Author Archives: George Gorman

Malaysia

The police announced that 10 foreigners arrested over the past six months for attempting to recruit university students for the al Qaeda-linked, Indonesian-based terror group Jemaah Islamiyah have been deported. Between 20 to 30 students were monitored by police as they were approached by the extremist foreigners about joining the terror network.


Algeria

Three Algerian soldiers were killed in an ambush in a forest in Yakouren. The army patrol was attacked in Tizi-Ouzou province, a known stronghold for terrorist groups such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The Islamist ambush comes days after an army barracks was destroyed by an AQIM suicide bomber in Boumerdes province.


Thailand

Insurgents killed one person and wounded 26 more in two bombings at open-air restaurants in Yala province. Four other men were killed in insurgent-related shootings in the three southern provinces. Four soldiers were injured when their truck was destroyed by a roadside bomb in Yala province.


Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

In Mauritania, prison guards at a Nouakchott prison foiled the escape of 20 Salafist prisoners, including a recently convicted AQIM fighter. In Algeria, authorities clarified that they killed seven AQIM members, not four, in an ambush in Tizi-Ouzuo. And in Morocco, 38 al Qaeda-linked suspects on trial in the country have had their cases delayed […]


Philippines

A notable member of Abu Sayyaf wanted by the government for 10 years was arrested in Sulu. Abu Sayyaf members have murdered three civilian loggers abducted from the town of Maluso in Basilan. The three lumberjacks were beheaded by the terrorist group.


Philippines

Clashes between two rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNFL) factions have forced 5,000 people to flee their homes. The military is not intervening due to the ongoing peace process. Meanwhile, military sweeps to neutralize elements of the Abu Sayyaf Group in Basilan have forced over 500 families to leave […]


Algeria

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has been blamed for an attack on a police barracks that has killed four and injured 20. A suicide bomber drove a truck laden with explosives into a police barracks in the town of Timizar in the Kabylia region. Two Islamists were killed in a lorry that was following […]


Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

Footage taken off an Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb defector has given an inside look into the everyday lives of AQIM fighters. The video was not intended for release and is not dated. Mokhtar Belmokhtar can be seen in the black turban by the truck.


Thailand

A drive-by bomb attack in the town of Yala in Pattani province wounded 23 people, mostly Muslim worshippers, after the bomb exploded in front of a mosque. Insurgents were targeting a government pickup truck but missed. A married couple was seriously wounded in a shooting, and a vendor was stabbed to death by suspected insurgents […]


Philippines

Two rubber farm workers were killed and one wounded after Abu Sayyaf gunmen attacked them in their mountain village near Sumisip in Basilan province. It is a suspected revenge attack on the community after three Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed by elite army Scout Rangers in Sumisip on Friday.


Philippines

Abu Sayyaf fighters murdered three hostages after the families were unable to pay the ransoms. Police recovered the bodies of the rubber plantation workers in the town of Sukaten village on Basilan island. Norway has joined the international monitoring team observing the ceasefire between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government.


Indonesia

The founder and leader of the now disbanded Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has died of complications from respiratory and heart problems. Hasan Muhammad di Tiro was 84. He led GAM’s independence bid for Aceh for 25 years in exile from Sweden before the 2004 tsnunami forced an autonomy settlement.


Thailand

A male school teacher was shot to death while riding home with five other teachers on their motorbikes. The teacher was killed in Pattani’s Khok Pho district. No other teachers were harmed. Insurgents are blamed for the killing.


Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

The recent surrender of Abou El Abbas, a former member of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s Council of Notables and the chief of legislative affairs, has revealed that the group is ailing. Security sweeps, a failure to legitimize suicide bombings, and a lack of notable attacks have severely weakened morale. Additionally, AQIM has resorted […]


Indonesia

Two Jemaah Islamyah activists have been sentenced to a combined 17 years for aiding and abetting two terrorists linked to the Marriott and Ritz Carlton bombings in Kuningan, Jakarta. One of the defendants, Aris Susanto, harbored two Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists in his relative’s home in central Java before the other defendant transported them to Jakarta.


Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

A senior leader in al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has surrendered to authorities. Atmane Touti, alias Abu El Abbas, was a co-founder of the GSPC, an aide to Droukdel, and the commander of Zone 2 prior to becoming the legal chief for the organization. He surrendered after his wife “convinced” him to give up […]


Thailand

An official of Tambon Bor Hin Administration Organisation was killed in a drive-by shooting while he was at a tea shop in Panare district in Pattani. A motorcycle bomb exploded in Sisakhon district of Narathiwat, wounding a member of the Municipal council. A bomb injured two police on patrol in Yaring district in Pattani.


Tunisia

Eleven people arrested in 2009 have been convicted of terrorist offenses and sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to twelve years. The men were jailed for “having ties with a terrorist group, recruiting persons and providing it with money.”


France

Nine suspected terrorists have gone on trial in Paris for acquiring illegal weapons and planning attacks in the country. Two affiliated groups, one based in Besancon and another in Carcassonne, conducted paramilitary training together. The group consists of one Algerian, four Bosnians, and four Frenchmen.


Algeria

A terrorist cell based in Boumerdes has been dismantled after it was discovered that it planned to attack foreign vessels off the Algerian coast. An arrest of a member of the terror cell in the western town of Boukaroun uncovered the plot to mount sea attacks and transport weapons and explosives to Islamists in the […]


Philippines

Abu Sayyaf fighters kidnapped three employees of a cooperative in a remote village in Basilan. The group was reportedly led by Furuji Indama, a senior leader of the group. Abu Sayyaf has contacted one abductee’s family and demanded a ransom for his release. The employees were intercepted on their way to Isabela City.


Thailand

A bomb attack in Yala province by Muslim terrorists killed two people and injured at least 55 more. A motorcycle bomb exploded near a car showroom in the town of Yala, and a second bomb exploded when authorities and rescue workers came to help the wounded.


Philippines

A grenade attack by suspected Abu Sayyaf fighters on a home in the province of Sulu has left three family members dead and three others injured. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has replaced one of its field commanders, who is Central Mindanao’s most wanted man, only three days after replacing its spokesman.


Mauritania

Three admitted members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have been given the death penalty by a court in Nouakchott. The three were convicted of the murder of four French tourists in the town of Aleg in December 2007. However, it is likely be downgraded to life imprisonment in appeals. Sixteen suspected AQIM members […]


France

Judges in Paris have submitted preliminary charges against nine people, including two with prior terrorist convictions. The men were plotting to free Smain Ali Belkacem, an Algerian, who was convicted in 2003 for bombing a Paris rail line in 1995. Belkacem been charged for directing the group’s effort to free him.


Thailand

Insurgents detonated a roadside bomb in Krong Penang district in Yala that wounded five Thai soldiers. The military patrol was on an intra-village road at Na Tham village when the attack occurred. Two women were killed in drive-by shootings in Yala in Muang district.


Philippines

Abu Sayyaf Group fighters murdered a woman after taking her from her family farm at Basilan. Two people were killed in skirmishes between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and militiamen in Maguindanao. UN Secretary General Ban is pushing for tougher measures on groups recruiting child soldiers, including Abu Sayyaf Group, the New People’s Army, and […]


Indonesia

Authorities have released due to lack of evidence one of the men accused of plotting a Mumbai-style terrorist attack that was to target the president and foreigners. The governments of Indonesia and China are discussing upgrading their military cooperation. Indonesia is offering non-lethal military aid in exchange for Chinese naval missiles.


Thailand

A senior nurse working at a hospital in a Thai military camp was killed in a drive-by shooting by suspected separatists. She was killed on her motorcycle in Thung Yangdaeng district while heading to work inside the Ingkayuth Boriharn military camp in Pattani.


Palestinian Territories

The IDF killed two Hamas gunmen that had been attempting to infiltrate Israel along the southern Gaza border. Hamas leadership acknowledged their mission to attack Israel. Meanwhile, Israel launched airstrikes during pre-dawn raids; no casualties were reported.