Insurgents killed 12 Iraqis in a series of attacks throughout Iraq. Among those killed were three policemen in Taji, a soldier in Baqubah, two members of the Awakening north of Baqubah, and two security guards for the president of Diyala University.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is accused of killing a tribal leader in Abyan who brokered the release of hostages. Militants again bombed an oil pipeline in Marib province.
A court sentenced Moqatel Abou Jebel to life in prison for kidnapping 15 foreign tourists in 2003. Youcef Ben Mohamed, a Malian national, was acquitted, but sentenced to seven years for belonging to a terror group. Jebel carried out the kidnappings on the order of Abderrazak El Para, a GSPC commander.
Sheikh Yasin Al Kuwaiti, who was killed in a US drone strike on Jan. 8, was a “key al Qaeda paramilitary commander” who was “very high up the food chain,” a US intelligence official who tracks the terror group in Pakistan’s tribal areas told The Long War Journal.
Four senior and midlevel al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are reported to have been killed in the seven strikes since the beginning of the New Year.
The Taliban killed three policemen in Nangarhar. More than 250 policemen were “poisoned” in Balkh.
Ansar Dine, the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb took control of towns in central Mali.
Two Puntland politicians appear to have been interviewed by two radio outlets affiliated with Shabaab. A judge freed the killer of two foreign medical aid workers who were gunned down in December 2011.
The al Qaeda-linked Movement for Tawhid [Unity] and Jihad in West Africa created the Abdullah Azzam, Al Zarqawi, and the Abu al Laith al Libi battalions, as well as the Martyrdom-Seekers Battalion. These join the previously established Osama bin Laden Battalion.
The Obama administration hasn’t ruled out a full withdrawal from Afghanistan. An Afghan soldier killed a British soldier and wounded six more in Helmand. ISAF killed three “militants,” including two “foreigners,” in an airstrike in Kunar.
Ali Hassan al Ahmadi, Yemen’s national security chief, said that “the use of friendly aircraft” to target al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula would continue. Iran’s ambassador to Yemen denied that his country was running spy networks in the country.
The US added two Sudanese jihadists to the list of Specially Designated Global terrorists. Abdelbasit Alhaj Alhasan Haj Hamad and Mohamed Makawi Ibrahim Mohamed assassinated a USAID employee and his driver on Jan. 1, 2008 in Khartoum. Makawi is linked to al Qaeda.
Abdelbasit Alhaj Alhassan Haj Hamad and Mohamed Makawi Ibrahim Mohamed murdered a US diplomat and his Sudanese driver in Khartoum in January 2008.
Two compounds were hit in the Mir Ali area. The US has now launched six strikes in Pakistan so far this year.
The Taliban killed a policeman and two civilians in an IED attack on a police van in Lakki Marwat, and killed two security personnel in another bombing in Mohmand.
Insurgents killed three Iraqi soldiers in an IED attack on a military vehicle in Habbaniyah in Anbar province. The Sunni Endowment is organizing religious courses to fight terrorism and sectarianism.
A pair of Taliban suicide bombers killed five people in an attack on a tribal meeting at the Spin Boldak district center in Kandahar. Security forces captured several Taliban commanders and fighters.
The Taliban claimed credit for an attack on tribal leaders at the district center in Kandahar’s Spin Boldak. The Mullah Dadullah Front likely carried out the suicide bombings.
Al Qaeda killed an Awakening leader and his son in Abu Ghraib. Volunteers for the Awakening are growing. Police arrested eight al Qaeda fighters in Anbar near the Syrian border.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is preparing to retake areas in Abyan and Lahj provinces. The government claimed that AQAP has been driven out of Al Mahfad district in Abyan. A court sentenced five AQAP fighters to up to 10 years in prison.
The American jihadist’s rants against Shabaab indicate a personal feud with the al Qaeda affiliate, and not a wider split between Somali jihadists and foreign fighters.
A Taliban commander loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadar was the target of the strike; 17 people, including a Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan commander who directed suicide operations, are reported to have been killed.
The Afghan Taliban said they reject any security agreement that allows “even a single American soldier” to remain in country. “War and destruction will continue in the region” if US forces stay in Afghanistan after 2014.
The Taliban named Bahwal Khan as Mullah Nazir’s replacement in South Waziristan. Security forces killed 21 Lashkar-e-Islam fighters in Khyber. Two people were killed in a bombing at an electrical tower in Peshawar. Seven bodies thought to be kidnapped Pakistani soldiers were found in North Waziristan.
The Afghan government released 250 Taliban fighters from prison as part of a reconciliation effort. The US indicated that it will deploy less than 10,000 troops to Afghanistan after 2014.
A Yemeni man was arrested in Taiz for spying for Israel. Saudi Air Force jets have also been targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, according to a report.
Puntland security forces killed three Shabaab fighters while repelling an attack near the Galgala Mountains, a Shabaab stronghold. One soldier was also killed in the fighting. Shabaab fighters killed a woman after opening fire on a wedding ceremony.
Bahwal Khan, the new emir of the Mullah Nazir group, maintains close ties to al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban, and a host of terrorist groups, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal. Additionally, the US intelligence officials denied that the Pakistani government or military aided in the killing of Nazir.
Twenty Taliban fighters were released from Bagram prison as part of “peace” efforts. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in the south. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters.
An al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bomber killed 27 Shia pilgrims in an attack at a bus station in Mussayab. Security forces detained six al Qaeda members during a raid in Karbala.