Suicide bombers kill 14 Syrian security personnel
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, executed the double attack, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Al Nusrah front spearheads capture of Syrian dam, claims suicide assault
The al Qaeda affiliate has gained control or has a major presence in several key cities and towns along the Euphrates River, securing its lines of communication into Iraq.
Iraq
Twelve Iraqis were killed in a suicide attack and shooting in Mosul, and three more were killed in an IED attack in Anbar. Counterterrorism forces captured two insurgent commanders and three fighters in Diyala.
Somalia
A suicide bomber killed four people in an attack that targeted a senior police official in Galkayo. Shabaab claimed credit for the attack and said that six “apostate troops” were killed.
Afghanistan
General Dunford has assumed command of ISAF. ISAF has begun to withdraw equipment from Afghanistan via Pakistan. Security forces killed 11 Taliban fighters in Helmand.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed six civilians in an IED attack in Helmand and a policeman in a bombing in Herat. Police killed five Taliban fighters in operations throughout the country. ISAF captured an IMU leader in Burkah.
Iraq
Six people were killed in a mortar and rocket attack at a camp that houses members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq. Gunmen assassinated a security guard at his home in Baghdad. Police arrested seven al Qaeda in Iraq fighters in Fallujah.
Yemen
“Gunmen” bombed a pipeline in the Wadi Abida area in Marib; the military responded by firing artillery. The leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Rada’a is said to be in Sana’a to conduct talks with the government.
Somalia
Shabaab claimed that 204 “apostate militia” members defected from the government in Qansaxdhere, Gedo, and Bay and Bakool over the past three months. Britain will deploy military advisers to Mogadishu.
First suicide bombing reported in Mali
The bomber killed only himself in an attempted attack on security forces in Gao.
Pakistan
US drones killed two Arab al Qaeda operatives, including an explosives expert, four Uzbeks, and a Taliban fighter in a strike in South Waziristan. Pakistan’s foreign secretary claimed al Qaeda has been eliminated in his country.
Afghanistan
Special operations forces killed a Taliban leader in Kunduz, and captured an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander and nine insurgents in Takhar, Logar, and Kandahar. ISAF disputed a UN report that said hundreds of Afghan children were killed during raids last year.
Iraq
Insurgents killed 31 Iraqis in a series of car bombings in Baghdad. Security forces captured six al Qaeda fighters in Kirkuk, and launched an operation against the terror group in the Al Jazeera desert in Anbar and Ninewa provinces.
Yemen
The government called on Iran to halt weapons shipments to Houthi rebels and Southern separatists. The Iranian press accused the US and Israel of blaming Iran for shipping weapons. Ten people were killed in an explosion at an arms depot in Hajja.
Pakistan’s foreign secretary denounces drones, claims al Qaeda is dead
Meanwhile, US drones killed two Arab al Qaeda operatives, including an explosives expert, in a strike in North Waziristan.
2 al Qaeda operatives killed in latest drone strike in South Waziristan
The strike reportedly killed Sheikh Abu Waqas, a Yemeni explosives expert; Abu Majid al Iraqi; and four Uzbeks.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed a police chief and three bodyguards in Balkh and claimed that eight soldiers defected in Ghazni. An ISAF helicopter crashed in Kapisa; the Taliban claimed they shot it down.
Suicide assault team hits Syrian intelligence in Palmyra
Yesterday’s attack was likely executed by the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda in Iraq’s affiliate in Syria.
Somalia
Shabaab fighters ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy in Gedo; several Shabaab fighters and Ethiopian soldiers are reported to have been killed in the fighting. Shabaab killed two Ethiopian soldiers in an IED attack in Baidoa.
Nigeria
Suspected Boko Haram fighters killed six park rangers and captured several more in an attack at the Sambisa game reserve. The attack was apparently in reprisal for a military assault on a Boko Haram camp last week.
US drones strike in remote area of North Waziristan
Five people are reported to have been killed in the attack. The drone strike is the first to have been recorded in Pakistan in nearly four weeks.
Prominent al Qaeda leader killed in drone strike in 2012
Abd el Kader Mahmoud Mohamed el Sayed was a close advisor to al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri and served as a military commander in Afghanistan before he was killed. El Sayed was involved in the Luxor massacre and, while living in Milan, was recorded by Italian intelligence discussing terror plots against the West.
Iraq
A suicide bomber killed seven people in an attack outside of a prison in Taji. The suicide attack is the third in three days, and the second in Taji in two days.
Yemen
Houthis and Salafists fought in Saada province in northern Yemen; casualties on both sides were reported. Saudi Arabia requested that Yemen extradite the widow of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s former deputy emir, Said al Shihri.
Somalia
A Ugandan soldier was killed in an IED attack in Mogadishu. President Mohamud said he is prepared to negotiate with Shabaab if the al Qaeda group renounces its goal to overthrow the government.
Taliban, IMU form Ansar al Aseer to free jihadist prisoners
The video featured Adnan Rasheed, a dangerous Pakistani jihadist who was freed in a jailbreak last year; Yassin Chouka, a wanted German commander in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; and Abdul Hakeem, a previously unknown Russian IMU member.
Iraq
A suicide bomber killed 19 Awakening fighters and three soldiers in an attack in Taji. A senior counterterrorism official was killed in a car bombing in Abu Ghraib. The head of the Awakening warned that al Qaeda is returning to Anbar province.
Al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bomber attacks Awakening in Taji
Nineteen anti-al Qaeda Awakening fighters and three Iraqi soldiers were killed in the suicide attack, which is the second of its kind in Iraq in two days.
Yemen
Four Somalis and two Saudi al Qaeda fighters are reported to have been killed during clashes in Maneseeh in Baydah province. The government will prosecute more than 200 AQAP fighters. Iran denied that it chartered a ship that was carrying weapons for rebels. A Hezbollah delegation reportedly met with Yemeni officials and tribal leaders.
Somalia
Shabaab claimed that it killed 24 Ethiopian soldiers during attacks on outposts in and around Baidoa. The commander of the African Union forces said that Shabaab has been weakened militarily. The UN’s secretary-general said that the 21-year-old arms embargo should be reviewed.