Iraq
Forty-three Iraqis were killed after two bombs were detonated outside of a Sunni mosque in Baqubah. The second bomb was detonated after people rushed to help the victims of the first blast.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Somalia
Security forces killed 13 Shabaab fighters while repelling assaults in the towns of Farwaley and Ara As. Four civilians were killed as Shabaab launched attacks in El Barde.
Nigeria
The Nigerian military is launching airstrikes against Boko Haram camps and strongholds in the northern states where a state of emergency has been imposed. Thousands of soldiers have been deployed, and the military hopes to prevent the Islamist fighters from fleeing the country.
Afghanistan
A Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin suicide bomber killed 6 Americans and nine Afghans in an attack in Kabul. Special operations forces targeted an al Qaeda-linked Taliban commander in Kunar province.
Iraq
Insurgents killed 28 Iraqis in attacks in Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Tarmiyah. Security forces detained six members of an Al Nusrah Front cell in Al Qaim and six al Qaeda fighters in Siniya.
Uzbek national in Idaho arrested, charged with supporting the IMU
Fazliddin Kurbanov is charged with supporting the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, training others to purchase and assemble components of a bomb, and possessing an “unregistered destructive device.”
Al Nusrah Front’s emir to be added to US terrorism list
Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani, the emir of al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, swore allegiance to al Qaeda’s leader just over one month ago.
Iraq
Insurgents killed 35 Iraqis in a string of bombings, including a suicide attack, in Baghdad, Mosul, and Kirkuk. Al Qaeda fighters killed two Awakening members near Abu Ghraib. Security forces captured an al Qaeda leader in Fallujah.
Yemen
Oman reportedly paid a $50 million ransom for the release of an Austrian and two Finnish nationals. The European hostages were being held by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Four million dollars was paid to “tribal negotiators/intermediaries.”
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed four US soldiers in Kandahar and three Georgian soldiers and three civilians in Helmand in IED attacks over the past 24 hours. The Taliban forced 40 schools in Zabul to shut down. More than 150 schoolgirls and five teachers were poisoned in Herat.
Iraq
Insurgents killed 11 people in attacks on liquor stores in Baghdad, three Awakening fighters in Tarmiyah, and a cleric in Basrah. Police arrested five al Qaeda fighters north of Hillah.
Somalia
The parents of Shabaab’s emir and a top commander were detained by the authorities in Somaliland. Security forces detained two Shabaab propagandists in Baidoa. Two soldiers were killed in an internecine clash in Baidoa.
Yemen
Security forces detained three al Qaeda operatives in Sana’a and disrupted a bomb plot in Aden. Two Red Cross workers, one from Kenya and the other from Switzerland, were kidnapped in Jaar.
IMU suicide bomber targeted top police commander in Quetta
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan said yesterday’s attack, which killed eight people, was executed by a man whose daughter carried out a suicide bombing last year.
Iraq
A suicide bomber killed three people in an attack outside the home of an intelligence general in Mosul. Al Qaeda killed a colonel in Al Qaim. Two Iraqi soldiers and three “gunmen” were killed in fighting north of Mosul. The Defense Ministry said it would provide support to tribes that fight al Qaeda in Anbar.
Afghanistan
A suicide bomber killed three people in Kapisa. Fifteen Taliban fighters and a police commander were killed in fighting in Laghman. Police killed four Taliban fighters in Ghazni. The Taliban kidnapped 11 deminers in Nangarhar.
Iraq
Three people were killed in a bombing at a Sunni mosque in Mahaweel. Security forces captured two al Qaeda operatives involved in the assassination of Member of Parliament Aifan al Issawi. The government executed three al Qaeda operatives who were convicted on terrorism charges.
Somalia
More than 3,000 African Union soldiers have been killed while fighting Shabaab since deploying in 2009; Uganda and Burundi have made up the bulk of AU forces over the years. Shabaab and a pro-government militia battled in Kismayo.
‘Iranian citizens’ reported killed in ISAF airstrike
The strike took place last week in the western province of Farah, which borders Iran. ISAF confirmed the strike took place but would not discuss the details.
Jihadists launch 3 suicide attacks in Mali
Jihadists have launched 12 suicide bombings and assaults in Mali since the beginning of February.
Afghanistan
President Karzai said the US wants to maintain nine military bases in Afghanistan following the end of NATO combat operations in 2014. He said the US is requesting bases in Kabul, Bagram, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Gardez, Kandahar, Helmand, Shindand, and Herat, but Afghanistan must first be granted security guarantees.
Iraq
Insurgents killed three university students in Baghdad and two soldiers in Diyala. Security forces killed a suicide bomber before he could attack a police station in Mosul and detained seven wanted men in Wasit.
Yemen
Al Qaeda gunned down a police officer in the provincial capital of Lahj. A Finnish couple and an Austrian were freed after an undisclosed ransom was paid. President Hadi warned that al Qaeda is “recuperating.”
Salafist clerics preach on the streets of Tunisia
Tunisia is seeing an influx of radical preachers from outside the country. The leader of Ennahda suggested the Salafists do this more than one year ago.
Free Syrian Army fighters defecting to Al Nusrah Front
More than 3,000 Free Syrian Army fighters as well as entire units have defected to al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, yet the US government seems determined to fund the FSA.
Afghanistan
Police killed eight protesters, who are said to have been infiltrated by “militants,” at an anti-Pakistani demonstration. Militants killed three truck drivers during the protest. The Taliban killed five Afghan soldiers and a policeman in Farah, and three civilians in an IED attack in Helmand.
Iraq
A suicide bomber killed a Kurdish security guard in Kirkuk. Gunmen killed three Iraqi policemen in Fallujah. Jordan and Iraq are starting work on an oil pipeline from Basrah to Aqaba.
Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula gunned down three Yemeni pilots outside of the Al Anad airbase in Lahj province. Gunmen kidnapped two Egyptian workers and two Indian Red Cross aid workers in Abyan.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed a police officer and wounded three more in an IED attack in Kunduz. President Karzai said the international community has failed to secure Afghanistan. Unemployment in Afghanistan rose by 500,000 over the past year.
Iraq
Security forces captured a senior al Qaeda leader in Mahmudiyah just two days after he entered Iraq from Syria, and three al Qaeda fighters who were transporting IEDs in Anbar. Two people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Abu Ghraib.