Libya
Panetta says Libya faces long, difficult transition
Monthly Archives: December 2011
United States
Waad Ramadan Alwan, a former Iraqi insurgent, pled guilty to terror charges in a Kentucky federal court. He came to the US as a refugee in 2009, and in 2010 was arrested along with Mohanad Shareef Hammadi for attempting to send money and weapons to al Qaeda in Iraq.
Canada
Canada – Tories’ ‘most-wanted’ list thwarts efforts to deport alleged war criminals
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Dead or alive in Mindanao
Afghanistan
Pakistan says it returned fire in deadly NATO border attack
Pakistan
Twenty Taliban fighters and a Pakistani soldier were killed in a clash in Arakzai after the Taliban hit a military convoy with an IED. Twenty-five Pakistani soldiers were wounded while repelling the attack.
Russia
Khadzhimurad Kamalov, a journalist and founder of the political newspaper Chernovik (‘Rough Copy’), was shot dead in the republic of Dagestan. Journalists at Chernovik, known for its independent reporting on corruption in the local administration, have been routinely persecuted for their work.
Afghanistan
Security forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Hemand, Kandahar, Khost, Paktia, Logar, and Wardak. A Taliban fighter lobbed grenades at a police station in Kabul; no one was injured.
Iran
Russia seized 18 pieces of Sodium-22, a radioactive metal, from the suitcase of a passenger who was traveling to Iran. The military said it would shoot down any US drones that violate its airspace.
US transfers dangerous Hezbollah leader involved in murder of 5 US soldiers to Iraqi custody
Musa Ali Daqduq, who was tasked with establishing a Hezbollah-like Shia terror group in Iraq, and who was involved in the 2007 attack on US troops in Karbala, is now in Iraqi custody.
Hezbollah
The US released Hezbollah commander Musa Ali Daqduq to Iraqi custody. Daqduq was tasked by Iran to train the Mahdi Army to operate like Hezbollah, and was also involved in the murder of five US soldiers in Karbala in January 2007.
Haqqani Network
‘ISI chief Pasha visited Arab countries to discuss military coup in Pakistan’
Al Qaeda
Norway PST an ‘international pipsqueak’
Abdullah Azzam Brigades
Pakistani Tribal Areas Lose A ‘Voice For The Voiceless’
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Algeria and Mauritania’s leaders vowed to beef up security in the Sahel region, where Islamist militants are holding a dozen Western hostages. Security analysts warn that al-Qaeda’s North African branch seeks to turn the region into “a new Somalia.”
United States
Families of 9/11 victims won a default judgment in a Manhattan federal court against Iran, Hezbollah, the Taliban, and al Qaeda. The court found that Imad Mugniyah, a senior Hezbollah operative, had served as a liaison between Iran and al Qaeda and helped Osama bin Laden develop a suicide bombing strategy.
Iran
Amid Claims of More Captured Drones, a Report on Their Vulnerability
Pakistan
The Pakistani government continues to insist the US strike in Mohmand that killed 24 Pakistani troops was a deliberate attack on the military. Police thwarted a terrorist attack in Laki Marwat.
Taliban camps remain in operation in South Waziristan
Journalists encountered “fighters from Turkmenistan” while moving to the Taliban training camp.
Afghanistan
Crashed drone was looking at Iran nuclear sites
Afghanistan
Afghanistan has recalled its ambassador from Qatar for “consultations,” the Afghan foreign ministry announced, amid media reports over the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar. Nearly 250 Taliban fighters, including a wanted commander, surrendered to authorities in Badghis. Two Taliban commanders were killed in Nimroz.
Europe
Eurozone crisis poses military risk, warns defence chief General Sir David Richards
Afghanistan
War should stop before peace talks: Afghan leaders
Afghanistan
Air Force Deploys Newest Armed Stealth Drone To Afghanistan
Afghanistan
US finds some abuses by Afghan village police
Shabaab
Somalia’s Rebels Embrace Twitter as a Weapon
Al Qaeda
US War in Iraq Declared Officially Over
Somalia
Shabaab fighters blocked two International Committee of the Red Cross convoys carrying emergency food aid. Aid worker sources said Shabaab wanted to check “the quality” of the food. The Somali Peace Alliance has welcomed Djiboutian peacekeeping forces to help stabilize Somalia.
Afghanistan
Karzai only supports Afghan-led talks: spokesman
US adds Abdullah Azzam Brigades commander to terrorist list
Saleh al Qarawi, a top leader of the Lebanon-based terror group, fought with Abu Musab al Zarqawi in Fallujah. Qarawi was ordered by Zarqawi to form the terror group to conduct attacks in the Middle East.