After bin Laden: who will lead al Qaeda?
Osama will be difficult to replace, but al Qaeda will choose a new emir from a cadre of top leaders with years of experience.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Pakistan critical of ‘unilateral’ US raid that killed Osama bin Laden
The Foreign Ministry denied any Pakistani involvement in the “unilateral action” and said bin Laden’s wife and children are in Pakistani custody.
Afghan troops kill, wound 25 ‘foreign fighters’ in Nuristan
Arabs, Chechens, and Pakistanis were among those killed and wounded during an Afghan operation in the district of Barg-e-Matal, the governor of Nuristan said.
Osama bin Laden’s son also reported killed during raid in Pakistan
Khalid bin Laden, one of Osama’s younger sons, was among those killed yesterday during the special operations raid that killed Osama in a fortified mansion in an upscale area of Abbottabad in Pakistan. Amal al Sadah, Osama’s Yemeni bride, was wounded.
Al Qaeda emir Osama bin Laden confirmed killed by US forces in Pakistan
A small US team killed Osama bin Laden during a raid in Abbottabad in northwestern Pakistan. The US was in possession of his body, which has since been buried at sea.
Taliban announce beginning of their ‘spring offensive’
Operation Badar will commence on May 1. The Afghan High Peace Council is singled out for its efforts to reconcile with the Taliban.
Deadly bombing hits tourist site in Morocco
Fifteen people, including 10 foreigners, were killed in a bombing at a cafe frequented by tourists in the city of Marrakech.
ISAF captures HIG’s provincial commander for Khost
Special operation teams have hammered Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin’s command in an area of Khost under the control of the Haqqani Network.
Afghan pilot kills 8 US troops, contractor in Kabul attack
The pilot is said to have opened fire on the ISAF troops after a dispute at North Kabul International Airport. The Taliban claimed the attack.
Yemeni government official doubled as al Qaeda operative, leaked assessment shows
According to a leaked Gitmo intelligence assessment, Abd al Salam al Hilah was both a member of Yemen’s Political Security Organization and al Qaeda. He “probably” had foreknowledge of the Sept. 11 attacks, analysts concluded.
Saudi al Qaeda leader killed in Kunar airstrike
Abu Hafs al Najdi, a Qaeda’s operations chief in Kunar, was wanted by the Saudi government. ISAF said “more than 25 al Qaeda leaders and fighters” have been killed in Afghanistan over the past month.
Gitmo docs link Pakistani, Iranian, and Yemeni intelligence agencies to al Qaeda
The Matrix of Threat Indicators for Enemy Combatants document, one of hundreds released by WikiLeaks, described the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen as “associated forces” that support al Qaeda.
More than 450 Taliban leaders, fighters escape from Kandahar jail
The Taliban claimed they spent five months digging a 350-meter tunnel to a cell underneath the Sarposa prison in Kandahar City. More than 100 Taliban commanders are said to be among the escapees.
Suicide bomber kills tribal leader, Pakistani troops in northwest
The attack took place the same day General Kayani claimed the terrorists’ “backbone has been broken” and one day after a large Taliban force killed 16 troops in Dir.
Russian forces kill al Qaeda’s envoy to the Islamic Causasus Emirate
Muhannad commanded the International Islamic Battalion, the unit comprised of Arab and other foreign fighters. He also was the deputy military leader in Chechnya.
ISAF captures Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan’s top commander for Afghanistan
The IMU ‘s senior leader in Afghanistan served as “a key conduit between the senior IMU leadership in Pakistan and senior Taliban leadership in Afghanistan.” He escaped from a Pakistani jail in 2010.
Taliban overrun security outpost, kill 16 Pakistani troops
More than 300 Taliban fighters attacked an outpost in Dir from across the border in Kunar province. The Taliban reportedly beheaded five of the Pakistani troops.
US Predators kill 25 in North Waziristan strike
The strike in the Mir Ali area is the first in more than a week, and took place just one day after Admiral Mullen completed a trip to patch up ties with Pakistan’s military.
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group leader ambushed by Qaddafi’s forces
A top Libyan Islamic Fighting Group leader known as Urwah was killed in an ambush by Colonel Muammar Qaddafi’s forces earlier this month. Urwah was reportedly detained by Iran in 2004 but allowed to return to Libya to fight Qaddafi.
17 Taliban, ‘foreign fighters’ killed during hunt for al Qaeda commander in Kunar
The al Qaeda leader “commands and facilitates insurgents throughout the province and border region, directing weapons acquisition, movement, employment of fighters and equipment to Kunar for attacks against Afghan and Coalition forces.”
Ex-Gitmo detainee deported from Italy to Tunisia
The Italian government announced the deportation of a former Gitmo detainee to Tunisia. Adel Ben Mabrouk had been convicted of terrorism-related charges, but his sentence was commuted to time served because of his eight-year-long detention at Gitmo. Mabrouk went to Afghanistan to train and fight in early 2001 and was part of an al Qaeda cell that plotted to blow up Milan’s Gothic cathedral.
Zawahiri’s brother-in-law killed in Afghanistan
Osama Hassan was a member of the Egyptian Islamic Group and may have played a role in getting that group’s external faction to merge with al Qaeda in 2006.
Taliban/IMU commander killed in airstrike in Afghan north
Mullah Abdul Fatah Haqqani commanded and controlled facilitation networks for “foreign fighters” in Baghlan.
Taliban suicide bomber penetrates security at Ministry of Defense in Kabul
Two Afghan soldiers were killed in a shootout with the suicide bomber, who came close to top Afghan military leaders. The Taliban have launched nine suicide attacks in the past five days.
ISAF captures IMU/Haqqani Network facilitators in Ghazni
One Haqqani Network commander “provided safe havens for foreign fighters traveling from Kunduz to Paktika province and Pakistan for tactical training and operations” while the other also worked for the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
ISAF captures Taliban/Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander in Afghan north
The raids highlight the integration of the IMU into the Taliban and the establishment of suicide camps in the Afghan north.
Al Qaeda’s commander for Kunar, several operatives killed in airstrike
Commander Sa’ad bin Abi Waqas, a Pakistani al Qaeda leader, and several of his fighters were confirmed to have been killed in an April 14 airstrike.
Taliban suicide bomber kills 5 ISAF, 4 Afghan troops in east
A Taliban fighter who penetrated the Afghan police detonated a vest at a meeting at a base in Laghman province. The Taliban claimed the attack.
Suicide bomber detonates inside Indonesia mosque
The blast at a police mosque in Cirebon wounded 28 people, including a police chief.
Suicide bomber assassinates Kandahar police chief
Brigadier General Khan Mohammad Mujahid is the latest senior Afghan official murdered by the Taliban in its assassination campaign in the southern province.