How many times do 75 percent of al Qaeda’s top leaders need to be killed before the terror group is dead?
Like President Obama, President Bush claimed that al Qaeda was on its deathbed after 3/4 of its leaders were killed or captured … back in 2005.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Pakistan
The Taliban killed a Pakistani Army officer and two soldiers in an IED attack in Kurram. Security forces detained the emir and four cell members of the Al Badar group in Karachi.
Afghanistan
Security forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Helmand, Khost, Logar, Kunar, and Kunduz. Afghan forces freed 11 captured policemen in Badakhshan. Germany will withdraw 100 soldiers in January 2012.
Yemen
Security forces killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters near Zinjibar in Abyan province. AQAP fighters killed two soldiers outside of Zinjibar.
Iran
The Intelligence Ministry claimed it arrested a “US spy” who was trained in Iraq and Afghanistan. The foreign minister urged Afghanistan not to permit US drones to operate in its airspace.
Nigeria
Three Boko Haram fighters were killed after their explosives detonated prematurely at their bomb factory in Maiduguri. Suspected Boko Haram fighters killed a policeman in Kano.
Pakistan
Twenty Taliban fighters and a Pakistani soldier were killed in a clash in Arakzai after the Taliban hit a military convoy with an IED. Twenty-five Pakistani soldiers were wounded while repelling the attack.
Afghanistan
Security forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Hemand, Kandahar, Khost, Paktia, Logar, and Wardak. A Taliban fighter lobbed grenades at a police station in Kabul; no one was injured.
Iran
Russia seized 18 pieces of Sodium-22, a radioactive metal, from the suitcase of a passenger who was traveling to Iran. The military said it would shoot down any US drones that violate its airspace.
US transfers dangerous Hezbollah leader involved in murder of 5 US soldiers to Iraqi custody
Musa Ali Daqduq, who was tasked with establishing a Hezbollah-like Shia terror group in Iraq, and who was involved in the 2007 attack on US troops in Karbala, is now in Iraqi custody.
Hezbollah
The US released Hezbollah commander Musa Ali Daqduq to Iraqi custody. Daqduq was tasked by Iran to train the Mahdi Army to operate like Hezbollah, and was also involved in the murder of five US soldiers in Karbala in January 2007.
Pakistan
The Pakistani government continues to insist the US strike in Mohmand that killed 24 Pakistani troops was a deliberate attack on the military. Police thwarted a terrorist attack in Laki Marwat.
Taliban camps remain in operation in South Waziristan
Journalists encountered “fighters from Turkmenistan” while moving to the Taliban training camp.
US adds Abdullah Azzam Brigades commander to terrorist list
Saleh al Qarawi, a top leader of the Lebanon-based terror group, fought with Abu Musab al Zarqawi in Fallujah. Qarawi was ordered by Zarqawi to form the terror group to conduct attacks in the Middle East.
Pakistani Taliban take revenge for slain al Qaeda media operative
The Taliban claimed they killed three Pakistani Rangers to avenge the killing of GIMF operative Abd al Moeed bin Abd al Salam.
Mali
Security forces detained a hotel manager and a tour guide in connection to the kidnapping of two Frenchmen in Hombori. The two were kidnapped by al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb. Tourism has plummeted since the spate of recent kidnappings.
Pakistan
Prime Minister Gilani said President Zardari went to Dubai for medical treatment after receiving death threats. Five Taliban fighters and a policeman were killed during a clash in Peshawar. The Taliban bombed a girls’ school in Tank.
Pakistan
The US has frozen $700 million in aid until it receives assurances that Pakistan will crack down on IED materials. ISAF commander General Allen said Pakistan is cooperating on border issues. The Lashkar-e-Islam killed five people in Khyber.
Pakistan
The Taliban killed three policemen in a bombing in Hangu. Security forces arrested a Taliban commander and a fighter in Hangu. The interior minister said the government would not talk to the Taliban until they “surrender and accept government’s writ.”
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed two ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in eastern Afghanistan yesterday. Security forces captured a Haqqani Network leader in Ghazni and a Taliban leader and several fighters in Helmand and Nangarhar.
Iraq
NATO will end its mission to train the Iraqi military after the US withdraws from Iraq at the end of December. The US will sell Iraq an additional 18 F-16 fighters.
Iran denies links to suicide attacks on US embassies in East Africa
The Iranian foreign ministry publicly responded to the article by Thomas Joscelyn that pointed out Iran’s links to the 1998 suicide attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Shabaab publishes IDs, information on slain Burundian soldiers
Shabaab’s “Press Office War Statistics Office” said it would provide more information on slain Burundian soldiers if requested.
US drone strikes ‘on hold’ in Pakistan: US official
Intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that the US fears relations with Pakistan will further deteriorate, but the US would consider hitting a high-value target if the opportunity was available.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed six policemen and five tribal leaders in attacks throughout the country. Security forces captured several Taliban leaders and fighters in Kandahar, Zabul, Khost, Logar, and Nangarhar.
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda profits from Yemen turmoil
Pakistan frees 145 Taliban fighters as negotiations progress
A peace deal with the Taliban in Pakistan will inflame the situation in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan
US diplomat: Afghan war not becoming sectarian war
Libya
“Gunmen” thought to be from the Zintan militia attempted to assassinate the chief of Libya’s nascent army. Fighting broke out in Tripoli after gunmen opened fire on General Khalifa Hifter’s convoy.
Jihadist releases bio of Yemeni al Qaeda operative killed in Somalia
Abu ‘Asim al Tabuki Mansour Nasser al Bihani waged jihad in Bosnia, Dagestan, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. He trained Omar Hammami, the American military commander in Shabaab. Two of Abu ‘Asim’s brothers are currently being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.