The People Committed to the Prophet’s Teachings for Propagation and Jihad (formerly Boko Haram) claimed it carried out the series of bombings that targeted Christians in Jos on Dec. 24 and 25. The terror group said it would “start avenging the atrocities committed against Muslims in those areas, and the country in general.”
A court is trying two Pakistani brothers accused of “running a jihadi organization and aiding and abetting al Qaeda.” The two men are also said to have had direct communications with senior al Qaeda leaders.
Iran executed two men, including one who was accused of being an “Israeli spy.” Interior Minister Najjar accused the CIA and Mossad of sponsoring terror groups based in Pakistan such as Jundallah.
The airstrikes killed 15 Taliban fighters in an area used for staging attacks into Afghanistan.
US Predators killed 25 terrorists in a pair of strikes in North Waziristan. The Taliban killed a security official in Khyber. Security forces killed six Taliban fighters in Swat. ISAF denied its helicopters crossed the border into Pakistan.
A Taliban suicide bomber killed three people in Kandahar. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in the south. Coalition and Afghan forces killed and captured several Taliban fighters in Ghazni, Helmand, and Kapisa. President Karzai’s spokesman urged Pakistan to stop supporting the Taliban.
Two suicide bombers killed 17 people in an attack on the provincial center in Anbar. Insurgents killed a police major in Diyala. Security forces detained 15 wanted men in Kirkuk, two suicide bombers in Samarra, an al Qaeda leader and several operatives in Tikrit, Kirkuk, and Khalis, and an Ansar al Sunnah leader and two […]
The Hezbollah Brigades threatened to continue attacks on US forces in Iraq unless the US fully withdraws from the country by the end of 2011, and called for the release of all captive fighters. The Hezbollah Brigades is supported by Iran’s Qods Force.
A court sentenced seven members of al Qaeda in Aceh to jail terms of up to eight years. The al Qaeda operatives were planning to carry out assassinations and attack Westerners in Mumbai-styled terror attacks in Jakarta.
Police arrested six members of a terror cell who have expertise in manufacturing explosives and were plotting to carry out car bombings and other attacks. The cell is thought to be targeting Moroccan security forces and other targets in the country and abroad.
A court charged nine Muslim men for conspiring to carry out terror attacks in the United Kingdom. Twelve men were detained on Dec. 20 during raids in Birmingham, London, Cardiff, and Stoke-on-Trent; three others detained during the raids have been released.
The strikes are the first in 10 days, and the first in the Mir Ali area since the end of November.
Christians and Muslims fought in the streets of Jos after attacks against Christians took place on Christmas Eve and Day. Buildings were torched and 95 people were reported to have been seriously wounded. A curfew has been imposed.
Russian Spetsnaz special operations troops killed eight terrorists during a raid in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. Amir Magomed Sheikhov, a local terrorist leader, was among those killed.
The World Food Program shut down aid delivery in Bajaur after yesterday’s suicide attack. The Taliban killed a truck driver in Mastung who was transporting supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Gilani said US drone attacks in Pakistan are counterproductive.
Coalition and Afghan forces killed and captured several Taliban and Haqqani Network commanders and fighters in Ghazni, Kandahar, Khost, and Faryab. Four Turkish workers were kidnapped in Paktia.
Security forces killed an insurgent and detained 11 more in Mosul, and detained seven more in Hillah. Insurgents nearly assassinated an interior ministry official in Baghdad.
Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage made the statement at a press conference in Mogadishu, where he formally announced the takeover of Hizbul Islam.
Interior Minister Najjar said that he still cannot confirm reports that Pakistan arrested Jundallah leader Abdul Rauf Rigi. Iran agreed to lift a three-week-long blockade of fuel tankers entering Afghanistan. A court sentenced an “Israeli” spy” to death.
This article from The New York Times on the Andar district in the southeastern Afghan province of Ghazni highlights some of the challenges that Coalition and Afghan forces face in tackling areas of the country that have been ungoverned for years. “And how long has it been since you’ve seen the governor?” the commander, Capt. […]
Abu Ramez Sahmarani, the leader of Jund al Sham, an al Qaeda-linked group in Lebanon, was found dead in the Ein al Hilweh camp. Sahmarani “was found handcuffed, blindfolded and shot execution-style in the back of his head.”
The death toll in the Christmas Eve bombings in Jos rose to 32. Six Christians were killed in attacks on two churches in Maiduguri. Boko Haram is suspected of carrying out the attacks.
A female Taliban suicide bomber killed 42 civilians in an attack at a World Food Program ration distribution point in Bajaur. The Taliban kidnapped 25 tribal leaders who met with General Kayani in South Waziristan. Security forces killed 16 Taliban fighters in Mohmand.
The Taliban killed two soldiers, two policemen, and a German aid worker in attacks throughout the country. Twenty Taliban fighters surrendered to the government in Badghis. Afghan troops captured four Taliban fighters in Logar.
Police arrested 12 Somalis in Rotterdam after receiving intelligence of a plot to carry out attacks in the country. Searches of several homes, two motel rooms, and a telephone shop failed to uncover any weapons or explosives.
Security forces detained 12 wanted men in Kirkuk, eight al Qaeda operatives including two Syrians in Anbar, and an escaped prisoner in Tal Afar. Iraqi soldiers accidentally killed a civilian in a shooting in Mosul.
Eleven people were wounded in a bombing during Christmas Day mass at a Catholic church in a police camp on Jolo Island in Sulu province. The al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group is suspected of carrying out the attack.
Iran claimed it will launch two new satellites into earth’s orbit by March 2011. Iran’s natural gas exports to Turkey hit a record high this year; Iran hopes to make $50 billion annually in natural gas exports.
The suicide bomber targeted civilians as they waited to receive rations at a World Food Program distribution point in Bajaur.
At least eight people were killed and dozens more were wounded in five bombings in the city of Jos. Boko Haram had issued letters last week threatening to attack Christians in the state of Plateau.