Police arrested an Iraqi man who wanted to join al Qaeda in Syria to carry out attacks in the region. “The man wanted to travel to Syria to join al Qaeda and then possibly commit an attack in Iraq or Palestine,” according to a statement by the public prosecutor.
Seven Marines and 13 Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed during heavy fighting near the town of Pakitul in Sulu province. Abu Sayyaf beheaded two of the Marines.
Thirteen Taliban fighters and two policemen were killed during clashes in Logar. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Kandahar, Helmand, Ghazni, Khost, and Paktia.
Iraqi troops killed three civilians during a raid in Balad. Insurgents killed two civilians in a bombing in Taji. The US special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction said Iraq is less safe than it was a year ago.
Al Qaeda will take lessons from the use of the Internet in the Arab Spring, but the lessons it has learned aren’t necessarily the obvious ones.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula killed two Army colonels and five soldiers in attacks in Zinjibar; seven AQAP fighters were also killed during the fighting. The Yemeni Air Force killed 15 tribesmen in air and artillery strikes in Zinjibar.
The State Security Court sentenced three men who were convicted of recruiting individuals to join al Qaeda to five years in prison. The sentences were cut in half. One of the men also plotted to carry out attacks in the region.
A human rights group claimed that Syrian forces killed 20 anti-regime protesters in the cities of Latakia, Hama, Homs, Deraa, Kiswa, Deir al Zor, and Damascus. The government claimed that a soldier was killed in Albu Kamal.
Shabaab forces in Mogadishu killed three African Union soldiers and dragged their bodies through the streets of Mogadishu. Five civilians were also killed during fighting in Mogadishu.
Members of an Islamist militia killed rebel military leader General Abdel Fattah Younes. The Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade is allied with the rebels in fighting President Gaddafi’s regime.
The Al Fida’ forum announced that Muhammad Abdallah Hasan Abu al Khayr, a jihadist who shares the same name as Ayman al Zawahir’s deputy and Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, was killed. The report is not confirmed.
The Taliban killed 19 civilians in two IED attacks in Helmand and two ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in the east. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Kandahar, Khost, Paktika, Logar, Sar-i-Pul.
Former officials: Al-Qaida still likely to use WMD
Top US officials debate drone strikes in Pakistan
Islamists suspected over Libyan rebel death
The UN added the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan to the sanctions list for global terrorist activities. Leaders Hakeemullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman were added in October 2010. The UK’s ambassador to the UN said the Afghan Taliban were not added to the list in order to help the reconciliation process.
In West Africa, Some Heroes of the Ballot Box Have a Tenuous Grip on Power
A British couple seized by UK special forces at a hotel in Herat, Afghanistan, last week on suspicion of terrorist activity will be transferred to the UK. In Bristol, Bilal Zaheer Ahmad, 24, an IT worker with dual British and Pakistani citizenship, was jailed for 12 years for posting online threats encouraging attacks on British […]
Groups quit Egypt rally saying hijacked by Islamists
The rebel movement’s military leader, Abdel Fatta Younes, was shot dead yesterday after being called from the front lines to meet with other rebel leaders. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, leader of the Transitional National Council, said the head of a suspect armed cell had been arrested but the killers were still at large.
India gave Pakistan a list of 50 wanted fugitives believed to have committed terrorist acts in India. The list includes five majors in the Pakistani Army as well as Ilyas Kashmiri, who was rumored to have been killed in a June 3 airstrike.
Antiterrorism police arrested an Indian man in the Baluwatar neighborhood of Katmandu who is suspected of involvement in the July 13 bombings in Mumbai; this is the first arrest in the investigation.
Military Chiefs in Turkey Seek to Retire en Masse
A jihadist who shares the same name as Ayman al Zawahiri’s deputy and Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law is said to have been killed. As the martyrdom announcement was not released through official al Qaeda channels, the report is unconfirmed.
India to press Pakistan on fugitives
Hafiz Gul Bahadar’s spokesman said reports that Bahadar ordered Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan leader Hakeemullah Mehsud and others to leave the tribal agency were “fabricated.”
Tens of thousands of protesters affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups filled Tahrir Square in Cairo today, calling for the imposition of Sharia law. In al-Arish, Salafist demonstrators fired RPGs into the air, injuring a boy; and in Assiut, Salafists beat up a group of Communists.
Analysis: Pirates eye share of Gulf of Guinea riches
Egypt Islamists, others rally for unity, tensions show
Libyan rebel leader killed: death shows divisions within movement