Syria
Security forces killed six people during an assault at a mosque in the city of Duraa. Protesters have used the Omari mosque as a base of operations for demonstrations against President Assad’s regime.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
ISAF captures IMU leader who ran terror camps in Afghan north
The unnamed IMU commander ran “multiple IMU training camps and was involved with the facilitation and movement of fighters in and out of Samangan training camps, including fighters’ movement to Pakistan.”
Pakistan
The Taliban kidnapped 24 people in Kurram and wounded six security personnel in Khyber. Security forces arrested a terrorist plotting to attack Pakistan’s parliament.
Afghanistan
President Karzai announced that Afghan forces will take control of the provinces of Kabul, Panjshir, and Bamyan, and the cities of Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Mehterlam, and Lashkar Gah. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban, Haqqani Network, and IMU commanders and fighters in Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Khost, Balkh, and Baghlan. The Taliban killed two ISAF soldiers […]
Iraq
Two police officers were killed in shootings in Baghdad. A policeman was killed during clashes with protesters in Halabja. Security forces arrested 10 wanted men in Basrah.
Somalia
Fifteen people were killed in fighting in Mogadishu. Shabaab killed two soldiers in Ba’ad and beheaded two people in Beletweyne.
Syria
Protests continue in Daraa and Nawa, where security forces killed five people and wounded 300 more. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Syria to launch a probe into the attacks on protesters.
Libya
A US F-15E fighter crashed in Banghazi; the two US pilots were rescued. NATO is feuding over who will take control of the no-fly zone after the US steps back. Pro-Gaddafi forces shelled Misrata.
Afghan al Qaeda/Taliban commander threatens to avenge Pakistan drone strike
Qari Zia Rahman said that al Qaeda and the Taliban have jointly decided to attack US and Afghan forces to retaliate for the March 17 Predator strike in Datta Khel.
Pakistan ready for peace with the Taliban?
This report from The Express Tribune on the Pakistani government opening negotiations with the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan is the first I’ve seen in the press. I’ve heard rumors of this from US military and non-military intelligence officials, and it does seem to fit with other related news reports. Pakistan has started peace […]
Pakistan
The Taliban executed four “US spies” accused of aiding the March 17 Predator strike in North Waziristan. Security forces arrested three suspects thought to be involved in the recent suicide attack in Faisalabad. The government is reportedly negotiating with the Taliban and has abandoned the tribal lashkars.
Afghanistan
Security forces killed and captured several Taliban, HIG, and IMU commanders and fighters in Helmand, Kandahar, and Baghlan. Spiegel published images of US soldiers displaying bodies of Afghans; the soldiers are on trial for murder.
Iraq
Insurgents killed an Awakening leader in Kirkuk, the Director General of Iraq’s Oil Marketing and a colonel in the Iraqi Army in Baghdad, and a civilian in Baghdad. The National Reconciliation Minister is meeting with unnamed “armed groups.”
Somalia
One Somali was killed in an IED attack outside of a police station in Bala Hawo. Ethiopian troops have pulled out of Bala Hawo and Luq. Somalia defense minister said Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Djibouti are willing to provide troops to the African Union mission.
Taliban punish 4 ‘spies’ for recent deadly airstrike
The so-called spies were killed for aiding in the controversial March 17 Predator strike in Datta Khel.
Yemen
Major General Ali Mohsen Saleh, the commander of the first armored division and the northwest military commander, has joined protesters to oppose President Saleh. Two other brigadiers also have abandoned Saleh. Gunmen attacked power lines in Marib, forcing Sana’a to conduct rolling blackouts.
Turkey
Turkey forced a second Iranian aircraft suspected of transporting illegal weapons and nuclear materials to Syria to land at Diyarbakir for inspection. Another Iranian plane forced to land last week was not found to contain banned materials.
Libya
The government claimed that UN forces bombed one of President Gaddafi’s compounds during airstrikes in Tripoli. Airstrikes are targeting Gaddafi’s ground forces in Ajdabiyah and Banghazi.
Bahrain
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa claimed security forces foiled “an external plot” that has “fomented for 20 to 30 years until the ground was ripe for subversive designs.” Bahrain has blamed Iran for stirring up the Shia majority in the past.
Pakistan
North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar threatened to end the peace deal with the government. Predators have been spotted over North Waziristan, and the Pakistan Air Force has denied it was preparing to shoot the planes down. The head of the ISI has been granted a one-year extension.
Aweys: Shabaab recruits ‘underage children to fight for us’
It isn’t every day that you get a terrorist leader to freely admit what an awful human he really is. Late last week, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a Shabaab commander and Specially Designated Global Terrorist with links to al Qaeda, proudly told how his organization recruits children to wage jihad. From Garowe: “We recruit underage […]
The Taliban
The Taliban condemned Western involvement in Libya as “colonialism.” The Taliban described the operation as a “politically-motivated and uncalled-for intervention and adventure of the Western countries in the internal conflict of the people of Libya,” and an attempt to grab oil.
Afghanistan
Security forces killed and captured several Taliban and IMU commanders and fighters in Helmand, Logar, and Baghlan. The Taliban killed two Afghan soldiers in Khost and an ISAF soldier in the south. Eleven Taliban fighters reconciled with the government in Herat.
Iraq
A suicide bomber killed an Awakening commander and five members of his family in an attack in Dalouiya. Insurgents killed three Iraqis in four separate bombings in Baghdad.
Somalia
Shabaab repelled an assault by Somali and Kenyan forces on the town of Dhobley; 20 people were killed in the fighting. African Union forces killed a senior Shabaab commander. In Gedo, 25 Shabaab fighters surrendered to the pro-government Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama’a.
Yemen
President Saleh’s own tribe demanded his resignation as he sacked the entire cabinet. Security forces have withdrawn from Sana’a University. The US embassy in Sanaa’a again issued a travel warning.
Egypt
Security forces re-arrested Mohammad al Zawahiri, an Islamic Jihad Group member and the brother of Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s second-in-command. Mohammed was released days ago and had justified terror attacks against the US.
Libya
President Gaddafi vowed to wage a “long, drawn-out war with no limits” as UN countries began attacking his air defenses and ground forces. Admiral Mike Mullen said that a no-fly zone has “effectively been established,” regime change is not the goal of the mission, and Gaddafi may remain in power despite the assault.
Predators continue to prowl North Waziristan skies
Despite the public protests by top Pakistani political leaders and General Kayani over last Thursday’s US Predator strike that killed more than 30 (or 40 depending on which report you reference) people in North Waziristan, and vague threats to shoot the aircraft down, the unmanned hunter-killers continue to fly over the tribal agency. Dawn reports: […]
ISAF strikes at 4 IMU commanders in ‘safe haven’ in Afghan north
The raid targeted four Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commanders. ISAF has struck in the district of Burkah in Baghlan province four times this month.