Where have you read this before?
Amir Mir of Pakistan’s The News has a history of copying and cribbing reports from The Long War Journal.
Author Archives: Zachary Elkaim
ISIS ‘a transnational jihadist group’
Thomas Joscelyn discusses Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, its goals to establish a caliphate and current offensive in Iraq, the destabilizing influence of Iran, and the West’s lack of strategy to deal with jihadism.
Jihadists ‘are thinking in terms of generations’
Thomas Joscelyn discusses the Bowe Bergdahl – Taliban prisoner exchange and the five dangerous Taliban leaders who were released, the first American suicide bomber in Syria, and the overall war.
Somalia
Officials and residents say Shabaab is conducting attacks almost nightly in Mogadishu and patrolling districts at night; the al Qaeda-linked group now controls some districts entirely. At least seven people have been killed and many more have been detained as a result of raids by security forces in Kismayu. Ahmed Ibrahim was appointed the interim […]
Nigeria
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video warning of an imminent attack on Nigeria’s oil sector. In Borno, suspected Boko Haram militants killed two people at the home of a JTF Commander in Buratai, and rampaged in the Bama area, killing 47 people, shooting at houses, and torching cars.
Kenya
A British police officer testified that a memory stick found in Jermaine Grant’s possession contained documents detailing the use of chemicals to make explosives, as well as ways to make booby traps to target government officials. Forensic experts were able to recover 125 files, 66 of which referred to jihad, that Grant had tried to […]
Somalia
Sources said Shabaab’s ban on mobile Internet services was precipitated by Edward Snowden’s revelations that the US government was tapping global Internet and phone systems. A Shabaab defector killed the commander of Jubaland’s security forces and two of his bodyguards in Kismayo.
Nigeria
Suspected Shabaab militants killed 11 people in an attack on the village of Galga in Adamawa state. Reacting to claims by Borno’s governor that Boko Haram is better armed than the Nigerian military, the federal government insisted that the military is winning the war.
Somalia
In response to Ethiopian forces crossing into Bakool region, Shabaab forces have begun to pull out of the region’s capital of Hudur. Somali troops lost the towns of Gandarshe and Jilib Marka in Lower Shabelle to Shabaab militants after controlling the towns for less than a week. The Somali government has denied UN allegations of […]
Nigeria
After a wave of attacks by Boko Haram, the federal government has deployed more troops and relief material to the northeast. The current governor of Borno said Nigeria is in a state of war against Boko Haram; his predecessor accused government officials of being behind some of the attacks.
Niger
A Boko Haram cell planning attacks on Nigerien towns was arrested in Diffa. Although Niger still refuses to hand over Al-Saadi Gadhafi, a former high-ranking intelligence official in the Gadhafi regime has been extradited to Libya.
Boko Haram kills 39 in attack on village in Borno state
For the third time in three months, Boko Haram has mounted a large-scale attack in Borno state. A Boko Haram force estimated at 400 fighters killed at least 39 people and burned 1,000 homes in the latest attack.
Somalia
Shabaab attacked AMISOM forces twice last night. In the evening, at least one person was killed and four civilians were injured after AMISOM troops repulsed a Shabaab ambush on a troop convoy. Later that night, Shabaab attacked an AMISOM base in Mogadishu’s Huriwaa district with heavy weapons including shoulder-launched heavy missiles.
Somalia
A car bomb intended to target Somali and AMISOM troops in Beledweyne prematurely exploded in Bulo-Burte, killing at least eight Shabaab fighters. The detonation was the second explosives snafu in three days for Shabaab. In Somaliland, officials reportedly arrested a former senior Shabaab commander. Mogadishu’s mayor called for greater cooperation between authorities and civilians, and […]
Somalia
Ahmed Abdi Godane is thought to be on the run after having narrowly escaped death twice in the past month. AMISOM and Somali troops killed seven Shabaab militants in a surprise attack on the town of Hagar in Jubba. The Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle was injured in one of two bomb attacks in Mogadishu […]
Kenya
A Kenyan policeman has been shot in Ukunda in what is suspected to be a retaliatory Shabaab attack for the Masjid Mussa mosque raid. In Mandera, police arrested three armed men who had infiltrated from Somalia. According to the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, the FBI is in possession of the bodies of the […]
Somalia
As a result of Shabaab threats, a telecom provider has shut off Internet services in Mogadishu. Shabaab continues to shell Mogadishu. Shabaab reportedly allowed the resumption of mobile Internet services in Middle and Lower Jubba regions today.
Kenya
Riots continued for a third day in Mombasa in the wake of the Masjid Mussa mosque raid. Two police officers have pled not guilty to allegations regarding the abduction of Ethiopian ONLF representatives in Nairobi. Police have released the names of two men suspect of involvement in the Westgate mall attack.
Nigeria
Some 50 suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked the Borno state town of Askira, 200 km south of Maiduguri. While a Police Public Relations Officer confirmed that three people were killed in in a suspected Boko Haram attack, the Borno Police Commissioner insisted that the incident was purely an armed robbery and had nothing to do […]
Kenya
A manhunt is underway for two alleged Shabaab members who escaped police at the Masjid Mosque raid on Sunday and are suspected of efforts to radicalize Muslim youth in Mombasa. Sources in Kenya claim that the gathering at the mosque was being used to bring together newly recruited jihadists from cells in Eldoret, Kisumu, and […]
Somalia
Somali and AMISOM troops have removed Shabaab forces from the areas around Gendershe, Dhanane, and Jilib in Lower Shabelle. In Gedo, Somali forces claim they will soon launch a campaign against Shabaab positions with the help of Ethiopian AMISOM peacekeepers. Uganda has sent an additional 1,600 troops to join AMISOM efforts.
Nigeria
President Jonathan has formally sworn in the new heads of the armed forces. At the ceremony, new Chief of Defense Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh said he would end the Boko Haram insurgency before Nigerian general elections in 2015. Badeh has also issued a press statement claiming that his promise to end the insurgency by […]
Somalia
The Somali government has fired 700 soldiers of various ranks for incompetence. In Mogadishu, Shabaab has claimed responsibility for two consecutive nights of shelling in various government and AMISOM-controlled areas. Although Kenya will decrease its troop presence in Kismayo, the KDF has denied allegations that Kenyan forces are preparing to pull out of Somalia completely.
Nigeria
Muhammad Nazeef, along with other suspected Boko Haram members Salami Abdullahi and Umar Musa have pled not guilty to eight charges of terrorism-related offenses. The Department of State Security Service will present its prosecution case on March 18.
Kenya
A raid by Kenyan police on the Masjid Mussa mosque in Mombasa has devolved into two days of rioting by youths the police say were being radicalized by pro-Shabaab Islamists. So far 129 have been arrested, and authorities are debating whether to close the mosque.
Somalia
After the Somali government complained Kenyan troops were interfering with its attempts to assert authority, Kenya will decrease its troop presence in Kismayo. Sources claim that three Kenyan soldiers were killed, and one armored vehicle was damaged over the weekend in an ambush by Shabaab forces near Afmadow in Lower Jubba. Shabaab has arrested 16 […]
Nigeria
A Muslim cleric who was openly critical of Boko Haram was assassinated in the Kaduna state city of Zaria. In an attempt to track Boko Haram’s cross-border activities, the Nigerian government will buy three surveillance aircraft from the Czech Republic.
Somalia
AMISOM troops have disrupted an anti-Mogadishu conference in Baidoa aimed at creating an autonomous state in southern Somalia consisting of Bay, Bakool, Gedo, Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba, and Lower Shabelle. The Sufi militant group Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa has urged Shabaab to lay down arms and seek an amnesty deal. In Barawe, Shabaab led a […]
Kenya
Kenyan security is on high alert following reports of an imminent Shabaab attack. In a boost to Kenya’s regional naval ambitions, an Italian ship-building firm is considering establishing a shipyard in Mombasa.
Nigeria
An IED, thought to have been planted by Boko Haram, exploded in Borno along the Gwoza-Madagali road after a passenger bus drove over it. Seven travelers were killed, and three others were injured in the attack.