Afghanistan
Rogers: Taliban ‘stronger’ than it was two years ago
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Syria
Analysis: West doubtful of U.N. Syria peace push, no Plan B
Iran
Iran held runoff elections for Parliament. President Ahmadinejad’s faction suffered a major setback as rival conservative and independent candidates won 52 of 65 seats.
Egypt
More than 370 were injured during demonstrations against Egypt’s ruling generals. Security forces detained more than 300 after the demonstration. A curfew was imposed.
Mali
Members of the Islamist militia Ansar Dine attacked and burned the tomb of a Sufi saint in Timbuktu, and threatened Muslim worshipers on their way to the shrine, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Over the past year, Islamic extremists have attacked Sufi shrines in Egypt and Libya as well.
United Kingdom
Authorities filed terrorism charges against Adrian Wall, 47; Liiban Nursharif, 30; and Daud Ali, 40, who were arrested with four others all believed to be part of a khat-smuggling operation that funded terrorism. Ali was also charged for having a fake Norwegian passport. The four other suspects remain in custody.
Al Qaeda
CERN Scientist Sentenced to 5 Years in Terrorism Case
Al Qaeda
Egyptian Clashes Draw in Islamists
Al Qaeda
Chaotic start to Guantanamo arraignment of 9/11 suspects
Analysis: Spinning Iran and al Qaeda, part 1
A new report by the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point, which has been widely cited, concludes that relations between Iran and al Qaeda are “antagonistic.” Documents showing collusion between the two were not released by the CTC, however. And the CTC ignored much other evidence that got in the way of its conclusion.
Bin Laden docs: Al Qaeda asserts authority in letter to Pakistani Taliban leader
The letter shows a confident al Qaeda leadership working to maintain order and consistent behavior within the ranks of its affiliates in Pakistan.
United States
US special forces commander seeks expansion of operations
Afghanistan
Panetta warns US troops to avoid scandals
Pakistan
Pakistan – Security breach: Distance terror planning from prison cells
US drones kill 10 in North Waziristan
The strike took place in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan. Al Qaeda and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan have sheltered in the area in the past.
Afghanistan
US doesn’t expect Pakistan to reopen Afghan war supply routes soon
Afghanistan
Security forces killed 13 Taliban fighters in Helmand and Laghman, and detained several commanders and fighters in Khost, Ghazni, and Kunduz. The Taliban killed two British soldiers in Helmand.
Kenya
Human Rights Watch accused the Kenyan military and police of abusing ethnic Somalis in North Eastern province. The abuses are in response to IED and other attacks by Shabaab fighters in the region.
Germany
Terrorism charges were brought against Abdeladim El-Kebir, 30, a Moroccan who headed an al Qaeda cell in Dusseldorf that planned Mumbai-type attacks in Europe. Also charged were Jamil S., 32, a German-Moroccan; Amid C., 20, a German-Iranian; and Halil S., 27, a German citizen. A New York court indicted El-Kabir in 2011 for his role […]
France
Adlene Hicheur, 35, an Algerian-born particle physicist at the Cern laboratory, has been sentenced to five years in prison for plotting al Qaeda attacks in France. He had engaged in e-mail conversations with alleged al Qaeda operative Mustapha Debchi, and was suspected after threats were sent to President Sarkozy in 2008.
Belgium
Security forces arrested Algerian national Abdelkader Ayachine, who headed an al Qaeda-linked cell in Burgos, Spain. Ayachine had fled to Belgium in 2011 after he was arrested in Spain along with five other cell members.
United States
Maryland resident Mohammad Hassan Khalid, 18, a Pakistani citizen, pled guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, in the “Jihad Jane” case. An Algerian co-conspirator, Ali Charaf Damache, 46, is being held in Ireland on an unrelated criminal charge.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan – NATO Troop Withdrawal Impacting Foreign Direct Investment: AISA
IAEA
Iran dismisses Western demand to close nuclear bunker
Osama requested safe house in Peshawar for his son Hamza
In the past, al Qaeda has not shied away from putting its top leaders in Pakistan’s major cities.
Taliban suicide bomber kills 20 in Pakistan’s northwest
The movement of the Taliban claimed credit for the suicide bombing in Pakistan’s contested tribal agency of Bajaur.
Pakistan
Pakistan wants alternative to drone attacks: FO
NATO
Russia’s military threatens preemptive strike if NATO goes ahead with missile plan
Afghan intelligence thwarts 3rd major terror plot in Kabul
Afghan officials interdicted a truck carrying 1,000 kilograms of explosives in eastern Kabul, preventing a major catastrophe and marking the third major terror plot broken up since April 13.
Afghanistan
Two Taliban fighters and a soldier were killed in fighting in Kunar. Six Taliban fighters died in a premature detonation in a mosque in Paktia. Security forces foiled a suicide attack in Kabul and captured an IMU leader in Kunduz.