Yemen
The governor of Dhale province escaped an assassination attempt; the attack was thought to have been launched by southern separatists. The ruling and opposition parties agreed to delay parliamentary elections.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Lebanon
Ten ministers from Hezbollah and allied political parties resigned from Prime Minister Saad al Hariri’s cabinet, causing the coalition government to collapse. Hezbollah engineered the collapse after a meeting was planned to discuss the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating the assassination of Hariri’s father.
Suicide bomber kills 20 in Pakistan’s northwest, Taliban claim attack
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said the attacks would continue until US Predator strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas are halted.
US Predators kill 4 ‘foreigners’ in North Waziristan strike
The strike took place in the Mir Ali area, a known haven for al Qaeda and the Islamic Jihad Group.
Afghanistan
Vice President Biden said the US could stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014 if requested. Coalition and Afghan forces killed and captured dozens of Taliban, Haqqani Network, and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commanders and fighters in Helmand, Ghazni, Khost, Wardak, and Kunduz. The Taliban killed two civilians in Farah.
ISAF kills, captures Taliban and IMU leaders in Afghan north
In Kunduz, a senior Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander was killed along with the Taliban’s shadow governor of Khanabad, and a senior facilitator involved in a recent suicide assault was captured.
Saudi Arabia
Muhammed Saleem Saeed Braikan, who is on Saudi Arabia’s list of 47 most wanted terrorists, is married to Osama bin Laden’s daughter Fatima and is a senior leader in al Qaeda. Braikan is believed to be operating along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
Iraq
Security forces detained an al Qaeda leader in Diyala, six Islamic Army of Iraq fighters in Baghdad, and a member of parliament’s bodyguard in Wasit, and broke up a plot to assassinate provincial council members in Anbar. Insurgents wounded 13 civilians in five bombings in Baghdad.
Somalia
Three Somalis, including a soldier, were killed in a hand grenade attack in the Wadajir district. Shabaab has ordered high schools in Beledweyne to turn over lists of students to be used in recruiting fighting.
Wanted Saudi married to Osama bin Laden’s daughter
A Saudi named Muhammed Saleem Saeed Braikan (or Buraikan), who is on the updated list of the Kingdom’s 47 most wanted terrorists, married a daughter (she was just 12 years old at the time) of Osama bin Laden, and is well tuned into al Qaeda’s operational plans and may be aware of bin Laden’s location […]
Saudi Arabia names 47 most-wanted terrorists
None of the 47 al Qaeda operatives are in Saudi Arabia. Twenty-seven of them are thought to be in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 16 are thought to be in Yemen, and four more are believed to be in Iraq.
Afghanistan
A suicide bomber killed three policemen in Kandahar. Coalition and Afghan forces killed and captured dozens of Taliban commanders and fighters in Ghazni, Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar, Kunar, Khost, Logar, Kunduz, and Farah. ISAF is investigating reports it accidentally killed three Afghan police in an airstrike in Day Kundi.
Iraq
Security forces killed an insurgent in Mosul and detained seven more, and detained two members of an assassination cell in Fallujah and a Naqshabandiya leader in Kirkuk. Insurgents killed Hit’s the police chief and two civilians in Mosul.
Saudi Arabia
The interior ministry released the list of the 47 most wanted Saudis. Of those wanted, 27 are thought to be in Pakistan and Afghanistan, 16 are in Yemen, and four are in Iraq.
Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula killed three electricity department workers and a security guard in an IED attack in Abyan. The government deported four Egyptians accused of aiding Houthi rebels in the north.
Somalia
A civilian was killed in a hand grenade attack in Mogadishu. Shabaab’s governor of Mogadishu urged Somalis to aid those stricken by drought. Shabaab fired three officials in Bu’ale.
ISAF captures Qods Force-linked Taliban leader in Afghan west
The Taliban commander, who was captured in Farah province, “is definitely associated with Qods Force,” an ISAF official told The Long War Journal.
Philippines
Philippine Rangers killed two Abu Sayyaf fighters and detained another during operations in the town of Tipo-tipo in Basilan province. The military estimates Abu Sayyaf has 340 fighters in its ranks.
Pakistan released HUJI chief, unable to keep him behind bars
Last week our sources confirmed a report that Qari Saifullah Akhtar, the leader of the Harakat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI, or the Movement of Islamic Holy War), was released from Pakistani custody in early December 2010 (you can read the report and all the information about Akhtar’s connections to al Qaeda and Pakistan’s military and intelligence service here.) […]
Afghanistan
Coalition and Afghan forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Nangarhar, Logar, Kunar, and Kunduz. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in the south and a French soldier in the east.
Somalia
During a rally in Baidoa, Sheikh Muktar Robow, Shabaab’s deputy leader, called for Somalis to go to Mogadishu to wage jihad. Shabaab banned men and women from exchanging handshakes.
Yemen
A Yemeni minister said the media “is exaggerating” the threat posed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the country. A California man was sentenced to five years in a US prison for spying for Yemen.
Iran
Iran deported a woman who was arrested this week and accused of being a “US spy.” The outgoing chief of Israeli Mossad said Iran will not have a nuclear device until 2015. Afghans are protesting Iran’s fuel blockade.
ISAF targets al Qaeda-linked Taliban commanders in the Afghan east
Recent raids have targeted Taliban leaders in Kunar and Nangarhar with close ties to al Qaeda. Both provinces host al Qaeda cells.
Al Qaeda
A Pakistani’s assassin’s long reach
Pakistan
Two Taliban fighters died in a premature detonation in Khyber. The Taliban bombed a health clinic in Mohmand. Security forces arrested four “religious extremists” in Quetta.
Afghanistan
Coalition and Afghan forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Kandahar, Helmand, and Kunar. The Taliban killed two Afghan soldiers in Logar, three civilians in Helmand and Khost, and an ISAF soldier in the east.
Iraq
Insurgents killed four civilians, including two children, in bombings in Diyala and Nassiriyah. Muqtada al Sadr called on Iraqis to resist the presence of US forces.
Somalia
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said the Horn of Africa may become a new launchpad for global terrorism. Somalia’s deputy minister of interior accused Shabaab of halting humanitarian aid to Somalis living in areas under Shabaab’s control. Shabaab arrested three senior officials accused of stealing aid money.
Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula continued its attacks on Yemeni forces. In Lahj, four soldiers were killed in an ambush. In Abyan, eight more soldiers were wounded in an attack, while a security official dodged an assassination attempt.