Shabaab fighters ambushed a large Ethiopian convoy in Hiran. A Yemeni consul survived a grenade attack in Mogadishu. The United Nations Security Council extended the African Union mission by six months. The prime minister supports a broad-based reconciliation process.
Senior Sadr officials tell Reuters Muqtada al Sadr will extend the existing Mahdi Army cease-fire by six months. Orders have been sent to Sadrists clerics to be read at Friday prayers. US and Iraqi pressure has influenced Sadr’s decision.
Multinational Forces Iraq steps up raids on the Iranian-backed, Mahdi Army-linked Special Groups. Eight raids have been reported in the past three days while the Sadr City bombing was also linked to a Special Groups weapons cell.
Coalition forces killed seven al Qaeda operatives and detained 16 during raids in central and northern Iraq. A bombing in Sadr City killed two and wounded 25. Eleven insurgents were captured and one Awakening fighter was killed during a clash in Hawijah. Ansar al Islam is regrouping in the Kurdish regions with the help of […]
Ansar al Sunnah Regroup with Iranian Help
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israeli targets abroad to avenge the assassination Imad Mugniyah. Iran’s president said “there are hundreds of thousands, even millions more” Mugniyahs. A Kuwaiti newspaper claimed Mugniyah was planning major terrorist attacks in moderate Arab countries prior to his death.
An unconfirmed Iranian report indicated Hajj Hussein Halil, the deputy director of Hezbollah’s political affairs, was killed in the Damascus car bombing that claimed the life of Imad Muginyah. Clashes are expected in Beirut as Hezbollah will hold a funeral for Mugniyah on the same day of the anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Hariri.
Mughniyeh Assassination: Another Setback for Iran’s Intelligence Agency
Imad Mugniyah, the leader of Hezbollah’s military wing and a senior officer in Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, has been killed in yesterday’s car bombing in Damascus, Syria.
“Inside Iraqi Politics” is a special series dedicated to examining political progress in Iraq, with a focus on issues that affect the country’s stability and reconciliation efforts. This third installment overviews various influences on legislative progress, including the structure and political composition of the parliament.
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The captured operative is thought to lead the Iranian-backed Special Groups in Wasit, Babil, and Najaf provinces. Two senior members of Muqtada al Sadr’s political party were arrested in the raid, one was likely the Special Groups operative.
The war of words between Multinational Forces Iraq and the Mahdi Army increases as the deadline for Muqtada al Sadr’s cease-fire is set to expire. Sadr and the Mahdi Army will also pay a steep price for ending the cease-fire.
Iran: 400 rebuilding projects finished since 2006 war in Lebanon
US ambassador questions Iranian interests in Afghanistan
Clashes in Mogadishu resulted in 17 Somali and 2 Ethiopian solders killed. The Ethiopian Army withdrew its 1,000-man force from a military base east of Beletwein in Hiran province. Heavy fighting between Somali troops and Shabaab terrorists has been reported in Hiran.
A 49-year-old American woman and her translator were abducted by gunpoint in Kandahar city. Afghan officials claimed they have evidence Iran is supplying weapons to the insurgents after a recent arms cache was discovered and confiscated in western Afghanistan. British PM Gordon Brown denied British involvement in Helmand had allowed the Taliban to return.
One US soldier was killed and three others were wounded during a Coalition operation against insurgents in eastern Kunar province. The targeted Taliban cell was wiped out by ensuing air strikes. Four Afghan security officers were killed in Khost after their vehicle struck a roadside bomb. Afghan officials confiscated 130 landmines in western Afghanistan imported […]
Recent press reporting of the status of Iraqi Security Forces development has done more to illustrate reporters’ and editors’ lack of understanding on the subject than it has to inform.
As part of Operation Marne Thunderbolt, US forces conduct the second round of major airstrikes against al Qaeda infrastructure in the southern Arab Jabour region.
A look at the senior and influential leaders in Somalia’s Islamic Courts and Shabaab.
Hezbollah’s Nasrallah warns against US Iran attack
Matt Dupee looks at the turning of a Taliban commander in Musa Qala and the British divide and conquer tactics in Afghanistan.
Afghan Taliban leader Saifur Rahman Mansour, who was commander of Taliban forces during Operation Anaconda, was killed during a clash with the military in the Pakistani tribal agency. The military is negotiating with the Taliban in North Waziristan.
The Iraqi Parliament unanimously passed a law allowing former Baathists to return to government jobs. General Petraeus said EFP attacks have increased in January. EFPs and Iranian-made mortars were found in Suq Ash Shuyuk. US and Iraqi forces detained 15 al Qaeda fighters and found a torture house in Sherween village. Four Iraqi security officers […]
The US Treasury Department has frozen the assets of several Iranian Qods Force officers as well as Mishan al Jabouri, who operates the al Qaeda-linked Al Zawraa TV from Iraq. “Iran and Syria are fueling violence and destruction in Iraq,” said Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism. See al-Zawraa: Muj TV from The Long War Journal as […]
Coalition, Iraqi forces launch new operation to “pursue al Qaeda and other extremists wherever they attempt to take sanctuary.” Miqdadiyah will be a major focus of operations.
Iranian official to meet Assad to discuss Lebanon
General Petraeus’ aide denied a report in the Washington Times that stated Iran has backed off of supporting Shia terrorists. Coalition forces killed two al Qaeda operatives and detained 12 during operations in Miqdadiyah and Mosul. A joint Iraqi-US force arrested seven insurgents a raid south of Kirkuk. Two Iraqi police were killed in an […]
Petraeus Aide Denies Report That Iran Is Not Aiding Iraq Militants