The operational leader of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network is thought to have been in the same area in Pakistan where US Apache helicopters carried out cross-border attacks last month. Siraj’s presence in part sparked the Pakistani military’s outrage over the incursion.
The attack is the Taliban’s latest in a long string of attacks at religious institutions in Pakistan. The Taliban have also stepped up attacks against security forces, killing 17 soldiers and paramilitary troops over the past week.
Two articles by al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki are featured in the latest edition of Inspire magazine. The publication also mentions the controversy surrounding the Obama administration’s decision to allow US forces to target Awlaki in Yemen.
A DC district judge denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by an Afghan detained at Gitmo. The judge’s decision and declassified memos produced at Gitmo indicate that the detainee, known as Obaydullah, was a member of an al Qaeda IED cell tasked with attacking US forces.
Eight Pakistani soldiers have been killed in attacks since Oct. 15, and another was captured.
Gul Nabi was killed during a firefight in the Pech River Valley. Nabi “facilitated the movement of Pakistani and Arab fighters into Kunar province.”
Four Caucasus Emirate fighters and four policemen were killed during the battle at the Chechen parliament in Grozny.
So far this year, the US has hit targets in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan in 24 of the 88 strikes.
Abu Mustafa al Sheibani, the commander of the notorious Sheibani Network, returned to Iraq over the summer. Sheibani is one of the most capable assets of Iran’s Qods Force inside Iraq.
An ex-Gitmo detainee named Jabir Jubran al Fayfi has reportedly turned himself in to Saudi authorities. Al Fayfi was arrested in Yemen in September and his “surrender” was likely coordinated by the Saudi and Yemeni governments.
The Taliban denied that Qari Hussain Mehsud was killed, while US intelligence officials refused to confirm the reports. Qari Hussain is known as the “teacher of suicide bombers.”
Up to five “militants” were reported killed. Five of the last 11 strikes have hit targets in Mir Ali.
A senior IED facilitator was also captured during a recent raid in the southwestern province.
The latest edition of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s Inspire magazine features two former Gitmo detainees. One is an AQAP military commander and the other is AQAP’s deputy leader. Both rely on al Qaeda’s “narrative” in an attempt to woo new recruits in the West.
Predators and Reapers hit four separate targets in the town of Lataka, indicating that a high-value target was the focus of the strike.
A Taliban leader in the running to replace the shadow governor of Badghis province was killed in a raid over the weekend, while another senior Taliban military commander in the province was targeted in a strike yesterday.
A Gitmo detainee named Toffiq al Bihani was recently denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus by a DC district judge. Toffiq is the brother of a notorious al Qaeda operative and received training at al Qaeda’s facilities in pre-9/11 Afghanistan.
Jamaat ul Dawa al Quran kidnapped Linda Norgrove and had intended to transfer her to senior Taliban and al Qaeda leaders.
The strike is the latest in the Mir Ali area, a known stronghold of Abu Kasha al Iraqi and al Qaeda.
A district judge denied a Kuwaiti Gitmo detainee’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus in September. The detainee, Fayiz al Kandari, claims that he was a mere charity worker, but he was really an influential al Qaeda recruiter with ties to a terror cell that launched an attack on the US Marines in 2002.
Press reports indicate that Atiyah Abd al Rahman, who is Osama bin Laden’s ambassador to Iran, was killed in a recent airstrike in northern Pakistan. US intelligence officials cannot confirm Atiyah’s death, but do confirm that he has relocated from Iran to northern Pakistan.
The tankers were hit in Mithri, south of Quetta. More than 150 fuel tankers and supply trucks have been destroyed in five major attacks since Pakistan closed the Khyber Pass on Sept. 30.
Nine terrorists, including “foreigners,” were reported killed in strikes in the Datta Khel and Mohammed Khel areas.
Governor Mohammed Omar was outspoken in his opposition to the Taliban and allied terror groups. He was killed in a bombing at a mosque along with 14 others during Friday prayers.
Mohammed Usman was a key member of Brigade 313 and helped unite al Qaeda with several Pakistani jihadist groups.
A leader of the British cell and two German cell members were killed in Predator strikes in September. Abdul Jabbar was named the leader of the Islamic Army of Great Britain.
Mullah Ismail, the Taliban’s shadow governor of Badghis province, and Abdul Hakim, a senior Taliban military commander in the province, were killed during a raid on Oct. 6.
Two suicide bombers detonated within minutes of each other at the shrine of the patron saint of Karachi.
The strike is the third in Mir Ali in four days; three of the past for strikes have hit targets in Mir Ali.
The latest convoy was destroyed in Khairabad near Nowshera in Pakistan’s northwest. US officials believe the Pakistani military is spurring the attacks.