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US drones kill 4 'militants' in first strike in Yemen a month

May 18, 2013
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predator-uav.jpgFour al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters who are reported to have been transporting suicide vests and explosives were killed in a strike in the terrorist haven of Al Mahfad in Abyan province.

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ISAF targets al Qaeda facilitator in eastern Afghanistan

May 17, 2013
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The International Security Assistance Force has balked at mentioning al Qaeda in press releases since the end of January.

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Uzbek national in Idaho arrested, charged with supporting the IMU

May 16, 2013
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Fazliddin Kurbanov is charged with supporting the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, training others to purchase and assemble components of a bomb, and possessing an "unregistered destructive device."

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Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin suicide bomber in Kabul kills 6 Americans, 9 Afghans

May 16, 2013
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The Taliban's spring offensive promised a renewed focus on suicide attacks targeting ISAF forces. Today's suicide bombing in a residential area also injured 39 Afghan civilians.

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Al Nusrah Front's emir to be added to US terrorism list

May 16, 2013
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Nusrah-front-banner.jpgSheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani, the emir of al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, swore allegiance to al Qaeda's leader just over one month ago.

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Tensions continue to escalate in Tunisia

May 15, 2013
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The Tunisian government has interfered in Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's events and may refuse to grant the group permission to hold its third annual congress. Ansar al Sharia's leaders have responded with statements condemning the Ennahda regime.

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IMU suicide bomber targeted top police commander in Quetta

May 13, 2013
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Ali-IMU-suicide-bomber.jpgThe Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan said yesterday's attack, which killed eight people, was executed by a man whose daughter carried out a suicide bombing last year.

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Egyptian interior minister: Al Qaeda cell plotted suicide attack against Western embassy

May 11, 2013
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Egypt's interior minister said that three members of an al Qaeda cell that was plotting to attack a Western embassy have been arrested. The cell received training in Iran and Pakistan and contacted al Qaeda in Algeria. The cell also has ties to the so-called Nasr City Cell.

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Panjwai district chief of police: 'Pakistan has been trying to bring Afghanistan under its control'

May 11, 2013
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dcopsm03.jpgDistrict Chief of Police Lieutenant Colonel Sultan Mohammad discusses the roots of the insurgency, the Kandahar massacre, poppy eradication, and Panjwai's improvement in security.

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Follower of Mohammed al Zawahiri dies in attack in Mali

May 10, 2013
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Abu Obeida Sharif Khattab, an Egyptian who appeared in at least two videos with Mohammed al Zawahiri, died in an attack along with three other Egyptians in Mali earlier this month. Mohammed al Zawahiri is the younger brother of al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri.

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Tunisian indicted in New York linked to Canada terror plot

May 9, 2013
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Ahmed Abassi, a Tunisian national, has been indicted for fraudulently applying "for a work visa in order to remain in the United States to facilitate an act of international terrorism." Abassi, who previously lived in Canada, is tied to a terror plot linked to al Qaeda elements in Iran to blow up a commuter train between Canada and the US.

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ISAF launches multiple raids against IMU as fighting season heats up

May 8, 2013
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Raids against the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan continue at an unprecedented pace. There have been five raids against the group in Afghanistan so far this month and 26 this year.

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Danish jihadist killed while fighting for Muhajireen Brigade in Syria

May 7, 2013
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Before waging jihad in Syria, Kenneth Sørensen spent time in Yemen at Zindani's Imam University as well as in Lebanon, Egypt, and Libya.

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Taliban claim bombing at political rally, name new emir of Kurram

May 6, 2013
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A politician from the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl party was targeted because he "handed over dozens of Arab mujahideen to America" after the battle of Tora Bora. Hafiz Dolat Khan is the Taliban's new emir in Kurram.

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ISAF kills 2 'Arab'-linked commanders in Nuristan

May 5, 2013
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Luhayb-Saudi-most-wanted.jpg One of those killed, Saleh Abd al Aziz Hamad al Luhayb, was wanted by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of the Interior. The International Security Assistance Force will not describe him and others with links to "Arabs" as al Qaeda.

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Israel reportedly strikes multiple targets in Syria in recent days

May 4, 2013
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The Israeli Air Force is suspected of being behind two recent airstrikes in Syria. One of the strikes targeted Fateh-110 surface-to-surface missiles at a Damascus airport, while the other allegedly targeted a research center in Jamraya that was also targeted in January.

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Former 'head' of al Qaeda in Italy an 'organizer' of Ansar al Sharia rally

May 17   Agence France Presse interviewed Sami Ben Khemais Essid, describing him as one of the "organizers" of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's planned conference this weekend. Essid was formerly the "head" of al Qaeda's operations in Italy, according to the US State Department. Comments (0)


Satellite imagery of Israeli airstrike at Damascus airport released

May 16   Israeli TV has released satellite imagery from the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike at Damascus International Airport earlier in May. Comments (3)


Fallujah Awakens: Marines, Sheikhs and the Battle Against al Qaeda

May 16   The story of the tribal "Awakening" and counterinsurgency campaign in the famous battleground. Comments (6)


Another look at a green-on-blue attack

May 15   A deeper examination of just one of the 76 insider attacks on Coalition forces in Afghanistan since January 2008 suggests that the role of Taliban infiltration and motivation in these attacks has been underreported. Comments (2)


Ansar al Sharia Tunisia member: 'Rome shall be conquered'

May 14   In a video posted online on April 30, Sheik Kamel Zarouq, a member of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, endorsed al Qaeda's global jihad. Comments (10)


Hamas and Salafi jihadists at odds over rocket fire from Gaza into Israel

May 11   Tensions between Hamas and Salafi jihadists in the Gaza Strip continue as members of the Hamas-run Field Control Force prevent rocket launchings from Gaza by Salafi jihadists. Comments (1)


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Today In...


May 18, 2013:

The Taliban killed nine people and wounded dozens more in a secured upscale neighborhood in Kandahar, and killed two more Afghans in bombings in Khost and Paktika. The Taliban assassinated a district police chief in Farah.


Insurgents killed 16 people, including four Awakening fighters and three soldiers, in attacks throughout the country. Ten policemen were kidnapped in Ramadi. Police arrested six wanted terrorists south of Kirkuk.


US drones killed four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a strike in the Al Mahfad area of Abyan; the strike is the first in Yemen in a month. Five Yemeni journalists have been kidnapped in Marib province over the past week.


President Morsi called for a military operation in the Sinai to secure the release of seven hostages recently abducted by Islamist gunmen. A large combat force is expected to enter the Sinai in the next 48 hours. A leading Salafist condemned the Muslim Brotherhood for not implementing Sharia law and for working with Shia Muslims.


President Assad said he will not step down before elections. The father of the deputy foreign minister was kidnapped in Daraa. The rebel Judicial Council, which includes the Tawheed Brigade, al-Sham Liberals, and the Al Nusrah Front, clashed with another rebel group, the Ghurabaa al-Sham, which the Judicial Council had accused of plundering factories in Aleppo. Four Judicial Council members were killed, but the Ghurabaa al-Sham has retreated, and dozens of its members are being held captive by the Judicial Council. Rebels captured several Alawite villages in Hama.


A curfew was imposed on Maiduguri as the campaign against Islamist groups continued. Military forces killed 10 fighters, arrested 65 more, and seized stockpiles of weapons, including RPGs. Many Borno state residents have fled to the Cameroon border. Kabiru Sokoto, the alleged Boko Haram ringleader behind the deadly Christmas Day 2011 bombing, was arraigned. Witnesses testified that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau considered Sokoto part of the group's governing "shurah," and that Boko Haram had received 40 million naira from an Algerian terror group. Prosecutors said Sokoto had run a terror camp outside Abuja and trained over 500 men how to make IEDs.


The army's Thunderbolt battalion raided Benghazi's arms market, shutting it down after confiscating weapons along with contraband alcohol and drugs, and leaving 10 mobile units for security at the market. Bombs and an RPG were thrown at three army posts in Benghazi last night.


The Tuareg MNLA claimed its forces were attacked in the town of Anefis by militants from the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa; two Tuareg fighters and seven Islamists are said to have been killed in the ongoing clash. The Malian army said the MNLA was fighting not with MUJAO but with another group, the MAA, which is comprised of Malian Arabs from north of Timbuktu.


Members of two terror cells arrested on May 9 said they tried to set up a jihadist camp near Nador for launching attacks on Morocco. The "Attawhid" and "al-Mouahidoun" cells had ties to other extremist groups in Mali, Belgium, and Spain, including the coastal enclave of Melilla. The cells also planned schools, and recruited fighters for jihad against Morocco. Over the past 10 years, Moroccan security services have dismantled some 130 terrorist cells, and prevented 266 attacks on "security facilities, tourism sites, foreign diplomatic missions, synagogues and churches." Between 2005 and 2008, security services dismantled some 15 terrorist cells in Morocco.


Abdallahi Ould Mohamed Ghailani, a guard at the Salah Eddine prison, was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for spying for al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb; he facilitated communications between Salafist prisoners and terrorists outside. Four university students were sentenced to five years in prison and fined for trying to send jihadists to Mali. Prosecutors asked that Canadian suspect Aaron Yoon, who tried to train with al Qaeda in Mali and to recruit other jihadists, receive a 10-year sentence.


May 17, 2013:

The State Department added Al Nusrah Front emir Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani ito its list of global terrorists. The FBI is questioning New Hampshire resident Musa Khadzhimuratov, a Chechen refugee and former separatist fighter, about his ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. In Idaho, Uzbek national Fazliddin Kurbanov pled not guilty to charges of supporting the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and teaching people how to bomb public transportation.


Security forces killed nine Taliban fighters in an airstrike in Paktika province and seven more in Ghazni. Russia is considering deploying troops to the Afghan-Tajik border, citing a "general destabilization of the situation" in northern Afghanistan.

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