Somalia
Twenty-five people, mostly civilians, were reported killed in clashes and mortar exchanges between Shabaab and African Union and Somali troops in Mogadishu over the weekend. The president of Uganda made a surprise visit to Mogadishu.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Yemen
The WikiLeaks documents confirmed that the US military is secretly carrying out airstrikes inside Yemen. The prime minister joked to General Petraeus that President Saleh lied to Yemen’s parliament about the strikes.
Lawfare and Predator strikes
A Pakistani tribesman from the al Qaeda haven of Mir Ali in North Waziristan is threatening to sue the US government if he is not paid for what he claims is the wrongful death of his brother and son in a US Predator strike on Dec. 31, 2009. From The Associated Press: A Pakistani man […]
Afghan ‘policeman’ kills 6 ISAF soldiers
A man wearing an Afghan Border Police uniform killed six ISAF soldiers during a training exercise in the east.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
In a statement released on jihadist forums, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed it carried out last week’s suicide attack against Shia Houthi rebels during a procession in northern Yemen. Seventeen people were killed in the suicide attack.
Suicide bombers begin to target central Afghan province
Map of Afghanistan’s provinces. Click map to view larger image. This report from Xinhua on a suicide attack in Afghanistan is pretty mundane except for one detail: the location, in the central province of Ghor. From Xinhua: A suicide bomber who attempting to target security forces in western Ghor province was killed in his blast […]
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed a provincial official and three civilians in Logar, and a civilian in Takhar. A suicide bomber killed only himself in Ghor. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban and Haqqani Network leaders and fighters in Helmand, Khost, Paktia, and Zabul.
Russia
The Islamic Caucasus Emirate is considering making Arabic or “Ottoman” (Turkish) the official language in areas it administers. Insurgents killed a policeman during a shootout and bombing in the Kizlyarsky district of Dagestan.
Somalia
Ten people were killed during fighting between Shabaab and Somali and African Union troops in the Bakara Market in Mogadishu. Shabaab recruited and trained 150 women in Kismayo to serve as soldiers.
Yemen
A suicide bomber killed only himself and wounded three policemen in an attempt to detonate his car packed with explosives in a police compound in Aden. The government has hired a popular Egyptian preacher to counter al Qaeda’s ideology.
Iran
Iran’s defense minister said his country “is ready to defend Lebanon” during Lebanese Prime Minister Said Hariri’s visit. “Iran regards Lebanon’s peace and security as those of its own and defends Lebanese rights against aggressors and occupiers,” said Iranian Vice President Rahimi.
US Predators kill 4 ‘militants’ in Mir Ali
Another vehicle was hit as it traveled in an area of North Waziristan known to host foreign terrorists plotting to attack Europe and the US.
Taliban suicide bombers kill 12 Afghan police in east
The Taliban took credit for the attack in Paktika, which was carried out by two suicide bombers wearing police uniforms.
Pakistan
A soldier and a civilian were killed during a clash with “miscreants” in Darra Adam Khel. The Interior Ministry offered a reward to those who inform on the Pakistani Taliban. The Mehsud tribe said internal refugees would return to South Waziristan in December.
United States
Police arrested Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a teen-aged Somali-born US citizen, for attempting to detonate a bomb at a Christmas-tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Ore. Mohamud dialed a number he thought would detonate a bomb, but his plot had been penetrated by the FBI.
Afghanistan
Two suicide bombers killed 12 Afghan policemen at a headquarters in Paktika. The Taliban killed three civilians in Kandahar and an ISAF soldier in the east. Coalition and Afghan troops killed 15 Taliban fighters in Nangarhar and detained several more in Kandahar, Helmand, Ghazni, Khost, and Kunduz.
Somalia
Eighteen Somalis were killed during clashes between Shabaab and Somali and African Union forces in Mogadishu. Somalia’s parliament approved the new cabinet formed by Prime Minister Mohammed.
Iraq
Security forces killed al Qaeda’s military leader in Baghdad and captured 12 of his operatives during a raid that targeted the group that assaulted a Christian church. Insurgents killed five civilians and a policeman in attacks in Mosul, Baghdad, and Kirkuk.
Iran
Iran has completed fueling the Bushehr nuclear power plant. An air defense commander claimed Iran can detect stealth planes. Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri is visiting Iran.
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader targeted in Afghan north
The “high-ranking Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan senior leader” facilitates suicide attacks in the north and is in close contact with leaders in Pakistan.
Afghanistan
Security forces killed and captured several Taliban and Haqqani Network commanders and fighters in Ghazni, Paktika, Paktia, Khost, and Kunduz. The Taliban killed three civilians in an IED strike in Kandahar. British intelligence paid the Taliban impostor involved in negotiations.
Russia
Police arrested three suspected members of Hizb-ut-Tahir in Tatarstan. Two Chechen terrorists have been spotted in Indian-held Kashmir. Insurgents targeted a police car in an IED attack in Nailchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria; no one was hurt.
Iraq
Insurgents killed two policemen in an attack in Kirkuk. Security forces detained 30 wanted men in Basrah and five more in Al Kut.
ISAF denies helicopters struck inside Pakistan
For the second time this week, ISAF denied reports that its helicopters penetrated Pakistani airspace in North Waziristan.
Afghanistan: DoD report shows increase in violence
Earlier this week, the Department of Defense released a report called “Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan – November 2010” (you can download the full report here). At 105 pages, there is quite a bit of information to digest. I took the liberty and reproduced a couple of the graphs and a map from […]
Somalia
A Somali-American from Minneapolis who was helping the new prime minister was gunned down in Mogadishu. An African Union commander said 12,000 more troops are needed in Somalia.
Yemen
A suicide bomber attacked a group of mourners traveling to the funeral of Badruddin al Houthi, the spiritual leader of the Shia Houthi rebels. One person was killed. The US Ambassador to Yemen said Anwar al Awlaki was involved in the recent airline parcel plot.
Saudi Arabia
The Interior Ministry said that over the past eight months, security forces detained 149 suspected terrorists, including 125 Saudis, who belonged to 19 different al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula cells across the country. The AQAP cells were plotting attacks against the government as well as journalists.
US Predators kill 4 ‘militants’ in North Waziristan
Unmanned strike aircraft hit a vehicle as it traveled through the Mir Ali area, which has been the epicenter of an al Qaeda plot to attack the West.
Pakistan
Top Balochistan minister alleges extrajudicial killings