The Taliban killed six Afghan soldiers in Musa Qala in Helmand; 11 policemen defected to the Taliban in Musa Qala. The Taliban killed a district police chief in Ghor and an ISAF soldier in the south. Police killed six Taliban fighters in Logar, Ghazni, and Herat.
US is the driving force behind the fighting in Somalia
Indonesia: Christians say govt should help them before aiding Myanmar Muslims
Sinai Attack a ‘Wake-Up Call’ to Egypt, Israel Says
Turkish jihadist websites announced the “martyrdom” of Osman Karahan, publicly known as the lawyer defending al Qaeda members in Turkey.
Riyad Hijab: Syrian prime minister’s defection dents edifice of Syria’s regime
US helps the Philippines improve its military capability
World won’t abandon Afghanistan: ISAF
Eleven members of al Qaeda in Iraq were caught while attempting to escape from the Abu Ghraib prison. Iraq’s oil pipeline through Turkey was shut down after a blast in Turkey.
In the highest-level defection to date, Syria’s Prime Minister fled to Jordan along with two ministers and three military officers. A bomb exploded in the Damascus headquarters of the state TV channel. The US granted a license to a Syrian support group allowing them to raise funds to equip Syrian rebels.
Yemeni officials said that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula still has a strong presence in much of Abyan province, and security forces are spread too thin. The Aden petroleum refinery has reopened after a nine-month shutdown due to terror attacks in the south.
The Somali government claimed its forces killed 20 Shabaab fighters during a clash in Afgoye. Two people were killed in an IED attack in Mogadishu. The manager of Mogadishu’s airport was gunned down.
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Mali Militias Poorly Armed, but Zealous to Oust Islamists
Mogadishu transforms one year on from al-Shabaab exit
Islamists in northern Mali have recruited hundreds of children for use as fighters and sex slaves, according to the Malian Coalition of Child Rights, a group of 78 organizations. In Gao, “hundreds of youths” prevented the Islamist group MUJAO from carrying out a sharia punishment of amputation.
President Aziz said Mauritania would not intervene militarily against the Islamist takeover in Mali, but warned that the growing terrorist risk “can be a catastrophe for the entire world.” He promised Mauritanian assistance with international efforts to stabilize Mali.
An explosion in Mardin province near the Syrian border damaged a pipeline that carries oil into Turkey from Iraq; the pipeline will be closed for up to 10 days. Kurdish militants from the PKK are suspected of sabotage in the blast.
A judge ruled that Eldar Magomedov (a.k.a. Ahmad Avar) and Muhammad Adamov can be detained unconditionally. Magomedov, a former member of the Russian special forces, had received terrorist training in Pakistan; Adamov was trained in Afghanistan. The pair allegedly plotted with al Qaeda facilitator Cengiz Yalcin to bomb targets in Gibraltar via remote-controlled aircraft.
Russia: About 40 terrorist, extremist crimes committed in Moscow in six months – prosecutor
More than 10 Egyptian soldiers were killed as an al Qaeda-linked terror group overran an outpost, seized two armored personnel carriers, and crossed into Israel. Israeli troops destroyed one of the APCs, and killed six terrorists. In a separate operation, the Israeli Air Force targeted a Mujahideen Shura Council “terrorist squad” that was plotting future attacks.
Sikh Temple Shooting That Killed 7 Oak Creek, Wis., Considered ‘Domestic Terrorism’
ISAF killed al Qaeda’s emir and deputy emir for Kunar, and a facilitator in an airstrike on Aug. 3. Three Taliban commanders were killed during infighting in Balkh. President Karzai accepted parliament’s dismissal of the defense and interior ministers over cross-border attacks from pakistan.
Afghanistan: Eyeing the Exits
State Dept. and Pentagon Planning for Post-Assad Syria
Victory closer, divisions deepen in Syria opposition
Iran tested a new longer-range version of its Fateh-110 ballistic missile. Iran plans to take its government offices offline in order to defend against cyberattacks.
Insurgents killed three policemen in Mosul and another in Baghdad, and a police commander in Rutbah. Three gunmen and two security personnel were killed in a clash Bayji.
Fighting intensified in Aleppo and Damascus. Government forces numbering 20,000 massed around Aleppo and warned of a full-scale assault within days. Rebels abducted 47 Iranians visiting a Shiite shrine; the rebels said the men were members of the Iranian Republican Guard.
Afghanistan – Seminary torched in Taliban-controlled town