Ansar Dine
Mali” Ansar Dine plays double game
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Mali
Last week, Ansar Dine sent reinforcements to fight Tuareg rebels in Gao; the move was in violation of an agreement with ECOWAS. The African Union urged the UN to move immediately and approve military intervention against Islamist fighters in northern Mali.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Military action against al Qaida-linked extremists in Mali unlikely for months
Boko Haram emir praises al Qaeda
Abubakar Shekau said he and his fighters support jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Algeria, Libya, and Mali.
Pakistan
US drones killed three “militants” in a strike in South Waziristan; the strike is the first in Pakistan in 36 days. Mullah Nazir was wounded in a suicide attack in Wana in South Waziristan; six people were killed in the blast.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed 10 civilians in a bus bombing in Uruzgan, four civilians in an IED attack in Ghazni, and one child in a bombing in Khost. Three Taliban fighters in Zabul reconciled with the government.
Yemen
The military captured Suleiman Hassan Muhammad Morshid Awadh, who was described as a “dangerous” al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander, during a raid in Zinjibar. Security forces offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the murderer of a Saudi officer.
Somalia
Somali and Kenyan troops battled Shabaab forces as they advanced on Burdhubo. A Somali solider killed one person after opening fire on a bus in Mogadishu.
Al Qaeda-linked South Waziristan Taliban commander wounded in suicide attack
Mullah Nazir was wounded in a blast at a market in Wana that killed six people and wounded 12 more. No group has claimed credit for the attack.
US drones kill 3 ‘militants’ in 1st strike in Pakistan in more than a month
The strike ends a 36-day-long pause in attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The pause is the second longest since the program was ramped up in 2008.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed six civilians in Helmand and five more in Kunar, and also killed three Afghan soldiers in Badghis. Twelve Taliban fighters and two Afghan soldiers were killed during a clash in Laghman. A suicide bomber wounded seven people in Kandahar.
Iraq
Insurgents killed seven members of a family, including five sleeping children, in Tarmiyah, and two soldiers in Fallujah. A court in Dhi Qhar sentenced al Qaeda in Iraq’s emir for Basrah to death.
Yemen
“Gunmen” killed a Saudi Army officer and a Yemeni security guard after opening fire on their car in Sana’a. The gunmen were wearing uniforms belonging to the Central Security Forces.
Somalia
Four Somaliland soldiers and two members of a local militia were killed in Huddun after a clash over an election. Three people in Shalanbod were killed after Shabaab and government forces clashed. The government is dismantling illegal checkpoints in Mogadishu.
Suicide bombers kill more than 30 in Syrian capital
Additionally the Al Nusrah Front claimed credit for a suicide attack outside of Damascus two days ago.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed an ISAF solider yesterday in an IED attack in the south. Two people were killed after Afghan police forces clashed among themselves in Baghlan. ISAF killed a Taliban commander in Kunar.
Iraq
Insurgents killed 29 Iraqis in a series of eight bombings in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Ramadi, and Fallujah. Security forces detained three al Qaeda fighters in Wasit.
Somalia
“Gunmen” executed a tribal elder in Beledweyne; he was appointed the head of the elders in Hiran last week. Shabaab detonated a large bomb against African Union forces.
Al Nusrah Front claims 3 more suicide attacks in Daraa
The al Qaeda-linked terror group has now claimed credit for 39 of the 47 reported suicide bombings in Syria that the The Long War Journal has tallied since December 2011.
Pakistan offers high bounty for Taliban spokesman
The $2 million reward for Ihsanullah Ihsan is more than three times higher than that of the group’s emir, Hakeemullah Mehsud, Waliur Rehman Mehsud, and other top Taliban leaders.
Somalia
The Somali military killed a senior Shabaab commander and captured 16 fighters in Mogadishu, and detained 20 more fighters in Baidoa. “Gunmen” executed the chairman of the Bakara market traders group. The market has been a source of income for Shabaab.
Libya
The “Private Deterrent Force” has kidnapped a dozen men it accuses of being homosexual and has threatened to torture and execute them. The group is thought to be linked to the “extremist Nawasi militia group” that has also desecrated Sufi shrines in Tripoli.
Afghanistan
Mystery shrouds ‘rusted missiles of Afghan era’ recovered from Jalozai Camp
Iraq
For the first time in eight years, there were no significant sectarian attacks during the Shia holiday of Ashura. Security forces detained 82 wanted men in Karbala and three al Qaeda fighters in Wasit.
Nigeria
A pair of Boko Haram suicide bombers killed 11 people in a complex suicide attack at a church on a military base in Kaduna. “Gunmen” killed three Christians in Kano.
Mali
Algerian jihadists are arriving in Timbuktu to bolster al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb forces. The town is “becoming the headquarters of AQIM in northern Mali,” a security offical said.
Boko Haram suicide bombs kill 11 at Nigerian military church
The al Qaeda-linked Nigerian terror group has carried out at least 19 suicide attacks this year. Boko Haram’s targets have included churches, mosques, newspapers, government officials, and security forces.
Philippines
The military arrested Walid Amping, an Abu Sayyaf member, during a raid near Zamboanga. Amping was wanted for the kidnapping of six people in 2002; two of them were beheaded.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed a US soldier in the south. A suicide bomber killed only himself in a premature detonation in Nangarhar. Security forces captured two suicide bombers in Kabul.
Yemen
A suspected suicide bomber killed four Shia Houthis in an attack near Sana’a. The government claimed that more than 22,000 families have returned to Abyan after being displaced during fighting with al Qaeda.