Al Qaeda
US drone base in Ethiopia is operational
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Libya
Somalia, Libya, Uganda: US military increases focus on militant threats from Africa
US Reapers flying from Ethiopia
The US Air Force has built a small base at an airfield in Arba Minch from which the drones can be deployed.
Afghanistan
Security forces captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Helmand, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Nimroz, Zabul, Paktia, Logar, and Wardak. The Taliban attacked a PRT in Kandahar.
Iraq
Insurgents killed 18 Iraqis in a pair of bombings in Sadr City in Baghdad. Police killed three “gunmen” in an area west of Mosul.
Yemen
Security forces killed six al Qaeda fighters in attacks in Shaqra and Zinjibar. The government denied it was employing Syrians to battle protesters.
Somalia
Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said Kenya has a right to pursue Shabaab in southern Somalia. Puntland welcomed Kenya’s invasion of the south to battle Shabaab.
US Predators kill 6 ‘militants’ in North Waziristan strike
The strike took place in the same village in the Mir Ali area where a senior al Qaeda leader was killed six weeks ago.
Kenya
Gunmen suspected of belonging to Shabaab killed four people in an attack in the border town of Mandera. Kenyan officials denied reports that Kenya sought to negotiate with Shabaab.
US Predators kill 5 Taliban commanders in South Waziristan strike
Hazrat Omar, the brother of “good Taliban” leader Mullah Nazir, was one of those killed. Omar was Nazir’s operational commander for Afghanistan.
Soldiers of the Caliphate threaten to attack Kazakhstan
A battalion of the Brigade of the Soldiers of the Caliphate, which carries out attacks in eastern Afghanistan, wants Kazakhstan to retract the ban on the veil and apologize.
Al Qaeda
Kenyan Motives in Somalia Predate Recent Abductions
Fuel tanker bombing in Parwan kills 12 Afghan civilians
The Taliban and allied groups are attempting to carry out major operations in the provinces just north of Kabul.
Taliban threaten to attack Afghan Loya Jirga
Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said anyone participating in the meeting “shall be charged with treason.”
Pakistan
The Taliban killed four people, including a member of a lashkar, in an IED attack in Dir. The Pakistani military claimed two ISAF helicopters violated airspace in North Waziristan.
Afghanistan
Twelve Afghans were killed in a fuel tanker bombing in Parwan province. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in the east. Security forces captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Helmand, Khost, Wardak, and Kunduz.
Iraq
Insurgents killed 11 Iraqis in attacks in Mosul, Tikrit, Baghdad, and Abu Ghraib. Security forces detained five senior Baathists in Al Kut and 20 party members in Kirkuk, and detained 29 wanted men in Mosul.
Somalia
Several Somali members of parliament welcomed Kenya’s invasion of the south. An American and a Dane, both aid workers, were kidnapped in Galkayo; they are thought to be held by pirates.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
A Malian security official said that the Italian and the Spaniard who were taken hostage on Oct. 23 were kidnapped by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s “Sahrawi wing.” Hakim Ould Mohamed M’Barek, a member of the Sahrawi wing, is linked to the kidnappings.
AQAP denies emir Nasir al Wuhayshi killed in US airstrike
In a new AQAP periodical released by the recently formed Madad News Agency, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said their emir “is very well.”
Nigeria
Boko Haram claimed credit for killing a journalist who worked for the government-owned Nigerian Television Authority. The terror group killed the journalist “because he was an informant of security agencies … He gave information to security agents that led to the arrest of many of our members.”
Afghanistan
Security forces killed and captured several Taliban, HIG, and IMU commanders and fighters in Khost, Paktia, Logar, Wardak, Laghman, and Takhar. The Taliban killed a provincial chief of the National Directorate of Security in a suicide attack.
Pakistani Taliban release new video of Swiss hostages
The Taliban again called for the release of ‘Lady al Qaeda’ Aafia Siddiqui. The hostages may be managed by Moezeddine Garsallaoui, a Swiss citizen who is a senior al Qaeda leader in North Waziristan.
Ansar al Islam
Ansar al Islam claimed responsibility for a series of bombings in Baghdad on Oct. 6, 10, and 13. The terror group said it killed more than 60 Iraqis in attacks on policemen and Shia militias in the Sadr City, Al Washash, and Al Atefiyah neighborhoods.
Iraq
Insurgents killed three security guards at an oil facility in Baqubah and a traffic policeman in Baghdad. Prime Minister Maliki ordered the closing of the Justice and Accountability Commission.
Yemen
Security forces killed two protesters in Sana’a. Three Syrian technicians and a Yemeni were killed when a military cargo plane crashed in Lahj. Tribesmen kidnapped a Russian doctor.
Tunisia
Ennahda, Tunisia’s Islamist political party and a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, claimed to have won 40 percent of the vote. The Islamist party said it won 90 of the 217 seats in parliament.
Somalia
Three people were killed during fighting between Somali and Shabaab forces in the village of Busar. A Somali solider killed a woman at a food distribution point in Mogadishu. “Gunmen” kidnapped an American and a Danish aid worker in northern Somalia.
Kenya
One Kenyan was killed and eight more were wounded in a grenada attack at a bus terminal. Somalia’s president said Kenya’s invasion of southern Somalia is “inappropriate.” France said it would provide support to Kenyan forces. The official result of the election has not been released.
Thailand
Muslim insurgents killed seven civilians in attacks in the south on Sunday. Five people were killed when two supermarkets were bombed in Narathiwat province. Two more people were killed in shooting.