General Petreaus said Iran is no longer supporting Shia terrorists. US soldiers found an EFP cache in Amil in Baghdad. US forces captured an al Qaeda military commander of southern Baghdad and detained five fighters in Zambraniyah. Three policemen were killed and four wounded in an attack in Mosul. The Iraqi Army arrested a high-ranking […]
A year-end roundup of the major developments in the Long War in the primary and secondary theaters across the globe.
The Iraqi Army claimed to have captured the minister of defense of the Islamic State of Iraq. Coalition forces killed 11 Special Groups fighters in Al Kut. US and Iraqi forces killed 12 al Qaeda operatives and detained 37 near Miqdadiyah. US forces captured two “extremists” believed to be behind the kidnappings of three US […]
Raid against the Iranian-backed Special Groups is the fourth such operation in Al Kut since December 18. The city is a hub for Special Groups operations in southern and central Iraq.
Al-Zawahiri: ‘Iran Stabbed a Knife into the Back of the Islamic Nation’
About 300 Turkish troops entered northern Iraq in pursuit of PKK terrorists. The incursion occurred near the Iranian border and troops went about two miles into Iraq. Security forces arrested the head of the Democratic Society Party, one of the largest Kurdish parties.
There are four factors in determining when to transition a province to Iraqi control: the threat, Iraqi Security Forces capability, governance, and politics. The reporting on the turnover of Basrah province addresses three of the four factors in determining PIC; yet the established press leaves out one of the most important changes of the last year.
Turkish fighter-bombers struck PKK positions inside Iraq. The nightime raid hit positions close to the border with Turkey and the Qandil mountain, which straddles the Iraq-Iran border. The PKK is headquartered in Qandil and runs training camps in the mountains.
A roadside bomb wounded at 12 Somali soldiers stationed outside the parliament building in Baidoa. Shabaab fighters attacked a military checkpoint in Hiran province. Five civilian were wounded in a mortar attack in Mogadishu.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been relieved of commanding the terror group’s military wing by Iran’s Supreme leader, according to reports. Hezbollah denied the claim. North Korea may have provided arms and training to Hezbollah. More than 50 Australian Muslim men are being investigated for links to Hezbollah.
A Sunni and Shia Awakening movement was formed near Taji. Eleven insurgents were captured south of Kirkuk. US forces “captured 17 suspected extremists” in the Shia neighborhood of New Baghdad. A cache of Iranian-manufactured rockets was turned in to Kazakh soldiers in Wasit province. A car bomb killed two Iraqis and wounded 14 in Hit. […]
The governor of Hiran province survived an IED attack in Beledweyn. Three were killed in an IED attack in Mogadishu’s Bakara, 10 were killed in clan fighting in the Middle Shabelle region. The president said the southern port city of Kismayo is not under government control.
Attacks at a market in Iraq’s Shia South killed 41 and wounded over 140. Unclear if attack was an al Qaeda in Iraq or a Special Groups operation.
At least three attacks on Pakistani nuclear weapons complexes have occurred since August 2007. Attacks on other Pakistani bases in conjunction with the Taliban takeover of the Northwest Frontier Province may be part of coordinated campaign to compromise Pakistan’s nuclear stockpiles.
A policeman was killed and five civilians wounded in a series of clashes between Shabaab and Somali security forces. Initial reports the town of Bulo-Burde in Hiran province fell to Shabaab were incorrect, locals claimed. However former Islmaic Courts fighters are patroling the streets.
Shabaab has taken control of the town of Bulo-Burde in Hiran. Ethiopian forces withdrew from a strategic neighborhood in Mogadishu. Somali police arrested Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Barrow, a former Islamic Courts leader and now the director of Mogadishu-based Noble Quran Radio.
Multinational Forces Iraq continues to target the Iranian-backed Special Groups cells. Weapons trainers have been the main targets in the past three raids. The trainers are likely Qods Force operatives.
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the former chairman of the al Qaeda-backed Islamic Courts and current chairman of the Alliance For the Re-Liberation of Somalia, rejected talks with the government. The US sought to “encourage the broadest possible engagement with forces that are not associated with terrorism.” Two soldiers were killed in an ambush in the central […]
Israel vows to resist Iran despite US report
Abu Maysara killed during raid near Samarra; US targets more propaganda cells as al Furqan releases two new products, including a tape by Abu Omar al Baghdadi.
Yet another division-plus-sized operation targets al Qaeda and allied Sunni insurgent groups in the northern provinces. Iraqi soldiers and police, and US forces are conducting operations across four provinces.
Fifteen Somalis were killed in fighting in Mogadishu. Shabaab may be regrouping in the central provinces of Hiran and Galgadud. The Ethiopian military may label Hiran a Shabaab stronghold after recent attacks. Shabaab’s call to attack Ugandan peacekeepers may have caused a split between the terror group and the Hawiye clan. Burundi peacekeepers are to […]
Beyond the Wall: Sources of Iran™s Terror Campaign in Balochistan
US blames Iran-backed group for Baghdad bombing
Operation Raging Eagle targets insurgent groups in the northern flashpoint city. Thirty have been detained in the Iraqi-led operation. Other Iraqi-led operations are also underway in Salahadin province and Diwaniyah, where 24 Iranian-made EFPs have been uncovered.
The real, unreported surge in Iraq is the massive increase in Iraqi Army units. As the US plans to draw down in Iraq, there will be two Iraqi Army units to fill in for every US unit departing Iraq.
Bahrain feels the heat from Iran
Hariri urges Putin to help block Iranian, Syrian meddling in Lebanese election
Iraqi border post tries to stem Iranian flow
The Iraq Army is leading an operation targeting the Mahdi Army in the souther city of Diwaniyah. Two Iraqi Army brigades, a National Police brigade and a US Army brigade have been moved to the city to conduct Operation Lion’s Leap.