Monthly Archives: May 2010

Iraq

Iraqi PM condemns killing of rival politician




Mauritania

Three admitted members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have been given the death penalty by a court in Nouakchott. The three were convicted of the murder of four French tourists in the town of Aleg in December 2007. However, it is likely be downgraded to life imprisonment in appeals. Sixteen suspected AQIM members […]


Lashkar-e-Taiba

Pakistan’s Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to free Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed from prison. The court said the government has not presented any evidence linking Saeed to terrorism or the November 2008 terror assault on Mumbai, India, which was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives.


Yemen

An airstrike killed the deputy governor of Marib province, five of his bodyguards, and two al Qaeda operatives. Two American tourists kidnapped by a tribe have been freed. A Yemeni court upheld the sentence of death for two Iranian “spies.”



Yet another ‘al Qaeda guy’ killed in Afghanistan

More in our continuing series documenting the mysterious “al Qaeda guys” whose existence in Afghanistan is doubted by blogger Michael Yon; courtesy of ISAF: A combined Afghan-international security force killed a key al Qaeda leader and several other enemy fighters in a fierce gun battle in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, May 25, military officials reported. The […]


Pentagon ups intel capabilities in the Middle East

The New York Times ran a front page story yesterday with some details of a seven-page directive signed in September 2009 by Central Command’s General David Petraeus sending more clandestine military forces throughout the Middle East. Because the order is classified, only portions were discussed in the Times article. Petraeus’ order expands on similar moves […]








Iran

Secretary of State Clinton said Iran’s letter to the IAEA had “deficiencies.” Iranian police warned opposition leaders not to protest in commemoration of last June’s controversial presidential election. Tehran released filmmaker Jafar Panahi from Evin prison.










Pakistan

Security forces killed 38 Taliban fighters in Arakzai and one more in Bajaur; 26 were detained in Bajaur. Five Taliban fighters surrendered in Swat. Two civilians were killed in a bombing in Quetta.


Iraq

Insurgents killed a newly elected politician and two civilians in attacks in Mosul, and a US soldier in an undisclosed location. Security forces detained 12 wanted men in Basrah.


Somalia

A bombing at a military checkpoint in Mogadishu killed a Somali soldier and wounded 12 others. After taking control of northern Mogadishu, Shabaab vowed to overrun the Presidential Palace.


India

The Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad arrested Abdul Samad Bhatkal at the Bajpe airport. Bhatkal is thought to be a key conspirator with Lashkar-e-Taiba in the 2008 terror assault on Mumbai that killed 165 people.



Afghanistan

Afghan forces killed seven Taliban fighters in Ghazni and detained seven more in Kabul. Afghan and Coalition forces detained a Taliban commander and an undisclosed number of fighters in Kandahar, Kunduz, Logar, and Helmand. The Taliban killed five civilians in Farah and two ISAF soldiers in attacks in the south. The national peace jirga has […]