Boko Haram
Mistrust between Nigeria, Cameroon stalls fight against Boko Haram
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Hezbollah commanders killed in suspected Israeli airstrike
Jihad Imad Mughniyah, the son of the notorious founder and military and intelligence commander of Hezbollah up until his assassination in 2008, was among six Hezbollah operatives killed in a suspected airstrike in Quneitra, Syria.
Analysis: Reported ban of Haqqani Network unlikely to end Pakistan’s support of group
Groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba have previously been banned in Pakistan, but continue to receive the support of the military and intelligence establishment.
Afghan Taliban describe attack on Charlie Hebdo office as ‘justice’
So much for the Taliban wanting to have “cordial relations on basis of mutual respect with all the countries of the world ….”
US drones kill 2 ‘Uzbeks’ in South Waziristan
Seven “militants” are reported to have been killed in a strike on a compound in an area administered by Sajna Mehsud.
US adds a leader of the Mujahideen Shura Council to list of global terrorists
In addition to serving as a senior MSC leader, Abdallah al Ashqar is on the jihadist group’s military committee, is a “foreign relations official,” and a weapons facilitator.
US adds Mullah Fazlullah to list of global terrorists
Fazlullah has presided over the fracturing of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, which remains a dangerous terrorist group.
Boko Haram overruns Multinational Joint Task Force base
Hundreds of Boko Haram fighters assaulted and took control of the Multinational Joint Task Force base in Baga, Nigeria. The base was used by troops from Nigeria, Niger, and Chad to conduct counterterrorism missions.
US drones hit ‘good Taliban’ commander’s compound in North Waziristan
The Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group was the target of the attack, and a “high-value target” is reported to have been killed.
Taliban video highlights training camp, operations in Kunar
The Taliban have released videos of two training camps in northern Afghanistan over the past two weeks.
US military confirms Shabaab’s intel chief killed in airstrike
The US military described Tahlil Abdishakur as the “chief of al-Shabaab’s intelligence and security wing” and the head of the group’s “external operations.”
Somali government reports Shabaab’s intel chief killed in US airstrike
Somalia’s National Security Agency said that the US killed the leader of the Amniyat. The US military later confirmed the report.
US targets ‘senior leader’ for Shabaab in southern Somalia
The US has launched multiple airstrikes and raids against Shabaab’s leadership cadre over the past decade.
Afghanistan
Around an invisible leader, Taliban power shifts
Islamic State kills Qods Force general in central Iraq
Brigadier General Hamid Taqavi served as an “adviser to the [Iraqi] Army and the popular mobilization of the Iraqi people,” a reference to the Shiite militias.
US targets emir of Punjabi Taliban in pair of drone strikes in North Waziristan
Asmatullah Muawiya is said to have been targeted in one of the two strikes that took place today in Shawal area of North Waziristan in Pakistan.
United Kingdom
Muhammad Aftab Suleman, of Manchester, was charged with five terrorism offenses following his arrest on Dec. 20 as he tried to fly to Pakistan. On Dec. 19, counterterrorism police raided his home, confiscating computers and phones. Suleman had allegedly traveled to Syria, Pakistan, and Qatar over the past year, returning to the UK in November. Police have already seized […]
Syria
A Jordanian pilot was captured by the Islamic State after his plane went down in northeastern Syria. The US-led coalition conducted seven airstrikes in Syria on Dec. 23. “At least 1,171 people have been killed” by the airstrikes since the start of the campaign, according to SOHR; this tally incudes 1,046 members of the Islamic State, 72 members of Al Nusrah, […]
Islamic State shoots down Jordanian warplane in Raqqah, captures pilot
The Jordanian Armed Forces confirmed that one of its aircraft has been shot down over Syria and its pilot is in the hands of the Islamic State.
US drones strike in jihadist stronghold in North Waziristan
The Pakistani military claimed it “cleared” the Datta Khel area in September 2014 as part of operation Zarb-e-Azb. The US has launched seven drone strikes in Datta Khel since then.
US kills Islamic State deputy emir, 2 senior commanders in recent airstrikes
Among those killed was Abu Musallam al Turkumani, a top deputy of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Turkumani served in Saddam Hussein’s military before joining the Islamic State.
US airstrike targets Pakistani, Afghan Taliban in Nangarhar
The strike is the fifth that has targeted Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan fighters and leaders operating inside Afghanistan since the last week of November.
The Peshawar attack: sickening, but no surprise
Pakistan’s refusal to sever ties with the so-called “good Taliban” has allowed groups like the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan to fester.
Pakistani Taliban assaults military high school in Peshawar
More than 100 high school students are said to have been killed as Taliban fighters fanned out and killed everyone in their path.
Taliban attacks in Afghanistan surge as Coalition ends combat mission
The Taliban launched suicide bombings, assassinations, IED attacks, and ambushes in the capital and four provinces over the weekend.
Taliban kill 6 Afghan soldiers, foreigner in pair of suicide attacks in Kabul
Taliban suicide bombers struck a military bus and at a high school in the Afghan capital.
Pakistani Taliban confirms death of al Qaeda leader Adnan Shukrijumah
Muhammad Khurasani said that “the impure apostate Pakistani military martyred Sheikh Adnan Shukrijumah” on Dec. 6.
Al Qaeda commander reported killed in drone strike in Pakistan
The ongoing targeting of al Qaeda commanders in Pakistan’s tribal areas refutes past claims by US officials that al Qaeda is “decimated” and that only two relevant leaders remain.
US transfers Taliban commander to Pakistani custody
Latif Mehsud and two others detained by US forces in Logar, Afghanistan in 2013 have been handed over to the Pakistani authorities.
AQAP murders 2 hostages, including an American, during US rescue attempt
Forty special operations troops assaulted an al Qaeda compound in the southern province of Shabwa in an attempt to free American photojournalist Luke Somers.