Haqqani Network
North Waziristan — a first-hand account
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Syria
Outgunned Syria rebels make shift to bombs
Al Qaeda
Documents reveal al Qaeda’s plans for seizing cruise ships, carnage in Europe
Syria
Two bombs struck a government compound in the northern city of Idlib. Rockets hit the central bank in Damascus, killing nine and wounding 100. The government blamed the opposition, but the opposition denied involvement.
Sweden
Sweden’s defense ‘not fit for battle’: expert
Yemen
Security forces killed 12 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters outside of Lawdar. AQAP confirmed that Mohammed Saeed al Umda was killed in the April 22 US drone strike; al Umda served as Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard in Afghanistan.
Somalia
AMISOM claimed it has defeated Shabaab in Mogadishu, and the al Qaeda-linked group has been expelled from the capital. Shabaab took control of Radio Markabley in Bardere.
Nigeria
A Boko Haram suicide bomber killed 11 people and wounded more than 20 in an attack on a police convoy in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba state. A senior police official who was traveling in the convoy escaped unhurt.
United States
World Trade Center Back on Top of New York’s Skyline
Afghanistan
Doubts of victory surface in war on Afghan poppy crops
Egypt
Egypt Military Bends to Islamist Will
Philippines
Philippines Role May Grow as US Adjusts Asia Strategy
Al Qaeda
Al-Qaeda ‘will free British hostage’ if Abu Qatada can go where he wants
Sudan
Ugandan army says Sudan is backing Joseph Kony’s LRA
Iran
China wants drastic US, Russia nuclear arms cuts
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb offered to free a British hostage in exchange for the release of extremist cleric Abu Qatada to a country of his choice or to any of the “states of the Arab Spring.” The terror group also threatened “consequences” for the UK if Qatada is instead deported to Jordan.
Denmark
A Danish army officer faces charges of dereliction of duty for failing to ascertain that four Afghans he targeted for a helicopter strike were not insurgents. One of the suspected terrorists arrested in Copenhagen last week, an athlete who in 2009 rejected an offer to play on the national football team, had posted pro-al Qaeda […]
United Kingdom
The military plans to install missile batteries in London to defend the Olympic Games from terrorist attacks. Plans also call for 13,500 soldiers to assist police during the Games, considerably more than the 9,500 British soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
Al Qaeda names new emir for Pakistan: report
Farman Shinwari, like his predecessor, has close ties to the Harakat-ul-Mujahideen and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.
AQAP confirms commander linked to Osama bin Laden killed in drone strike
Mohammed Saeed al Umda, who was killed in the April 22 airstrike in Marib, served as a member of Osama bin Laden’s “special bodyguard” before returning to Yemen to become a military commander.
Al Nusrah Front claims credit for suicide bombing in Damascus
The suicide attack killed 11 people. The Syrian resistance has claimed that the attack was executed by the country’s security forces.
Afghanistan
Pakistan, US reach accord on restoring NATO supplies
Afghanistan
Afghan Taliban deny holding new talks with US
Al Qaeda
Bin Laden family not tied to terrorism: Saudi Arabia
Al Qaeda
Files recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, show that the al Qaeda leader and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri were in contact with Afghan Taliban emir Mullah Omar. The terror leaders plotted strategy in Afghanistan up to two weeks before bin Laden was killed.
Pakistan
US drones killed four “militants” in a strike in Miramshah bazaar in North Waziristan. A German jihadist was killed in the March 9 drone strike in South Waziristan. Two people died in a bombing in Khyber.
Afghanistan
Afghan forces killed 27 insurgents, including seven Pakistanis and Saudis, in an operation in Helmand. In other incidents, five Taliban fighters and two policemen were killed; and the Taliban freed 14 policemen in Badakhshan.
Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released the 73 Yemeni soldiers who had been captured in Al Koud when their base was overrun in early March. Ansar al Sharia announced that AQAP leader Nasir al Wuhayshi is its emir.
Syria
Lebanon detained a ship that was transporting weapons, some with Libyan markings, for Syrian rebels. In a seaborne assault, Syrian rebels attacked an army unit on the Mediterranean coast. Hundreds of army soldiers defected to the rebels.
Somalia
Eight people were killed in attacks in and around Mogadishu. Shabaab and government and AMISOM troops clashed in two districts, while Shabaab bombed a theater. Fifteen suspected Shabaab fighters were detained in Hudur.