Taliban launch rocket attack on Bagram, suicide attack in Herat
Three Afghan intelligence officers and a policemen were killed, and a helicopter was hit at Bagram Air Base. A police chief and five Afghans were killed in a suicide attack in Herat.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Afghan Taliban claims it ‘had no hand in the 9/11 incident’
The Taliban also attempted to convince the international community that the country would not serve as a launchpad for future attacks.
Suicide bomber kills 16 in Afghan north
At least 10 policemen and six civilians were killed in an attack in Kunduz City. The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan likely carried out the attack.
AQAP deputy emir reported killed in recent drone strike
The Yemeni military claimed that Said al Shihri, a former Guantanamo detainee and the current deputy emir of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has been killed. The report has not been confirmed; Yemeni officials have claimed in the past that he has been killed and captured.
Taliban call Haqqani Network a ‘conjured entity’
In a statement released on Voice of Jihad, the Taliban claimed the Haqqani Network was created by the US as part of “its satanic plot” to divide the group.
US adds Haqqani Network to list of terror groups
After pressure from Congress, the State Department finally added the group, which has links to the Taliban, al Qaeda, and the Pakistani military and intelligence services, to the US list of foreign terror organizations.
Analysis: The Taliban’s ‘momentum’ has not been broken
President Obama claims that the Taliban’s “momentum” has been broken in Afghanistan. Other officials have made similar claims. The Long War Journal has examined several sources that measure the insurgency’s capacity for violence and finds that the Taliban’s momentum has not been broken. The overall level of violence in Afghanistan today remains worse than prior to the surge.
Al Qaeda operative killed in Kunar airstrike
Abu Saif, a Pakistani national, served as a cross-border facilitator and a conduit between senior al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and was involved in media operations. Two other Pakistanis and a Saudi were also killed.
Fatah al Islam emir killed while waging jihad in Syria
Abu Hussam al Shami served as the leader of the Al Khilafah (Caliphate) Brigades in Syria and was killed in an ambush near Damascus.
6 ‘Islamist militants’ killed in US drone strike in Yemen
Five out of the last seven strikes since the beginning of August have hit AQAP targets in the eastern province of Hadramout.
Suicide bomber kills 30 Afghans in attack at funeral
The attack took place as local government officials attended a funeral in the Door Baba district in Nangahar province.
US drone strike kills AQAP operative involved in Limburg tanker attack
Khaled Batis, the mastermind of the 2002 attack on the Limburg oil tanker, was killed on Aug. 31. The US also carried out a drone strike in Rada’a today; 13 civilians were reported killed.
Taliban release video of beheaded Pakistani soldiers
“Mujahideen slit the throats of 11 army-men in light of Shariah Law,” the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan’s spokesman said.
Senior al Qaeda leader, facilitator killed in airstrike in Kunar
Abu Walid, also known as Amru Mastur al Ghamrawi, was one of two al Qaeda leaders who were killed in an airstrike in the Watahpur district in Kunar on Aug 3. ISAF launched two airstrikes in Watahpur on Aug. 3.
6 killed in US drone strike in North Waziristan
The strike took place in an area under the control of Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar, and is the first in a week.
US drones strike again in Yemen, kill 8 AQAP fighters
Four of the last five drone strikes have taken place in the eastern province of Hadramout.
Afghan intelligence thwarts terror plots in Kabul, Logar, and Parwan
Intelligence operatives disrupted four terror plots in the past two days and captured nine suspected Taliban insurgents along with homemade explosives believed to have been smuggled into Kabul from Pakistan.
US adds 8 Lashkar-e-Taiba members to terrorism list
The US Treasury Department designated eight Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders today, including the point man for the November 2008 attack on Mumbai. Also designated was the son of LeT chieftain Hafiz Saeed.
Pakistani Taliban ‘chopped off the heads’ of 7 Pakistani soldiers in South Waziristan
Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said the Pakistani soldiers were beheaded “as Shariah directs them to do with enemies of Islam.”
Afghan soldier kills 3 ISAF troops in Uruzgan province
In the 10th attack by Afghan security forces on Coalition troops so far this month, an Afghan soldier shot and killed three ISAF troops in the south. The green-on-blue attacks this month have already killed 25 Coalition troops and wounded six more.
US drone strike kills Saudi ‘militant’ in Yemen
A Saudi known as Salim Mubarak al Saiary was one of two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters reported killed in a strike in an area between Marib and Hadramout provinces.
‘Black Widow’ assassinates moderate Muslim cleric in Russia’s Caucasus
The attack is the third in six weeks against prominent Muslim clerics who were working to promote moderate versions of Islam in Russia. Two others were targeted in Tatarstan in July; one was killed.
Dangerous Pakistani Taliban commander thought killed
Commander Tariq Afridi, the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan’s operations in Khyber, as well as in regions in Arakzai, Peshawar, Kohat, and Hangu, is said to have been murdered by a relative.
Kenyan Muslims riot after murder of Shabaab-linked cleric
Sheikh Aboud Rogo Mohammed was shot and killed as he was driving in Mombasa. The US added Rogo to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on July 5 for his direct support for Shabaab.
Afghan soldier kills 2 ISAF troops in east
Forty-two ISAF soldiers have been killed in attacks by Afghan security personnel this year. Thirteen percent of ISAF’s casualties in 2012 have occurred in these “green-on-blue” attacks, more than double last year’s total.
Badruddin Haqqani ‘is alive and healthy,’ Taliban spokesman says
Zabihullah Mujahid denied reports that claimed Badruddin was killed in a drone strike, and said he “is in the country and he is occupied with his operational responsibilities.” Afghan intelligence claims he is dead.
Turkistan Islamic Party leader thought killed in US drone strike
Emeti Yakuf a.k.a. Abdul Shakoor Turkistani, who directs al Qaeda operations in Pakistan’s tribal areas, may have been killed in the Aug. 24 drone strike in the Shawal Valley that hit a training camp.
Bajaur Taliban leader, deputy killed in airstrike in eastern Afghanistan
Mullah Dadullah, the emir of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan’s branch in Bajaur, and Shakir, his deputy, were killed in an ISAF airstrike in Kunar.
Badruddin Haqqani rumored killed in US drone strike
The senior Haqqani Network commander is thought to have been killed in one of five drone strikes this week. His death has not been confirmed.
Suicide bombings become commonplace in Syria
Relying on translations from the SITE Intelligence Group and other publicly-available information, The Long War Journal has counted 25 reported or suspected suicide bombings in Syria since December 2011. The al Qaeda-linked Al Nusrah Front has claimed responsibility for 18 of these attacks.