Somalia
Ten Somalis were killed during shelling and gun battles in Mogadishu. The home of a Hizbul Islam official was attacked in Afgoye. The Somali government denied reports that one of its Army commanders defected to Shabaab.
Author Archives: Bill Roggio
Iraq
Insurgents killed a civilian in Baghdad and another in Mosul. Security forces killed two al Qaeda fighters in Mosul, and detained 11 al Qaeda cell members in a region northwest of Baghdad and another in Fallujah.
Iraq
Appeals court to go through banning cases before Iraq™s March election
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed a US soldier and an unidentified Coalition soldier during attacks in the South and East. A US Predator unmanned aircraft crashed during takeoff in eastern Afghanistan. Russia ruled out sending troops to Afghanistan. ISAF warned civilians in Marja to remain in their homes, signaling the offensive will begin shortly.
Pakistani military claims success in Bajaur
The Army, backed by tribal militias, is advancing on Taliban strongholds in the Mamond region.
Pakistan
Security forces continued operations in the Mamond region in Bajaur. Police arrested six Taliban fighters thought to be plotting to kill Americans in Lahore. The Taliban attempted to assassinate a brigadier general in Islamabad, bombed a girls’ school and a health clinic in Mohmand, and attacked a military camp in Khyber.
Somalia
A senior Shabaab leader called for jihad against Kenya. A foreign Shabaab military commander was killed by his guards in Mogadishu. Shabaab fighters are reportedly withdrawing from districts in Mogadishu.
Shabaab calls for jihad against Kenya
Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia said Kenya is in its crosshairs as Kenya is training both Somali and Kenyan troops to battle the terror group.
Algeria
Four al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters and one soldier were killed during a clash in Tipaza province. Security forces detained eight suspected terrorists during a raid in M’sila province.
Iraq
Security forces killed six al Qaeda fighters in Makhmour and detained six more north of Baghdad. Insurgents killed a civilian in an IED attack in Baghdad and detonated an IED in front of a hospital in Mosul.
Afghanistan
President Karzai is considering a draft for the military. The Taliban killed two British soldiers in Helmand and two civilians in western Afghanistan. A district governor in Badghis province was arrested for supporting the Taliban.
Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s deputy leader, Said Ali al Shihri, said the group’s leadership has survived US and Yemeni airstrikes, and is preparing further attacks. “We inform our brothers in Afghanistan that we are still alive and well and that we will respond to the Crusaders’ air raids and attacks,” Shihri said.
Egypt
Police arrested three top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood during raids. The deputy leader and two members of the Guidance Council, the Muslim Brotherhood’s top decision-making body, were detained. A fourth leader evaded arrest.
Pakistan
The military claimed it took control of Damadola in Bajaur; seven Taliban fighters were killed during the fighting. Police arrested a Taliban commander and four fighters in Nowshera. The government will not negotiate with the Taliban, the chief minister of the NWFP said.
Somalia
Two people were killed during an exchange of mortar fire in northern Mogadishu. The commander of police in the Mudug region of Puntland escaped an assassination attempt. Kenya has completed the training of 2,500 Somali troops.
Al Qaeda
Interview: Anwar al-Awlaki
Iraq
Iraq panel reinstates election ban amid Shi’ite ire
Pakistan
Pakistan: 119 high-profile militants at large
Al Qaeda
Amnesty International is ‘damaged™ by Taliban link
Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula cleric and recruiter Anwar al Awlaki said he supported the failed Christmas Day airplane bombing over Detroit but did not order the attack. Security forces in Sana’a arrested an al Qaeda operative thought to be behind threats against foreign embassies earlier this year.
Al Qaeda
Abu Yahya al Libi, a top al Qaeda ideologue and cleric, said the terror group does not have ties to Houthi rebels in Yemen. “We are neither Houthis, nor with them,” Libi said. “Our religious belief, doctrines, approaches and thoughts are totally different from theirs.” The Yemeni government has accused al Qaeda of supporting the […]
Iraq
Security forces detained 11 al Qaeda fighters in Touz Khormato, al Qaeda cell leaders in Sharqat and Diyala, the leader of an assassination cell in Mosul, and a terrorist in Baghdad. Insurgents killed a female candidate for parliament in Mosul and a civilian in Diwaniyah.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed four policemen in an IED attack in Kandahar and two Swedish soldiers and an interpreter during a gun battle in Mazar-e-Sharif. Coalition and Afghan forces killed a Taliban fighter in Baghlan and detained the deputy police chief in Kapisa for supporting the Taliban.
Iran
Iran arrested seven people linked to Radio Farda, a station founded by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and Voice of America. PressTV claimed two of those arrested were “CIA agents.” An Iranian Army Air Force commander claimed Iran successfully tested its first stealth airplane.
Pakistan
The military claimed that the Mamond region in Bajaur has been cleared and the government now controls 90 percent of the tribal agency. The Taliban bombed a girls’ school in Bannu. The Pakistani Taliban spends $45 million year, according to the governor of the NWFP.
Iraq
Iraq elections ban: It™s not over
Iraq
The League of the Righteous kidnapped a US civilian contractor in Baghdad and called off reconciliation talks with the government. Six insurgents and a security guard were killed during a clash in Mosul. Police detained 55 suspects in the Karbala attacks, four insurgents in Mosul, and two terrorists in Basrah.
Somalia
Civilians are fleeing Mogadishu as government troops and Shabaab fighters are reinforcing their bases. The government admitted that Islamist groups control the nation’s economic centers and air and sea ports, and claimed Shabaab torched the Bakara market. The government will also close its foreign embassies.
Afghanistan
Afghan police accidentally killed seven civilians mistaken for the Taliban in Kandahar. Coalition and Afghan forces killed two Taliban fighters in Helmand. The government said it would not “bribe” the Taliban to stop fighting.
Iranian-backed Shia terror group kidnaps US civilian in Baghdad
The League of the Righteous has kidnapped a US citizen and backed out of “reconciliation talks” with the Iraqi government. The kidnapping comes only a month after the US released the top leader of the group.