Iraq
A suicide bomber killed six people in an attack at a mosque in Diyala. Insurgents killed five civilians and an army brigadier in attacks in Baghdad and Kirkuk. Security forces killed one terrorist and detained 14 more in Anbar and Diyala.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Morocco
Fifteen people, including six Frenchmen and four foreigners, were killed in a bombing at a cafe in Marrakesh. Two witnesses claimed it was a suicide bombing.
Somalia
Twenty-one people were killed during clashes in Barwaaqo between Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama’a and Al-Shabaab. Government forces claimed to have taken control of the village while Shabaab announced it carried out a “tactical withdrawal.”
Indonesia
Detachment 88, Indonesia’s counterterrorism police, arrested 19 suspects involved in a series of book bombings and a plot to blow up a church in Serong over Easter weekend. Police found a suspected bomb factory in Aceh.
ISAF captures HIG’s provincial commander for Khost
Special operation teams have hammered Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin’s command in an area of Khost under the control of the Haqqani Network.
Bangladesh
Police arrested Maulana Sheikh Farid, the top Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami Bangladesh leader. Farid has been linked to a string of attacks in Bangladesh, and fought with the Taliban during the 1990s.
Pakistan
Three people were killed in a bombing of a Navy bus in Karachi. Pakistani forces killed three Afghan troops after launching artillery attacks from South Waziristan. The government denied reports it is seeking to split the US and Afghanistan.
Afghanistan
An Afghan pilot killed eight ISAF soldiers and a contractor in an attack in Kabul. The Taliban killed two policemen in Kunar and two ISAF troops in the south and the east. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban and HIG commanders and fighters in Kandahar, Helmand, Khost, and Paktika.
Somalia
Ten people were killed in an IED attack in Luq. Three soldiers and two civilians were killed during clashes with Shabaab in Mogadishu. Shabaab banned khat usage in Marka.
Yemen
Two Yemeni soldiers were killed in an ambush in Zinjibar in the southern province of Abyan. The government said the opposition and President Saleh’s political party have agreed to the Gulf Cooperation Council’s plan to transition power.
Egypt
“Masked gunmen” bombed the El Sabil natural gas export terminal on the Sinai Peninsula. The bombing has shut down the natural gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan. No group has claimed the attack.
Libya
A US official said NATO is increasing airstrikes in an effort to pressure President Gaddafi into ending the fighting, not kill him. Venezuela is hosting Gaddafi’s envoys and seeks to negotiate a settlement to the fighting.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
In a tape released on the jihadist forums, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb again called for France to withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for the release of five French hostages captured in Niger. “We implore the president of the French republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, to answer favorably al Qaeda’s demands for France to withdraw French […]
United States
President Obama is expected to nominate current CIA Director Leon Panetta as the Secretary of Defense, and current ISAF Commander General David Petraeus as the head of the CIA. Lieutenant General John Allen will replace Petraeus as ISAF commander.
Afghan pilot kills 8 US troops, contractor in Kabul attack
The pilot is said to have opened fire on the ISAF troops after a dispute at North Kabul International Airport. The Taliban claimed the attack.
How many al Qaeda operatives are now left in Afghanistan?
ISAF said it has killed more than 25 al Qaeda leaders and fighters in Afghanistan in the past month.
Iraq
Insurgents killed two Iraqis in Kirkuk and the Baghdad governor’s secretary in the capital. Security forces detained two al Qaeda operatives in Wasit, three members of an IED cell in Baghdad, and seven wanted men in Kirkuk.
Lashkar-e-Taiba
The US has charged four Pakistani members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in absentia for their conspiring in the November 2008 terror assault on Mumbai. The men are known as Sajid Mir, Abu Qahafa, Mazhar Iqbal, and “Major Iqbal.”
Afghanistan
ISAF killed al Qaeda’s operations chief for Kunar in an April 14 airstrike. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban and Haqqani Network fighters in Helmand, Ghazni, Khost, Nangarhar, Laghman, Baghlan, and Badghis. Seventy-one Taliban fighters who escaped from a jail in Kandahar have been captured.
Pakistan
Four people were killed in a pair of bombings that targeted Pakistani Navy personnel in Karachi. Security forces arrested four “terrorists” in Rawalpindi. The interior minister said the ISI is being maligned.
Libya
Forces loyal to President Gaddafi shelled the city of Misrata despite withdrawing from the center of the town just days ago. NATO air forces attacked compounds run by pro-Gaddafi forces in Tripoli.
Saudi al Qaeda leader killed in Kunar airstrike
Abu Hafs al Najdi, a Qaeda’s operations chief in Kunar, was wanted by the Saudi government. ISAF said “more than 25 al Qaeda leaders and fighters” have been killed in Afghanistan over the past month.
Iraq
Security forces detained seven al Qaeda in Iraq fighters during raids in Kirkuk. Two soldiers and two local Kurdish security forces were reported to have been killed during a clash in Kirkuk. More than 14,000 Iraqis have gone missing since the Iraq war began in March 2003.
Hezbollah
Bahrain accused Hezbollah of training Shia opposition members at camps in Iran and Lebanon. “Evidence confirms that Bahraini elements are being trained in Hezbollah camps specifically established to train assets from the Gulf,” a government report said.
Gitmo docs link Pakistani, Iranian, and Yemeni intelligence agencies to al Qaeda
The Matrix of Threat Indicators for Enemy Combatants document, one of hundreds released by WikiLeaks, described the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen as “associated forces” that support al Qaeda.
Pakistan
NATO’s supply route to Afghanistan has been reopened after a two-day-long protest ended in Peshawar. A Gitmo document lists the ISI as a terrorist entity. The IAEA said that Pakistan’s nuclear program is safe.
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The US transferred Ahmed Wali Siddiqui, a German citizen, back to his home country. Siddiqui was arrested in Afghanistan and disclosed details of a plot by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan to carry out attacks in Europe.
Afghanistan
More than 450 Taliban members, including more than 100 leaders, escaped from a prison in Kandahar City; two escapees have been killed and 24 more captured. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban, HIG, and Haqqani Network fighters in Uruzgan, Kandahar, Logar, Kunduz, Ghazni, Khost, Wardak, Nangarhar, Baghlan, and Badghis.
Yemen
Two soldiers and two tribesmen were killed in an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ambush in Al Baitha province. Two anti-government protesters were killed in Ibb. President Saleh is seeking immunity before transferring power.
Syria
The military has deployed tanks, armored vehicles, and thousands of troops into the town of Duraa, the epicenter of anti-regime protests. Syrian forces have also deployed to the town of Jableh and the Damascus suburb of Douma.