Saudi Arabia has arrested 139 foreign al Qaeda operatives over the past 2 months. Chad accuses rich Saudis and al Qaeda of funding the Janjaweed militias in Darfur, and Sudan of “sending mercenaries and others to attack the positions of our security forces.” The Saudis are working to counterbalance Iran’s rising influence in the Gulf […]
Suicide attacks in Baghdad, al Qaeda and Sadr continue to divide Iraq BAGHDAD, IRAQ: The Iraqi capital was rocked by three near-simultaneous car bombing in central Shiite neighborhood. Two bombs blew up at a market in the Sadriya market, and one at the nearby Wathbac circle. The market was teaming with shoppers, and traffic circle […]
Iran and Syria aren’t our friends in Iraq
Taliban ban newspaper sales in North Waziristan; free press in Western Pakistan is in danger; North Waziristan Taliban Shura to meet on Friday NWFP/FATA. Click map to view. While many in the western press and various governments continue to debate the results of the Waziristan Accord, which turned North Waziristan over to the Taliban and […]
Another partially leaked report on Anbar province Iraq. Click map to view. The Washington Post has access to segments of the latest intelligence report on Anbar province, and reports the situation in western Iraq is dire. Military and intelligence sources that I spoke to who have read the report indicate that they largely agree with […]
Talabani heads to Iran as violence shakes Baghdad
Iraq Study Group Weighs Overture to Iran and Syria
Russian security forces are on the hunt for the new Chechen jihadi leader Doku Umarov. Click image to view. The Russian Army is conducting major combat operations in the hunt for new Chechen terrorist leader Doku Umarov. The Scotsman reports that a source within Umarov’s organization stated “large numbers of Russian troops had surrounded Umarov […]
Ethiopian troops are patroling a road in Baidoa and have imposed a curfew in a town in central Somalia. A TFG Colonel defected to the ICU. A radio station near the Ethiopian border was closed after callers express opposition to the ICU. Khat kiosks in the Hiran region are shut down.
Three forrays into Sadr City over the past four days Muqtada al-Sadr. Iraqi special forces (from the 1st Special Operations Forces Brigade), accompanied by U.S. Special Forces advisors and backed by Coalition air support, raided a location in Sadr City, the Baghdad stronghold of Iranian backed cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The raid netted seven members of […]
Two more Ethiopian armored vehicles destroyed, ICU engages TFG outside Baidoa, captured border town Islamic Courts controlled cities and towns marked in red. Click map to view. The Islamic Courts Union, al Qaeda’s proxy organization in Somalia, is on the offensive against the Transitional Federal Government and supporting Ethiopian Army units. Over the weekend, ICU […]
Iran has called for a summit between Iraq, Syria and Iran. Iraqi special forces (1st SOF) conducted a raid inside Sadr City. General Caldwell reports 48 al Qaeda in Iraq were killed and 286 suspects detained over the past two weeks, and said the group was “disorganized” but still able to conduct attacks.
Islamic Courts attacks an Ethiopian military convoy; Aweys calls for a “Greater Somalia” in the Horn of Africa ICU militiamen in a “technical.” Click image to view. The Islamic Courts Union has ambushed an Ethiopian military column of 80 vehicles, and killed 6 Ethiopian soldiers and wounded 20. The Islamic courts conducted a sophisticated attack […]
I joined Ward Carroll, the Editor of Military.com, for his weekly podcast. We discussed how I first embedded in Iraq in 2005, the current situation in Iraq, the implication of the midterm election and what I think needs to be done to improve the security situation (hint: increase the number of troops to clean al […]
Marines deploy a MEU to Anbar, a Baker report possibility Iraq. Click map to view. After the Democrats seized the House and Senate during the U.S. midterm election, the concern has been how the change in Congressional leadership would impact Iraqi policy. Would the Democrats demand an immediate withdrawal, leaving the nascent Iraqi government and […]
CBN’s Erick Stakelbeck followed up his report on western Pakistan with a look at the other forgotten front in the Long War: Somalia. We’ve documented the rise of the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts Union. Erick interviewed Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and me, as well Adam Hassan, a representative of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia Erick […]
Kidnapping at Ministry of Higher Education in Baghdad; Raid against Sadr’s Mahdi Army; multiple Ramadi IED cells targeted Map of Baghdad. Click to view. A group of insurgents have conducted a daring daylight kidnapping in the heart of Baghdad. A large group of men in police uniforms, with a reported 30 vehicles, raided the Ministry […]
Iran and Syria can be Blair’s ‘partners for peace’
Iran has supplied the Islamic Courts with weapons and training, while ICU fighters fought with Hezbollah. Kenya has halted all flights to Somalia. More fighting is reported between the ICU and Puntland.
General Abizaid met with Prime Minister Maliki, and demanded Shiite militias be disarmed. Iraqi lawmakers say six ministries may change hands, including Health, Housing and Reconstruction, and Transportation – Sadr’s ministries. Western leaders are calling on Iran and Syria to help with Iraq’s security situation.
Abu Nasir al-Qahtani, an escape from Bagram prison, was captured in Khost last week. Qahtani operated from North Waziristan. Abu Nasir al-Qahtani in an As-Sahab propaganda videotape released in May of 2006. Click image to view. Last week, Afghan and Coalition forces announced the capture of “a known al Qaeda terrorist and five other extremists […]
A change in strategy may be in order, but how much of a change will it be? Iraqi Army units ‘in the lead.’ Map courtesy of MNF-Iraq. Click map to view. The results of U.S. midterm elections will clearly have an impact on U.S. policy in Iraq. Less than one day after the Democrats took […]
Iraqi Sunnis Flee, Saying US’s Enemy Is Iran
Saddam to Hang, another raid in Sadr City; Iraq at a critical juncture Saddam on trial. Click image to view. An Iraqi court has sentenced Saddam Hussein to hang for his ordering the massacring of Shiites during his reign as president. The Middle East Times provides an account of the moment Saddam was sentenced: “Judge […]
Angry protests at St Andrews as former Iranian leader Khatami is honoured
Minor engagement in Sadr City while searching for missing U.S. soldier A U.S. Army soldier from 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Division provides security during a cordon and search mission in Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 1, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mike Buytas. Click image to view. U.S. forces have […]
The Mahdi Army continues to flaunt its power. It’s decision time for Maliki. Mahdi Army fighters in Najaf during the fighting in 2004. Click image to view. Iranian proxy Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army has yet again fought government forces in pitched street battles. The scene of the latest fighting is the city of Baquba, where […]
Iran, Syria rebuild Hezbollah
Argentina: Iran and Hezbollah charged in 1994 bombing
Iraqi and Coalition forces raid one of Sadr’s offices in his Baghdad stonghold Muqtada al-Sadr. The pressure on Muqtada al-Sadr, the Iranian backed leader of the Mahdi Army responsible for much of the sectarian violence in Baghdad, has been ratcheted up by Iraqi and Coalition forces. Just one day after U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay […]