Somalia
Shabaab said Bilal al Berjawi, a British national who has waged jihad in Somali for years, was killed in an airstrike. Shabaab claimed it defeated African Union and Somali forces that advanced outside of Mogadishu.
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Egypt
Islamist parties won the elections for the Egyptian parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party won 47 percent of the seats and the hardline Salafi al-Nour party won 24 percent.
Afghanistan
Afghan asylum bids hit 10-year high
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda planner had ties to UK extremists
Afghanistan
Norway – Demonstration a white elephant
Afghanistan
Secret Talks with Taliban Will Not Lead to Peace: Abdullah
Afghanistan
NATO Not Dependent On Pakistan Supply Route
Egypt
Islamists secure top spot in new Egypt parliament
Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s Karzai says he met with insurgent faction Hizb-i-Islami for peace talks
Syria
US Moves to Shut Embassy in Syria
Afghanistan
Marine tape reaction sets Taliban fighters against commanders
Nigeria
Boko Haram killed more than 140 people during a series of blasts, including a suicide bombing, and shootings in Kano. Boko Haram claimed credit for the attacks, which targeted police and immigration buildings. A curfew has been imposed in the city.
Libya
Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have found undeclared chemical weapons left over from Gaddafi’s regime. Hundreds of Islamists gathered in Tripoli to demand the imposition of sharia.
Thailand
Police have issued an arrest warrant for a second Hezbollah operative who is involved with a plot to conduct attacks against Westerners in Thailand. Atris Hussein, who is in custody, claimed the bomb materials found at his office were planted by Israel’s Mossad.
China
Major powers divided on approach to Iran
Pakistan
Pakistan – Takeover of Christian property: Opposition minority members decry government in Punjab
Pakistan
TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud is alive: Report
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Great Salt Desert bunker could be trigger for an attack on Iran
Al Qaeda
US officials believe that the Jan. 11 drone strike in Miramshah, North Waziristan, killed Aslam Awan, a deputy to the leader of al Qaeda’s external operations network. Awan is a Pakistani national from Abbottabad who is also known as Abdullah Khorasani.
Pakistan
No intention to sack Kayani, Pasha: Pak govt
Afghanistan
Pakistan: Is up to Parliament to open NATO supply lines
Pakistan
A German and an Italian who work for an NGO have been kidnapped in Multan. Two people were killed in bombings in Khyber.
Afghanistan
France suspended its training mission and threatened to withdraw after an Afghan soldier killed four French troops in Kapisa. Six US Marines were killed in a helicopter crash in Helmand.
Iran
Japan said it would continue to cut imports of Iranian oil. The major powers said they were open to renewed talks with Iran. After Iranian warnings, a US aircraft carrier sailed into waters off Iran. The UK banned Iranian state TV from British airwaves.
Yemen
“Gunmen” killed three policemen during an attack on a checkpoint in Aden. The al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader who took control of Rada’a said “the Islamic Caliphate is coming.”
Somalia
African Union forces have advanced outside of Mogadishu for the first time to battle Shabaab forces. Six people were killed in a suicide attack at a refugee camp in Mogadishu. A Somali militia claimed it killed a Shabaab leader in Dusamereb.
Israel
Israeli intelligence arrested 10 members of an Islamic Jihad cell suspected of plotting attacks against Israeli military and civilian targets. The group is in merger talks with Hamas, and its armed wing, Al Quds Brigades, claims to have 8,000 fighters. The Israeli army arrested the Palestinian parliamentary speaker, a member of Hamas.
Nigeria
Authorities offered a bounty of $310,000 for information leading to the recapture of Boko Haram bomber Kabiru Umar, a.k.a. Kabiru Sotoko, who escaped shortly after his arrest on Tuesday. The head of Nigeria’s police is likely to lose his job over the incident.
AQAP commander says ‘the Islamic Caliphate is coming’
Tariq al Dhahab, the brother-in-law of Anwar al Awalki, has called for the release of al Qaeda prisoners in Yemen and the imposition of sharia, or Islamic law.
Caucasus
Author Q&A: ‘The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus’