United States
The FBI arrested Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a 19-year-old Jordanian, after he attempted to detonate an inert bomb outside a skyscraper in Dallas. Smadi was in the US illegally with the aim of waging “violent jihad” for Osama bin Laden.
Monthly Archives: September 2009
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leader Abdelmalek Droukdel has sent a letter to Abu Mohammad Maqdissi, the prominent Islamist cleric and former mentor to Abu Musab al Zarqawi who declared the usage of suicide bombings in Iraq to be illegal. Droukdel appealed to Maqdissi to open a dialogue whereupon Droukdel can ask “clarification” on […]
Shabaab claims American was one of last week’s suicide bombers
A website affiliated with Shabaab celebrated a Somali-American from Seattle as one of the suicide bombers who conducted a complex assault against the African Union peacekeeper base in Mogadishu last week. The suicide bombers easily entered the AMISOM military compound while driving two white vehicles with United Nations markings. “We thought they were real UN […]
United States
US -Terror suspect is charged with plot to use bombs
US airstrike targets Haqqani Network in North Waziristan
Eight people have been reported killed in the latest US strike in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The attack targeted a compound run by Ahmad Haqqani, one of Jalaluddin Haqqani’s sons.
Iraq
Sixteen al Qaeda in Iraq fighters escaped from a prison in Tikrit; one was recaptured. Three policemen were killed in separate attacks in Mosul. Security forces detained eight wanted men in Basrah, four in Diyala, and two more near Makhmour.
Jihad in Pakistan’s South Punjab
Newsline has a must-read article on the critical role the southern half of Pakistan’s Punjab province plays in the jihadi network. Read the whole thing; I’ve excerpted some interesting portions below: Four major militant outfits, the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), are all comfortably ensconced in South Punjab (see article […]
Taliban kill pro-government tribal leaders in Pakistan’s northwest
The attack took place in Jani Khel, a region known to have hosted al Qaeda’s executive council as well as an al Qaeda bank in the past.
Afghanistan
Security worsens as Taliban move into northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Five Taliban fighters were killed and 15 more were wounded in an airstrike in Kandahar. Afghan and Coalition forces detained “several” Taliban fighters during operations in Helmand, Kandahar, Kunduz, and Wardak provinces. A pro-government former mujahedeen leader was killed in Baghlan. Farah province’s intelligence chief escaped an assassination attempt. Hundreds of Taliban fighters have moved […]
Somalia
A Shabaab website celebrated an American from Seattle as one of the suicide bombers who killed 21 peacekeepers in Mogadishu last week. Hizbul Islam rejected Shabaab’s administration over Kismayo. “There should be mediation before there is bloodshed,” said Sheikh Hassan Turki, Hizbul’s deputy leader and the commander of the Ras Kamboni Brigade. Both sides are […]
Pakistan
Pak seeks more time to probe Saeed’s role in 26/11 attacks
Iraq
Iraqi city under curfew after prison break
Iran
President Ahmadinejad defended his legacy during his speech to the UN assembly. The UN said it would draft a nuclear safeguard plan before US-Iranian bilateral talks. Iran’s Assembly of Experts reiterated their support for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The Taliban’s shadow government
One of the more striking aspects of the McChrystal report on Afghanistan is the US military’s assessment of the Taliban’s shadow government: The [Quetta Shura Taliban: QST] has a governing structure in Afghanistan under the rubric of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They appoint shadow governors for most provinces, review their performance, and replace them […]
Afghanistan
Taliban widen Afghan attacks from base in Pakistan
Afghanistan
Gaddafi compares Taliban state to Vatican
Afghanistan
McChrystal to hand in troop request, but Gates will hold on to it
Iran
Russia ‘rethinks’ Iran sanctions
Iraq
Empowered by the US, imprisoned by Iraqis
Pakistani General dined with Hafiz Saeed
Just days before Lashkar-e-Taiba / Jamaat-ud-Dawa leader Hafiz Saeed was charged by Faisalbad police with preaching jihad and raising money for terrorist activities, he was the guest of a senior Pakistani military commander in Rawalpindi. The Times of India reports: Two FIRs [first information requests] against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and “restrictions” on his movements […]
Counterterrorism at the expense of counterinsurgency will doom Afghanistan and Pakistan: US officials
Shifting to a counterterrorism-heavy strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan will have disastrous consequences, according to US military and intelligence officials familiar with the region.
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda external operations op tempo
Pakistan
Pakistan’s Punjab: Terror™s training ground
Afghanistan
General McChrystal denies rift with Obama on Afghan war
Philippines
The military is planning to send more troops to Jolo island to combat Abu Sayyaf terrorists due to an increase in violence in recent days. The military also announced that three school teachers who were kidnapped in Zamboanga Sibugay province and held hostage for six months were released.
Indonesia
Changing the militant mindset: Few signs of success
United States
US: How using imam in terror inquiry backfired on police
Kashmir
4 Indian soldiers, 4 militants killed in Kashmir clashes
Iran! Iran! Iran! (in Iraq)
So goes the refrain from a host of pundits who posit a maliciously empowered Iran as a consequence of the US invasion of Iraq. Subscribers to the possibility include David Ignatius, Brookings, and Thomas Ricks, who has authored grim appraisals of Iran being the “biggest winner” after the invasion. This popular narrative has various appeals. […]