A former Gitmo detainee convicted of terrorism-related charges was freed from an Italian jail on Monday. Adel Ben Mabrouk, a Tunisian who lived in Italy for much of the 1990s, was a member of a known al Qaeda network in Italy prior to his detention at Guantanamo. Mabrouk was captured after fleeing the Tora Bora Mountains in late 2001.
A teenage suicide bomber in a school uniform evaded detection at several checkpoints at a military base in Khyber Pakhtunkwha province and detonated his vest in the midst of a crowd of army recruits.
The Taliban have launched 18 major suicide attacks and terror assaults on military, police, and intelligence installations throughout Pakistan since March 2009.
Said Jan ‘Abd al Salam, an Afghan, ran an al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan. Khalil al Rahman Haqqani is a key fundraiser who has traveled to the UAE and aided al Qaeda military operations.
Anwar ul Haq Mujahid, who had formerly been detained and released by Pakistan, spoke at Awar Gul’s funeral in Nangarhar province. An official Taliban statement was read, praising Gul as “the renowned commander.” In addition, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for the release of a top Taliban official from Guantanamo.
Doku Umarov, the emir of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Caucasus Emirate, claimed the Jan. 24 suicide attack at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow that killed 35 people and wounded scores more.
The Afghan High Peace Council has requested the release of Khairullah Khairkhwa, a top Taliban official, from Guantanamo. Khairkhwa, who was detained in early 2002, was the governor of Herat province during the Taliban’s reign. He was also allegedly involved in drug trafficking, had ties to senior al Qaeda leaders, and admittedly set up security for meetings between the Taliban and Iran.
Doku Umarov is seen in a video with Khamzat, the commander of his suicide brigade, and a young man who is preparing for a “special operation” inside Russia.
Thirwat Salah Shehata, a top al Qaeda operative who has long served Ayman al Zawahiri, has released a statement in support of the Egyptian protesters. According to a Saudi publication, Shehata issued the statement from Iran.
The Taliban accused the four men of “spying for Indian and Jewish intelligence agencies.” The murders took place in Karak.
Awal Gul, a former Taliban commander, died of an apparent heart attack at Guantanamo on Tuesday. According to the US military’s declassified files, Osama bin Laden allegedly gave Gul $100,000 to help al Qaeda members escape Afghanistan after 9/11.
Afghan officials said that training camps for the Taliban and al Qaeda are located in the Iranian cities of Zahedan, Birjan, Maibod, and in the Shamsabad area near Tehran.
Three children and a woman were among those killed in the latest bombing in the northwestern provincial capital.
An Italian court convicted a former Guantanamo detainee named Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri of terrorsm-related charges on Monday. At Gitmo, Nasri was identified as “one of the most dangerous Tunisian operatives,” as well as the emir of the Tunisian Combat Group, a known al Qaeda affiliate.
Qari Zia Rahman, the dual-hatted al Qaeda and Taliban commander, said the tribal leaders would not be free unless their family members quit the Afghan government and security forces.
A pair of bombings in Peshawar, including a suicide attack, are the latest in a series of attacks throughout Pakistan’s Taliban-infested northwest.
A Taliban suicide bomber driving a motorcycle picked out Deputy Governor Abdul Latif’s car in a convoy traveling in Kandahar city.
The Taliban claimed the deadly attack, and said they were targeting “foreigners.”
Nurullah Bai had close ties to al Qaeda and senior Taliban leaders in Takhar, and was involved in a drug trafficking network that operated between Badakhshan province and Tajikistan.
“Arabs, Chechens, and Pakistanis” are supporting the Taliban in Ghazni province, while Pakistani intelligence is sabotaging security.
Al Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan continue to maintain a strong presence in the northern Afghan provinces of Takhar, Kunduz, and Baghlan.
The Fedayeen-e-Islam, a subgroup of the Pakistani Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Jaish-e-Mohammed, claimed credit for the Lahore attack.
The suicide attack took place at an international arrival terminal at Domodedovo International Airport. The al Qaeda-linked Islamic Caucasus Emirate is the prime suspect in the attack.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair discussed the “link” between Iran and al Qaeda in his testimony before the Iraq Inquiry on Friday. Blair cited British intelligence reports pointing to collusion between the two in Iraq, and urged UK officials to look at the issue in a “broader context” as well.
Thirteen “militants” were reported killed in today’s strike in North Waziristan. Also, a former senior Pakistani intelligence officer was found dead in the tribal agency.
The Taliban commander, who was not named, is “a current member” of the Quetta regional military shura and the former shadow governor of the Panjwai district.
The Center for Public Integrity has released an investigative report detailing the circumstances of Daniel Pearl’s murder in 2002. The report highlights the “nexus” between Pakistani terrorist groups and al Qaeda, and provides new details concerning Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s role in the plot.
The designation of Qari Hussain by State and Treasury refutes multiple rumors over the past several months claiming that he was killed in a US Predator airstrike in Pakistan’s tribal agency of North Waziristan.
Shia worshipers were targeted as they marched in a procession to the city of Karbala. The attacks are the latest in a string of bombings aimed at Iraq’s security forces and Shia majority.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan released a statement announcing the death of Bekkay Harrach, a top member of al Qaeda’s external operations network.