Somalia
Shabaab hit the airport and state house in Baidoa with mortars. US-born Shabaab commander Omar Hammami is rumored to have been executed by Shabaab.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Nigeria
“Gunmen” killed two people near a soccer match in Potiskum just days after Boko Haram warned people not to attend such events. The spokesman for the Niger Delta Liberation Force said it would “resist violently” any attempt by Boko Haram to assassinate President Goodluck.
Afghanistan
Afghan commandos backed by ISAF forces killed 25 Taliban fighters in Kamdesh in Nuristan province. The Taliban denied the claim, and said only eight of its fighters and 30 Afghan troops were killed.
Iraq
Insurgents killed seven Shia pilgrims in an attack on a bus in Samarra. A court sentenced two men to death and another to life in prison for a bombing in Al Kut last year.
Yemen
The military said that 31 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and three tribesmen were killed during fighting in and around Lawdar in Abyan province. Fighting in Lawdar has entered its fifth day.
Somalia
The Danish Navy freed 12 hostages and captured 16 pirates while raiding a mothership off the coast of Somalia. The mayor of Mogadishu threatened to “eradicate” journalists from Shabelle.
Mali
Ansar al Dine, an Islamist Tuareg militia, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are recruiting children to wage jihad in northern Mali. The groups have been distributing food and medical aid to families.
Afghanistan
Wraps come off special operations Afghan war plan
Afghanistan
Taliban encourage religious school students to war: Chief of Baghlan Police
Afghanistan
A suicide bomber killed three civilians and two policemen in Kunduz. ISAF killed an IMU facilitator in Faryab; four civilians were killed during protests over the raid. Police captured the Taliban’s district governor for Burka in Baghlan. President Karzai said he may step down before his term ends in 2014.
IMU facilitator killed during night raid in Afghan north
Ammar Sahib, an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator, was in Afghan custody in 2006 for murdering two members of a Provincial Reconstruction Team and two civilians, but spent only six months in jail before being released.
Iraq
“Gunmen” opened fire on a police checkpoint near Kirkuk, killing two officers and three civilians. Insurgents killed a mayor and four family members in a bombing at his home near Baqubah.
Yemen
Six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were killed during fighting south of Lawdar; a tank seized by AQAP on Monday was destroyed in an airstrike. Two AQAP fighters and a tribesman were killed in fighting in Mudiyah.
Nigeria
Boko Haram released a video of its emir, Abubakar Shekau, on YouTube. In the video, Shekau mocked President Goodluck for claiming the government can defeat Boko Haram within three months.
Somalia
Shabaab detained 25 khat traders in Kismayo. President Sharif said the government is prepared to aid Puntland in fighting Shabaab
Mali
Dioncounda Traore, Mali’s newly sworn in president, threatened Tuareg rebels with “a total and relentless war” if they do not surrender territory in the north. Boko Haram fighters from Nigeria are rumored to have joined al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb forces in the city of Gao.
Pakistan’s ISI supports Taliban, al Qaeda in Nuristan, says Afghan parliament
“Arab, Pakistani, and Uzbek militants” continue to flood into eastern Afghanistan, with the aid of Pakistan’s intelligence service, according to the Wolesi Jirga’s Security Commission.
Pakistan
Lashkar-e-Islam publicly executed two deserters and five members of a government-supported tribe in Khyber. One of the two deserters was a former commander who had joined the anti-Lashkar-e-Islam tribe’s militia.
Afghanistan
Twelve Taliban fighters and four Afghan soldiers were killed during clashes nationwide. The Taliban killed two ISAF soldiers in separate attacks in the south. Security forces detained several Taliban commanders and fighters in Helmand, Kandahar, and Nangarhar. The US said it is committed to conducting peace talks with the Taliban.
Foreign fighters among those killed in clashes in Yemeni south
“Saudis, Somalis, and Pakistanis” are said to be among those killed during heavy fighting in Lawdar.
Yemen
Yemeni officials claimed that Saudis, Somalis, and Pakistanis, including two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leaders, are among those killed in the latest fighting in Lawdar in Abyan province. AQAP released five Yemeni soldiers who were captured yesterday in Marib.
Somalia
Puntland’s president said Shabaab forces have infiltrated the Golis Mountains. A Somali militia claimed it killed 18 Shabaab fighters in El Bur and Mudale. Somali and Kenyan forces said they inflicted “heavy casualties” on Shabaab forces in Gedo.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed 17 Afghans, including 17 policemen, in suicide assaults in Helmand and Herat. ISAF said it does not see evidence that that Taliban have organized a spring offensive. Security forces killed the head of the Taliban in Faryab and captured two facilitators in Helmand and Kandahar.
Yemen
Fifty-six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters, four soldiers, and three tribesmen were killed during the second day of fighting in Lawder in Abyan province. Eight soldiers and five AQAP fighters were killed in a clash in Marib province.
AQAP, Yemeni forces battle in south
Heavy fighting has been reported as AQAP attacked bases in Lawdar and Marib.
Somalia
Three people were killed during fighting between Shabaab and Kenyan forces in Gedo. Somali troops in Mogadishu fought amongst themselves, killing two people. Shabaab abandoned Mahas.
Taliban suicide bombers kill 17 in attacks in south, west
The Taliban continue to target Afghan security forces, while ISAF’s spokesman said the Coalition hasn’t seen evidence of “cohesive action” by the Taliban.
Afghanistan
ISAF killed the IMU’s top leader in Afghanistan in Faryab and a Taliban leader in Badakhshan. Security forces killed 16 Taliban fighters. A British soldier wounded in February died from complications.
Yemen
Twenty-three al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters, nine Yemeni soldiers, and a tribesman were killed in a clash in Lauder in Abyan province. AQAP killed two soldiers in Aden. Yemeni troops loyal to the former Air Force commander looted the Al Dailami airbase.
Somalia
Shabaab killed 12 civilians and two soldiers in an IED attack that targeted a military patrol in Baidoa. AMISOM said it is establishing four bases in central and southern Somalia.