani Network and a close ally of al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban, was the target of the Thursday night Predator strike outside of Miramshah in North Waziristan. On Thursday night I heard that a senior Haqqani Network commander and an al Qaeda operative were the main targets, […]
The release of members and leaders of the Iranian-backed Asaib al Haq (League of the Righteous) has several of the military and intelligence folks I speak with up in arms. I’m not sure I passed along the depth of their despair when I reported on this earlier this week. Not a single person I spoke […]
The purpose of this blog is to provide a quick look at news stories that might go under the radar. The contributors will point out what is important and why, and will tell you what they think about it. And you can let us know what you think in the comments.
Longtime jihadi religious and military leader Sheikh Issa al Masri left North Waziristan in Pakistan to aid in the revival of al Qaeda in Iraq’s network inside Syria.
Security forces killed 12 Taliban fighters in Mohmand and killed eight more in Bannu. A suicide bomber detonated his vest after being surrounded in Kohat. Civilians accused the military of conducting human rights violations during the Swat operation. The military will manufacture UAVs in Kamra.
Twenty-two people were killed during gunbattles and mortar attacks after Islamist forces attacked an African Union base in Mogadishu. Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to battle forces from the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The Somali parliament passed a law that calls for a state of emergency.
Two Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded in an IED attack in Baghdad. Security forces detained nine suspected insurgents near Ramadi, two in Wasit, and broke up an “armed network” in Mosul. An Iraqi paper claimed the Special Groups conducted the mortar attacks on the Green Zone on Aug. 19.
Al Qaeda emerges as main suspect in Iraq bombings