China has voiced opposition to the European Union’s unilateral sanctions on Iran. A Canadian court sentenced Mahmoud Yadegari to four years in jail for attempting to smuggle nuclear exports to Iran. An Iranian official claimed the US has laced cigarettes with pig’s blood and nuclear material.

Taliban allegedly threatens tribal elders in southern Afghanistan

UN urges Saudi Arabia to stop expelling Somalis

British troops launch biggest offensive of summer in Afghanistan

Taliban exploit openings in neglected province

Afghan war spending faces new scrutiny

Yemen smolders amid Houthi insurgency and Al Qaeda attacks

Islamic court makeover in Malaysia: Two women appointed to sharia court bench

Earlier today I spent an hour with NPR‘s Marty Moss-Coane at the WHYY studio in Philadelphia. Lawrence Korb also joined the conversation. We discussed the Wikileaks documents, the impact on national security, and the danger to US troops and to Afghans who have cooperated. Interestingly enough, Marty and I agreed that the release of documents is indeed a danger to Afghans and Coalition forces, while Lawrence disagreed. We also discussed Pakistan’s role in the Afghan insurgency and negotiations with the Taliban. Click here to listen.

Leakers, publishers may have blood on hands, Mullen says

Poll: Nearly 6 in 10 Pakistanis view US as enemy

Ten Taliban fighters and three Pakistani soldiers were killed after the Taliban ambushed an Army convoy in South Waziristan. The military killed 12 Taliban fighters in Kurram.

Six Iraqi soldiers, three policemen, and seven civilians were killed in five bombings in Baghdad. Insurgents killed a policeman and an Awakening leader in a shooting in Baghdad, three soldiers in Shurqat, and a policeman in Fallujah. Security forces detained two Islamist State of Iraq leaders in Salahadin.

Twenty-one people were killed in clashes in Mogadishu between Shabaab and government and African Union forces. Both Shabaab’s spokesman and Sheikh Atom denied that fighting in Puntland is related to the al Qaeda-linked group.

The Islamic State of Iraq, an al Qaeda front group, claimed it carried out the suicide attack against an Al Arabiya television channel office in Baghdad. “We take responsibility for targeting this corrupt channel, and we will not hesitate to hit any media office and chase its staffers if they insist on being a tool of war against almighty God and his prophet.”

ISAF has recovered the body of the second missing sailor in Logar. The Taliban killed nine local security contractors in Ghazni and six civilians in Zabul. Coalition forces detained a Taliban leader wearing a burka and an associate in Farah.

Afghanistan – Taliban stymie NATO push to bolster government

Hariri tribunal takes Lebanon closer to crisis

David Cameron defends ‘frank’ comments about Pakistan

Karzai calls WikiLeaks disclosures ‘shocking’ and dangerous to Afghan informants

Local strongman is US troops’ most reliable friend in Kandahar province

Taliban congratulates Netherlands for pulling soldiers out of Afghanistan

Indonesia: Koran translation released for ‘reduced radicalism’

Documents obtained from a slain Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist and interrogations of Abdullah Sunata have revealed that the al Qaeda-linked group had planned to attack Singapore’s subway system. A map of Singapore’s subway system found on the body of JI operative Ahmad Maulana had red markings and arrows identifying one targeted station. Jemaah Islamiyah was planning to carry out the attack with the support of cells in Singapore and Malaysia.

Japan’s Mitsui hires military expert for tanker checks

Mauritanian authorities claimed its soldiers killed Bilal El-Djazaïri, Hamadou Abada’s deputy and a leading member of AQIM, during a raid on July 22 in which at least seven French Special Forces were killed. Spanish sources have reported that Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who currently holds two Spanish aid workers hostage, has moved them deeper into the Sahel to avoid any liberation attempts. Mauritania’s ruling party has pledged to join France in fighting AQIM.

A bomb attack by suspected al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters has wounded three Algerian soldiers. The remotely detonated bomb struck the patrol in Ouattuba, north of Tizi Ouzou. AQIM has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a security barracks in a village near Tizi Ouzou on July 25, in which they claim 36 people were killed and wounded.

US: Drills sent ‘clear message’ to NKorea
