Somalia
Families in Kismayo said Shabaab is pressing young men to fight in Mogadishu, and the families are not allowed to contact their sons. Djibouti has reopened its embassy in Mogadishu.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Al Qaeda
Abu Abdelrahman al Qahtani, a Yemeni al Qaeda commander, is reported to have been killed along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Qahtani is associated with Humam al Balawi, the suicide bomber who attack Camp Chapman in Khost, Afghanistn, killing seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer. The report is unconfirmed.
Yemeni al Qaeda commander reported killed
Evan Kohlmann is reporting, via Twitter, that a Yemeni al Qaeda commander has been killed somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Here is Kohlmann’s first Tweet: Slain Yemeni AQ commander Abu Abdelrahman al-Qahtani has been linked to Camp Chapman bomber Humam al-Balawi (aka Abu Dujanah al-Khorasani). Kohlmann followed that up with a quick description of Qahtani: […]
Iran
The Stuxnet virus which sabotaged cetrifuge control software remains out of control at Iran’s nuclear facilities. US Defense Secretary Gates said the Gulf states support sanctions against Iran and are concerned about Iran’s “aggressive behavior” in the region.
US Predators strike al Qaeda stronghold in North Waziristan
The strike is the second this month; both strikes have hit targets in Datta Khel, a haven for al Qaeda’s leadership cadre.
Suicide bomber kills 10 in attack at hospital in Pakistan
The Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have carried out four suicide attacks over the past five days.
Afghanistan
Coalition and Afghan troops killed three Taliban fighters and detained 20 more during raids in Kandahar, Zabul, Helmand, and Badghis. Eighteen deminers were kidnapped in Khost province.
Shocking! Pakistan’s ISI fakes WikiLeaks cables, points finger at India
We’re pleased we delayed the announcement of a winner of this month’s Captain Louis Renault Award the other day, because this story from The Guardian is truly worthy of the honor. Someone in Pakistan is manufacturing US cables in the WikiLeaks document dump. The faux cables are said to claim that the US is concerned […]
Sweden
A court sentenced two Somalis to jail terms of four years each for plotting to carry out terror attacks in Somalia. Shabaab operatives Mohamoud Jama and Bille Ilias Mohamed were arrested in the cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm this spring after police discovered they intended to become suicide bombers.
Iraq
An Iraqi newspaper claimed a US soldier was killed in a sniper attack in Babil province on Saturday. Security forces captured a female al Qaeda suicide bomber before she could attack a Shia procession in Diyala province.
Somalia
Puntland security forces killed two Shabaab “assassins” who shot and wounded a government official in Bosaso. Shabaab trained 300 fighters in Baidoa, the former seat of government of the Transitional Federal Government.
Yemen
Police arrested eight suspects thought to be involved in yesterday’s bombing at a khat market in Sana’a. Bell Helicopter has been awarded a $27 million contract to supply helicopters to the Yemeni military.
Iran
A Syrian official said his country would not respond to an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to the WikiLeaks cables. The foreign ministry dismissed the UAE’s claims to three islands occupied by Iran. Police arrested four journalists of an opposition newspaper.
Special operations forces deal blows to Taliban ranks
Over the past six months, more than 600 Taliban and allied terrorist groups’ leaders have been killed or captured, 2,000 fighters have been killed, and another 4,100 have been captured.
Iraq
Security forces detained 35 al Qaeda leaders and fighters in Anbar, seven wanted men in Basrah, and four terrorists in Mosul. Two people were killed in bombings in Baghdad. Deaths due to the insurgency have dropped for the month of November.
Pakistan
A Taliban suicide bomber killed 17 Pakistani civilians in an attack at a market in Kohat. General Kayani said the situation in South Waziristan is “under control.”
Afghanistan
Security forces killed and captured several Taliban and Haqqani Network commanders and fighters in Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, and Wardak. The Taliban killed two ISAF troops in the south. Seventeen Taliban fighters surrendered in Kunduz.
Somalia
Twenty people were killed during clashes between clans in central Somalia. Two people were killed during fighting in Mogadishu. The military executed a Somali soldier for killing another soldier.
Yemen
Thirteen people were wounded in a bomb blast at a khat market Sana’s. Parliament summoned the deputy prime minister to answer questions about allegations in the WikiLeaks document. President Saleh insisted Yemen is not a base for terrorist groups.
Iran
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is growing its fleet of “suicide ships” to attack shipping in the Gulf; a defector claimed 9,000 such ships exist. The United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister called on Iran to end the occupation of three islands claimed by the emirate.
Suicide bomber kills 17 Pakistanis in the northwest
The attack is the third of its kind in Pakistan in three days.
United States
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the father of al Qaeda ideologue Anwar al Awlaki, who sought to have his son removed from a list targeting him for assassination. The judge said the father had no standing to file the case and the executive branch must make such a decision.
India
The Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for a bombing at a Hindu temple in Varanasi that killed a child and wounded 25 people. In a five-page email to the press, the Lashkar-e-Taiba-linked Indian Mujahideen called India the “Greatest DemoNcracy” and threatened to carry out more attacks.
Pakistan
A Lashkar-e-Jhangvi suicide bomber killed one person in an attack that targeted the chief minister of Baluchistan. Security forces killed three Taliban fighters in Swat and detained 13 terrorists in Karachi. The Taliban bombed a school in Peshawar.
Afghanistan
Security forces detained 10 Haqqani Network fighters in Khost and two suicide bombers in Jawzjan. UK Prime Minister Cameron and US Defense Secretary Gates visited Afghanistan; Cameron said Britain would begin withdrawing troops in 2011.
US adds AQAP operative Fahd Quso to terrorist list
The terrorism designation by State refutes unconfirmed reports that Quso was killed in a Predator strike in Pakistan.
No need to launch a North Waziristan operation, it is already underway
Pakistani military commanders continue to insist there is no need for a military operation in North Waziristan as the military is already battling the Taliban and al Qaeda there. The latest claim comes from the commander of the Peshawar Corps. From SAMAA: Core Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Asif Yasin, on Monday, ruled out rumors regarding […]
Shabaab’s military strength in Somalia
I missed this report from Sunatimes when it came out in November. According to Sunatimes, Shabaab officials claim to have more than 14,000 fighters under their command throughout Somalia. Among those are nearly 2,000 “Al-Qaeda foreign fighters.” The report has specific numbers, and breaks down the composition of Shabaab by region and clan affiliation: Quoting […]
Iraq
Al Qaeda’s emir for Wasit province was captured in Al Kut. Security forces arrested 52 wanted men in Mosul, Kirkuk, and Diyala, 11 al Qaeda operatives in Karbala, and five insurgents in Babil. Insurgents killed two government officials and a policeman in Baghdad.
Indonesia
Fadli Sadama, the Jemaah Islamiyah operative detained in Malaysia and deported to Indonesia, was plotting to assassinate Chevron executives and shoot foreign tourists. Sadama is a member of the Indonesian Mujahidin Group and planned on traveling to Thailand to train the Pattani United Liberation Organization.