Suicide assault team hits Afghan police training facility
The Taliban have carried out six suicide attacks in Afghanistan over the past two days.
Category Archives: Long War Journal
Haqqani Network/IMU facilitator targeted in Afghan east
The commander “assists the networks with the acquisition, movement and employment [of] foreign fighters, including Iranians.”
US Predator strike kills 6 Haqqani Network fighters in South Waziristan
Today’s attack ends a 27-day pause in the covert program.
Suicide bomber kills pro-government tribal leader, 9 Afghans in Kunar
Haji Malik Zarin led Kunar’s High Peace Council. The Taliban denied it carried out the attack.
Taliban occupy abandoned US outpost in Kunar
A commander said the Taliban will establish “a permanent base” there, swore allegiance to Mullah Omar, and said his forces will continue to attack US troops until they “reach the gates of America.”
The most wanted Taliban commanders in Afghanistan
A look at some of the Taliban leaders who are at the top of the special operations groups’ target list.
American Shabaab commander Omar Hammami releases tape that mocks reports of his death
In Hammami’s latest rap-nasheed, he asks to die in a Predator strike, special operations raid, air strike, or cruise missile attack, like other top al Qaeda commanders.
Al Qaeda fighter properly detained at Gitmo, court finds
The DC Circuit Court affirmed a district court’s decision to deny Guantanamo detainee Yasein Khasem Mohammad Esmail’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Esmail was trained at a notorious al Qaeda camp, studied at an al Qaeda-run school for martyrs, and fought at Tora Bora.
350 suicide bombers training in North Waziristan
A young suicide bomber who was captured said the camps are run by a Taliban leader known as Commander Sangeen Khan.
Caucasus Emirate leader survived Russian raid
In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Doku Umarov confirmed he was alive and “absolutely healthy.” Umarov also said he would continue to carry out attacks against Russia.
Special operations forces raid ‘Taliban safe haven’ in Afghan north
ISAF identified another “safe haven,” this time in the district of Qaisar in Faryab. Special operations teams also killed the Afghan policeman who killed two ISAF troops in Faryab on April 4.
Taliban suicide assault team strikes Kandahar police, kills 6
The Mullah Dadullah Front, a radical Taliban subgroup closely linked to al Qaeda, is likely behind today’s complex attack.
ISAF captures al Qaeda’s top Kunar commander
Abu Ikhlas al Masri served as al Qaeda’s Kunar operations commander before he was captured in a special operations raid in Kunar in December 2010. Kunar remains an al Qaeda haven.
US troops defeat Taliban assault on base in Nangarhar
A Taliban force of 25 fighters attacked Forward Operating Base Fenty in Nangarhar province, but was routed by US troops guarding the base.
ISAF, Afghan forces kill Taliban suicide network leader in Kunduz
Shamsullah directed multiple suicide attacks in the Afghan north, including three large attacks since the end of February.
Suicide bomber kills 8 in northwestern Pakistan
The suicide bombing in Lower Dir is the fourth such attack in northwestern Pakistan since March 30.
Suicide bombers kill 41 at Sufi shrine in central Pakistan
The Taliban claimed the attack, which occurred during a religious festival at the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab province.
US troops defeat Taliban suicide assault on Kabul base
Four Taliban suicide bombers were killed while attempting to storm Camp Phoenix in the Afghan capital. The attack takes place as violent protests occur in Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif.
Ex-Gitmo detainee training Libyan rebels in Derna
A former Guantanamo detainee named Sufyan Ben Qumu is training Derna’s rebels. Declassified memos prepared at Gitmo note that Qumu was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group’s military committee, trained at Osama bin Laden’s camps, worked for al Qaeda front companies, and was a known “extremist” with “no qualms about committing terrorist acts.”
Deputy emir of Caucasus Emirate killed in Russian raid
Kavkaz Center announced the death of Emir Supyan, the deputy to Doku Umarov. Umarov’s physician is also said to have been killed in the March 28 raid.
Ex-Gitmo detainee criticizes Saudis in latest edition of Inspire
In the latest edition of Inspire, Ibrahim Rubaish, a former Guantanamo detainee who is AQAP’s mufti, criticizes the Saudi government for taking in Tunisia’s former president.
Senior Jemaah Islamiyah leader in Pakistani custody
Indonesia is sending a team to Pakistan to investigate reports that Umar Patek was captured. Patek is a senior Jemaah Islamiyah operative and has been connected to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.
DC Circuit Court finds Gitmo detainee was no ‘Forrest Gump’
A three-judge DC Circuit Court panel overturned a lower court’s ruling that would have granted freedom to Guantanamo detainee Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman.
Caucasus Emirate leader may have escaped Russian raid
Doku Umarov and his top two commanders, Emir Khamzat and Emir Supyan, are rumored to have been killed during a raid in Ingushetia. Russian officials do not believe Umarov was killed.
Northeastern Afghan district falls after Taliban assault
A large Taliban force attacked the district center in Waygal today and drove out Afghan police. The Taliban claim to have kidnapped 13 police and seized large amounts of weapons and ammunition.
Taliban kill 14 Pakistani troops in Khyber ambush
A colonel and a captain were among the Frontier Corps troops killed in an ambush in the Atakhel area of the Pakistani tribal agency of Khyber.
Taliban create Lashkar-e-Khorasan to hunt Predator spies
The group was established by the Haqqani Network and Hafiz Gul Bahadar to root out so-called US spies that aid in the US’ Predator campaign in Pakistan.
Taliban kill 20 Afghans in suicide assault
The Taliban claimed credit for the suicide attack that killed 20 Afghan road workers in the Bermel district in Paktika province.
Taliban capture scores of police recruits in Kunar
The Taliban claimed credit for the kidnapping of more than 40 Afghan men who attempted to join the police in the contested northeastern Afghan province.
Afghan Local Police vital to General Petraeus’ strategy
The establishment of the local village forces is the third attempt by ISAF and the Afghan government to provide security in contested areas.