US killed 2 ‘Arabs’ in first drone strike in South Waziristan in more than a year
The US has not launched a drone strike in South Waziristan since mid-April 2013.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Al Nusrah Front
U.S. struggles to blunt Syria rebel anger at strikes
Iraq
The fake sheikh: Why the media repeats Ali Hatem’s false ‘claim’
Iraq
The US destroyed four Islamic State armed vehicles and a fighting position in airstrikes in Irbil. The Islamic State killed 11 civilans and two soldiers in bombings in Mahmudiyah, Mishada, and Tuz Khurmatu.
Yemen
The US killed two AQAP fighters in a drone strike on a vehicle in Al Jawf. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula retaliated by firing an M72 LAW rocket at the US Embassy in Sana’a and wounding several Yemeni guards. Houthi rebels agreed to withdraw their forces from the capital.
Airstrikes in Syria continue to focus on Islamic State, not al Qaeda
Al Qaeda and its allies in Syria were struck by US warplanes on the first day, but have not been targeted since.
Afghanistan
The Taliban beheaded 15 people, including family members of local police, in Ghazni. The Taliban are in control of much of Sangin district in Helmand. ISAF killed several Taliban commanders in an airstrike in Laghman. The military claimed it killed 55 Taliban fighters in Laghman.
Iraq
The US launched seven airstrikes against Islamic State targets near Kirkuk, Baghdad, and Al Qaim. Britain, Belgium, and Denmark agreed to join the US in targeting the Islamic State inside Iraq, but not in Syria. The headquarters element of the 1st Infantry Division will deploy to Iraq.
Iraq
The US launched 11 airstrikes against the Islamic State in Irbil, Kirkuk, and Baghdad provinces. France also conducted airstrikes in Iraq. Prime Minister Abidi said the Islamic State is plotting attacks in Paris and New York City. The military claimed it killed 18 Islamic State fighters in Jurf al Sakhar. Five people were killed in […]
Yemen
US drones killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in Shabwa. AQAP claimed credit for the Sept. 22 attacks in Shabwa and Sana’a. The government freed two Iranian Qods Force officers and two Hezbollah operatives.
Nigeria
The Nigerian military claimed it killed Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau’s ‘impersonator.’ The military also claimed that 223 Boko Haram fighters surrendered in Biu and Yadi, and another 45 were captured in Mubi. Boko Haram killed 20 people, including a pastor, in an attack on the villages of Shaffa and Shindiffu in Borno.
Al Qaeda
The “Khurasan Group”: A misleading name in the politics of war
US drone strike in North Waziristan kills Uzbeks, ‘foreign nationals’
“There is no need for such strikes,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, condemning the attack “as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Senior Islamic State military commander, ’emir of suicide bombers’ among Treasury’s terrorism designations
Islamic State military leader Omar al Shishani and ’emir of suicide bombers’ Tariq Bin Al Tahar Bin Al Falih Al ‘Awni Al Harzi were among five members of the group added to the terrorism list today.
Islamic State, Shabaab leaders added to US terrorism list
State added three Islamic State commanders and a Shabaab leader to its terrorism list.
State Department adds Chechen, Moroccan-led jihadist groups to terrorist list
The US added the Chechen-led Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar and the Moroccan-led Harakat Sham al Islam, as well as Murad Margoshvilli, the leader of the Junud al Sham, to the list of Specially Designated Global terrorists. The Margoshvilli and the two terror groups are closely tied to al Qaeda in Syria.
US targets Islamic State in 21 strikes in Syria, Iraq
The most recent attacks did not hit the Khorasan group, al Qaeda’s leadership cadre inside Syria that is plotting to attack the West.
CENTCOM videos show airstrikes on Islamic State facilities in Syria
The strikes against the Islamic State and al Qaeda in Syria were “organized in three waves.”
Pakistan
The military claimed it killed 19 “suspected terrorists” in a series of airstrikes during the ongoing operation in North Waziristan. The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan claimed it executed the suicide attack that killed four people in Peshawar. The target of the attack was a brigadier in the paramilitary Frontier Corps.
Iraq
The Islamic State overran an Iraqi military base in Saqlawiya in Anbar province. The extent of Iraqi casualties is unclear; upwards of 800 soldiers are said to have been killed or captured during the opening suicide attack, the storming of the base, and while retreating. An estimated 200 soldiers are said to have escaped. Two […]
Syria
The US launched 14 air and cruise missile strikes against the Islamic State in Raqqah, Hasakah, and Dier al Zour, and eight more strikes against the Al Nusrah Front and the Khorasan Group near Aleppo. An Al Nusrah commander known as Abu Yusuf al Turki is reported to have been killed. More than 70 Islamic […]
Yemen
More than 340 people were killed in the past week as Houthi rebels pushed to take control of the capital of Sana’a. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed it detonated a car bomb that targeted Houthis near the Yemeni-Saudi border. Local Yemenis said that a drone has crashed in Shabwa province. The German foreign […]
Algeria
Jund al Khilifah, a splinter group from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb that joined the Islamic State, kidnapped a Frenchman in Kabylie on Sept. 21. The ministry of defense claimed it killed a “leading terrorist” with ties to al Qaeda during an operation in Kabylie.
US air war against jihadists in Syria begins
Airstrikes targeted Islamic State command and control centers in Raqqah, the jihadist group’s de facto capital in eastern Syria, as well as arms caches, supply depots, and ground units near the Iraqi border. Also, the US hit al Qaeda’s Khorasan Group near Aleppo.
US airstrikes in Iraq expand to Kirkuk area
US warplanes are now operating over Irbil, Sinjar, the Mosul and Haditha dams, southwest of Baghdad, and somewhere on the Euphrates River.
Iraq
The military claimed it killed 13 Islamic State fighters in Tikrit, and a financial official in Mosul. The US launched seven airstrikes against the Islamic State in Sinjar, Haditha, and southwestern Baghdad since Sept. 19. Thirteen Iraqis were killed in bombings and mortar attacks in Shia areas in Baghdad.
Yemen
Prime Minister Mohamed Basindawa resigned as Shia Houthi rebels seized control of government buildings in the capital. Basindawa accused President Hadi of acting in an “autocratic” manner. The Interior Minister urged police to cooperate with the Houthis and described them as “friends.”
Pakistani Taliban commander killed during fighting in North Waziristan
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan said that Mohammad Hassan recently was freed from a prison in Afghanistan before rejoining the fight in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
France launches airstrikes in northeastern Iraq
As France enters the fray, reports emerge that the US military must get get permission from the White House to deploy air controllers embedded with Iraqi troops.
Al Qaeda leader released from Iranian custody reported killed
Abu Amru al Masri was previously described as a “mid-level commander,” in one of Osama bin Laden’s documents that was dated June 11, 2009.