AQAP takes control of another town in southern Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is reported to have seized Rowda in southern Yemen, and is advancing on the port of Balhaf.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
HUJI claims bombing at Delhi High Court
The Harakat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami claimed it carried out the attack to force India to repeal the death sentence of a terrorist involved in the 2001 assault on the parliament in Delhi.
Suicide bombers kill 24 Pakistanis in Quetta
The attack took place just two days after the Pakistani military announced it arrested Younis al Mauritani, a senior member of al Qaeda’s external operations council, in Quetta. The Frontier Corps, which was the target of the suicide attack, was involved in the raid that netted Mauritani.
Pakistan
The Pakistani Taliban demanded the release of its prisoners and the disbandment of anti-Taliban lashkars in exchange for the release of 27 boys kidnapped last week. The doctor who aided the CIA in conducting DNA tests in an attempt to find Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad has been barred from leaving the country.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed the Shirzad district chief and three bodyguards in an IED attack in Nangarhar. Norway suspended $55 million in aid due to the corruption scandal at Kabul Bank.
Iraq
Insurgents killed eight soldiers in Anbar and two civilians in Kirkuk. Three “terrorists” were detained in Kirkuk. The US will reportedly draw down its forces to 3,000 troops by the end of the year.
Yemen
Six Yemeni soldiers and 13 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were killed during clashes in the city of Zinjibar. Thirty-one people are reported to have been killed in yesterday’s airstrike on a mosque in Ja’ar.
Somalia
Shabaab beheaded two young men in Mogadishu. Malaysia ordered the evacuation of its aid workers after a reporter was killed by African Union troops.
Nigeria
Security forces arrested 152 suspected Boko Haram fighters in Abuja. A court has charged six Boko Haram fighters for their involvement in a bombing in Suleja.
Iran ‘arrests’ 5 al Qaeda operatives
If Iran were serious about taking on al Qaeda, why has it freed the terror group’s top leaders and continue to provide it with support?
Al Qaeda
Pakistani forces arrested Younis al Mauritania, a member of al Qaeda’s external operations council, during a raid in Quetta. Also captured were two of his aides: Abdul Ghaffar Al Shami and Messara Al Shami.
Pakistan
Security forces killed eight Taliban fighters in Arakzai and five more in Swat. Security forces detained more than 100 people during operations in Karachi.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed a police commander and his son in Kapisa, and five civilians in Faryab. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban and IMU fighters in Ghazni, Khost, Logar, Kapisa, and Kunduz. Two missing Germans were murdered in Parwan.
Iraq
An Awakening officer was killed in Kirkuk. The Iranian military killed a woman during shelling in Kurdish areas in the north. The Baghdad Operations Commander dodged an assassination attempt in the capital.
Yemen
An airstrike on a mosque in Ja’ar killed seven civilians; aircraft were targeting a group of al Qaeda fighters who overran a smaller mosque nearby. Tribal forces captured a 19-year-old suicide bomber in Lawdar in Abyan province.
Somalia
“Gunmen” killed five people in an ambush in Jowhar. Shabaab arrested four people in connection with the murder of a Red Cross worker in Baidoa, and imposed a curfew in Afgoye. Puntland said it is expelling more than 1,700 “foreigners,” most of whom are Pakistanis and Ethiopians.
Egypt
The governor of North Sinai denied earlier press reports that the military was destroying tunnels used to smuggle weapons and supplies to Palestinians in Gaza. The government built a wall around the Israeli embassy after protests there.
Libya
Algeria closed the border with Libya due to the smuggling of looted weapons from Libyan military depots. Algeria claimed al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is arming itself with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.
Pakistani forces capture senior al Qaeda leader Younis al Mauritani in Quetta
Al Mauritani, a senior member of the external operations council, was captured along with two other “senior al Qaeda operatives” by the Pakistani military.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed two security guards in a suicide attack in Kandahar City and a local police chief in Marjah, and freed two Turkish engineers after eight months of captivity. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban fighters in Kandahar, Khost, Wardak, Kapisa, Baghlan, and Balkh.
Iraq
The bodies of two more escaped prisoners from a jail in Mosul have been found. Insurgents killed a soldier in Mosul. The government is following up on a leaked diplomatic cable that claims US soldiers executed 10 civilians in 2006.
Syria
“Gunmen” killed six Syrian soldiers and three civilians in an ambush on a bus near Hama. Security forces killed 12 civilians during raids in Idlib and Hama.
How many al Qaeda fighters are in Afghanistan again?
ISAF said 40 al Qaeda operatives have been killed or captured this year, casting further doubt on the estimate of 50-100 terrorists in country.
Pakistani arrested by FBI created video for Lashkar-e-Taiba, trained in camps
LWJ has obtained the video of the Lashkar-e-Taiba propaganda tape that was created by Jubair Ahmad at the behest of Hafiz Saeed’s son.
Pakistani Taliban kidnap 25 boys in northwest
A Taliban spokesman confirmed that the boys were kidnapped two days ago by fighters from the Bajaur tribal agency.
FBI arrests Pakistan man for distributing Lashkar-e-Taiba jihadi propaganda
The suspect was uploading jihadi videos at the behest of the son of Lashkar-e-Taiba leader’s leader, Hafiz Saeed.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed four policemen in a rocket attack in Bamyan. Pakistani Taliban leader Faqir Mohammad is said to have kidnapped more than 30 boys who crossed from Bajaur into Kunar.
Pakistan
The Taliban killed four people in an ambush in Kurram. Taliban fighters attacked a tribal leader’s home in Mohmand, and kidnapped three people.
Yemen
Yemeni military forces seized the main entrances into Zinjibar and are advancing to the center of the provincial capital; nine al Qaeda and six soldiers were killed during fighting. AQAP fighters are said to be retreating to Shaqra and advancing on Attaq, the provincial capital of Shabwa, and Howtah, the provincial capital of Lahj.
Turkey
Turkey expelled Israeli diplomats and downgraded relations after the UN released a report critical of Israeli actions against a ship bound for Gaza. Turkey will host an upgraded early warning radar for NATO.