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Iraq
Thirty Iraqis were killed and 75 more were wounded in a series of 13 bombings in Shia areas in Baghdad. Three security officials and a captured al Qaeda commander were killed in an IED attack in Saadiya. An Awakening officer was killed in a shooting in Kirkuk.
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Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is shopping for weapons in Chad and “laundering money” by buying “large tracts of land and villas in Niger, Mali, and Mauritania.” AQIM is using money obtained in illegal activities, including millions from the ransoming of European hostages.
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Yemen
A Yemeni court charged US born al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki, and his cousin Othman al Awlaki, with “plotting and incitement to murder foreigners.” Security forces launched an operation in the provinces of Maarib and Shabwa to find al Qaeda operative Ibrahim al Asiri, who is suspected of manufacturing the parcel bombs.
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The Taliban acquisition of anti-aircraft platforms
The ZPU-1 and the ZU-23-2 (pictured) have seen a robust role in Afghan combat since the 1980s. On Oct. 28, a targeted ISAF airstrike killed Mullah Abdullah Kakar, one of the Taliban’s operational commanders in Zabul province who was responsible for a long list of attacks and IEDs in the Shah Joy district. What is interesting are the claims that Abdullah was killed as he showed off “a newly acquired anti-aircraft (AA) heavy machine gun which was mounted on the back of his vehicle” to other Taliban fighters. Although the AA platform was not identified, it was likely a ZPU-1…
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Pakistan
Pakistan seeks alliance with China as the US gets tough
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Afghanistan
Afghan women joining armed forces in greater numbers, challenging convention
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Al Qaeda
Parcel bombs point to al-Qaeda switch
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Al Qaeda
UK – Stephen Timms attacker was inspired by al-Qaeda’s Anwar al-Awlaki
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Afghanistan
Interview: Petraeus on Afghanistan, Iran, Taliban strategy
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Al Qaeda
Saudi Arabia’s shadowy connection
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Iran
Tehran postponed the trial of three US hikers imprisoned in Iran. Opposition leader Mousavi criticized President Ahmadinejad over energy and food subsidy plans. THe Chinese foreign minister called for a resumption of nuclear talks with Iran.
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Nigeria
Boko Haram is demanding an amnesty offer similar to the one given to MEND by the federal government. Boko Haram, speaking through an anonymous spokesman, threatened to “continue with these (killings) and we have our targets” unless their demands are met. The demands include the release of 195 members from prison, the pardoning of members responsible for recent attacks, and receiving positions local in government.
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Egyptian, Yemeni al Qaeda fighters involved in Baghdad church massacre
The Washington Post reported that Yemenis and Egyptians were involved in the deadly massacre at a Christian church in Baghdad that resulted in the deaths of at least 52 people: An Iraqi official said Monday that investigators had found at the scene three Yemeni and two Egyptian passports thought to have belonged to the suicide bombers. A survivor said they were methodical and well trained: Once they penetrated the church building, the silent assailants began executing people. “They were well trained,” Sami said. “They didn’t say anything. It was like someone had cut out their tongues.” The New York Times…
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Taliban hold public flogging in Arakzai despite Pakistani claims of success
The Pakistani military often claims success in a tribal agency, only to have the facts on the ground contradict such statements. Recent events in Arakzai are a good example of this. In the tribal agency of Arakzai, the Pakistani Taliban flogged 65 men in public who had been accused of dealing drugs, after making announcements at local mosques that the punishments would be meted out. From Reuters via Daily Times: The men were given 10 lashes each in an open area used by children to play football and for religious sermons in the town of Mamozai in the Arakzai Agency,…
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Al Qaeda in Iraq
US concerned about former Guantanamo prisoners in Yemen
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Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda thriving despite US efforts: experts
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Al Qaeda
Earlier flight may have been dry run for plotters
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Al Qaeda in Iraq
Tribal ties impede Yemen’s war on al Qaeda
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Al Qaeda
Baghdad church siege survivors speak of taunts, killings and explosions
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Israel
Internet ‘gives militants access to top-level spy systems’
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Al Qaeda in Iraq
Mail bombs 4 times larger than Christmas plot
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Al Qaeda
The new Bin Laden
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Pakistan
The US killed six “militants” in a Predator strike in Pakistan. A suicide bomber killed two policemen in Swabi. Three Taliban commanders were killed in Swat. The brother of Baitullah Mehsud was murdered in North Waziristan.
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Afghanistan
The Taliban overran a district center in Ghazni, while the police force defected. The Taliban killed two ISAF soldiers in the south. Security forces killed and captured Taliban and Haqqani Network leaders and fighters Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Khost, and Paktia.
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Iraq
Al Qaeda in Iraq killed 52 people, including two priests and 10 Iraqi policemen, in an attack on a church in Baghdad. Security forces killed a suicide bomber in Irbil and detained 23 wanted men in Basrah and four al Qaeda fighters in Wasit.
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Al Qaeda in Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaeda’s front organization, claimed credit for last night’s massacre at a Baghdad church that killed 52 Iraqis. Iraqi troops stormed the church. Al Qaeda was seeking the release of Muslim women in Egypt.
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Al Qaeda in Iraq claims massacre at Christian church in Baghdad
An al Qaeda suicide assault team was killed by Iraqi security forces after taking control of a church in the Iraqi capital. Three Yemenis and two Egyptians are believed to have carried out the attack.
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Turkey
The Union of Communities in Kurdistan denied that its ally, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) carried out yesterday’s suicide attack in Istanbul that wounded 15 policemen and 17 civilians. The PKK is the primary suspect in the suicide attack.
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Taliban storm, then abandon district headquarters in Ghazni province
While much of the attention of ISAF and Afghan forces has focused on the provinces of Helmand and Kandahar in the south, the provinces of Ghazni and Zabul remain Taliban strongholds in the southeast. Last night, the Taliban overran the poorly defended Khogyani district center in Ghazni province, and then abandoned it hours later when Afghan and ISAF forces mounted a counterattack. From Reuters: A large number of insurgents attacked and seized a district in an Afghan province Sunday night, officials said, the latest in a string of assaults on foreign and government targets. Mohammad Yaseen, police commander for Khogyani…
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Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
Iraqi Christians mourn after church siege kills 52
