December 15, 2007 (PAKISTAN): Rashid Rauf, the British citizen accused of involvement in the August 2006 plot to blow up 10 passenger jets over the Atlantic Ocean, escaped from police custody in Pakistan. His whereabouts are unknown. – AP, December 15
December 15, 2007 (SOMALIA): Twelve Somali soldiers were injured, and two civilians killed, when a remote-controlled bomb targeting a military truck detonated in Mogadishu. – Reuters, December 15
December 15, 2007 (IRAQ): A member of a U.S.-supported volunteer patrol was killed in the Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiyya after an individual offered him an explosives-rigged bag that was said to have been found in the street. – AP, December 15
December 16, 2007 (AFGHANISTAN): Two civilians were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in Yaqubi district in eastern Khost Province. Authorities claimed that the Taliban was responsible. – AP, December 16
December 16, 2007 (GLOBAL): Islamist websites posted a statement offering journalists the opportunity to submit interview questions to al-Qa`ida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri. The questions are to be posted online at two Islamist websites before a deadline of January 16. – AFP, December 20
December 17, 2007 (IRAQ): Al-Qa`ida Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new video calling on Iraq’s Sunni Arab tribes to attack Awakening Councils in the country, calling them “traitors” and “hypocrites” and arguing that “any clan or tribe that defends Islam and crushes traitors…will be remembered in Arab history with pride and glory.” Zawahiri also criticized Iran, Hizb Allah, Egypt and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. – AP, December 17
December 17, 2007 (PAKISTAN): Nine Pakistani army recruits were killed in a suicide blast in Kohat, close to Peshawar. – AP, December 17
December 17, 2007 (YEMEN): Yemen’s government newspaper 26th of September announced that authorities had arrested two alleged members of al-Qa`ida in Yemen. Some reports stated that the men were members of a cell that was planning a suicide attack in the country. – Saba, December 17; Daily Times, December 18
December 17, 2007 (IRAQ): Three members of a local Awakening Council were killed in Mafrag, Diyala Province, when gunmen opened fire on them while they were near a vegetable vendor’s stall. – CNN, December 17
December 17, 2007 (IRAQ): A truck bomb was detonated as it was parked on a bridge near the Mosul dam in Ninawa Province. Although the facility was damaged, the explosion did not damage the dam itself. According to an engineer, the bomber left his explosives-laden truck near the dam after informing police that the vehicle had broken down and claimed that he was going to find a tow truck. – Reuters, December 17; Los Angeles Times, December 18
December 18, 2007 (PHILIPPINES): The Philippine military killed two Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) fighters during a raid on a militant base in Ungkaya Pukan township, in Basilan Province. Authorities claimed that about 40 militants were located at the remote camp, including both ASG and “rogue elements” of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. – AP, December 18
December 18, 2007 (PAKISTAN): A large amount of explosives, in addition to suicide jackets, were discovered inside a Land Cruiser in the Khwazakhela area of Swat, in the North-West Frontier Province. – Daily Times, December 19
December 18, 2007 (AFGHANISTAN): Approximately 15 Afghan security guards were ambushed and killed in Bala Buluk district, Farah Province. The guards worked for a U.S. company and were protecting a convoy of fuel tankers at the time of the attack. – BBC, December 18
December 18, 2007 (IRAQ): Sixteen people were killed during a suicide bomb attack at a coffee shop in the predominately Shi`a village of al-Abbara, which is near Ba`quba in Diyala Province. – Reuters, December 18
December 18, 2007 (ISRAEL): Thirteen Palestinian militants were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. The attacks targeted Islamic Jihad, and the organization confirmed some of the deaths and threatened to retaliate with suicide bombings inside Israel. – Reuters, December 18
December 18, 2007 (LEBANON): Lebanese authorities charged 31 al-Qa`ida-linked individuals with planning to attack religious sites—including a church—in the Christian town of Zahleh. The cell, which consisted of Lebanese and Syrians, was allegedly led by a Saudi and a Syrian. – Reuters, December 18
December 18, 2007 (PAKISTAN): Pro-Taliban cleric Faqir Muhammad announced that Pakistani militant leaders have agreed to join forces under the name Tehrik-i-Taliban, or the United Taliban Movement. Faqir Muhammad threatened that if the Pakistani government failed to cease operations in Waziristan and Swat, then the new militant grouping would launch suicide attacks and target government officials. – AP, December 18
December 18, 2007 (FRANCE): Authorities detained eight alleged members of a logistical cell supporting al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The men—six French nationals, a Tunisian and an Algerian—were believed to have provided computer material and equipment to AQIM, but were not planning attacks inside France. Although three of the men were released on December 19, authorities continued to hold the other five. – AFP, December 20
December 19, 2007 (IRAQ): A new study released by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point found that the majority of al-Qa`ida fighters entering Iraq from Syria during a one year period are from Saudi Arabia and Libya. The study, based on 606 personnel records captured from al-Qa`ida in Iraq by coalition troops in October, found that the average age of the fighters from the data set was 24-25; 41% were Saudi, 19% Libyan, 8% Yemeni, 8% Syrian, 7% Algerian and 6% Moroccan. – AP, December 19
December 19, 2007 (PHILIPPINES): Authorities arrested an Egyptian in the southern city of Cotabato, who they allege was planning to detonate a bomb in the city on December 25. The suspect, identified as Mohamad Sayed, was in possession of a 60mm mortar shell and ball bearings, connected to a timer. Although authorities claim that they found Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) literature in Sayed’s apartment, it is not yet clear whether the suspect had any actual links to MILF or any other militant group. – AFP, December 19
December 19, 2007 (ISRAEL): A joint IDF-Shin Bet operation resulted in the apprehension of Salim Sayoud, believed to be a top member of Islamic Jihad. Israeli authorities allege that Sayoud was an important actor behind a Tel Aviv nightclub bombing in February 2005 and two suicide bomb attacks at a mall in July and December 2005. He was arrested near Jenin. – Jerusalem Post, December 19
December 20, 2007 (IRAQ): Thirteen Iraqis and one U.S. soldier were killed by a suicide bomber in the town of Kanan in Diyala Province. The attack targeted an Awakening Council. – AFP, December 20
December 21, 2007 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Charsadda, located in the North-West Frontier Province, killing at least 50 people. It is believed that the attack was an assassination attempt on former Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao, who is a close ally of President Pervez Musharraf. – AP, December 21; Los Angeles Times, December 22
December 21, 2007 (BELGIUM): Authorities arrested 14 individuals on charges of plotting to break convicted terrorist Nizar Trabelsi from jail. Trabelsi was jailed in 2003 for planning to drive a car bomb into a Belgian airbase with the intention of killing U.S. military personnel, 100 of which are stationed at the base. On December 22, however, all 14 of the suspects were released from jail due to lack of evidence. – Guardian Unlimited, December 21; AP, December 23
December 23, 2007 (SAUDI ARABIA): The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry announced that since mid-December authorities had arrested 28 militants linked to al-Qa`ida who were planning attacks inside the kingdom. Of those arrested, 27 were Saudi and one was a foreign resident. The announcement came after another group of arrests on December 21, in which Saudi authorities revealed that they had foiled a terrorist attack during the annual hajj. – Voice of America, December 23
December 23, 2007 (ALGERIA): A bomb targeted an Algerian military convoy near the town of Tebessa, seriously wounding three Algerian soldiers. – Reuters, December 24
December 24, 2007 (MAURITANIA): Four French tourists were shot to death while parked on a roadside near the town of Aleg, 150 miles east of the country’s capital, Nouakchott. Militants associated with al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb were suspected of committing the attacks. – AFP, December 29
December 24, 2007 (AFGHANISTAN): Authorities arrested a woman in eastern Afghanistan who was carrying explosives under her burqa. It was not clear whether the woman was preparing for a suicide attack, or if she was transporting the explosives elsewhere. If it were the former, the woman would have marked the first case of a female suicide bomber in Afghanistan. – Reuters, December 24
December 25, 2007 (IRAQ): Two suicide bombs hit Iraq, one of which occurred in Baiji and left 25 people dead. In that incident, the bomber crashed his vehicle into a truck filled with gas cylinders. The second incident occurred in Ba`quba, when a suicide bomber detonated his payload during a funeral procession, killing four people; Haj Farhan al-Baharzawi, the provincial head of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, was among those killed. – AFP, December 25
December 26, 2007 (PAKISTAN): Militants blew up a checkpoint in Bannu District of the North-West Frontier Province and then proceeded to kidnap 10 policemen. – Dawn, December 26
December 26, 2007 (MAURITANIA): Three soldiers were killed near the town of Ghallawiya, which is 430 miles north of the country’s capital, Nouakchott. The soldiers, who were manning a checkpoint at a military base, were ambushed by gunmen who arrived in two trucks. Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the attack in an audio recording. – AP, December 27; al-Jazira, December 29
December 27, 2007 (PAKISTAN): Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at a rally in Rawalpindi. At least 20 others were killed during the attack, which involved both a gunman and a suicide bomber.
December 27, 2007 (IRAQ): U.S. forces killed in an airstrike Muhammad Khalil Ibrahim, a deputy military leader for al-Qa`ida in Iraq’s operations south of Baghdad. According to a U.S. military statement, Ibrahim was a “key planner in numerous attacks against coalition forces operating in the Mahmudiyya area, and was also involved in the facilitation of foreign terrorists and weapons.” – CNN, January 4
December 27, 2007 (TUNISIA): Ten men received jail sentences from two to five years for planning to join al-Qa`ida fighters in Iraq. The men were also convicted of attempting to recruit militants to attack international forces in Iraq. – Reuters, December 26
December 27, 2007 (SOMALIA): Militants threw a grenade into a house where a meeting with local elders was taking place, wounding seven people. The attack, which took place in Biyo-Kulule village in Bosasso, occurred in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. – SomaliNet, December 28
December 29, 2007 (GLOBAL): A new 56-minute audio statement from Usama bin Ladin appeared on jihadist internet forums, in which the al-Qa`ida leader accused any Muslim cooperating with the Iraqi government as being an apostate. He promised the “liberation of Palestine” and advised Iraq’s Sunni Muslims not to attack al-Qa`ida’s auxiliaries in Iraq. Bin Ladin also criticized Hizb Allah leader Hassan Nasrallah for allowing the United Nations to station troops in Lebanon following the group’s 2006 war with Israel. – news.com.au, December 30
December 30, 2007 (TURKEY): Turkish authorities jailed five alleged members of an al-Qa`ida sleeper cell. The accused were rounded up in a countrywide security sweep the previous day, during which 19 people were detained. One of the five suspects is a high school English teacher from the city of Aksaray. – AP, December 30
December 31, 2007 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated a minibus packed full of explosives at an Awakening Council checkpoint in Tarmiyya, which is 30 miles north of Baghdad. Approximately 12 people were killed in the attack, including nine members of the council and three children. – AP, December 31
December 31, 2007 (THAILAND): Three bombs detonated in the Sunagi Kolok district of Narathiwat Province, injuring at least 27 people. Two of the bombs were rigged into motorcycles parked at hotels and nightspots, while the third exploded inside a discotheque at the Marina Hotel. – Xinhua, December 31
December 31, 2007 (NETHERLANDS): Dutch authorities arrested three men for allegedly planning to execute a terrorist attack on Rotterdam’s Erasmus bridge, where approximately 15,000 people were to commemorate the New Year. According to Dutch press sources, two of the men had dual Dutch and Moroccan citizenship, while the other was an illegal immigrant from Sudan. – De Telegraaf, January 3
January 1, 2008 (SUDAN): John Granville, an American official working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was shot and killed, along with his driver, in the residential area of Ryad in western Khartoum. Sudanese authorities deny that Granville was the victim of a terrorist attack and claim that it was an isolated incident. – AFP, January 1
January 1, 2008 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber killed approximately 36 men who were attending the funeral of a retired Iraqi Shi`a army officer, who was himself killed in a car bombing on December 28. The January 1 attack took place in Zayouna district in eastern Baghdad. – CNN, January 2
January 2, 2008 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber struck a checkpoint manned by members of a local Awakening Council, killing at least four people, including Abu Sadjat, a local tribal chief who had been meeting with U.S. officials shortly before the explosion. The attack took place in Ba`quba. – Los Angeles Times, January 3; New York Times, January 3
January 2, 2008 (ALGERIA): Four policemen were killed when a suicide car bomber exploded his payload at the doors of a police station in Naciria, which is about 45 miles east of Algiers. A spokesman for al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb, Salah Abou Mohammad, claimed credit for the operation, and said that the truck contained at least 1,100 pounds of explosives. – International Herald Tribune, January 2; Reuters, January 2
January 2, 2008 (SOMALIA): A roadside bomb killed three people in the town of Afgoye, which is approximately 30 miles south of Mogadishu. The bomb went off in a crowded market and was possibly intended for Ethiopian troops, yet civilians were the only casualties. – SomaliNet, January 2
January 2, 2008 (SOMALIA): Two Somali government soldiers were killed during clashes with insurgents near Mogadishu’s Bakara market. – SomaliNet, January 2
January 3, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted an Indian road construction crew and their Afghan police guards in Nimroz Province, resulting in seven deaths. According to authorities, the construction convoy was first hit by an IED attached to a motorcycle, which halted the convoy. The suicide bomber then moved in on the convoy and detonated his payload, which accounted for the majority of the casualties. – AP, January 3
January 3, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): Authorities apprehended two al-Qa`ida-linked militants, one of whom, Tuwatin Anahalul, was involved in the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans at the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan Province. Anahalul, also known as Abu Basilan, is a sub-leader of Abu Sayyaf Group and a $48,700 bounty was out for his arrest. – AP, January 4
January 3, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): A grenade was thrown into a nightclub in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato, leaving one dead and five injured. Authorities were unsure as to whether the incident was a terrorist attack. – Deutsche Press Agency, January 4
January 4, 2008 (MOROCCO): Fifty radical Islamists were sentenced for planning to launch a “holy war” in northeast Morocco through bombings and robberies. The group was called Ansar al-Mahdi, and they were apprehended by authorities in 2006. The group and its leader, Hassan Khattab, had managed to recruit members of the Moroccan security services, including police and military. During the hearings, Khattab labeled the Moroccan government as an “apostate dictatorship” and denounced the country’s ties to the United States. – Reuters, January 5
January 4, 2008 (NORTH AFRICA): The famous Dakar Rally was canceled for the first time in its 30-year history due to threats made against the event by al-Qa`ida. The threats came after the December 24 killings of four French tourists near the town of Aleg in Mauritania, and the December 26 killings of three soldiers near the town of Ghallawiya, also in Mauritania. – The Scotsman, January 5
January 4, 2008 (GLOBAL): A new internet statement posted by al-Qa`ida’s media wing announced that video messages of the group’s core leaders—Usama bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri—could now be downloaded to cell phones. The posting included a written statement by Zawahiri, in which he encouraged the new effort, stating, “I asked God for the men of jihadi media to spread the message of Islam and monotheism to the world and spread real awareness to the people of the nations.” – AP, January 6
January 5, 2008 (IRAQ): Six people were killed when a roadside bomb destroyed a minibus in Diyala Province. – AP, January 5
January 5, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Authorities arrested an al-Qa`ida operative in Lahore who allegedly was a security coordinator for Usama bin Ladin. The suspect, Amin al-Haq, is a 48-year-old Afghan-born doctor. – UPI, January 7
January 6, 2008 (GLOBAL): In a new 50-minute video posted on the internet, al-Qa`ida’s Adam Gadahn, also known as “Azzam the American,” encouraged Islamist militants to assassinate President George W. Bush during his upcoming trip to the Middle East, where he plans to visit Kuwait, Bahrain, the West Bank, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Gadahn urges his “militant brothers in Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula…to be ready to receive the Crusader slayer Bush in his visit to Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula in the beginning of January and to receive him…with bombs and booby-trapped vehicles.” – AP, January 7
January 6, 2008 (IRAQ): Three Christian churches and one monastery were attacked in Mosul. Although there were few casualties, the various churches were damaged. – BBC, January 7
January 6, 2008 (IRAQ): Soldiers and locals who were in the streets to commemorate a national holiday in central Baghdad were targeted by a suicide bomber, leaving nine people dead. – Reuters, January 6
January 7, 2008 (IRAQ): At least three suicide bombings ripped through Iraq, one of which killed Riyadh al-Samaraie, an anti-al-Qa`ida leader of a local Awakening Council in northern Baghdad. Approximately 15 people were killed in the three separate attacks. – CNN, January 7
January 7, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Eight tribal leaders were shot to death in South Waziristan Agency, in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The attacks, which occurred between January 6-7, were believed to be an effort by Islamist militants to prevent negotiations between the tribal leaders and the Pakistani government. – The Canadian Press, January 7
January 7, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber struck a Pakistani army base located in the Swat Valley in the North-West Frontier Province. Three soldiers were wounded. – Deutsche Press Agency, January 7
January 7, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb in Nangarhar Province’s Kot district left two U.S.-led coalition soldiers dead. – AP, January 8
January 7, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a police patrol in Kandahar Province’s Spin Boldak district, leaving one policeman dead. – AP, January 8
January 7, 2008 (LEBANON): A new statement by Shakir al-Abassi, the leader of Fatah al-Islam, appeared on Islamist forums. In the statement, al-Abassi said that “this is my first speech after the epic of Nahr al-Bared,” and he threatened to attack the Lebanese army. The audio recording, which lasted 58 minutes, if authenticated will prove that al-Abassi survived the 15-week Nahr al-Bared battle. – Reuters, January 8
January 8, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani authorities announced the December arrest of Ahsanul Haq, a retired army major linked to al-Qa`ida, who was wanted for a November 1 attack on an air force bus in Sargodha. In addition to Haq, six others involved in the operation were apprehended. – AP, January 8
January 8, 2008 (UNITED STATES): A sentencing hearing opened for Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen who was convicted in August, along with two other conspirators, of aiding al-Qa`ida. Federal prosecutors are pushing for life sentences, while Padilla’s legal team is requesting a maximum sentence of 10 years. – AFP, January 9
January 8, 2008 (IRAQ): Three U.S. soldiers were killed during operations in Salah al-Din Province. – New York Times, January 10
January 9, 2008 (ALGERIA): Four soldiers were killed and two wounded when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the area around Ait Yahia, which is south of Tizi Ouzou. – AP, January 9
January 9, 2008 (ISRAEL): One member of Islamic Jihad was killed and six others injured while launching a rocket at Israel from the Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad announced that the group was hit by a surface-to-surface missile, presumably launched by Israeli forces. – AP, January 9
January 9, 2008 (IRAQ): Six U.S. soldiers were killed in Diyala Province after a bomb exploded in a booby-trapped house. The soldiers were engaged in Operation Iron Harvest. – CNN, January 9; AP, January 9
January 10, 2008 (IRAQ): U.S. forces dropped 40,000 pounds of explosives on al-Qa`ida hideouts in southern Baghdad. The airstrikes were part of a larger operation that began on January 8, labeled Phantom Phoenix. – Guardian Unlimited, January 10
January 10, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside of a court in Lahore, killing at least 23 people. The majority of those killed were police officers. Authorities explained that the bomber blew himself up after being stopped while approaching a police barricade. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. – CNN, January 10
January 10, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Members of the Pashtun Wazir tribe announced that they would form a militia to combat al-Qa`ida-linked foreign fighters in regions under their control. A tribal elder told journalists that a militia of 600 people would be organized for the task. – Reuters, January 10
January 10, 2008 (IRAQ): Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie told Saudi reporters that his country’s security forces have arrested hundreds of suspected al-Qa`ida militants from Saudi Arabia. He also noted that many of the suspects were listed on Saudi Arabia’s “wanted” lists, and that the majority had entered Iraq from Syria. – UPI, January 10
January 10, 2008 (SOMALIA): Somali police killed two men suspected of kidnapping foreigners, including the now released French journalist Gwen Le Gouil. The men were killed after police raided a house in Puntland, although some of the gunmen escaped. – AP, January 10
January 10, 2008 (FRANCE): Portuguese aviation authorities intercepted a short-wave radio message threatening terrorist attacks against Paris, including on the Eiffel Tower. The threats, which were not completely clear, were relayed to French authorities who went on a heightened state of alert. – The Canadian Press, January 11
January 10, 2008 (SOMALIA): Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmed, the former head of Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union, told reporters that a “part of al-Shabab” militants have withdrawn from his organization, the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS). The shaykh did state, however, that Shaykh Hassan Turki, an al-Shabab commander in the southern Jubba regions, was still part of the ARS. During the interview, Shaykh Ahmed warned the al-Shabab grouping that broke away from the ARS not to denounce Somalis as “non-Muslims.” – GaroweOnline, January 11
January 11, 2008 (LEBANON): A Lebanese security source told Deutsche Press Agency that they had taken into custody Mohammed Ndoub, a Syrian national who is allegedly linked to al-Qa`ida and who was possibly involved in the 2006 attempted train bombing plot in Germany. The arrest came after Ndoub called in threats to the German Embassy in Beirut that he would launch attacks on civilian targets in Germany during the next three months. – Deutsche Press Agency, January 11
January 11, 2008 (LEBANON): Lebanese authorities arrested Othman Turkmani, a suspected militant of Fatah al-Islam. Turkmani was detained in the Bab al-Ramel neighborhood of Tripoli. – AFP, January 12
January 11, 2008 (GUINEA-BISSAU): Local authorities in Guinea-Bissau arrested two Mauritanians for involvement in the December 24 killings of four French tourists in Mauritania. The suspects allegedly confessed to the attack, and it is believed that they are affiliated with al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb. The two, who were found 400 miles south of the scene of the December 24 attack, were identified as Sidi Ould Sidna and Mohamed Ould Chabarnou, both in their 20s. It is believed that a third suspect involved in the operation fled to Algeria. Three separate suspects believed linked to the December 24 crime were arrested later in the day while trying to photograph French police. – AP, January 11; Reuters, January 12
January 11, 2008 (RUSSIA): Russian authorities believe that between 500-700 militants are still active in the country’s North Caucasus region. – RIA Novosti, January 11
January 11, 2008 (EGYPT): Authorities announced the arrest of 11 people, including a Syrian student, for links to terrorist groups in Iraq and Afghanistan. Press reports stated that the Syrian student was planning “to recruit students to send them to Iraq and Afghanistan.” – AFP, January 12
January 12, 2008 (ISRAEL): Al-Jazira reported that Egyptian authorities foiled an al-Qa`ida-linked terrorist attack on Israel two months ago. The attack, which included at least 14 operatives, involved an unmanned aircraft/drone to attack targets inside Israel. The cell included Egyptian army officers and engineers. – Jerusalem Post, January 13
January 12, 2008 (YEMEN): A new jihadist journal appeared on the web, called the Echoes of Epics. The journal included a statement by al-Qa`ida in Yemen in which they vow to free their associates from Yemen’s prisons and attack the government. – Reuters, January 13
