Yemen
A pipeline that feeds the Balhaf export terminal was bombed. Fighting broke out at an intelligence headquarters in Aden between government troops and suspected “militants”; no casualties were reported.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Somalia
The Transitional Federal Government has been disbanded and replaced by the New Federal Parliament of Somalia, whose members were appointed by tribal leaders. The appointment of a new president has been delayed.
Ethiopia
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died of an undisclosed illness. Zenawi had ordered the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006 and supported operations in the country beginning in 2011. Shabaab celebrated his death and accused him of “annexing Somali Muslim territories into Ethiopia.”
US drone strike kills 5 ‘militants’ in North Waziristan
The strike is the fourth in Pakistan in five days; all took place in North Waziristan in areas under the control of Hafiz Gul Bahadar.
ISAF kills, captures al Qaeda-linked Taliban commanders in east
Mutaqi passed “critical information between the senior al Qaeda associated Taliban leaders in Kunar province” and plotted suicide attacks in the region. The commander in Ghazni helped al Qaeda fighters travel throughout the region.
Taliban rockets hit General Dempsey’s plane
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s C-17 was damaged on the tarmac at Bagram Air Base. Dempsey left Afghanistan in another plane.
Afghanistan
An al Qaeda-linked Taliban commander was killed in an airstrike in Kunar province. The Taliban killed three family members of an adviser to President Karzai in an IED attack in Paktia. Police killed two suicide bombers in Faryab. New Zealand may withdraw its troops from Afghanistan earlier than planned.
Shabaab leaders divided? Not quite
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a top Shabaab leader who supposedly split with the group’s emir, was photographed recently leading Eid prayers in Barawe.
Somalia
Many of the 219 “criminals” pardoned by President Sharif are said to be Shabaab fighters. Sharif was the leader of the Islamic Courts Union, Shabaab’s predecessor, prior to being appointed president. Senior Shabaab leader Hassan Dahir Aweys was pictured leading Eid prayers in Barawe.
Algeria
Security forces arrested an al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leader and two fighters in Berriane. Necib Tayeb, the AQIM leader, is said to be a longtime official and currently serves on the judicial shura.
Mali
The Economic Community of West African States has blocked arms shipments to Mali. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said it would appoint an envoy to Mali to address the crisis there. A new unity government was formed in Mali.
Al Qaeda-linked Taliban commander killed in recent airstrike in Kunar
Yasir was involved in the Aug. 8 suicide attack in Asadabad, Kunar, that killed a command sergeant major and two staff officers for the 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, and a USAID foreign service officer.
Pakistan
US drones killed eight more “militants” in a pair of strikes in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan. Security forces killed six Taliban fighters in Khyber.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed three New Zealand soldiers in an IED attack in Bamyan and two civilians in a bombing at a cemetery in Helmand. An Afghan policeman killed an ISAF soldier in the south. Four Pakistanis, two Arabs, and a Taliban commander were killed in an airstrike in Kunar. Police killed two Taliban after they […]
Iraq
A senior Sunni cleric who sided with the government, denounced al Qaeda in Iraq, and sought to repair relations with the Shia community was badly wounded in an IED attack in Baghdad. Four of the cleric’s bodyguards were killed in the blast.
Yemen
A “crazed gunman” killed nine people in a crowd that gathered outside of a mosque in Al Dhale. A southern secessionist movement leader who was detained after returning to Yemen from exile has been released.
ISAF kills Taliban district governor, ‘dozens’ of fighters in Kunar airstrikes
The Taliban reportedly gathered in Chapah Darah district to conduct a public execution when they were targeted in an airstrike. A second strike in Watahpur, a known haven for al Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, killed “many” insurgents, including foreigners.
8 more ‘militants’ killed in pair of drone strikes in North Waziristan
The Predators and Reapers struck a vehicle in the Shawal Valley, and then followed up and hit the recovery operations. There have been three drone strikes in Shawal in the past 24 hours.
Pakistan
US drones killed six “militants” in a strike in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan. The Foreign Office issued a strong protest condemning the attack.
Afghanistan
Fifty-two insurgents, including 12 commanders, were killed during an ISAF airstrike in Kunar province. The Taliban killed four civilians in an IED attack in Herat.
Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula killed 14 soldiers in a coordinated attack on an intelligence headquarters in Aden. Sixty-two Yemeni soldiers will be prosecuted for participating in an attack on the Defense Ministry.
AQAP attacks intelligence headquarters in Aden
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula killed at least 14 soldiers in an attack at an intelligence headquarters; fighters launched RPGs and detonated a car bomb.
Tunisia
Ten Salafist prisoners renounced al Qaeda and its ideology in a bid to be paroled. One of the men, Didi Ould Bezeid, had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for murdering American aid worker Christopher Leggett.
Algeria
Security forces arrested two suspected al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb operatives at the Libyan border. The fighters, a Libyan and an Algerian, were carrying weapons and an “explosive belt” and had Afghan identity papers.
US drones kill 6 ‘militants’ in Pakistan’s Shawal Valley
The Shawal Valley has been the focus of recent drone strikes in Pakistan. The strikes in Pakistan have been on the decline the past three months; the US has launched only eight since June 4.
Pakistan
Six security personnel were killed in an IED attack in Quetta. One person was killed in a bombing in Karachi. Security forces detained 10 Taliban fighters thought to be involved in the attack on Kamra Air Force Base.
Afghanistan
An Afghan policeman killed two US soldiers in Farah; an Afghan soldier wounded two US soldiers in Kandahar. The Taliban killed a British soldier in Helmand.
Iraq
More than 90 Iraqis were killed yesterday in a spate of bombings and shootings across the country. Security forces killed three suicide bombers in Anbar. More than one million Iraqis signed a petition calling for the death penalty.
Afghanistan
An Afghan police official claimed that an ISAF airstrike killed more than 50 Taliban fighters, including 13 local commanders. Four people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Herat. A former member of parliament was assassinated in Faryab.
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DoD details general’s lavish travel, spending