Yemen
Yemeni troops killed 11 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the south. More than 160,000 Yemenis have been displaced from Abyan due to fighting. Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s nephew is fighting alongside Ansar al Sharia.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Somalia
Omar Hammami released the first part of his autobiography, which detailed his path to jihad and fighting in Somalia. An Ethiopian general said his country’s forces would take control of Kismayo. A military tribunal in Hargeisa sentenced 17 people to death for killing three policemen.
Omar Hammami on drone strikes
The American jihadist commander in Somalia said US airstrikes do not impact Shabaab’s fight against the Somali government and have not caused rifts between “the global element of this Jihaad from the local element.”
Omar Hammami releases part 1 of autobiography
The American commander in Shabaab says he is “still alive and well (by May 16 2012)” and details his life, including his radicalization and fighting in Somalia up until he joined Shabaab.
Afghanistan
Six policemen, a civilian, and four Taliban fighters were killed during a suicide assault in Farah. The Taliban assassinated a senior police commander in Kunduz. The US added a Taliban financier who has funneled money to both al Qaeda and the Taliban, and a Haqqani Network operative who serves as a top aide to Badruddin […]
Yemen
US drones killed two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in Hadramout. The military claimed it ejected AQAP from Lawdar, Modia, and Al Wadea. A senior Southern Movement leader is urging his followers to fight AQAP.
Somalia
Shabaab and government forces clashed in Garbaharey; two civilians were killed and Shabaab poisoned wells in the town. Three soldiers were killed after Somali troops fought amongst themselves.
Taliban kill 6 Afghan policemen, civilian in suicide assault in Farah
A four-man suicide assault team struck the governor’s compound in Farah City.
Nigeria
A man claiming to be a Boko Haram spokesman said the group is prepared to talk to the government. Police found bombs in two schools in Kano hours after the schools were attacked by Boko Haram.
US adds Taliban financier, Haqqani Network operative to terror list
Abdul Baqi Bari has funneled money to both al Qaeda and the Taliban, and has accepted funds from Osama bin Laden. Bakht Gul serves as a top aide to Badruddin Haqqani, and has helped “foreign fighters” enter Afghanistan.
US airstrike kills 2 AQAP operatives in eastern Yemen
The US has conducted six drone strikes in Yemen over the past week.
Pakistani Taliban release video of Bannu jailbreak
Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan emir Hakeemullah Mehsud and South Waziristan leader Waliur Rehman Mehsud are shown organizing the jailbreak.
Pakistan
Police arrested a Lashkar-i-Jhangvi operative in Sohrab Goth in Karachi. The British, French, and Australian embassies received packages containing a suspicious powder and threatening letters.
Afghanistan
ISAF killed nine insurgents in an airstrike in Paktia and three more during operations in Kunar. The Taliban killed two policemen and a soldier in Badghis and Badakhshan. Germany pledged $150 million annually after 2014; Australia promised $100 million.
Somalia
Kenyan troops killed two businessmen in Taabta after their base cam under attack. “Gunmen” killed two people in Mogadishu and Baidoa.
Kenya
A police officer was killed and four more were wounded in an IED attack in Lagdera in Garissa county. Police arrested a suspect in the bombing of a Mombasa nightclub that killed one person.
Nigeria
The Minister of Police Affairs said that Boko Haram has conducted 118 attacks and killed 308 people so far this year. The attacks have taken place in in Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Niger, Yobe, and Plateau states.
Pakistani jihadists reported in northern Mali
The mayor of Timbuktu said Pakistanis have infiltrated the city and are training al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, an al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb offshoot, has threatened to kill a Spanish hostage. A Mauritanian court upheld the death sentence of an AQIM fighter who killed an American in 2009.
Mali
Pakistani jihadists are reportedly moving into northern Mali to train al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb fighters in guerrilla warfare, weapons, smuggling, and other areas. The Pakistanis are said to have entered via Algeria and are present in Timbuktu.
Taliban video of Bannu jailbreak sold in Pakistani markets
Hakeemullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman gathered with 150 Taliban fighters to plan and execute the April 15 jailbreak.
Pakistan
Pakistan has delayed the decision on the issue of reopening NATO supply lines to Afghanistan; the US is confident the supply lines will be reopened. Security forces detained one of Hakeemullah Mehsud’s commanders in Peshawar.
Afghanistan
More than 250 students in Khost were hospitalized after being “poisoned.” Security forces detained 14 insurgents, including two Pakistanis, in Kandahar.
Iraq
The trial of Vice President Hashemi, who is outside the country, has begun. Security forces arrested five Ansar al Sunnah members in Kirkuk and “four Syrian infiltrators” in Mosul.
Yemen
US drones killed eight civilians and seven al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in two strikes in Jaar. Seventeen AQAP fighters and three security personnel were killed in fighting in Lawdar. US troops are helping coordinate the Yemeni military offensive against AQAP.
US drone strikes kill 7 AQAP fighters, 8 civilians in Yemen
The strikes took place in the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula-controlled city of Jaar.
Somalia
EU Naval Force helicopters attacked a pirate base on land. Shabaab fighters reportedly abandoned bases in the Galgadud region. Ethiopian troops killed two civilians after getting hit in an IED attack.
Al Nusrah Front denies validity of Damascus suicide attack video
The terror group did not deny it carried out the May 10 double suicide bombing, however.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed a member of Faryab’s provincial council and eight Afghans. Security forces killed 11 Taliban fighters in Paktika and Faryab. The Mullah Dadullah Front claimed credit for yesterday’s assassination of a senior member of the Afghan High Peace Council.
Iraq
Insurgents killed five Iraqis in bombings in Fallujah and a policeman in a bombing in Kirkuk. Iraq is poised to overtake Iran as the number one oil producer in OPEC.