Spanish authorities arrested a Moroccan national for links to al Qaeda. Faical Errai ran a jihadist website, raised funds, and recruited fighters for terror groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Chechnya. Spanish authorities have warned that Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb cell, is hiring mercenaries to kidnap more Westerners in the Sahara/Sahel.
Algerian security forces arrested five men for forming a terror cell in Sidi Khaled in Biskra province. The men will be presented and charged for providing support for Islamist fighters in the region. A roadside bomb wounded an Algerian soldier near Bejaia.
Seven Libyans have been arrested by Algerian security forces for attempting to join al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The seven suspects are being sent to Algiers for possible extradition to Libya. A Libyan security delegation is reported to be coming to Algiers to identify the suspects.
Islamists supporters of the radical al-Qaeda-linked cleric Abu Bakar Bashir have launched an extensive online campaign to clear his name and free him. Radical supporters have launched a website and a Facebook page, and hacked private companies that have accompanied protests in Jakarta. Bashir could face the death penalty if convicted for setting up a […]
Muslim insurgents killed a couple in a drive-by Pattani™s Panare district. A Thai ranger was injured and his 2-year-old son was killed in an attack by insurgents in Narathiwat™s Rangae district. Insurgents killed a defense volunteer in an ambush in Narathiwat™s Rueso district; three more defense volunteers were seriously wounded in an IED attack.
Algerian troops have killed 7-10 Islamists during clashes in the Berrekmouche valley, southeast of Tizi Ouzou in the Kayblie region; one soldier was killed. The Islamists were ambushed by security forces in extensive anti-terror operations which included helicopter strikes between Larbaa Nath Irathen and Ait Yanni. Armed civilians assisted the Algerian forces.
Insurgents killed five people in the south. In Pattani province, a Buddhist man and his wife were killed in a drive-by, while a young Muslim man was killed in a separate incident. A Muslim woman was killed returning from a market in Yala. A sub-lieutenant was shot while speaking to residents in Narathiwat province.
Two Abu Sayyaf Group members were captured by Philippine police in the port city of Zamboanga, Mindanao. One terrorist, Jamiri Hashi, was wanted for the killing and beheading of 14 soldiers in 2007 and had a bounty on his head. The other terrorist, Adjik Halik, was wanted for the kidnapping of 21 Europeans who were […]
Twenty-one alleged Islamist militants belonging to a cell called “al Qaeda in Aceh” have gone on trial for planning to murder foreign aid workers, possessing illegal fire arms, providing and housing terrorists, and planning attacks; the defendants could face the death penalty. Over 100 members of the cell were killed or arrested by Indonesian forces […]
Three al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters were killed by Algerian security forces in the town of Tadmait in Tizi Ouzou province. Killed were Abdelmoumen Rachid, alias Abu Hodeifa Younis, the leader of AQIM’s military operations; the former Emir of the phalanx (central region of Algeria), “Ali Bin Abi Taleb”; and their driver. The […]
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed to have killed a retired Algerian customs official; the victim was actually a communal guard captured during an AQIM attack in June that killed 11 soldiers and communal guards. The AQIM group responsible is led by Abdelkrim Taleb, a Toureg Arab who is based in northern Mali. Algeria […]
Insurgents killed two men in separate incidents in Pattani’s Kapho district. A Muslim man was killed in a drive-by shooting while on his way home. Additionally, a rubber taper was shot and killed on his motorcycle while his wife was injured on the way to a rubber plantation.
An al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb suicide bomber attempted to blow up an army barracks outside the town of Nema (1,200 miles from Nouakchott). The bomber refused to stop his truck at a checkpoint and his vehicle exploded after soldiers opened fire. There are no reports of casualties. AQIM has threatened reprisal attacks on […]
Authorities confirmed that a ransom was paid and that an AQIM operative responsible for kidnapping the Spanish aid workers was released in exchange for freeing the two Spanish nationals. Details of the ransom reveal that over $5.6 million was paid to AQIM over the last few months. AQIM stated that the hostages “were set free […]
Insurgents killed two people and wounded four others in separate attacks in Pattani province. An assistant village chief was killed and two civilians wounded in one attack, and a former president of a local organization was killed in a separate attack. Two insurgents evaded capture when Thai authorities raided their forest hideout.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb released the two Spanish hostages abducted in November. The Spanish aid workers were reportedly released in exchange for a militant. The extradition to Mali of an AQIM fighter convicted in Mauritania for kidnapping the three Spanish workers is suspected of being connected to the exchange.
Suspected Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Islamists killed three Algerian soldiers and wounded five others after striking their convoy with roadside bombs in Baghlia, near Algiers. The government is attempting to pass a law that will criminalize online support and recruiting for terrorist groups.
A Thai court has ruled that Viktor Bout will be extradited to the United States to face charges pertaining to gun-running and money laundering. Bout, nicknamed the Merchant of Death, has supplied the Taliban and, possibly, al Qaeda fighters throughout the 90s. He maintains he is just a businessman after being caught in a US-Thai […]
Three police officers were wounded and an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed in clashes in Sulu. Abu Sayyaf ambushed the senior superintendent of police and his escort as they were returning to their camp.
Suspected al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters killed an Algerian soldier and injured four civilians in two roadside bomb attacks in Theniet Boussalah, Batna province. Algerian security forces launched large-scale anti-terror operations in Skikda after arrests of two men for aiding and recruiting Islamist fighters. The families of the two Spanish hostages held by […]
The al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb operative responsible for aiding in the kidnapping of three Spanish aid workers in Mauritania has been extradited to his homeland of Mali. Ennahor has published an in-depth look at how AQIM has restructured its organization in light of its recent losses to security forces.
Malian officials reported that Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, the hardline emir of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in the Sahel who is responsible for the murder of Michel Germaneau and Edwin Dyer, is “doing everything possible to endanger the lives of the two Spanish hostages.” Abu Zeid allegedly wants Belmokhtar, the other Sahel emir of […]
Muslim insurgents killed a policeman in a drive-by shooting in Yaring district, Pattani province, and a married couple that owned a rubber plantation in Yala™s Muang district. Insurgents wounded three police officers when they blew up a petrol station in Rangae district of Narathiwat province.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has executed a Malian custom officials who was carrying documents from a Western embassy. AQIM is attempting to get a Malian national guard to join their ranks. An ex-AQIM fighter alleges that Malian government officials and tribal leaders have been supporting the group. Two Malians arrested in the Mauritiania-French […]
Authorities dismantled an 18-member jihadist cell that “was preparing to commit acts of terrorism and sabotage within national territory and against foreign interests in Morocco.” Three members have already served sentences for terrorist involvement. Authorities would not clarify the location of the arrests nor the specific targets of the cell.
Three men were arrested outside Kuala Lumpur and eastern Pahang province for suspected links to a terrorist cell in Aceh that was administrated by radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. The three men, one Indonesian and two Malaysians, were identified as businessmen and were aiming to expand the cleric’s terror cell from Aceh into Malaysia. They […]
Muslim insurgents stabbed and partially decapitated a young man at a rubber plantation in Narathiwat province. A car bomb explosion in front of a bank in Pattani™s Ruesoh district damaged commercial property but no one was killed or injured in the blast. Insurgents were blamed for the attack.
Four Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters were killed and seven others were injured during clashes between rival commanders in Maguindanao province. MILF has expressed concern that the new Benigno Aquino III government wants to restart negotations and review prior agreements.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb abducted a Malian customs official and a soldier in northern Mali. The kidnappings were selective as other soldiers and customs officials were spared. One abductee was injured in the kidnapping. Mauritiania has sent their justice minister to Mali in an attempt to improve cooperation ties in the fight against […]
One Algerian soldier was killed and four others were injured in an ambush by Islamists in Tizi Ouzou province. One Islamist attacker was also killed. Five soldiers were seriously wounded by a roadside bomb in Siar, which borders Tebessa province. A former commander of the Polisario Front has confessed that the Western Saharan separatist movement […]