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On al Qaeda’s #3
Image courtesy of Rantburg. It is always interesting to watch the press coverage when the rumors begin to fly after a senior al Qaeda leader is thought to have been killed in a US airstrike inside Pakistan. Invariably, after it is determined that Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri were not killed in the attack, a news organization or two almost always identifies the thought-to-be-slain al Qaeda leader as the Number Three, or the third in the chain of command. This happened yesterday, when Abu Yahya al Libi was rumored to have been killed (that rumor was incorrect, as…
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Reflections on Iran’s post-election violence: A human rights review
Amnesty International recently released a comprehensive report reviewing the numerous human rights abuses by the Iranian regime during the post-election violence last June. The most prominent case of abuse-the death Neda Aghda Soltan-was captured on a camera phone and broadcast worldwide in a matter of minutes, making it a graphic symbol of resistance for the Green Movement. Both the regime and the resistance have claimed Ms. Soltan’s murder as an act of martyrdom, and PBS’ Frontline recently made a worthwhile documentary recounting her life and death. “The Supreme Leader should order the government to invite in UN Special Rapporteurs on…
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Somalia
Two civilians were killed during clashes between government forces and Shabaab and Hizbul Islam in Mogadishu. A gunman wounded three people during an attack on the leadership of the pro-government Ahlu Sunna Waljama in Galkayo. Somali lawmakers want the parliament moved from Mogadishu to Puntland.
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Iraq
Insurgents killed three policemen and wounded three more policemen and a soldier in attacks in Kirkuk and Mosul. Iraqi security forces detained 10 wanted men in Basrah and 10 more in Dhiloaiya, and four al Qaeda fighters in Wasit. Iraq will purchase $550 million worth of weapons from the Ukraine.
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Afghanistan
Ten Taliban fighters were killed in an airstrike in Kunar. Afghan and Coalition forces killed a Haqqani Network fighter in Paktia and five Taliban fighters in Helmand, and detained a Taliban commander and a major drug trafficker and his bodyguards in Helmand. Three Taliban fighters were killed in a premature detonation in Helmand.
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Pakistan
Pakistan eyes Taliban front after S. Waziristan
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Iran
A US court secretly froze $2 billion in Iranian assets held in Citibank accounts. The foreign minister said Iran is prepared to swap nuclear fuel on Kish Island. Yemen claimed it has proof Iran is backing the Houthi rebels.
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India
For terror suspect, a life of contradictions
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Al Qaeda
Virginia mosque grapples with young members’ arrest in Pakistan
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Iraq
Iraq oil capacity ‘to reach 12m barrels per day’
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Afghanistan
Pak must help US more against Al-Qaeda: Obama
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Pakistan
The defense minister admitted the Quetta Shura operates in Pakistan, but said it is no longer a threat. The military said 23 Taliban fighters were killed and 90 more were detained in Kyber, Arakzai, and Hangu, and 54 Taliban fighters were detained in Swat and South Waziristan. Five civilians were wounded in a grenade attack in Lakki Marwat.
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Al Qaeda
The US believes it killed Saleh al Somali, al Qaeda’s external operations chief, during the Dec. 8 airstrike near Miramshah in North Waziristan. Al Somali planned terror attacks against the West and had close ties to Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia.
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Somalia
President Sharif called on the police and military to crack down on Shabaab and Hizbul Islam. The pro-government Islamist Ahlu Sunna Waljama signed an agreement with the government to support it against Shabaab and Hizbul Islam. Somali pirates released a Greek-flagged ship and its crew of 24 Ukrainians.
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Al Qaeda’s external operations chief thought killed in US strike in Pakistan
Saleh al Somali, a longtime operative of the terror group, is thought to have been killed in the Dec. 8 strike in Miramshah in North Waziristan. He directed al Qaeda’s operations against targets in the West.
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Rumors of David Headley, rogue CIA asset
David Headley was convicted on heroin smuggling charges in 1998, and the available evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the following year he did undercover surveillance work in Pakistan for the DEA in exchange for a reduced sentence. During his time in Pakistan in 1999, his surveillance target was reportedly a drug gang based in Afghanistan/Pakistan. This has given rise to speculation among Indian officials that Headley’s work for the US government may have gone beyond the DEA. The speculation holds that DEA may have passed Headley on to the CIA, given his experience in Pakistan, and the CIA in turn used…
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Afghanistan
Marine offense gives Afghan city second chance
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Taliban contradicts itself in own propaganda
This week, not one but two Taliban statements hit the Voice of Jihad English-language site on the same day referring to ISAF’s latest push in Helmand: an unsigned weekly comment “Cobra’s Anger Will Lead to Great Regrets,” (PDF version at non-terrorist site here); and a signed op-ed attributed to spokesperson Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi, “Enemy Will Face an Exemplary Strike once More” (PDF version at non-terrorist site here). The funny thing is that while the weekly statement (time stamped as being posted before the signed op-ed) says “move along, nothing to see here” in Helmand when posted at 12:41 Thursday….…
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Al Qaeda
Experts: Somali Islamists improving tactics, bombs
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Philippines
An Abu Sayyaf fighter was killed after a clash with Marines who chanced upon an enemy force in Indanan town in Sulu province. Abu Sayyaf also abducted a college professor at his house in Isabela City near Basilan State College. Also in Isabela City, the severed head of a factory worker kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf was found in the city plaza.
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Iraq
Three Iraqis were killed in a pair of bombings south of Baghdad. Iraqi security forces detained 12 suspects in the assassination of a senior police official in Salahadin; 13 al Qaeda operatives in Baghdad
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Iran
Thousands flee Iran as noose tightens
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Al Qaeda
Mali – Beasts of burden fading into the dust
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Iraq
Iraq: Global giants to develop major oilfield
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Taliban commander behind reporter’s kidnapping targeted in Kunar
Qari Dawat kidnapped a Norwegian journalist in November who reportedly converted to Islam, and was targeted by the US later that month.
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Afghanistan
The Taliban killed three people in a suicide attack in Paktika and a child in a grenade attack in Nangarhar. US and Afghan forces detained a Haqqani Network facilitator in Khost and eight Taliban fighters in Ghazni.
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Abu Yahya al Libi rumored killed in US strike: jihadi forums
The Bagram Four: Abu Abdallah al Shami (upper left); Abu Nasir al Qahtani (upper right); Abu Yahya al Libi (lower left); Omar al Farouq (lower right). Jihadi forums have been speculating that Abu Yahya al Libi, a chief al Qaeda ideologue and a popular leader in jihadi circles, may have been killed in yesterday’s airstrike in South Waziristan. Late yesterday, senior US officials contacted NBC and CBS and indicated that a senior al Qaeda leader had been killed. CBS said Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri were not killed, however. Views from the Occident trolled the jihadi forums and…
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Quetta Shura exists, no longer threat: Pak defense minister
Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Amir al Mumineen (“the commander of the faithful”) of the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban. Dawn reported that Pakistan’s defense minister admitted Mullah Omar’s Quetta Shura is in Pakistan, but said it is no longer a threat: The government has admitted the existence of the Afghan Taliban’s Quetta shura for the first time, and says it has taken them on. In an exclusive interview with DawnNews, Defence Minister, Ahmad Mukhtar said security forces have taken on the Quetta shura and have damaged it to such an extent that it no longer poses any threat. A recent report…
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Iran
US Defense Secretary Gates announced from Iraq that he expects more sanctions due to Iran’s rejection of IAEA offer. EU leaders called for a “clear response” from Iran on its nuclear proliferation. Iran warned against foreign nations meddling in Yemen’s internal affairs.
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Iran
Official: US will not ignore Iran protests
