Kenya
Why Al Shabaab Loved Ras Kamboni Town
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Swiss jihadi denounces Tunisian elections as Western ‘trick’
Moezeddine Garsallaoui, a Swiss citizen originally from Tunisia who is now thought to be a senior al Qaeda operative in North Waziristan, said the elections are a Western trick designed to usurp the establishment of a global caliphate.
Pakistan
Four members of a pro-government militia and two Lashkar-e-Islam fighters were killed in a clash in Khyber. The US said it is confident that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program is secure.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed three Afghan policemen during a suicide assault on the governor’s compound in Paktia; five Taliban fighters were killed during the attack. The governor was hosting tribal leaders during the attack.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula announced that it will release a video documenting the life of Anwar al Awalki. The video will include a statement from Awlaki called “Message for the American people.”
Somalia
Shabaab fighters paraded in the coastal town of Marka. A member of parliament was gunned down in Mogadishu.
Nigeria
More than 20 suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked a police station and a highway safety office in Mainok near Damaturu. Locals claimed four policemen were killed, but the government denied this.
Haqqani Network attacks governor’s office in Paktia
Haqqani Network assaults may achieve strategic goals despite battlefield failure.
Kazakh jihadi leader seeks restoration of Islamic caliphate
Rawil Kusaynuv, the emir of the Zahir Baibars Battalion, a unit in the Jund al Khilafah, said there are several battalions operating in Afghanistan.
Al Qaeda
Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, an al Qaeda operative from Saudi Arabia, is being arraigned by a military commission at Guantanamo Bay. Al Nashiri was involved in the suicide boat attack on the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen in 2002, the attack on the MV Limburg in 2002, and the plot to attack the USS […]
Afghanistan
More than 60 Haqqani Network and foreign fighters were killed during a failed assault on Combat Outpost Margah in Paktika. Amnesty International called for the International Criminal Court to investigate the Taliban’s targeting of civilians. An Afghan soldier wounded three Australian troops in Uruzgan.
Iraq
Insurgents killed an Awakening leader in Salahadin and attempted to assassinate the mayor of Mosul. The US has turned over the massive airbase at Balad to the Iraqi military.
Somalia
Shabaab killed 17 people in bombings in the capital of Mogadishu. Shabaab is reported to have pulled down its flags from public places in Baidoa and Dinsoor.
Somalia
CAIR Claims 2 Metro Somali Leaders are Anti-Muslim
ISAF beats back assault on eastern Afghan base
Afghan officials claimed that 60 to 70 Haqqani Network and foreign fighters were killed during fighting at Combat Outpost Margah in Paktika province.
Pakistan
A US official said another major attack on the US in Afghanistan would damage relations with Pakistan. Pakistan’s ambassador to the US denied Pakistan is supporting the Taliban. The Taliban bombed a girls’ school in Mardan.
Afghanistan
Eleven people, including six children, two women, and two policemen, were killed in an IED attack in Badghis province. The Taliban killed a policeman during an assault on a police station in Ghazni; nine Taliban fighters were captured.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Yemeni troops claimed to have killed 10 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in clashes near Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan. Yemeni security forces claimed 10 other AQAP fighters were killed during the two previous days.
Somalia
Kenyan and Somali troops are conducting door-to-door searches in the southern towns and villages of Ras Kamboni, Mnarani, Burgavo, Tabda, Beles Qooqani, Dhobley, Busar, and Jilib in search of Shabaab. The Kenyan military claimed Shabaab has been cleared from 50 percent of the areas along the border.
Nigeria
A government spokesman said US warnings about potential attacks on there major hotels in Abuja are “eliciting unhealthy public anxiety and generating avoidable tension.” Police have deployed armored vehicles in the city to protect the hotels.
Hakeemullah Mehsud threatens more attacks in Pakistan
The leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan also reiterated his loyalty to Afghan Taliban emir Mullah Omar.
IMU announces death of German jihadist
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan said that Abu Bakr al Almani, a previously unknown jihadist, was killed during battle.
Haqqani Network facilitator targeted in Badakhshan
This is the first reported ISAF raid against the Haqqanis in the remote northeastern province.
Pakistan
The Taliban killed four people, including a pro-government tribal leader, in separate attacks in Bajaur and South Waziristan. The Taliban also killed a political leader and his bodyguard in a bombing outside a mosque in Swabi.
Afghanistan
A suicide assault team killed a policeman in Baghlan. The Taliban killed a police chief and two bodyguards in an IED attack in Helmand. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban fighters and commanders in Kandahar, Helmand, Khost, Paktia, Wardak, Nangarhar, and Badakhshan.
Iraq
The governor of Anbar province dodged an assassination attempt in Abu Ghraib as he traveled to Baghdad. Kuwait denied it planned to host more troops as the US draws down in Iraq.
Yemen
Security forces killed six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and wounded several more during fighting in Zinjibar. An undisclosed number of Yemeni soldiers were wounded during the fighting.
Somalia
Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Mohamud Ali Rage again threatened war with Kenya; Rage made the statement from a mosque in Daynile in Mogadishu. Two Shabaab fighters were killed during a clash with pirates in Harardhere.
Kenya
President Kibaki vowed to remain in southern Somalia until Shabaab is defeated. The Eritrean foreign ministry said Kenya’s accusations that Eritrea is arming Shabaab fighters in the south were “regrettable.”
Afghanistan
Analysis: Little hope seen of Taliban settlement before 2014