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
The Independent Election Commission has completed the vote count and said preliminary results would be released on Aug. 25. Forty Taliban fighters were killed in Helmand province and 21 more were killed in Baghlan. Two British soldiers were killed in an IED attack in Helmand and one US soldier was killed in an IED attack […]
Two suicide bombers killed four policemen in Grozny. The Riyad Us Saliheen martyr brigade officially took credit for the June 17 suicide truck bombing in Nazran, Ingushetia, and the recent destruction of the hydroelectric dam, which caused many civilian deaths. The Caucasus Emirate has announced the start of an “economic war” focusing on industrial sabotage.
Karzai, chief rival claim victory in Afghan vote
UK condemns celebrations for Lockerbie bomber
The government will allow for greater IAEA monitoring of the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. President Ahmadinejad appointed a terror suspect to head the defense ministry. Iran launched its first domestically built container ship in the Persian Gulf.
Bombs hurt Maliki case that Iraq can guard itself
Taliban threats and attacks take toll on polls as voters stay away
High voter turnout in the heart of Taliban territory
Anger at Lockerbie bomber welcome
Jihadis respond to Hamas attack on Jund Ansar Allah
Despite low turnout, Afghan vote declared a success
Sri Lanka to train Pak army
Two Hellfire missiles targeted a senior Haqqani Network commander and an al Qaeda operative in a town that is home to the Haqqanis’ main madrassa.
Three hundred suspected members of Darul Islam, including women and children, have been deported to neighboring Niger. The deportation of the Islamic sect members is likely the beginning of the expulsion of illegal aliens participating in the Islamic sect based in Mokwa in northern Nigeria. Three thousand members of Darul Islam were detained last Saturday […]
Hizbul Islam retook control of the town of Luq while Shabaab took control of Bulo Hawo on the Kenyan border just one day after Ahlu Sunna Waljama™a said it was in control. The government said it took control of Bulobarde, but residents claim Shabaab is in control and chased forces all the way to Beledweyne; […]
Scotland frees terminally ill Lockerbie bomber