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Iraq
New Report/Chart: “State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq: 2006”
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Pakistan
UN Officials have criticized Pakistan’s decision to mine the Afghan border. Jamaat-e-Islami’s emir, Sirajul Haq, called the mining of the border an attempt to sabotage Waziristan “peace” agreement. A tribal jirga warned the Taliban not to attack government officials in Waziristan.
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Somalia
Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed vows to stay in Somalia. The TFG is in discussions with local clan leaders in Mogadishu for civil governance arrangements. Ethiopia pledges troop withdrawal from Somalia within weeks.
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Afghanistan
Mullah Omar spoke, and claimed the west will run from Afghanistan, and called the tribal jirgas a trap. “I am confident that the enemy will run away in degradation and embarrassment .” Ten Taliban were killed after attacking a police station, and another seven were killed in an airstrike in Khost.
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Somalia
[UPDATE 2]Ibrahim Adow, an ICU foreign affairs official, is said to have flown to Kenya. Other leaders are said to have “fled to Djibouti, Eritrea, and other locations.” Some ICU leaders are believed to be in Kismayo, “distributing their weapons and their fighters among the clan elders.” Yemeni forces fired on 4 boats smuggling people from Somalia, and two were sunk.
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Nigeria
The Nun River and Tebidaba oilfields have been reopened after insurgents release employees for the Shell and Agip companies managing the sites. Another pipeline exploded in Lagos, but casualties are unknown at this time. Three days ago a pipeline fire killed at least 269.
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Thailand
Thailand ‘misused’ tsunami donations
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The Islamic Courts Abandons Mogadishu
The Somalia Battlefield on 12/28/2006. Light blue – Ethiopian & TFG advances. Green – ICU territory. Orange – recent clashes. Click image to view. ICU leaders flee to unknown location; Ethiopian and TFG troops enter the capital After less than two weeks of fighting against Ethiopian and Somali government forces, the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts Union has fled the capital of Mogadishu for part unknown. Ethiopian armored columns and forces of the Transitional Federal Government have now been sighted entering the Somali capital of Mogadishu. “Hassan, an eyewitness says he now sees Ethiopian armored vehicles and tanks passing by…
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Afghanistan
Winning in Afghanistan [PDF]
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Syria
Plan B: Syria™s forgotten – but dangerous – nuclear program
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On the Hugh Hewitt Show
Last night I was on the Hugh Hewitt Show with fellow MilBlogger T.F. Boggs. Click this link to listen to the interview. Also, I found a recording of my December 19th interview from Kuwait City. I was up late that night after a good day of travel and the end of an embed, so please be kind… Also, Hugh conducted an interview with Joseph Rago of Opinionjournal.com. Mr. Rago recently wrote an article called “The Blog Mob: Written By Fools To Be Read By Imbeciles.” Hugh took Mr. Rago to task with the precision of a surgeon (or lawyer, as…
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Thailand
Muslim insurgents killed two Muslims and a Buddhist, and burned an elementary school. Teachers and schools have been the primary targets of insurgents, as 110 schools have been burned and 71 school teachers, administrators and school staff killed over the past year.
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Palestinian Territories
Hamas befriends LeT and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
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United Kingdom
40 terror suspects in East Lancashire
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Somalia
Somalia: Air Djibouti officer found dead in Kismayo
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Iraq
US rotates 3,300-strong ‘call-forward’ force in Kuwait
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Kashmir
Two LeT ultras killed in Doda
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Sudan
U.N. upbeat on Darfur force but Sudan has conditions
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Iran
British Army interpreter in court on spy charge, spying for Iran
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Somalia
The ICU has abandoned Mogadishu, and Aweys and Sharif have resigned (more at the New York Times.) al Qaeda in Iraq urges Muslims to fight in Somalia. The UN has failed in its bid to broker a peace deal with warring factions.
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Iraq
Saddam To Iraqis: Don’t Hate The Invaders
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Iran
US warns Iran over ‘downward spiral™ with UN nuclear watchdog
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Israel
Al-Quds Brigades fire one rocket toward southern Israel
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Israel
Israel PM orders resumption of Gaza strikes
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Somalia
Islamists Seem to Give Up Grip on Somali City
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Iraq
The Baath party has threatened to strike US interests outside Iraq if Saddam Hussein is executed. Saddam calls his sentence a “sacrifice.” The Iraqi Army and US conducted a raid on a Mahdi Army IED facilitator near Najaf. During the raid, a US soldier killed Saheb al-Amir, a senior Sadr aide who was the IED facilitator.
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Philippines
The Philippine Army believes it has exhumed the body of Khaddafy Janjalani, the leader of Abu Sayyaf, and claims Radulan Sahiron was appointed the new leader. The US is helping to run DNA tests on the remains. Although the Philippines has suspended training with US forces, it vowed to continue operations against Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah on Jolo island.
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Pakistan
London airline plot conspirator Rashid Rauf will be tried under a Pakistani anti-terror law. The US has stated the Taliban control of Waziristan and in greater NWFP is a serious concern. A Taliban cleric has issued a fatwa to kill all UN employees in Pakistan.
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Afghanistan
The Taliban confirmed Mullah Akhtar Usmani was killed last week in an airstrike in Khost, after initials denials. Afghanistan arrested a Pakistani ‘suicide bomb supplier.™ Iran is attempting to extend its influence inside Afghanistan.
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The Fall of the Islamic Courts
The Somalia Battlefield on 12/27/2006. Light blue – Ethiopian & TFG advances. Green – ICU territory. Orange – recent clashes. Click image to view. Aweys, Sharif, resign; the TFG and Ethiopian forces are on the outskirts of Mogadishu Nine days after the onset of open warfare between the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts and the Ethiopian backed Transitional Federal Government, the Islamic Courts have surrendered. “After having crucial and urgent meeting tonight in the capital, the leaders of executive and Shura councils of Islamic Courts Union and deputy leader of executive council of ICU, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, Sheik Sharif…
