Yemen
Leaked US diplomatic cables show Yemen diverted US counterterrorism aid to fight Houthi rebels. A court sentenced three members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to jail terms of four to 10 years.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Iran
Nuclear talks between Iran and the ‘P5+1’ powers ended with no resolution. A diplomat who defected to the US claimed Iran hosted North Korean nuclear scientists. The intelligence minister claimed to have broken up a foreign-trained terror cell in Tehran.
Russia
Six Islamist fighters, a policeman, and a child were killed during a shootout in Kirov-aul in Dagestan; the child was killed by a stray bullet. Insurgents shot and killed a policemen at a cafe in Khasavyurt in Dagestan.
Afghanistan
Afghan and Coalition forces killed and captured several Taliban fighters in Kandahar, Khost, Paktia, and Paktika. The Taliban killed two ISAF soldiers in the south. A British soldier may have been killed in a friendly fire incident.
Pakistan
The Taliban claimed a dual suicide attack that killed 50 people in Mohmand; the bombers targeted a meeting of tribal leaders and government officials. A US Predator strike killed five “militants” in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.
Iraq
Al Qaeda in Iraq killed three children in a bombing at a home of an Awakening leader in Diyala. Security forces detained seven wanted men in Mosul and five more in Basrah. Authorities detained 21 policemen after a Special Groups commander escaped from a jail in Nasiriyah.
US Predators kill 5 ‘militants’ in North Waziristan strike
Predators fired four missiles at targets in the Datta Khel area. The strike is the first in eight days.
Al Qaeda organizes Taliban operations in Pakistan’s northwest
Two interesting articles were published over the past week which highlight the continuing integration of the Pakistani Taliban with al Qaeda. The first article, from Central Asia Online, documents the formation of the al Qaeda-led Shura al Mujahideen (Mujahideen Council), which was set up to settle intra-Taliban rivalries and coordinate operations: A council of five […]
Somalia
A Yemeni al Qaeda commander was among 13 foreign fighters reported to have been killed during clashes over the weekend. The new prime minister claimed 50 Shabaab fighters were killed. The Netherlands will prosecute five Somali pirates.
Yemeni al Qaeda commander reported killed in Mogadishu clash
Rajah Abu Khalid was killed along with 12 other foreign fighters during clashes with African Union and Somali forces in Mogadishu.
Iran
Nuclear talks between Iran and the ‘P5+1’ nations are underway. A senior Iranian cleric said rejecting the rule of the mullahs “is like denying God.” The Revolutionary Guards Corps issued a death sentence for a Canadian citizen.
Suicide bomber kills 50 in attack on tribal leaders in northwestern Pakistan
The suicide bombers targeted anti-Taliban tribal leaders as they met with local officials in the main town of Mohmand.
Afghanistan
A Haqqani Network suicide bomber killed two ISAF soldiers and two Afghan troops in Paktia. The Taliban killed a British soldier in the south. Afghan and Coalition forces killed and captured several Taliban fighters in Wardak and Paktika. Sixty Taliban fighters surrendered their weapons in Herat.
Iraq
Insurgents killed two policemen in Mosul and three civilians in separate attacks in Baghdad. The influx of foreign fighters into Iraq has increased; some officials claim as many as 250 are thought to have entered Iraq last month.
Somalia
Twenty-two people were killed in mortar exchanges and fighting between Shabaab and African Union forces in Mogadishu. A 1,050-man anti-piracy militia is being trained in Puntland.
Yemen
Five al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula operatives in Abyan surrendered to police. The trial of four southern separatists accused of working with al Qaeda has begun. Yemen is seeking more military aid from the West.
Iran
The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency claimed his country can produce enriched uranium using locally mined ore, and said Iran would continue to enrich uranium despite UN sanction. The interior minister said police arrested the suspects involved in the assassinations of scientists and professors.
Haqqani Network suicide bomber kills 2 US troops in Afghan east
The attack is the latest against military and police installations in the Afghan east, where the Haqqani Network remains strong.
Afghanistan
Coalition and Afghan forces captured a key financier of the Mullah Dadullah Front in Kandahar and killed a Taliban commander in Helmand. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in an attack in the east and released seven deminers in Nangarhar.
Financier for ‘Mullah Dadullah Front’ captured in Afghan south
The Mullah Dadullah Front is a Taliban group led by former Gitmo detainee Mullah Zakir. The group is considered the most radical, effective, and dangerous Taliban faction in southern Afghanistan.
Iraq
Al Qaeda in Iraq killed 13 people, including six Shia pilgrims, in bombings in Baghdad; Iran denied its citizens were killed in the bombings. Al Qaeda in Iraq denied Iraqi security forces captured the cell behind the attack on a Christian church in Baghdad.
Lebanon
In 2008, Defense Minister Elias Murr passed along advice to Israel if it planned to target Hezbollah, according to the WikiLeaks documents. Murr said Israel should not cross the blue line and should avoid targeting Christian areas. He also said the Lebanese Army would not fight Israel and would “take over, once Hezbollah’s militia has […]
Saudi Arabia
Security officials said recently detained al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives “planned to rob banks and companies to finance their operations” and plotted to assassinate Sauid officials. “Using poisoned perfume which they planned to send as gifts is one of the ways the arrested people planned to carry out their assassinations.”
Iran
Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of sending spies and not nuclear inspectors. On the eve of renewed talks with the West, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran would not halt nuclear enrichment.
ISAF kills Taliban commander in airstrike in northern Helmand
Combined forces have stepped up attacks against the Taliban in the northern district of Kajaki over the past month.
Photos of AQI’s top 2 leaders
Al Sumaria has released photographs of al Qaeda in Iraq’s top two leaders. At left is Abu Bakr al Baghdadi al Husseini al Qurshi, the emir or leader of al Qaeda’s so-called Islamic State of Iraq. At right is Nasser al Din Allah Abu Suleiman, the Islamic State of Iraq’s war minister. The photographs were […]
Iraq
Security forces detained 39 al Qaeda fighters during raids in Anbar province. An Iraqi newspaper released photographs of al Qaeda’s top two leaders in the country. Insurgents killed a policeman in Baghdad and attempted to assassinate the intelligence chief of Dhi Qhar province.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed credit for the suicide attack that killed 23 Houthi rebels in the Yemeni north, including its leader Badruddin al Houthi. AQAP said the attack was carried out by Abu Aisha al-Sanaani al Hashemi.
Somalia
Shabaab defeated a Hizbul Islam attack on the town of Burhakaba after two days of fighting. Both Shabaab and the African Union claimed victory after a week of fighting in Mogadishu.
Kenya
Three suspected Islamist fighters ambushed a police vehicle in Nairobi, killing one police officer in what appears to be a grenade attack. The ambush took place in Eastleigh, a neighborhood known as “Little Mogadishu,” and largely populated by Somalis.