Pakistan
Pakistan may mull demands if Taliban lay down arms
Yearly Archives: 2009
Afghanistan
US courts former warlords in its bid for Afghan stability
Pakistan
The Taliban killed 15 people in a rocket attack on a base in Khyber, attacked a police checkpoint in Bannu, and bombed an electrical pylon in Peshawar. Security forces captured then released 14 Taliban fighters in Swat and detained five Taliban fighters in Karachi.
Bin Laden urges jihad against new Somali government
Al Qaeda’s leader praised Shabaab and called for the downfall of the government led by former Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. This is the third tape on Somalia released by senior al Qaeda leaders since Feb. 13.
Afghanistan
Afghan intelligence said last month’s assault on government buildings in Kabul was planned in and directed from Pakistan. An anti-Taliban minister of parliament and four of his bodyguards were killed in an IED attack in Helmand province. An Australian soldier was killed while attempting to defuse an IED. Two Taliban fighters were killed and 22 […]
Iraq
The US military will shut down the Camp Bucca prison by the summer of 2009. Security forces detained 30 wanted men in Basrah and four more in Maysan. Insurgents murdered the mayor of a village east of Mosul.
Iraq
Iraq combat deaths at 6-year low
Al Qaeda
In his latest audiotape, Osama bin Laden urged Somalis to fight against the newly formed government, which is led by former Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. “These sorts of presidents are the surrogates of our enemies and their authority is null and void in the first place, and as Sheikh Sharif is one of […]
Philippines
The head of the Philippine Red Cross announced that he expects Abu Sayaff kidnappers will honor an agreement to free one of three employees held hostage. The Philippine Army will loosen its encirclement of the kidnappers on Jolo island to allow for negotiation.
Pakistan
The Frontier Corps Inspector General denied reports that the Taliban shura is operating from Quetta in Baluchistan. The Taliban attacked a NATO supply truck at the Chaman border crossing. The Taliban are continuing an anti-polio vaccination drive in Swat in violation of the peace agreement.
Iraq
Iraq: Exit strategy is still forming
Yemen
A suicide bomber killed himself in a failed attempt to attack a team of South Koreans sent to investigate the March 16 suicide attack that killed four of their countrymen. The bomber detonated as he was waiting for the convoy on a road outside Sanaa.
United States
The US attorney general said some of the Chinese Muslim detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay may be released in the United States. We’re trying to come up with places for them,” AG Eric Holder said. “The possibility exists.”
Iraq
Iraqi security forces detained 25 wanted men in Baghdad, six al Qaeda fighters in Diyala and four more in Ninewa, three Naqshabandiya group members near Kirkuk, a Special Groups leader in Al Kut, and an IED maker in Mosul. A car bmb killed one policeman and wounded two others in Mosul.
Airstrike kills Taliban commanders in southern Afghanistan
Two wanted leaders in Helmand province were killed during a March 16 airstrike. Afghan and Coalition forces launch an offensive in central Afghanistan.
Thailand
A government policy review under Prime Minister Vejjajiva is considering giving the largely Muslim southern provinces local autonomy, including the introduction of Islamic courts and sharia law, in order to quell the bloody, five-year long insurgency.
Afghanistan
NATO and Afghan forces have killed 29 Taliban fighters and wounded 12 more during an ongoing operation to secure the Alasai valley in Kapisa province. Two senior Taliban commanders were killed in an airstrike in Helmand province. Three civilians were wounded in an IED attack in Kabul. NATO said an additional 4,000 soldiers are needed […]
Iran
Iran’s cheap goods stifle Iraq economy
Iraq
In Mosul, Iraq’s insurgency refuses to be tamed
Afghanistan
In US, more optimism about Iraq, less about Afghanistan
Iraq
Iraqi troops ‘ready to take over Basra’
Pakistan
Pakistan dismisses report US could widen covert war
Pakistan
Sharia courts have opened in Swat while civil courts have ceased activity. The Taliban killed three policeman in Dir and beheaded a “spy” in Peshawar. Security forces killed four Taliban fighters in Mohmand and detained a suicide bombing cell leader in Charsadda.
Iran
Iranian influence, terrorist links, threaten Latin American security
Pakistan
Pakistan’s Swat gets sharia courts
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Cabinet endorses revised Arab anti-terror accord
Jordan
Jordanian terrorists get more than two decades in jail for bomb plot
Yemen
A Yemeni security official said the suicide bomber behind the March 16 attack that killed four South Korean tourists was trained in Somalia. Abdel Rahman Mehdi al Aajbari left his home in Yemen two months ago and wrote a letter to his family telling them they would never see him again.
Philippines
For the second day in a row, Philippine marines battled Abu Sayaff terrorists holding three Red Cross workers hostage on Jolo island. At least six terrorists have been killed and 19 marines have been wounded. The fate of the hostages was uncertain.
Iraq
Young Marine recalls life-changing experiences at COP Karama