Five civilians were killed after Hizbul Islam attacked an AMISOM base on the Makka al Mukarama road, which connects the Presidential palace and the airport in Mogadishu. Soldiers killed a sixth civilian in Dharkeynley district when a roadside bomb targeted them. Seven pirates were killed by AU peacekepers after they boarded a merchant ship and […]
The FBI arrested Michael Finton, a Muslim convert who goes by the name of Talib Islam, for attempting blow up the federal courthouse in Springfield, Illinois, on behalf of al Qaeda. Finton twice attempted to use a cell phone to remotely detonate what he believed was a car bomb parked in front of the court. […]
9/11 plotters get ‘My Lai’ tape to prepare for trial
Saeed is in custody, believes Pak PM
Five ISAF soldiers were killed during three separate engagements. Afghan and Coalition forces killed 20 Taliban fighters in Helmand and Nimroz provinces and detained six Haqqani Network fighters in Khost. Five Taliban fighters were killed during clashes between two rival groups in Herat.
Iranian officials admitted to building a second, secret enrichment facility. Western governments accused Iran of constructing the secret underground plant to manufacture nuclear fuel for weapons. Geneva will host the 5+1 talks on Iran’s nuclear program on Oct. 1.
A US airstrike killed eight Haqqani Network fighters in an attack in North Waziristan. The Taliban killed seven pro-government tribal leaders during an attack in Bannu. The military killed eight Taliban fighters in Malakand and detained three more in Hangu.
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.
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 […]
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 […]
US -Terror suspect is charged with plot to use bombs
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.
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.
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 […]
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.
Security worsens as Taliban move into northern 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 […]
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 […]
Pak seeks more time to probe Saeed’s role in 26/11 attacks
Iraqi city under curfew after prison break
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.
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 […]
Taliban widen Afghan attacks from base in Pakistan
Gaddafi compares Taliban state to Vatican
McChrystal to hand in troop request, but Gates will hold on to it
Russia ‘rethinks’ Iran sanctions
Empowered by the US, imprisoned by Iraqis
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 […]
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 external operations op tempo