Boko Haram suicide bombers target Nigerian churches
The al Qaeda-linked terror group has targeted churches in Nigeria on Sundays for three straight weeks.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Somalia
Security forces detained 10 Shabaab fighters in Mogadishu. Five people were wounded in yesterday’s suicide attack in Afgoye. Three people were wounded in a bombing at a market in Mogadishu.
Nigeria
Boko Haram bombed five Christian churches in Kaduna; suicide bombers carried out at least three of the attacks. Twelve people were killed in the blasts.
Pakistan
Twenty-five people were killed in a bombing at a market in Khyber. Seven policemen were killed in a bombing in Kohat. Hafiz Gul Bahadar stopped polio vaccinations in North Waziristan because of drone strikes.
‘Good’ Taliban commander halts polio vaccinations over drone strikes
“Polio campaigns are also used to spy for America against the mujahideen (holy warriors), one example of which is Dr. Shakil Afridi,” a statement released by Hafiz Gul Bahadar said.
Afghanistan
Thirteen Taliban fighters and three policemen were killed during fighting throughout the country. The Taliban killed a civilian in an IED attack in Kandahar.
Iraq
Thirty-two people were killed in a pair of car bombings that again targeted Shia pilgrims in Baghdad. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed credit for this week’s bombings that killed 70 people.
Yemen
Yemeni troops killed 21 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in Azzan in Shabwa and the Hassan Valley in Abyan. One solider was also killed during the fighting.
Somalia
A Shabaab suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives on a base in Afgoye; casualties have not been disclosed. Shabaab claimed the attack and said “more than 200 TFG intelligence personnel & troops” had gathered on the base.
Al Qaeda in Iraq claims credit for recent bombings
Thirty-two more Iraqis were killed in bombings that targeted Shia pilgrims in Baghdad.
Afghanistan
Security forces killed a Haqqani Network commander and several fighters in Paktika and a Taliban leader and several fighters in Badakhshan, and captured several fighters in Logar and Khost. The Taliban killed two ISAF soldiers in the south and east.
Shabaab
More Shabab militants defect to join Somali forces
Al Qaeda
US declassifying counterterror campaigns in Yemen and Somalia; no mention of drones
Yemen
Yemeni troops retook control of the coastal town of Shaqra in Abyan province. More than 24 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were killed. Shaqra is the third town in Abyan to return to government control this week.
Somalia
Shabaab launched attacks on Ethiopian and Somali bases in Yurkut. Shabaab claims it ambushed Sierra Leonean troops that were traveling between Baidoa and Luuq; the troops are replacing Ethiopian forces in the area.
Mali
Members of Ansar Dine, the Islamist terror group in northern Mali, are traveling to Burkina Faso to meet President Blaise Compaore. Burkina Faso’s president has been appointed by the Economic Community of West African States to serve as a mediator for the parties involved in northern Mali.
Philippines
Jordanian journalist, Filipino TV crew missing in Jolo
Nigeria
Soldiers killed four Boko Haram fighters during a raid on a safe house in Kano. The Boko Haram members produced propaganda, including pamphlets and videos uploaded on YouTube.
AQAP destroys tombs in southern Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula demolished tombs in several villages outside of Jaar just days before withdrawing from the city. Former Guantanamo detainee Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish said the group destroyed the sites as AQAP is “reviving their jihad.”
Pakistan
US senator backs apology over Pak drone strikes
Afghanistan
How They Robbed Kabul Bank
Pakistan
Security forces killed 15 “militants” in Dir and Arakzai. US drones killed three “militants” in North Waziristan’s bazaar. Pakistan again called on the US to apologize for the Mohmand incident.
Afghanistan
Security forces killed a Taliban commander in Kandahar and captured two commanders in Helmand. The Taliban killed a British soldier in Helmand. The US, India, and Afghanistan will conduct trilateral talks.
Syria
A suicide bomber wounded 10 people in an attack in Damascus. The suicide bomber blew up his car near the Sayyida Zainab shrine and a police station. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. UN monitors entering the town of al-Heffa found it devastated.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
US expands secret intelligence operations in Africa
Yemen
Yemeni troops are reported to be advancing on Shaqra, a coastal town in Abyan that has been under al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s control for the past year. Seven people were killed by land mines in Zinjibar.
Mali
Tuareg rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Islamist fighters from Ansar Dine clashed at a checkpoint near Timbuktu. The fighting occurred after MNLA members attempted to run an Ansar Dine checkpoint; five people were wounded.
Nigeria
Boko Haram fighters killed two highway policemen and wounded three others in Maiduguri. General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the former military ruler of Nigeria, said Boko Haram members are “misguided.”
US drones strike in Miramshah’s bazaar, kill 3 militants
The strike is the second in 24 hours. The US has attacked targets in Miramshah’s bazaar four times since the beginning of March 2010; two top-level al Qaeda leaders were killed in those strikes.
Pakistan
US drones killed four “militants” in North Waziristan. The Taliban bombed a school in Kohat. US Defense Secretary Panetta said aid to Pakistan should be conditional, but is not for halting payments.