Al Qaeda
US sanctions Iran-based al Qaeda; Zawahiri promises fighters to Yemen
Yearly Archives: 2009
Khyber Pass closed ‘indefinitely’ after Taliban attacks
A new operation is launched in an attempt to clear the route to Afghanistan of marauding Taliban forces. The pass has been closed five times since September 2008.
Somalia
I’m a successful Somali pirate: Yassin’s story
United Kingdom
UK: Three men helped July 7 bombers
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba’s spokesman said the group supports “the freedom of Kashmir … though peaceful means” and denied the group supports global jihad. He also denied involvement in the November 2008 Mumbai terror assault. A pamphlet produced by Lashkar-e-Taiba advocated the restoration of the Islamic caliphate and jihad against the US and Israel.
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Maulana Masood Azhar is sheltering in North Waziristan after the Indians pressured Pakistan to extradite him. Pakistan’s defense minister said Azhar was under house arrest in December 2008. Azhar appointed his younger brother Mufti Abdul Rauf as the acting leader of the group.
Israel
Why Arab states are unmoved by plight of Hamas: most fear Muslim militancy despite their dislike of Israel
Algeria
The plague kills 40 al Qaeda
Pakistani Taliban: ‘Suicide bombers are the atomic weapons of Muslims’
South Waziristan Taliban commander and child suicide bomber trainer Qari Hussain releases Taliban propaganda video to the press in the provincial capital of Peshawar.
Egypt
Egypt detains Brotherhood members
Pakistan
Qari Hussain released a Taliban suicide bomber tape to the media in Peshawar. One soldier and 15 Taliban fighters were killed in clashes in Mohmand. Five Taliban fighters and a tribesman were killed in a clash with security forces in Lakki Marwat. One paramilitary troop and two civilians were killed in Swat.
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda threatened to attack German soldiers for their involvement in Afghanistan. “Your soldiers are safe nowhere,” a masked terrorist said in German on a videotape released on the Internet by As Sahab, al Qaeda’s propaganda outlet.
Iraq
Iraqi forces detained 97 wanted men in Basrah, 35 in Hillah, eight in Khalis, five in Tal Afar, three in Baghdad, and one more in Amarah. The deputy of the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue was killed in a suicide bombing in the Sharqat district in Ninewa province. A US soldier was killed in an […]
Afghanistan
The Taliban claimed control of 70 percent of rural Afghanistan and set up a shadow government with police, courts, and sharia law. The NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the Afghan government is “ineffective” and said officials were almost as much to blame for the insurgency as the Taliban.
Israel
Hamas: Abbas’s spies led Israel to Siam
Israel
Hamas and Islamic Jihad announced a cease-fire in Gaza starting immediately and have given Israel a week to withdraw from Gaza. Hamas fired 17 rockets into southern Israel just prior to the announcement. Israeli intelligence said Hamas will resume arms smuggling to Gaza within a few months.
Pakistan
Pakistan concedes India has got proof against Pak nationals
Pakistan
Pakistan: 13 Taliban killed in Mohmand Agency clashes
Saudi Arabia
In an effort to stem religious extremism, King Abdullah Bin Abd Al Aziz announced that the government would crack down on “ill-considered” fatwas, or religious edicts, issued by unqualified scholars. Abdullah noted the fatwas are largely promulgated via satellite television channels, the Internet, and other forms of mass communications.
Algeria
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb members slit the throat of a customs official in near Ain Defla west of Algiers. The official was stopped by a group of 10 terrorists who set up a fake checkpoint. An Algerian was one of six detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
Israel
Israel, Hamas hold fire for now in Gaza
Al Qaeda
US sends home six Guantanamo prisoners | Reuters
Iran
Iran says jails accused in US-backed plot: report
Malaysia
Malaysia Islamists in decisive by-election win
Somalia
The UN announced that it would support a Somali peacekeeping mission. Shabaab fighters killed three Somalis during attacks on AMISOM bases in Mogadishu. The Puntland president appointed a new cabinet, along with a seven-member military commission.
Iraq
Iraq’s foreign minister said Iranian influence is on the decline. A court in Dhi Qhar is prosecuting 48 Mahdi Army fighters for murder. Iraqi forces detained six insurgents in Basrah, five in eastern Baghdad, and two in Mosul. A policeman and two soldiers were killed in Mosul.
Pakistan
The Taliban murdered a “US spy” in North Waziristan and bombed a girls’ school in Bannu. Bombings were reported in Malakand, Nowshera, and Kohat. Baitullah Mehsud threatened to teach a “historic lesson” to Israel.
Afghanistan
A US soldier and four Afghans were killed in a suicide attack outside of the German Embassy in Kabul; another suicide attack killed an Afghan in Nangarhar. One US soldier was killed in a helicopter crash in Kunar.
Israel
Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire in Gaza and said troops will remain until rocket attacks stop. Hamas vowed to continue fighting and fired seven rockets into Israel after the cease-fire was declared.
Osama’s son coordinates call between Zawahiri and Iran’s Qods Force
Sa’ad bin Laden facilitated communications between Ayman al Zawahiri and the Iranians after the September 2008 assault on the US embassy in Sana’a, Yemen.