Al Qaeda in Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaeda’s front group, called for Egyptians to “wage jihad” and establish a state based on Shariah. The terror group said Egyptians should ignore “rotten pagan nationalism.”
Monthly Archives: February 2011
Al Qaeda
US – New strategy calls for redefined leadership
Germany
Prosecutors charged a man holding dual German-Turkish citizenship with supporting al Qaeda. The man, identified only as Adnan V., wanted to bring “jihad to Germany” and tried to procure items to make a bomb.
Indonesia
A Muslim mob rampaged in Java after a court passed down a five year sentence to a Christian accused of insulting Islam. The mob torched two churches and stormed the courthouse.
Al Qaeda in Iraq
US – Homegrown terror plots focus of hearings
Afghanistan
Brigade commanders provide north Afghanistan update
Afghanistan
Taliban commander Anwar ul Haq Mujahid spoke at the funeral of Awar Gul, a Guantanamo Bay detainee. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in the south. ISAF accidentally killed two civilians during a firefight with the Taliban in Helmand.
Tora Bora Military Front commander speaks at funeral of former Gitmo detainee
Anwar ul Haq Mujahid, who had formerly been detained and released by Pakistan, spoke at Awar Gul’s funeral in Nangarhar province. An official Taliban statement was read, praising Gul as “the renowned commander.” In addition, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for the release of a top Taliban official from Guantanamo.
Pakistan
The Taliban killed two soldiers and a policeman in IED attacks in Bannu and Peshawar, and bombed 13 trucks, including four NATO fuel tankers in Peshawar. A US inspector general report said USAID has not shown that more than $4 billion in funds for Pakistan has been properly spent.
Iraq
A brigadier in the Iraqi Army was killed in an IED attack close to his home in Baghdad. A group called for protests to be held at Tahrir Square in Baghdad on Feb. 25; the group is calling the planned event the “Iraqi Rage Revolution.”
Yemen
Police reportedly recovered remains of a US Predator UAV strike aircraft which supposedly crashed near the village of Jahayn near Lauder in Abyan province. Al Qaeda fighters are said to have intercepted the police and taken charge of the debris.
Haqqani Network
Report: US needs to show progress on Pakistan aid
Afghanistan
Pakistan taxes Afghan-bound goods, NATO still exempt
Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood eyes comeback in Egypt
Iraq
In Kirkuk, a test of US peacekeepers’ lasting impact
Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian Army remain aloof from protests
Editor’s note: Steven Sotloff is a Yemen-based Adjunct Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who is currently reporting from Cairo. Ever since protests broke out in Egypt on Jan. 25 calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, much speculation has focused on two groups: the military and the Muslim Brotherhood. Both have […]
Afghanistan
US Joint Chiefs chairman says military must focus beyond Iraq and Afghanistan
Bahrain
Gulf leaders hear rumblings of dissent
Afghanistan
Afghan leader: NATO reconstruction bases to go
Iran
Turkey announced that it would not take action against Turkish citizens accused of smuggling missile components into Iran. Iran’s ambassador to India complained that the US is blocking strong Iran-India cooperation. The Iranian opposition criticized the government three days ahead of the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
Egypt
Tribesmen in Jordan issue urgent call for political reform
No 3rd term for Maliki?
Various news outlets have reported on recent comments by Nouri al-Maliki stipulating that he will not seek a third term as Iraq’s prime minister. From The Washington Post: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that he will not seek a third term in office, in a sign that even Iraq’s newly installed and democratically elected […]
Russia
Doku Umarov, the emir of the Islamic Caucasus Emirate, claimed credit for the Jan. 24 suicide attack at an airport in Moscow that killed 35 people. “This special operation was carried out on my orders and, Allah willing, special operations like it will continue to be carried out,” Umarov said.
Caucasus Emirate leader claims Moscow airport suicide attack
Doku Umarov, the emir of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Caucasus Emirate, claimed the Jan. 24 suicide attack at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow that killed 35 people and wounded scores more.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed two ISAF soldiers in separate attacks in the south, a district governor in Khost, and a civilian in a suicide attack in Kandahar. Security forces killed one Taliban fighter and detained 10 more in Helmand and Parwan. Ten Taliban fighters surrendered in Kunduz.
Iraq
Insurgents killed a policeman and a woman in a bombing in Babil. Security forces detained 18 wanted men in Basrah. Officials said 229 insurgents surrendered to the government since July 2010.
Afghanistan
Afghan, NATO forces brace for spring offensive
Sudan
US to review Sudan terror designation
Somalia
Ten people were killed during clashes between government forces and clans in Buhodle in Somaliland. Shabaab chopped off the hand of a teenage boy for stealing. A Shabaab leader said government workers and African Union troops should be killed.
Geography and history of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region
This presentation, based on a recent lecture that I delivered, examines the geography and history of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, as it applies to the current challenges that the US confronts in the region. The presentation covers several historical themes, including Afghanistan’s history of foreign invasion, how leaders gain legitimacy, center-periphery relations, and the Afghanistan-Pakistan relationship.