July 1, 2009 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on an al-Qa`ida supporter and three leaders of Lashkar-i-Tayyiba (LeT). The al-Qa`ida supporter was identified as Fazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen al-Peshawari. The three LeT leaders were identified as Arif Qasmani, Mohammed Yahya Mujahid and Nasir Javaid. – AFP, July 1
July 1, 2009 (PAKISTAN): According to a new poll, most Pakistanis consider the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qa`ida as critical threats to the country. The WorldPublicOpinion.org poll found that 81 percent of respondents consider Islamist militants and local Taliban as critical threats to Pakistan. The poll also found, however, that “the U.S. is resented just as much as before, despite the U.S. having a new president.” The poll found that 62% of respondents had low or no confidence that President Barack Obama would do the “right thing” in world affairs. – Reuters, July 1
July 2, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): The U.S. military announced that a U.S. soldier was captured by Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan. According to reports, the soldier was then “sold” to the clan led by insurgent warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani. Three Afghan soldiers were also captured. The U.S. soldier went missing on June 30. – CNN, July 2; The Australian, July 3
July 2, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber on a motorcycle exploded next to a bus carrying workers from Pakistan’s main nuclear facility in Rawalpindi, wounding 29 people. – Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 2
July 3, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suspected improvised explosive device killed two U.S. soldiers in Paktika Province. – AFP, July 3
July 3, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A Pakistani military helicopter crashed on the border between Orakzai and Khyber agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, killing 26 security personnel. The Taliban later claimed credit for downing the helicopter, although the Pakistani military rejected those claims and attributed the crash to a “technical fault.” – AFP, July 3
July 3, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles launched missiles at Tehrik-i-Taliban positions in South Waziristan Agency, killing at least six people. – Washington Post, July 3
July 3-4, 2009 (MALI): Malian soldiers and suspected al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb militants engaged in two gun battles that left 20 soldiers missing near Tessalit in northern Mali. Malian military sources were unsure whether the 20 missing soldiers were dead or taken as hostages. – Reuters, July 6
July 4, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Two U.S. soldiers were killed after Taliban militants launched a multipronged attack on a U.S. base in Zerok district in southeastern Paktika Province. The attack involved small-arms fire and an attempted truck bombing. The militants also reportedly used a mortar round that contained white phosphorous. Some reports placed the number of militants at 100. Approximately 30 of the militants were killed after troops called in airstrikes. – Reuters, July 4; Los Angeles Times, July 5
July 4, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Gunmen abducted 16 mine-clearing personnel working for the United Nations as they traveled between Paktia and Khost provinces. – AP, July 5
July 6, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide car bombing at Kandahar airport killed two people. – CNN, July 6
July 6, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb exploded in Kunduz Province, killing four U.S. soldiers and two Afghan civilians. – New York Times, July 6
July 6, 2009 (EGYPT): An Egyptian newspaper reported that authorities foiled an al-Qa`ida-affiliated plot to target gas lines running between Israel and Egypt. Egyptian security forces reportedly arrested three Belgians, a Frenchman, a Briton, two Palestinian brothers and five Egyptian nationals. The men were all arrested in northern Sinai. They reportedly had in their possession anti-tank rockets, car bombs and other weapons. – UPI, July 6
July 6, 2009 (MALI): Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure announced a “total struggle against al-Qa`ida.” His statement comes after an incident on July 3 and July 4 in which 20 Malian soldiers went missing during clashes with al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb. – AFP, July 7
July 7, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters attacked government buildings in Barg Matal district in Nuristan Province. During the fighting, eight police were killed and another eight kidnapped. Officials said that 21 Taliban fighters were also killed. – Reuters, July 8
July 7, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle destroyed a compound in the Zangara area of South Waziristan Agency, killing 16 foreign and local militants. The target was described as a former office for Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. – AFP, July 7
July 7, 2009 (PAKISTAN): An anti-Taliban tribal elder, Malik Zardad Khan, was kidnapped and murdered in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Malik Zardad Khan was forming a lashkar (tribal militia) to combat the Taliban. – AFP, July 8
July 7, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): A bomb exploded in a commercial area of Jolo Island in the southern Philippines, killing six people. Two hours later, a car bomb exploded next to a parked military jeep in Illigan city, also in the southern Philippines, wounding seven people. A third bomb was found at the Mount Carmel Catholic cathedral on Jolo Island, although it was defused and did not cause any damage. Authorities blamed the attacks on the Abu Sayyaf Group, although it was not clear if the group claimed responsibility for the bombings. – The Age, July 7; AFP, July 6
July 8, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A Pakistani Army spokesman announced that the military had “credible” information that Pakistani Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, who commands fighters in the Swat Valley, had been wounded during an offensive against the group. On July 22, however, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said that Maulana Fazlullah was alive and unharmed. – al-Jazira, July 9; Reuters, July 8; Reuters, July 23
July 8, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles fired six missiles at Pakistani Taliban targets in South Waziristan Agency. There were no immediate casualty counts. – Reuters, July 8
July 8, 2009 (BANGLADESH): Security forces in Bangladesh shot and wounded a would-be suicide bomber, who was suspected of being a member of Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh. The militant took two people hostage at a government building and exchanged gunfire with security officers. A bomb was attached to his body, although it did not explode. – Reuters, July 8
July 8, 2009 (MALI): Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released an online statement claiming that it had killed 28 Malian soldiers during a July 3 and July 4 clash with security personnel. AQIM also said it took three soldiers captive. The Malian military denounced the claim as propaganda. – Reuters, July 8; AFP, July 8
July 9, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Explosives on a timber truck killed at least 24 people in Logar Province. Sixteen of the dead were children. According to reports, residents found the timber truck overturned on the road with a punctured tire. When authorities arrived to clear the truck from the road, it exploded. Some officials believe that the truck bomb may have been intended for use in Kabul, which is located 30 miles north on the highway. – BBC, July 9; Washington Post, July 10; New York Times, July 9
July 9, 2009 (IRAQ): Two suicide bombers executed a coordinated attack in Tal Afar, Ninawa Province, and killed 34 civilians. The first bomber entered the home of a counterterrorism officer and blew himself up, causing the house to collapse. When neighbors gathered at the scene, the second bomber detonated his explosives among the crowd. Both bombers were reportedly disguised in police uniforms. – Washington Post, July 10
July 9, 2009 (IRAQ): An improvised road mine exploded near a market in Baghdad’s Sadr City. One minute later, another mine was detonated approximately 100 yards away. The two blasts killed seven people. – Washington Post, July 10
July 9, 2009 (IRAQ): Two roadside bombs targeted a police patrol near a market in a Shi`a area of northern Baghdad, killing nine people. – Washington Post, July 10
July 9, 2009 (LIBYA): The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) released a statement reversing a 2007 decision to merge with al-Qa`ida’s movement. The group criticized al-Qa`ida’s “targeting of civilians” and “indiscriminate bombings.” The group’s statement said that the 2007 decision to join with al-Qa`ida was made without the “agreement of the majority” of its ruling council. – Telegraph, July 9
July 9, 2009 (EGYPT): Egyptian authorities announced the arrests of 25 people accused of plotting attacks on oil pipelines and ships in the Suez Canal. Authorities said the group had ties to al-Qa`ida and consisted of mostly Egyptian engineers and technicians, although their leader was a Palestinian. – AP, July 9
July 9, 2009 (SOMALIA): A new audiotape from Abu Mansur al-Amriki, an American who left the United States to join Somalia’s al-Shabab militant group, appeared on Islamist web forums. Al-Amriki criticized President Barack Obama, stating that “let this not come as a surprise to those who are mesmerized by Obama’s speech in Cairo, our positions…have not changed in the least.” He further said that President Obama’s speech came “not because he loves the Muslims he lived with in Indonesia as a boy, but rather it is because the only way to defeat the Muslims is by distracting them with this temporary life.” – Fox News, July 9
July 10, 2009 (UNITED STATES): Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, a 35-year-old Minneapolis man of Somali descent, received a 92-month prison sentence in federal court on one count of conspiring to provide material support to al-Qa`ida. According to UPI, “Court documents reveal that Warsame traveled from Pakistan to al-Qaida terrorist camps in Afghanistan in 2000 to undergo weapons and martial arts training.” He allegedly met Usama bin Ladin and other al-Qa`ida leaders. – UPI, July 10
July 10, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban militants attacked a security checkpoint near Khar in Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, killing three local tribal policemen. – BBC, July 10
July 10, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles bombed a communications center for Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, killing at least three people. The center is located in the Painda Khel region of South Waziristan Agency. – AP, July 10
July 12, 2009 (NORTH AFRICA): Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released Werner Greiner, a Swiss national who had been held by the group since January 22, 2009. Greiner—who was abducted in Niger but held in Mali—was the last of six Western hostages to be released by the group. One of the hostages, Briton Edwin Dyer, was executed in May. – BBC, July 12
July 12, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Abu Sayyaf Group militants finally released Eugenio Vagni, an Italian foreign aid worker who was taken hostage in the southern Philippines on January 15, 2009. Vagni, who worked for the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), was the last of three abducted ICRC workers to be released. The other two workers were released on April 2 and April 18. – GMANews.tv, July 12
July 13, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Rajab Khan, the district police chief of Jalriz in Wardak Province, was killed just south of Kabul when a roadside bomb destroyed his vehicle. Three of his bodyguards were also killed in the blast. – AFP, July 12
July 13, 2009 (YEMEN): A Yemeni court sentenced six suspected al-Qa`ida militants to death for their role in a series of deadly attacks on government and Western targets in Yemen. Another 10 defendants, including a Saudi and four Syrians, received sentences ranging from eight to 15 years in jail on the same charges. The group was convicted of carrying out the January 2008 attack that killed two Belgian female tourists, a March 2008 attack that targeted the U.S. Embassy in Sana`a, and a rocket attack on a compound housing U.S. oil workers. The men were all accused of having ties to al-Qa`ida. – AFP, July 13; Guardian, July 13
July 13, 2009 (JORDAN): A military court sentenced Mohammed Ahmed Youssef al-Jaghbeer to death for his involvement in the killing of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in October 2002. The sentencing marked al-Jaghbeer’s third re-trial. He is said to have ties to al-Qa`ida. – al-Jazira, July 14
July 14, 2009 (SOMALIA): Two French security advisers were kidnapped from their hotel in Mogadishu. The men were involved in training Somalia’s new presidential guard. Various reports stated that the men were posing as journalists as a cover for their mission. Approximately 10 armed men—with some reports identifying them as “disgruntled government soldiers”—driving a truck arrived at the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu and went directly to the Frenchmen’s rooms, bringing them out of the hotel at gunpoint. Later reports stated that after negotiations broke down, the men were handed over to the opposition groups Hisbul Islamiyya and al-Shabab, with each group holding one hostage. Later, however, both hostages ended up in the hands of al-Shabab. – New York Times, July 14; Telegraph, July 14; ABC News, July 16; BBC, July 18
July 14, 2009 (THAILAND): The Thai government extended emergency rule for three months in its troubled southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. – AFP, July 14
July 15, 2009 (GLOBAL): A new audio message attributed to al-Qa`ida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri appeared on Islamist web forums. In the message, al-Zawahiri urges “every Muslim in Pakistan to rise up to fight” the Americans. According to al-Zawahiri, “the Americans are today occupying Afghanistan and Pakistan.” He also claims that the United States is trying to “break up this nuclear-capable country [Pakistan] and transform it into tiny fragments, loyal to and dependent on the neo-crusaders.” – al-Jazira, July 15; Guardian, July 15
July 15, 2009 (IRAQ): An improvised explosive device blew up at the entrance of a funeral tent in a predominately Shi`a district of Baghdad, killing five people. – New York Times, July 15
July 15, 2009 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber driving a minibus targeted Iraqi security forces in Ramadi, Anbar Province. One policeman and five civilians were killed. – AP, July 16
July 16, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan Taliban commander Mawlavi Sangin said that his forces are holding a missing U.S. soldier, who disappeared in Paktika Province on June 30. Sangin said that the “soldier is fine and safe and our leadership council will decide about his fate.” – Reuters, July 16
July 16, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber rammed a car into a police convoy in Nimroz Province, killing three policemen. – AFP, July 16
July 16, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A UN refugee agency official was shot to death during a failed kidnapping attempt near Peshawar, in northwest Pakistan. Four armed men tried to abduct the Pakistani official, who was shot in the chest several times. A security guard was also killed during the incident. – BBC, July 16
July 17, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle killed four alleged militants in North Waziristan Agency. – BBC, July 17
July 17, 2009 (INDONESIA): Two bombs ripped through the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta, killing at least seven people. The two hotels were approximately 50 meters apart, and the attacks were coordinated as they occurred within five minutes of each other. Both of the blasts were the work of suicide bombers. Police later said that they believe the architect of the attack to be Noordin Mohamed Top, an alleged terrorist tied to Jemaah Islamiya. – USA Today, July 16; Wall Street Journal, July 24
July 17, 2009 (THAILAND): A car bomb killed a special task force deputy chief and his aide in southern Thailand’s Yala Province. – Bangkok Post, July 18
July 17, 2009 (KYRGYZSTAN): Domestic media in Kyrgyzstan reported that security forces arrested 18 people accused of coordinating a logistics supply network for Taliban fighters in nearby Afghanistan. The group included citizens of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The men apparently used to fight alongside the Taliban. – Reuters, July 18
July 17, 2009 (MAURITANIA): Police in Mauritania arrested two suspects in the June killing of American teacher Christopher Ervin Leggett. One of the men was wearing an explosives belt at the time of arrest. Both were accused of having ties to al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb. – AP, July 24
July 18, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A U.S. soldier captured by the Afghan Taliban on June 30 appeared in an insurgent video posted on Islamist websites. The Pentagon confirmed that the man in the video is the captured U.S. soldier. The U.S. Defense Department has identified the soldier as Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl. – AP, July 18; AP, July 19
July 18, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber driving a car filled with explosives rammed into an Afghan army vehicle in Zabul Province, killing three Afghan soldiers. – AFP, July 18
July 18, 2009 (SOMALIA): A senior member of al-Shabab announced that two French military advisers held captive by the group will be tried according to Shari`a, which carries a possible death penalty. The men are charged with spying and working for the enemies of Islam. – Voice of America, July 18
July 19, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed two police officers and a civilian during an attack on a police post at the Torkham border crossing, which connects Afghanistan and Pakistan. – Reuters, July 19
July 19, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): A spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that the AFP plans to defeat the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) by the end of 2009. The spokesman said that the ASG has been weakened to only 300 members: “Their ranks have gone down and while they have some new recruits, it is mostly young boys lured by the promise of monetary rewards and the bearing of arms.” – AFP, July 19
July 20, 2009 (MALI): The main group of Tuareg ex-rebels in Mali agreed to assist the Malian military in combating al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). According to the BBC, “The Tuareg know how to operate in the desert perhaps better than anyone else and could be the government’s best hope of beating al-Qaeda in the region.” The BBC report further stated that “under the deal special units of fighters from the [Tuareg] Alliance for Democracy and Change are to be sent to the desert to tackle al-Qaeda.” – BBC, July 20
July 21, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Five Taliban suicide bombers attacked government centers in Gardez, Paktia Province. The complex attack targeted the provincial governor’s compound, the intelligence department and the police department. Five bombers and five Afghan security forces were killed. – CBS News, July 21
July 21, 2009 (IRAQ): Two improvised explosive devices were detonated seconds apart near a sidewalk in Baghdad’s Sadr City, killing four people. Hours later, another bomb exploded at a crowded sheep market in Sadr City, killing three people. – New York Times, July 21
July 21, 2009 (IRAQ): Two bombs exploded at a popular market in northern Baghdad’s Husseiniya neighborhood, killing five people. – New York Times, July 21
July 22, 2009 (UNITED STATES): According to newly unsealed court papers, Bryant Neal Vinas, a 26-year-old U.S. citizen from Long Island, was charged with giving al-Qa`ida details about the New York City transit system and the Long Island Railroad, in addition to firing rockets at U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Vinas was also accused of receiving military training from al-Qa`ida in 2008. He pleaded guilty on January 28 in a closed hearing. Vinas remains in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. – Reuters, July 22
July 22, 2009 (LEBANON): The Lebanese army recently arrested 10 people accused of plotting attacks against United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. The suspects are accused of belonging to a terrorist cell with connections to al-Qa`ida. – Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 22
July 23, 2009 (GLOBAL): A report in U.S. National Public Radio (NPR), citing U.S. intelligence sources, said that one of Usama bin Ladin’s sons, Sa`ad bin Ladin, was possibly killed in a U.S. missile strike earlier in 2009. The intelligence official told NPR that they were “80 to 85 percent” certain that Sa`ad bin Ladin was dead. – Reuters, July 23
July 25, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): At least six suicide bombers tried to attack the main police station in Khost, but were killed in a gun battle with security forces. A seventh militant was killed after detonating his explosives in a vehicle outside an old military hospital in the city. At least 17 people were wounded in the overall attack. – BBC, July 25
July 25, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): The Afghan government forged a cease-fire deal with Taliban insurgents in remote Badghis Province, which is located near the border with Turkmenistan. Afghanistan’s presidential spokesman was described as saying that the government wanted to “make similar deals with the Taliban in other parts of the country in a bid to improve security for the August 20 presidential election.” – Reuters, July 27
July 26, 2009 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber killed at least four people outside a funeral tent near Falluja. The funeral was being held for a police officer who was killed in another bomb attack. – Reuters, July 26
July 26, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Officials announced the arrest of Sufi Muhammad, a radical cleric who brokered a failed peace deal in the Swat Valley. He was arrested for encouraging terrorism and violence. Sufi Muhammad is also the father-in-law of Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah. – BBC, July 26
July 26, 2009 (RUSSIA): A suicide bomber in Russia’s Chechnya republic killed six people outside a theater in Grozny. The bomber detonated his explosives when he was stopped by police before he could enter the concert hall. – Voice of America, July 26
July 26-27, 2009 (NIGERIA): Islamist militants and authorities clashed in northern Nigeria, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people. Much of the violence occurred after militants belonging to an Islamist fringe group, known as Boko Haram, attacked police stations. Most of the dead were militants. – BBC, July 27
July 27, 2009 (UNITED STATES): U.S. national Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring with al-Qa`ida in a plot to assassinate then-President George W. Bush. Abu Ali was previously sentenced to 30 years for the plot in 2006, but that sentence was overturned by an appeals court for being too lenient. Abu Ali was arrested in 2003 by authorities in Saudi Arabia before being extradited to the United States. – AFP, July 27
July 28, 2009 (GLOBAL): U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke told European Union officials in Brussels that Taliban militants are receiving more funding from sympathizers abroad—mostly from the Persian Gulf—than from Afghanistan’s illegal drug trade. Holbrooke said the United States is creating an interdepartmental task force to address the issue. – AP, July 28
July 28, 2009 (UNITED STATES): Salah Osman Ahmed, a Minnesota Somali man, pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists. Ahmed went to Somalia in December 2007 with the intention to fight against Ethiopian troops. He said that he began attending secret meetings in Minneapolis in October 2007, and he knew that the group was connected to al-Shabab, a U.S. designated terrorist organization. Ahmed faces up to 15 years in prison as part of his plea deal. – AP, July 28
July 28, 2009 (MOROCCO): Abdelkader Belliraj was sentenced to life in prison for planning terrorist attacks in Morocco, robberies in Europe, arms trafficking and large-scale money laundering. Belliraj, who is a dual Moroccan-Belgian national, was charged with 34 co-defendants. The group has been called the “Belliraj Cell.” – AP, July 28
July 29, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban gunmen entered the home of a pro-government militia leader and shot him to death. The leader, Khalilur Rehman, was confronted by more than 50 Taliban fighters at his home in Shangla District in the North-West Frontier Province. He was the leader of a lashkar (tribal militia) that had provided logistics support to groups fighting against the Taliban. – AFP, July 29
July 29, 2009 (ALGERIA): Militants attacked a convoy of Algerian soldiers in Tipaza Province, killing 14 of them. – Reuters, July 29
July 29, 2009 (INDONESIA): An internet message appeared on Islamist web forums claiming responsibility for the July 17 suicide bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta. The message was from “al-Qa`ida Indonesia” and was purportedly signed by Noordin Mohammed Top, a key Jemaah Islamiya-linked terrorist leader in Southeast Asia. Authorities and analysts could not confirm the authenticity of the message. – AP, July 29; CNN, July 29
July 30, 2009 (IRAQ): A bomb exploded inside the headquarters of the Sunni Reform and Development Party in Diyala Province, killing eight people. – Voice of America, July 30
July 30, 2009 (YEMEN): Al-Qa`ida militants ambushed an army truck in Yemen’s Marib Province, killing two Yemeni soldiers and seizing military ammunition and equipment. Authorities then stormed the militants’ hideout and killed A’ed Saleh al-Shabwani, one of the militant leaders. A soldier was also killed in the fighting. – AFP, July 31
July 30, 2009 (NIGERIA): Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of a group known as the “Nigerian Taliban,” died in police custody. Yusuf and his Boko Haram sect are blamed for the violence that engulfed northern Nigeria in late July. Police claim Yusuf was shot after he tried to escape from custody. – AP, July 31
July 31, 2009 (IRAQ): Five Shi`a mosques across Baghdad were struck by bombs, killing at least 28 people. – Reuters, July 31
