Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq’s leader, reported captured in Mosul

May 8, 2008 5:03 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

An unconfirmed report from the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said al Masri has been captured in the northern city and is in Iraqi Army custody. The US military has not confirmed al Masri’s capture.
Comments (15)

19 Mahdi Army fighters killed during Baghdad battles

May 8, 2008 9:30 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

US and Iraqi forces killed 19 Mahdi fighters and captured nine during raids and clashes in Sadr City and wider Baghdad. Sadr's radio station is shut down.
Comments (24)

Targeting al Qaeda in Iraq’s network, April-May 2008

May 7, 2008 2:15 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Coalition and Iraqi forces killed or captured 50 senior al Qaeda in Iraq operatives over the past month, including five in Mosul and three in Baghdad. Mosul remains an al Qaeda hotspot.
Comments (17)

US, Iraqi forces kill 18 Mahdi fighters during clashes, raids in Baghdad

May 6, 2008 7:09 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Iraqi troops arrest 42 policemen and 35 hospital workers in Shula. Explosively formed penetrators and weapons cache found in mosque.
Comments (4)

Covert Radio & The Long War Journal

May 6, 2008 4:49 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

The Long War Journal is partnering with Covert Radio to produce a weekly podcast on the important issues in the Long War.
Comments (2)

3-89 Cavalry conducts operations targeting Mahdi Special Groups in northern Rusafa

May 6, 2008 8:13 AM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Bill Ardolino is embedded with the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment in the Rusafa district in central Baghdad. US troops and Iraqi police conduct raids against Mahdi Army criminal enterprises and a suspected IED cell.
Comments (19)

Mahdi Army takes a hit in Baghdad, Basrah

May 5, 2008 5:32 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Eighteen Mahdi Army fighters killed in Baghdad since May 3. Iraqi forces clear another Basrah neighborhood.
Comments (17)

Baghdad police show progress, but challenges remain

May 4, 2008 5:31 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Bill Ardolino interviews an Iraqi Police general in the Rusafa district in central Baghdad. The general discusses the state of the police, the security situation, integration of the Sons of Iraq into the security forces, and problems with the militias.
Comments (14)

GMLRS strike knocks out Special Groups command center in Sadr City

May 3, 2008 1:25 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Special Groups command and control center positioned near the Sadr Hospital destroyed in guided rocket attack. US, Iraqi troops kill 14 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad as an Iraqi delegation confronts Iran over arming militias.
Comments (23)

Iraqis begin to 'despise' the Mahdi Army in Baghdad's Rusafa district

May 3, 2008 11:57 AM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Bill Ardolino is embedded with the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment in the Rusafa district in central Baghdad, where Iraqi Shiites are turning on the Mahdi Army.
Comments (18)

Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle: May 2008 Update

May 3, 2008 1:24 AM ET
By DJ Elliott

The new schedule for provincial control has been announced; the Iraqi military is forming quick reaction forces; the Iraqi Army is incoporating new equipment; and Kurdish Peshmerga forces will be integrated into the Army.
Comments (13)

Sadr City barrier 'a magnet' for Mahdi Army attacks

May 2, 2008 1:36 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

The large majority of the direct attacks on US and Iraqi forces by the Mahdi Army are occurring on Qods Street, where the barrier is being erected to separate the Iraqi Army and US controlled sections of Sadr City from the northern portion of the district.
Comments (21)

US troops kill 28 Mahdi fighters in Sadr City

US airstrike kills leader of Shabab movement in Somalia

May 1, 2008 8:44 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

Aden Hashi Ayro, the leader of Shabab and an al Qaeda operational commander, is among eight killed in airstrike in central Somalia.
Comments (4)

Maliki vows to pursue militias

In Pictures: MEDEVAC missions in Afghanistan

April 30, 2008 10:42 AM ET
By Phil Peterson

During Phil Peterson's recent embed in Afghanistan, he accompanied Bagram Air Field-based flight crews on several medical operations. This is a look those missions.
Comments (3)

Kapisa province: The Taliban's gateway to Kabul

April 29, 2008 6:22 PM ET
By Matt Dupee

Kapisa province's Tag Ab Valley hosts a dangerous Taliban group that has close relations with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Sunday's assassination attempt against President Karzai has been linked back to the Tag Ab Valley.
Comments (7)

US troops kill 28 Mahdi fighters during Sadr City ambush

US, Iraqi troops killed 41 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad clashes

April 28, 2008 9:36 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

Twenty-two killed in single engagement as they attacked an Iraqi Army checkpoint in northeastern Baghdad. US and Iraqi troops have killed 151 Mahdi Army fighters in northeastern Baghdad since April 20.
Comments (22)

Clashes ongoing in Sadr City

April 27, 2008 4:17 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Seven Mahdi fighters killed in airstrikes. Mahdi Army attacks a police patrol and mortars the International Zone. Iraqi general links weapons back to Iran.
Comments (15)

President Karzai escapes assassination bid, parliamentarian killed

April 27, 2008 10:03 AM ET
By Matt Dupee

A barrage of automatic gunfire and mortar shells fired on a ceremony in Kabul killed two and wounded 11. The British and American ambassadors were also in attendance.
Comments (6)

Maliki offers Sadr an out: disarm the Mahdi Army

April 26, 2008 1:29 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

Mahdi Army must disarm, turn in wanted members, and cease opposing the state. Clearing continues in Basrah; Iraqi troops kill five Mahdi Army fighters transporting weapons in northern Baghdad.
Comments (6)

May 6: 3-89 Cavalry conducts operations targeting Mahdi Special Groups in northern Rusafa

May 4: Baghdad police show progress, but challenges remain.

May 3: Iraqis begin to "despise" the Mahdi Army in Baghdad's Rusafa district

May 1: At Joint Security Station (JSS) Babalsheikh

Bill Roggio appeared on Al Jazeera English to discuss the peace agreements in Pakistan. The program, Inside Story - Pakistan's Taliban, is recorded in two parts:

Recording of Bill Roggio on The Bob Davis Show. Recorded May 1, 2008.

The Long War Journal is profiled in the March/April edition of The Columbia Journalism Review:

Blogging the Long War

May 8: Iran accuses U.S., Britain of terrorist attack in mosque.

May 6: Iran: we export terror.

May 5: It's Iran-attacking time, again.

United Kingdom

A British judge ruled that Abu Qatada, Osama bin Laden's spiritual ambassador in Europe, must be released on bail. Qatada applied for bail with the Special Immigration Appeals Commission after his deportation to Jordan was denied. Jordan has sentenced Qatada to life imprisonment

Pakistan

The government continues to push for talks with Baitullah Mehsud. Another girls' school is torched in Swat. A tribal jirga is negotiating the release of seven Pakistani troops in Mohmand agency.

Lebanon

the fighting in Lebanon enters its second day as Hezbollah battles pro-government Sunni groups in Beirut. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to fight. "Those who try to arrest us, we will arrest them. Those who shoot at us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it off," he said. The government said Hezbollah's telecommunications network is illegal, which prompted Nasrallah to say "the decision is tantamount to a declaration of war."

Afghanistan

The Taliban’s shadow governor and police chief for Ghor province were killed along with four other Taliban fighters in a shootout with police. A Taliban suicide-car bomber detonated near a Coalition convoy in western Kabul killing himself and wounding several civilians nearby. Australian forces in Afghanistan have been accused of mistreating Taliban detainees.

Iran

Iran's intelligence chief accused the US and the Britain of being behind the bombing of a mosque in Shiraz. Previously the government said the explosion was an accident. A British court has said the country's designation of the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or MEK, as a terrorist group was wrong, and the MEK would be removed from the list.

Iraq

Iraqi security forces killed eight "gunmen" in Baghdad. Coalition forces killed one al Qaeda operative and detained 14 during raids nationwide. US and Iraqi forces captured 30 al Qaeda operatives in Balad Ruz. Iraqi Special Operations Forces detained seven Special Groups operatives in and around Sadr City. US and Sons of Iraqi forces killed four Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad.

Somalia

Eight Somali soldiers were killed and six were wounded during an IED attack on their convoy in Baidoa. Two police and two civilians were killed during an IED attack in Mogadishu. Ethiopian troops pulled out of the town of Bulo-Burte. The Islamic Courts have retaken the town of Johwar.

Pakistan

A tribal jirga made direct contact with Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in North Waziristan. The Taliban torched a girls' primary school in Swat. The UN is reviewing Benazir Bhutto's murder case. The US declined to send $81 million in military aid requested by Pakistan.

Iran

The Iraqi government is preparing its case on Iran's involvement in the Shia insurgency. "It's a bit disingenuous to believe such quantities of up-to-date weapons manufactured this year, last year, can flow into the country without the knowledge of the Iranian government," said Iraq's ambassador to the UN. An al Qaeda operative said Iran is supporting Sunni terrorists in Iraq.

Iraq

US and Iraqi forces killed 18 Mahdi Army fighters and captured nine in Baghdad. US and Iraqi force captured 15 al Qaeda operatives and 38 insurgents during operation in Iraq. A Sadrist spokesman said Muqtada is in Iraq.

Somalia

Ethiopia rejected claims by Amnesty International that Ethiopian troops slaughter and rape Somali civilians, saying it is propaganda from Shabab. Three Ethiopian troops were killed in an attack in Mogadishu. Somalia's president requested that France send soldiers and naval forces to help secure the country.

Pakistan

A suicide bomber killed three and wounded 10 Pakistanis in Bannu. Two police were killed in Swat. The Taliban has taken control of police stations in Swat. Five suicide bombers associated with Baitullah Mehsud are reported to have entered Karachi. A bail hearing for Maulana Abdul Aziz, the former leader of Islamabad's Red Mosque, has been delayed until May 13. A policeman involved with the escape of al Qaeda operative Rashid Rauf has been granted bail.

Indonesia

Indonesian police arrested Faiz Fauzan, a key member of Jemaah Islamiyah who was behind the suicide bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2005. Fauzan was a close associate of Jemaah Islamiyah operatives Noordin Muhammad Top and Azahari Husin. Fauzan "is suspected of involvement in the planning of the second Bali bombings and among others had met twice with Salik Firdaus, one of the suicide bombers,” said a police spokesman.

Iraq

US and Iraqi troops killed 18 Mahdi Army operatives in Baghdad. US and Iraqi troops killed six al Qaeda operatives and captured 20, including a mid-level al Qaeda leader and two cell commanders. Al Qaeda killed 10 Iraqi soldiers and wounded 13 in an attack on a checkpoint in Diyala province.

Yemen

Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for an April 30 mortar attack on the Italian Embassy in Sana'a. The shells fell short and landed near the neighboring Customs Ministry. Al Qaeda earlier claimed responsibility for a March 18 mortar attack that missed the US embassy, and an April 6 mortar attack on a western residential compound that caused no casualties and little damage.

Pakistan

An Army official was wounded after the Taliban resumed attacks in South Waziristan. The Taliban attacked a village in Kurram agency. Haji Namdar's Taliban group in Khyber agency has established a virtue and vice squad to punish those who miss prayers and shave their beards. The residents of Mardan fear the Taliban will resume attacks if peace talks fail.

Thailand

Twelve civilians were wounded in a bombing at a Red Crescent fair in Narathiwat province. Muslim terrorists also burned down two schools and shut down transformers during attacks in Pattani province.

Iran

Iran suspended talks with the US on Iraq's security after complaining about US attacks on the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed militias. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran would not give up its nuclear program despite new incentives offered by the West. "We will continue on our path with power and will not allow the oppressors to deny this nation's right," Khamenei said.

Algeria

Algerian soldiers arrested a group of 15 people suspected of joining a local al Qaeda cell in Blida province. The French Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories visited Algeria to help strengthen security relations between the two countries.

Afghanistan

A civilian helicopter contracted by Coalition forces made an emergency landing in Kunar province after being struck by heavy insurgent fire. The chopper landed safely at a Coalition outpost. Three accidental explosions in the Afghan capital have left nine people dead and more than 20 wounded, including some counternarcotics police.