Iran
Iran Said to Send Troops to Bolster Syria
Monthly Archives: August 2012
Syria
Western states worked with Turkey to establish buffer zones within Syria. French President Hollande warned Syria’s use of chemical weapons would be a legitimate justification for military intervention. Heavy fighting shifted back to Damascus after weeks of battles in the northern city of Aleppo.
Somalia
Somali and AMISOM forces took control of Marka after Shabaab retreated without a fight. Shabaab fighters executed four people before leaving the port town.
Kenya
Two policemen were killed and 16 more were wounded as Muslim supporters of Shabaab rioted in Mombasa for the second day straight. The Shabaab supporters are rioting after Sheikh Aboud Rogo Mohammed was gunned down on Aug. 25.
Libya
Libyan salafists destroy Sufi shrines
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Islamists brutalise Touareg civilians
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
A colleague of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a.k.a. Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, the emir of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, denied that the commander was killed during an Algerian military operation on June 28. AQIM released a videotape of Belmokhtar, who condemned the Algerian government for its treatment of Syrian refugees.
Kenyan Muslims riot after murder of Shabaab-linked cleric
Sheikh Aboud Rogo Mohammed was shot and killed as he was driving in Mombasa. The US added Rogo to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on July 5 for his direct support for Shabaab.
Russia
A female suicide bomber dressed as a pilgrim killed Said Atsayev, a leading Sufi cleric, and at least five followers at the cleric’s home in the village of Chirkey in Dagestan. President Vladimir Putin was in Tartarstan, seeking to prevent the spread of militant Islam.
Qatar
Taliban team in Qatar for negotiations with US
United States
Military officials disciplined four US Army officers and two enlisted soldiers for the burning of at least four Korans in Afghanistan, although the investigation found the burning had occurred without “malicious intent” or disrespect. Also disciplined were three of four Marines who had been videotaped urinating on the corpse of a Taliban fighter.
17 people beheaded near Musa Qala
The atrocity is the latest in a series of incidents that show the volatility of the security situation in northern Helmand province.
Caucasus
Umarov Names New Commander Of Insurgency In Daghestan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan – NDS to ‘Monitor’ Local Uprisings, But Denies Hezb-i-Islami Involvement
Afghanistan
ISAF Will Not Reduce Interaction with Afghan Counterparts
Afghanistan
US forces say no to rapprochement with Haqqanis
Boko Haram
Nigeria in talks with Islamists via back channels
Indonesia
Indonesia: Religious violence kills 2 Shias
Afghanistan
The Taliban beheaded 17 civilians and killed 10 Afghan soldiers in Helmand. An Afghan soldier killed two ISAF troops in Laghman. Afghan senators claimed the Hizb-i-Islami is behind the anti-Taliban uprisings.
Syria
Britain and US plan a Syrian revolution from an innocuous office block in Istanbul
Kyrgyzstan
Authorities discovered a cell of the banned Hizb-ut-Tahrir in the Jalal-Abad region and arrested the group’s leader. Extremist books and CDs were found during the arrest.
Al Qaeda
Indonesian security forces turn to Islamic clerics to uproot terrorism
Israel
Gaza not liveable by 2020 barring urgent action: UN
Russia
Caucasus Emirate leader Doku Umarov named Rustam Asildarov a.k.a. Amir Abu Mukhammad to head the Dagestan branch of the insurgency. Asildarov replaces Ibragimkhalil Daudov a.k.a. Amir Salikh, who was killed six months ago. Between April and July, insurgents in Dagestan killed 43 members of security forces and wounded 106.
Iraq
Gunmen assassinated an Army brigadier general with a silenced pistol in Taji; two civilians were killed in bombings in Haditha and Mosul. Seven al Qaeda operatives were detained in Wasit; the bodies of four al Qaeda leaders were discovered in Mosul.
Syria
Rebels shot down a military helicopter over Damascus. Fighting in Aleppo has turned into a battle of attrition. France’s president urged the Syrian rebels to create a provisional government and said France would extend official recognition once it was formed.
Saudi Arabia
The Interior Ministry said it had broken up al Qaeda cells in Riyadh and Jeddah and arrested several cell members, including six Yemenis. Two Saudi nationals were also arrested and two more are being sought.
Egypt
Egypt reached a ceasefire agreement with radical Salafist organizations in the Sinai peninsula. President Morsi proposed a new peace initiative for Syria. Egypt’s attorney general referred an anti-Islamist lawmaker for investigation.
Somalia
Somali and African Union troops seized control of towns outside of the port city of Merca, which is under Shabaab control. Somali soldiers killed three civilians at a food distribution point in Mogadishu. Shabaab claimed it killed 14 Kenyan soldiers in Gedo.
Kenya
Police clashed with Shabaab supporters in Mombasa after a Shabaab suspect, Sheikh Aboud Rogo, was gunned down. Streets were blockaded and a government vehicle was torched.