Afghanistan
President Karzai said that he has negotiated with members of the Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin. The Taliban killed five policemen in Herat, four civilians in Helmand, and an ISAF soldier in the south.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Somalia
Shabaab said Bilal al Berjawi, a British national who has waged jihad in Somali for years, was killed in an airstrike. Shabaab claimed it defeated African Union and Somali forces that advanced outside of Mogadishu.
Nigeria
Boko Haram killed more than 140 people during a series of blasts, including a suicide bombing, and shootings in Kano. Boko Haram claimed credit for the attacks, which targeted police and immigration buildings. A curfew has been imposed in the city.
Libya
Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have found undeclared chemical weapons left over from Gaddafi’s regime. Hundreds of Islamists gathered in Tripoli to demand the imposition of sharia.
Thailand
Police have issued an arrest warrant for a second Hezbollah operative who is involved with a plot to conduct attacks against Westerners in Thailand. Atris Hussein, who is in custody, claimed the bomb materials found at his office were planted by Israel’s Mossad.
Al Qaeda
US officials believe that the Jan. 11 drone strike in Miramshah, North Waziristan, killed Aslam Awan, a deputy to the leader of al Qaeda’s external operations network. Awan is a Pakistani national from Abbottabad who is also known as Abdullah Khorasani.
Pakistan
A German and an Italian who work for an NGO have been kidnapped in Multan. Two people were killed in bombings in Khyber.
Afghanistan
France suspended its training mission and threatened to withdraw after an Afghan soldier killed four French troops in Kapisa. Six US Marines were killed in a helicopter crash in Helmand.
Yemen
“Gunmen” killed three policemen during an attack on a checkpoint in Aden. The al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader who took control of Rada’a said “the Islamic Caliphate is coming.”
Somalia
African Union forces have advanced outside of Mogadishu for the first time to battle Shabaab forces. Six people were killed in a suicide attack at a refugee camp in Mogadishu. A Somali militia claimed it killed a Shabaab leader in Dusamereb.
AQAP commander says ‘the Islamic Caliphate is coming’
Tariq al Dhahab, the brother-in-law of Anwar al Awalki, has called for the release of al Qaeda prisoners in Yemen and the imposition of sharia, or Islamic law.
France threatens withdrawal after Afghan soldier kills 4 French troops
France has suspended its training mission, while the defense minister and prime minister warned that withdrawal is an option.
Senior al Qaeda leader killed in recent drone strike: report
Aslam Awan, a Pakistani from Abbottabad, is thought to have been killed in the Jan. 11 strike in North Waziristan. He was a deputy to al Qaeda’s external operations chief.
Pakistan
The foreign minister said relations with the US are “on hold” as Pakistan reevaluates the relationship. The foreign ministry’s spokesman said ties with the US will be restored soon. Pakistan snubbed the US’s special envoy to the region by refusing him a visit.
Afghanistan
The Taliban claimed credit for the suicide attack that killed seven Afghans outside Kandahar Air Field. Twelve Taliban fighters and two policemen were killed during clashes in Helmand. The government has closed hundreds of NGOs, according to an official.
Yemen
Tareq al Dhahab, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, said his forces would quit the town of Rada’a if the government frees more than 400 prisoners. Dhahab also demanded the imposition of sharia law in Rada’a.
Somalia
Shabaab released the pictures and identities of Kenyan hostages who were captured during a raid in Kenya’s Wajir district earlier this week. Medecins Sans Frontieres closed several medical centers in Mogadishu after its employees were killed in December.
Nigeria
Bail has been granted for six Boko Haram fighters who are accused of executing a bombing at the Independent National Electoral Commission in Suleja last April. The attack killed 16 people.
Taliban kill 20 Afghans in suicide attack, bombings in the south
The Taliban claimed credit for an IED attack and two suicide attacks in Kandahar and Helmand provinces over the past two days. Several Afghan officials were killed in the bombings.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed nine Afghans, including two policemen, in Kajaki district, and an intelligence chief, two aides, and a provincial council member in Nad Ali district, in separate attacks in Helmand province. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in the south.
Syria
Britain called for harsher sanctions on Syria, while Russia said it would work with China to block efforts at the UN. Senior Hamas leaders are evacuating their families from Damascus.
Yemen
A tribal leader whose brother, Tariq al Dhahab, took control of the town, said senior Yemeni leaders conspired with al Qaeda to take control of Rada’a. Tribal leaders in Rada’a gave AQAP 24 hours to leave the town. The chief of intelligence in Aden dodged an assassination attempt.
Somalia
The UN said that Eritrea continues to support Shabaab. The British Royal Navy may have to free 14 pirates as no country is willing to prosecute them.
Hakeemullah Mehsud: dead, or alive?
Pakistan’s interior minister isn’t sure, while the Taliban said he wasn’t at the scene of the drone strike.
Libya
Libyan forces freed the governor of the Algerian province of Illizi, who was captured yesterday by three purported al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters. Governor Khelfi was about 100 miles inside of Libya when he was freed.
Nigeria
Kabiru Sokoto, the Boko Haram operative who planned the Dec. 25 bombing at a church outside of Abuja that killed 38 people, escaped custody. Sokoto, who was arrested at a governor’s compound, was freed as he was being transferred to a new prison.
Afghanistan
A suicide bomber killed one person in an attack outside a military base in Nangarhar. “Gunmen” killed an anti-Taliban tribal leader in the Dand district in Kandahar. Twenty insurgents in Ghazni reconciled with the government.
Iraq
Insurgents killed five policemen during an attack on a checkpoint in Rutbah near the Jordanian border. Abu Mustafa al Khazali, the head of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades, said his militia would not surrender its weapons despite the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
Somalia
Kenyan troops killed six Shabaab leaders in an attack on a command post in Tatar. Ethiopian and Somali forces clashed with Shabaab forces in Beledweyne; no casualties have been reported.
Nigeria
“Gunmen” killed a police corporal in Mubi and three Chadian nationals in Damaturu. No group has claimed the murders but Boko Haram has been active in the cities over the past several months.