Al Qaeda operative killed during clashes in Kurram identified

February 4, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Aslanov Zaur, an Azeri national and al Qaeda commander, was killed during Pakistani airstrikes in Kurram last week. He likely entered Pakistan with the aid of al Qaeda's support network in Iran.

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AQAP operative killed in recent drone strike in Yemen

February 3, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Abdul Mun'im Salim al-Fatahani, who was involved in the suicide attack on the USS Cole in 2000, was killed in the Jan. 31 strike in Lawdar, according to a Yemeni jihadist.

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Caucasus Emirate leader orders halt on attacks against Russian civilians

February 3, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Doku Umarov said that "law enforcement structures, the military, intelligence services and political leadership of Russia" remain legitimate targets.

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ISAF captures senior IMU and Taliban military commander

February 3, 2012
By Bill Roggio

"He represented both the Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan groups and was responsible for coordinating insurgent activities in Badghis and Faryab province," ISAF stated.

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Islamic Jihad Union details cooperation with Afghan Taliban

February 3, 2012
By Bill Roggio

The al Qaeda-linked group claimed its fighters "help the Taliban in northern Afghanistan and provide them with military consultation" and are deployed in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Kandahar, Helmand, Nuristan, Badakhshan, Kunduz, and Balkh.

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Philippine military kills wanted Jemaah Islamiyah, Abu Sayyaf operatives in airstrike

February 2, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Zulkifli bin Hir, Abu Sayyaf commander Umbra Jumdail, and Muhamad Ali are among 15 terrorists killed in an airstrike in Sulu province, according to the military's Chief of Staff.

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Video: Pakistani Taliban execute 15 Frontier Constabulary personnel

February 1, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Warning: The video of the Pakistani Taliban executing the 15 Frontier Constabulary personnel who were captured late last year is extremely graphic.

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US drone strike kills 11 AQAP leaders, fighters: report

January 31, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Four local al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commanders are said to have been killed in a Predator strike in Abyan province. The strike is the first in Yemen since Dec. 22.

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ISAF, Afghan forces capture al Qaeda 'facilitator' in east

January 30, 2012
By Bill Roggio

The al Qaeda facilitator "coordinated insurgent activity throughout the area and provided reports to senior al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan," ISAF stated. He is the first al Qaeda operative reported as killed or captured in Afghanistan in two months.

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Afghan, ISAF troops kill IMU leader in north

January 30, 2012
By Bill Roggio

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader was responsible for last year's Christmas Day suicide attack at a funeral in Taloqan that killed 20 Afghans, including a member of parliament. ISAF reporting on raids against the IMU and al Qaeda has dropped off considerably.

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Islamist Egyptian MP calls for Zawahiri's return

January 28, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Aboud al Zomor, who served as Egyptian Islamic Jihad's first emir and was jailed for his role in Anwar Sadat's assassination, said that Ayman al Zawahiri is no threat to Egypt and should be given safe haven.

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Al Qaeda releases video of Saudi al Qaeda fighter killed in Waziristan

January 27, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Before he was killed in Waziristan in 2009, Abdullah bin Muhsin al Shahri, who was known as Abu Rawada, discussed an al Qaeda cell that operated in Gardez, Afghanistan.

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US adds IMU, IJU operatives to list of global terrorists

January 26, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Mounir and Yassin Chouka, two Germans who are operatives in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and Mevlut Kar, an Islamic Jihad Union facilitator, were added to the list of Specially Designated Global terrorists. All three have ties to al Qaeda.

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ISAF captures senior Taliban commander in Helmand

January 25, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Mullah Abdul Bari served as the Taliban's shadow governor for the districts of Nad Ali, Musa Qala, Baghran, and Kajaki in northern Helmand province.

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Ansar al Jihad swears allegiance to al Qaeda's emir

January 24, 2012
By Bill Roggio

"We give you allegiance for obedience in good and bad, in difficulty and ease," Ansar al Jihad told Ayman al Zawahiri in a statement released on the Internet.

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Shabaab suicide bomber targets Ethiopian troops

January 24, 2012
By Bill Roggio

Shabaab claimed a member of its "Martyrdom Brigades" killed 33 Ethiopian soldiers and officers in an attack in western Somalia.

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The Taliban denied that Mullah Omar sent a letter to President Obama. Civilian casualties have risen to more than 3,000 last year; the Taliban are said to be responsible for 77 percent of civilian deaths. French troops have withdrawn from two camps in Kapisa province.

The US killed al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative Abdul Mun'im Salim al Fatahani in the Jan. 31 drone strike in Lawdar. He was involved in the suicide attack on the USS Cole in 2000.

The government is negotiating with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to get the terror group to withdraw from Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan. AQAP fighters attacked an Army base in Lawdar; one militant was killed during the assault.

Russia and China vetoed the UN resolution on Syria. Government forces killed 260 people in a major assault on the city of Homs. The Arab League called on all Arab countries to sever diplomatic relations with Syria. Protesters in Kuwait attacked the Syrian embassy.

In parliamentary elections, the opposition Islamist party won a majority, securing 34 of the 50 seats. The election was held after parliament was dissolved over allegations of corruption in December.

US and European officials called the UN nuclear inspector mission to Iran a failure. Iran's oil minister said Iran would not retreat from its nuclear program. The US warned there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April. Ayatollah Khamenei said "Iran will help anyone willing to cut out the cancer of Israel."

Kenyan attack helicopters struck a Shabaab convoy traveling near Dalayat; several Shabaab fighters were killed and wounded. The UN said Somalia's drought has ended.

Boko Haram denied that their spokesman, Abul Qaqa, is in police custody. Instead, they said that Abu Dardaa, the chief of "public enlightenment," has been arrested. Police deployed 10 riot police units to Kano to provide security after recent Boko Haram attacks.

Seven Pakistani soldiers and 18 Taliban fighters were killed during clashes in Kurrram; seven soldiers are said to be missing. The Taliban killed three people in a suicide attack on a tribal leader in Peshawar and bombed a girls' school in Dera Ismail Khan.