The Taliban killed six schoolchildren in an IED attack in Helmand, the senior female police officer in Helmand in a shooting outside of her home, a police officer in Nangarhar, and an ISAF soldier in the west. Three aid workers were kidnapped in Herat.
The al Qaeda affiliate chastises the Muslim Brotherhood for participating in the democratic process and urges the group’s members to wage jihad.
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The World Health Organization said that 71 people have been killed and more than 300 more have been wounded during recent fighting in Kismayo. Colonel Bare Hirale said he will retake Kismayo by force.
Seven civilians and three insurgents were killed in bombings and fighting in Baghdad. Security forces captured five al Qaeda fighters in Kirkuk. Russia is selling Iraq $4.2 billion in weapons.
Abd Al-Ra’Ouf Abu Zaid Mohamed Hamza was involved in the murder of a USAID employee and his driver in 2008. Hamza’s father is a senior cleric in Ansar al-Tawhid, which, along with al Qaeda, claimed credit for the assassinations.
US drones killed six Haqqani Network fighters in a strike in Danday Darpa Khel in North Waziristan. The Taliban killed six Frontier Corps troops in an attack in Peshawar.
The strike took place in a village where two senior Haqqani Network leaders have been killed by the US over the past several years.
Four Nepalese security guards and three Afghans were killed in a Taliban suicide assault in Kabul. Three Taliban fighters and a member of the Afghan Local Police were killed in a clash in Kunduz. The Taliban killed three civilians in an IED attack in Farah.
Insurgents killed at least 53 Iraqis in a series of attacks throughout the country. Among those killed were two policemen and 28 civilians in Baghdad, four policemen and seven terrorists in Baaj, and an Awakening fighter and three civilians in Abu Ghraib. Also a suicide bomber killed four people at a funeral in Baqubah.
The suicide assault team attacked a base in an area of Kabul where logistics and other contracting companies are located, killing seven people, including four Nepalese guards.
The Ministry of the Interior said that more than 300 Afghan policemen were killed during the month of June. The Taliban killed a district police chief in an IED attack in Baghlan. The NDS killed a suicide bomber in Kabul and captured a Pakistani suicide bomber in Nangarhar.
A suicide bomber killed 22 Iraqis in an attack inside a Shia mosque in Muqdadiyah. Eight Awakening members in Tarmiyah were kidnapped and then executed. Iraqi troops destroyed an al Qaeda “base” near the Syrian border.
In the past 16 days, al Qaeda in Iraq has executed 14 suicide attacks; several have targeted Shia mosques.
Over the past several years, the daily operational updates have revealed that al Qaeda and its allies remain entrenched in Afghanistan and continue to cooperate closely with the Taliban.
Twelve soccer players and fans were killed in a bombing at a match in Nahrawan. Al Qaeda kidnapped and executed an Awakening leader, and then stuffed his corpse with explosives. Security forces captured an al Qaeda leader in Mosul and seven members of a cell in Nukhaib.
The government jailed Hassan Dahir Aweys and several tribal leaders after they flew to Mogadishu. Kenyan troops in Kismayo reportedly backed the Ras Kamboni militia in its fight against another militia led by Colonel Bare Hirale.
Ibrahim al Afghani, a jihadist leader closely linked to al Qaeda, and Abul Hamid Hashi Olhayi, were killed during Shabaab infighting in Barawe. Hassan Dahir Aweys is reportedly in custody in Mogadishu.
Al Qaeda’s affiliate carried out a suicide assault with the help of the Nasser Salahuddin Brigade, and conventional attacks with the help of Dera’ al Assima, Liwa al Habib al Mustafa, and Liwa’ al-Tawhid brigades, three Free Syrian Army units in Damascus.
President Karzai described the opening of the Taliban’s office in Qatar, with US assistance, as an “anti-Afghan conspiracy.” He then called the Taliban his “brothers.” The Afghan military claimed 36 Taliban fighters were killed during operations in Ghazni and Wardak.
Today’s suicide attack is the third in the Syrian capital this month. It is unclear if the bomber targeted Christians or a pro-Assad militia.
Al Qaeda killed 11 Awakening fighters and recovery personnel in a double bombing at a checkpoint in Zangoura. A suicide bomber killed four people at a funeral in Dujail. Four more people were killed in a bombing near a soccer field in Madeen.
Don’t Talk With the Taliban
Shabaab commander Hassan Dahir Aweys has not surrendered to the government and said he will not negotiate with the Somali government. Kenya troops arrested senior Somali officials in Kismayo.
Insurgents killed 22 Iraqis in a series of bombings in coffee shops and cafes in Baghdad, Baqubah, and Jbela. Al Qaeda killed a three-year-old girl in an IED attack in Madeen. Iraqi soldiers killed two suicide bombers as they attempted to attack a command center in Anbar.
Senior Shabaab leader Hassan Dahir Aweys was reportedly captured by pirates in Barawe. Another report indicates he will surrender to government officials and reconcile. Shabaab claimed it killed “14 enemy invaders and 23 apostate militia.”
A fighter from the al Qaeda-linked group shot down a Syrian military helicopter with what appears to be an SAM-7. The cameraman who shot the footage may be a Westerner.
The al Qaeda-linked group launched two suicide assaults against Minnigh airport. In one of the attacks, the Muhajireen Army said that most of the 15 fighters who were killed were “from the Caucasus and Azerbaijan.”
The Taliban killed five members of the Afghan Local Police in Faryab and two policemen in Nangarhar. Fifty schoolgirls were poisoned in Paktia. Seventeen Taliban fighters reconciled with the government in Herat.