Yemen
An al Qaeda suicide bomber killed six militiamen in an attack on a checkpoint in Mudya in Abyan province. A senior intelligence official was gunned down in Sana’a; an estimated 60 intelligence officials have been assassinated so far this year.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
‘Moderate’ Islamist leader in Tunisia strategizes with al Qaeda-linked Salafists
Rachid Ghannouchi, the co-founder and leader of Ennahda, urged Salafists to be patient, build institutions, and “take your time to consolidate what you have gained.” He also met with Ansar al Sharia emir Seifallah ben Hassine.
Pakistan
The Taliban killed a Superintendent of Police and six policemen and Frontier Constabulary personnel in Peshawar. Interior Minister Malik said an operation in North Waziristan is not being planned.
Afghanistan
A militia killed six Taliban fighters in Ghazni. Afghan officials said three civilians were killed in an airstrike in Helmand. Three health workers and their driver were kidnapped in Herat.
Yemen
A court convicted seven men of forming an al Qaeda cell that attacked government forces and installations, as well and tourists and embassies, from 2009 to 2011. The men were given sentences of one to six years in prison.
Iraq
Insurgents killed two policemen, two soldiers, and a civilian in bombings and a shooting in Kirkuk and Tuz Khormato. Insurgents also killed two Awakening members in Samarra and a military officer in Baghdad.
‘North Waziristan operation not on the cards’
Rehman Malik tells us what we already know: Pakistan has no intention of taking on terrorist groups in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency.
Turkish jihadists eulogize slain German al Qaeda leader
Islamic World, a Turkish jihadist magazine, said that Bekkay Harrach fought against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, traveled to Iraq, where he was wounded, and was detained by Syrian security forces. Harrach also lived with Atiyah Abd al Rahman in Pakistan.
Somalia
Shabaab attack government bases in Mogadishu and Kismayo; scores of people were reported to have been wounded in the attacks. Shabaab claimed it assassinated two intelligence officials in Mogadishu.
Iraq
Security forces captured two al Qaeda in Iraq fighters in Suwaira and another in Mosul. A Baghdad court issued death sentences for two men convicted on terrorism-related charges.
Yemen
The US reportedly delivered 106 armored vehicles to the Yemeni Defense Ministry. Tribesmen freed eight truck drivers who were kidnapped last week in Lahj.
Somalia
Four people were killed after Shabaab fighters ambushed Somali troops near Baidoa. A civilian was gunned down in Baidoa. Shabaab reportedly killed and wounded several soldiers in an IED attack in Shalanbod.
Nigeria
“Gunmen” killed more than 20 Muslims after opening fire outside of a mosque in Kaduna. Officials claimed that the gunmen were dressed in police uniforms and were “armed robbers.”
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Algeria caught in quandary over Mali crisis
17 killed in bombing that targeted anti-Taliban militia in northwestern Pakistan
Over the years, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan has ruthlessly targeted anti-Taliban militias in Pakistan’s northwest.
Afghanistan
A Taliban suicide bomber killed four Afghan intelligence officers and two ISAF personnel in Kandahar. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in the south. Police in Kandahar are arresting mullahs who are preaching anti-government messages.
Somalia
Four people were killed after Shabaab fighters ambushed Somali troops at an airbase near Afgoye. Police arrested dozens of fighters during raids in Baidoa.
Taliban suicide bomber kills 4 NDS, 2 ISAF personnel in southern Afghanistan
Today’s suicide attack is the second in southern Afghanistan in six days that targeted the National Directorate of Security.
Egypt
Senior Egyptian Islamist: Don’t Disarm Sinai Groups
Al Qaeda
Obama administration’s wishful thinking on terrorism
Mullah Fazlullah ordered assassination of Pakistani schoolgirl
Although Pakistanis are expressing outrage at the attempted murder of a 14-year-old girl who has spoken out against the Taliban, the anger will likely fade as it has with similar incidents in the past.
Al Nusrah Front seizes Syrian base in joint operation with Free Syrian Army
The al Qaeda-linked group teamed up with the supposedly secular Free Syrian Army to capture an airbase outside Aleppo that houses Scud tactical ballistic missiles and anti-aircraft missiles.
ISAF captures IMU ‘financial facilitator’ in Kunduz
Special operations forces have conducted at least 31 raids against the IMU in eight of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces so far this year; 13 of those raids have occurred in Kunduz.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed four Afghan soldiers in Kunar and a policeman and five civilians in Faryab. ISAF killed 10 Taliban fighters and four civilians in an airstrike in Ghazni.
Iraq
Security forces detained eight al Qaeda in Iraq fighters in Kirkuk. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed credit for the Sept. 27 assault and jailbreak at the Tasfirat prison in Tikrit. The military agreed to purchase 28 Czech-made military aircraft worth $1 billion.
Somalia
Shabaab claimed that its “Counter-Intelligence Units” assassinated a senior militia commander. The district commissioner of Huriwa survived an assassination attempt.
Al Qaeda in Iraq claims credit for Tikrit jailbreak
The group claimed it smuggled weapons and suicide vests into the Tasfirat prison in Tikrit and destroyed the records inside the prison.
Pakistan
US drones killed 16 Taliban fighters loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadar in a strike in the Arakzai tribal agency. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry lodged a formal protest of the drone strikes with the US embassy.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed a district police chief in Balkh and an ISAF soldier in the south. ISAF killed a Haqqani Network leader in Paktia and captured an IMU leader in Kunduz.
Yemen
A senior Yemeni security official who guarded the US embassy in Sana’a was gunned down in the capital. Security forces seized Iranian weapons thought to be destined for Yemeni “rebels.”