Author Archives: Bill Roggio

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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








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.



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.”





Pakistan

The military claimed it killed 23 Taliban fighters in airstrikes in North Waziristan. The Interior Ministry warned the government of Sindh province that jihadists may target officials and buildings in suicide attacks. Police seized more than 500 pounds of explosives in Quetta.


Pakistan

The military claimed it killed 11 Taliban fighters in North Waziristan and another 23 in Khyber; three soldiers were also killed. Police killed seven “militants” in Karachi. Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed that Pakistani Navy officers were involved in the failed attempt to hijack a Pakistani warship and launch missiles at US […]


Iraq

The US launched seven airstrikes against the Islamic State near Irbil, the Haditha Dam, and southwestern Baghdad. The Iraqi military claimed it killed 16 Islamic State fighters in northern Babil and a military commander and four aides near Mosul. The military also said it has launched clearing operations in Rawa and Anah. Prime Minister Abadi […]



Iraq

The US has launched five airstrikes in southwestern Baghdad and Irbil against the Islamic State. The Iraqi military claimed it killed 16 Islamic State fighters near Bayji and launched an operation in Jurf al Sakhar. The Islamic State killed four Iraqis in mortar attacks in Dhuluiyah. General Dempsey said US ground troops could engage in […]