February 13, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Three Afghan government soldiers were killed after a bomb exploded next to their convoy in Musa Qala district, Helmand Province. One of the convoy’s vehicles was destroyed during the explosion. – AFP, February 13
February 13, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): An Italian soldier was killed by Taliban gunfire in Sarobi district, Paktika Province. A Taliban spokesman claimed credit for the attack. – AFP, February 13
February 13, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Coalition forces killed at least four suspected Taliban fighters in Uruzgan Province. A handful of Taliban fighters were also detained during the operation. – The Canadian Press, February 13
February 13, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Two people were killed when an 8-10 car election campaign convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in the Swat valley in Swat District, North-West Frontier Province. The election team was preparing for the February 18 general elections. – Reuters, February 13
February 13, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Purported Baitullah Mehsud spokesman Maulvi Omar told Reuters that Pakistan’s Taliban movement would not attack the country’s general elections on February 18, stating, “Our central leadership have decided that as we have nothing to do with the elections, therefore there would be no attacks from our people. Neither do we support the process of the election nor do we have any opposition to it and if any attack takes place before or on election day, our mujahid won’t be involved in it.” Omar also denied involvement in the disappearance of Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul, Tariq Azizuddin, stating, “We have no links with it. We don’t know anything about that.” Azizuddin disappeared while in Pakistan’s tribal Khyber region on February 11. – Reuters, February 13
February 14, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): Philippine authorities claimed to have foiled a plot by the Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah to assassinate the country’s president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and to bomb foreign embassies. – AP, February 14
February 14, 2008 (THAILAND): According to Xinhua, quoting Thailand’s The Nation newspaper, two men were killed on their way to a rubber plantation by suspected insurgents in Narathiwat Province. They were targeted by M-16 assault rifle fire. – Xinhua, February 14
February 14, 2008 (ISRAEL): A new posting on Islamist web forums by the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu `Umar al-Baghdadi, called for major attacks on Israel and suggested that Iraq should become a “launching pad” to take over Jerusalem. During the 30-minute audiotape, al-Baghdadi calls for “opening new fronts to ease the American and Jewish pressure off the Palestinians while bolstering the fronts in Iraq and Afghanistan.” The leader also chastised Palestinian elements that are working within the state system, saying that jihad makes “no distinctions between the infidel Jews and the renegade Palestinians…between [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and his criminals and [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas and his gang.” He also criticized the Hamas leadership, describing them as those who “betrayed the nation and turned against the blood of the martyrs.” – AP, February 14
February 14, 2008 (GERMANY): Authorities arrested a German citizen of Pakistani descent who is suspected of providing financial and logistical support to al-Qa`ida. The suspect, identified as Aleem Nasir, was suspected of “making four trips between April 2005 and June 2007 to Pakistan’s border region with Afghanistan to deliver at least $5,850 in cash,” according to an Associated Press report. The report quoted prosecutors in the case who stated that the suspect also brought “binoculars, night-vision goggles and radios—to al-Qaida members in positions of responsibility.” It is also alleged that the suspect recruited into al-Qa`ida another individual living in Germany. – AP, February 16
February 15, 2008 (IRAQ): Two suicide bombers targeted Shi`a worshippers, killing at least three, in Tal Afar, Ninawa Province. The attack targeted worshippers at the Shaykh Juwad mosque. – AP, February 15
February 16, 2008 (IRAQ): Sabah al-Janabi, the leader of an anti-al-Qa`ida Awakening Council in Juruf Sakher village near Hilla, said that 100 members of his anti-al-Qa`ida group have handed in their resignations to the U.S. military. The reason, according to al-Janabi, is due to “organized assassinations by the coalition forces.” Speaking about an incident earlier in the day in which he claimed three of his Awakening Council members were killed by gunfire from a U.S. helicopter, “It was the third incident in a month. We have lost 19 men while 12 have been injured because of coalition attacks.” – AFP, February 17
February 16, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A suicide car bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into an election office, killing at least 37 people in Kurram Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. According to initial reports, most of the victims are from the Pakistan People’s Party. – AP, February 16
February 17, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Approximately 80 people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated his payload in the middle of an outdoor dog fighting competition on the outskirts of Kandahar. Authorities believe that the target of the attack may have been Abdul Hakim Jan, a local anti-Taliban militia leader. He was killed in the attack. – AP, February 17
February 17, 2008 (IRAQ): Three people were killed after a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives vest while being pursued by security forces in Baghdad’s Karrada district. – Reuters, February 17
February 17, 2008 (IRAQ): A car bomb detonated in Mosul, killing one policeman who was examining the vehicle. The bomb was exploded remotely. – AP, February 17
February 18, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): An estimated 35 civilians were killed after a suicide car bomber targeted a convoy of Canadian armored vehicles patrolling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area. Four Canadian soldiers were injured during the attack. – National Post, February 19
February 18, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Speaking in Brussels, NATO military commander General John Craddock warned that the Taliban will likely reduce the number of conventional attacks due to persistent failure and instead increase the number of “irregular, asymmetric” attacks, such as suicide bombings and other “sensational” operations. – Financial Times, February 20
February 18, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): NATO and Afghan forces killed two regional Taliban commanders in Helmand Province. The commanders were identified as Mullah Abdul Matin and Mullah Karim Agha, and it is believed that the two were responsible for several suicide bombings in the province. – AP, February 21
February 19, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A car bomb was remotely detonated in Kandahar, killing one civilian. Authorities believe that the missed targets were two Afghan National Police trucks that passed by the explosives-laden vehicle. – National Post, February 19
February 19, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): The Philippine military announced that they have discovered the body of who they believe is top Jemaah Islamiyah bomb expert Dulmatin, who is suspected of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings. The body was discovered in a shallow grave on Tawi-Tawi Island, and the FBI is involved in testing DNA from the body to confirm whether it is Dulmatin. – AFP, February 19
February 19, 2008 (IRAQ): The American Forces Press Service announced that the U.S. military will soon launch Operation Marne Grand Slam, aimed at attacking leftover al-Qa`ida remnants southeast of Baghdad. According to a UPI report, “The operation specifically involves clearing a peninsula that stretches into the Tigris River south of Salman Pak and then increasing U.S. troop presence in the surrounding area to support the local population.” – UPI, February 19
February 19, 2008 (IRAQ): U.S. soldiers detained six suspected al-Qa`ida affiliated fighters in Baghdad and Samarra. One of the detainees is believed to have helped senior al-Qa`ida leaders travel through Baghdad. – AP, February 19
February 19, 2008 (IRAQ): Suspected al-Qa`ida fighters killed a family that was involved in resisting al-Qa`ida’s presence in Ba`quba. According to authorities, “They killed the 60-year-old man, his wife, their son Mustafa, 18, and a 35-year-old neighbor” after entering their home. It is believed that the family recently joined an Awakening Council. – AFP, February 20
February 19, 2008 (IRAQ): Iraqi soldiers killed two Saudis and one Algerian suspected of al-Qa`ida involvement. The raid came after information was gathered during an interrogation of a local al-Qa`ida leader. The information led authorities to an al-Qa`ida hideout in Samarra, where the Algerian and Saudis were discovered. – AFP, February 20
February 19, 2008 (KYRGYZSTAN): The Kyrgyz government announced that it had discovered and apprehended a group of al-Qa`ida operatives operating in the country. The last of the suspects was detained on February 15, according to reports. – Reuters, February 19
February 20, 2008 (IRAQ): The U.S. military announced that it doubted reports that the two women suicide bombers that struck Baghdad in February had Down syndrome. The women, however, had sought psychiatric treatment, but it is unclear what their conditions were. – Washington Post, February 21
February 20, 2008 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a market in Muqdadiya, 30 miles northeast of Ba`quba. Approximately 10 people were killed in the blast. – AFP, February 20
February 20, 2008 (IRAQ): One woman was killed after a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives in Tal Afar, Ninawa Province. – AFP, February 20
February 20, 2008 (IRAQ): The U.S. military released a report stating that three individuals suspected of being leaders in al-Qa`ida in Iraq were killed or captured recently. One of the men was identified as “Abu Karrar,” who military authorities suspect is one of al-Qa`ida’s leaders for operations in Baghdad and Diyala Province. – UPI, February 20
February 20, 2008 (MOROCCO): According to Morocco’s official news agency, authorities recently foiled an Islamist terrorist plot to kill Jews, cabinet ministers and army officers in the country. The cell, which was in possession of a large amount of weapons, allegedly raised funds through petty crime and robbery in Europe. More than 30 people have been arrested in connection with the cell, and authorities allege that the group had links to al-Qa`ida. – AP, February 21
February 20-21, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan authorities neutralized a terrorist cell in Kandahar Province by arresting 10 of its members. It is believed that the cell was responsible for a series of recent bombings in the province that have killed more than 100 people. The arrests occurred in Kandahar city and Arghandab district. – AP, February 21
February 21, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): The Philippine military is trying to confirm reports that top Jemaah Islamiyah operative Umar Patek was wounded during a gun battle with government troops on Tawi-Tawi on January 31. It is the same gun battle that the government believes killed Dulmatin, another top JI operative. Authorities, in conjunction with the FBI, are still determining whether the body discovered is indeed Dulmatin. – Philippine Star, February 21
February 22, 2008 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber killed at least four people after detonating his explosives at the entrance of the al-Rahman mosque in Falluja, Anbar Province. – Gulf News, February 23
February 22, 2008 (IRAQ): Three civilians were killed after a bomb, concealed under a horse-drawn cart, was remotely-detonated in Baghdad. – AP, February 22
February 22, 2008 (IRAQ): Two policemen were killed after an explosives-laden car exploded in Tikrit. The seemingly disabled vehicle was in the process of being towed into the local police headquarters when the booby-trapped car exploded. – AP, February 22
February 22, 2008 (THAILAND): Lukman B. Lima, the leader of the separatist Pattani United Liberation Organization, warned the Thai government that failure to grant autonomy to the provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala would result in an escalation of the insurgency. Lukman is in exile in Sweden. – AP, February 22
February 22, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide car bomber attacked an Afghan army patrol in Khost Province. There were no casualties other than the death of the assailant. – AP, February 22
February 22, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A roadside bomb killed at least 13 people in Swat Valley in the North-West Frontier Province. Those killed were wedding guests, and the dead included the bride, her father and several children. – Voice of America, February 22
February 23, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Two paramilitary soldiers and one policeman were killed after Islamist militants attacked a government checkpoint near Peshawar. – AP, February 24
February 23, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Seven Afghan guards were killed after the vehicle in which they were traveling hit a landmine in Kunar Province. The guards were providing security to a road construction company. – AFP, February 23
February 23, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives next to a police vehicle in Farah Province, although there were no fatal casualties other than the bomber. – AFP, February 23
February 23, 2008 (YEMEN): Jaber al-Banna, a Yemeni-American and one of the FBI’s 26 most wanted terrorists, “appeared at a session of his trial in a Yemeni court Saturday with bodyguards and then walked free, apparently not subject to any form of incarceration,” according to the Associated Press. The trial charged al-Banna and 22 other al-Qa`ida members for involvement in attacks on oil facilities. Al-Banna is one of the 22 al-Qa`ida prisoners who escaped from jail in Yemen in February 2006, only to later surrender to authorities. He was not, however, sent back to jail after his surrender. The United States is offering a $5 million reward for his arrest. – AP, February 23
February 23, 2008 (IRAQ): Suicide bombers killed one of the senior leaders of an Awakening Council in Falluja, Shaykh Ibrahim Mutayri al-Mohammedi. The shaykh was killed in his home in an operation that allegedly involved five members of al-Qa`ida in Iraq, all of whom were killed in the explosion. – BBC News, February 24
February 24, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Maulvi Omar, the spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban, told reporters that the Taliban movement in Pakistan is “looking for dialogue with those who got elected” in the country’s recent elections. Omar, however, also said, “We want peace, but if they impose war on us, we will not spare them…We don’t want political parties to repeat the mistake which Musharraf committed and follow a path dictated by the U.S.” – AP, February 24
February 24, 2008 (IRAQ): At least 50 people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives among a large group of Shi`a pilgrims in Iskandariyya. The explosion occurred when the group was gathered in a refreshments tent while on their way to Karbala to celebrate the annual Arbain festival. – Reuters, February 24; AP, February 25
February 24, 2008 (IRAQ): Three Shi`a pilgrims were killed after being attacked by gunmen in Dora, a predominately Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad. – AP, February 24
February 24, 2008 (YEMEN): Yemeni authorities announced that they foiled an attack on a crude oil pipeline in Marib Province and arrested a number of the alleged perpetrators. – Reuters, February 24
February 24, 2008 (MAURITANIA): A Mauritanian judge announced that five Mauritanians and two Tunisians have been charged for involvement in the February 2 attack on the Israeli Embassy in the country. It appears that the men are not yet in custody, although the judge expects their arrests shortly. – AP, February 24
February 25, 2008 (TANZANIA): Police in Tanzania are in the process of interrogating nine suspects who allegedly planned to bomb various locations during the recent visit of President George W. Bush. The arrests, which occurred in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, included one suspect who authorities are certain was involved in the Paradise Hotel attack in Mombasa, Kenya in 2002. In total, five of the suspects are Tanzanian nationals, while three are Arabs and one Asian. Authorities did not clarify the exact date of the arrests. – The East African, February 25
February 25, 2008 (IRAQ): Three National Police officers were killed and nine wounded after a suicide bomber in a wheelchair detonated his explosives at a police station in Samarra. According to press reports, the bomber had arranged a meeting between himself and Brig. Gen. Abdul Jabbar Rabei Muttar. When Muttar went to greet the wheelchair-confined bomber, he detonated his explosives which were concealed under the wheelchair seat. General Muttar was among the dead. – CNN, February 25
February 25, 2008 (IRAQ): Four Shi`a pilgrims were killed by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad. – AP, February 25
February 25, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): Philippine marines killed an Islamic militant in the remote Tipo-Tipo town on Basilan Island. The firefight occurred after the marines encountered a group of suspected Abu Sayyaf Group militants while on patrol. – Philippine Inquirer, February 26; philstar.com, February 26
February 25, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): The Taliban released a statement warning the four cell phone companies that operate in Afghanistan to cease operating every night between 5 PM and 7 AM. The Taliban stated that NATO and U.S. forces were tracking the movement and location of their fighters through cell phone signals, in addition to intercepting their cellular transmissions. If the companies fail to cease operations between the time period specified, the statement warns that the Taliban will target “their offices, suboffices and tower stations.” – New York Times, February 26
February 25, 2008 (SOMALIA): Somalia’s Youth Mujahidin Movement (YMM) released an internet statement claiming to have captured a strategic town 15 miles south of Baidoa. The statement claims that the YMM attacked the Dinsor military base in Bay Province, and in the ensuing fight 300 government soldiers allegedly fled their positions. According to the statement, “We have driven out the apostate soldiers and have acquired many weapons, including four armored military vehicles.” – AKI, February 25
February 25, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Surgeon General Lieutenant General Mushtaq Baig was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Rawalpindi, the highest-ranking officer to be killed in Pakistan’s fight against Islamist militants that largely began almost two years ago. The attack occurred as the general’s vehicle was stopped in traffic on his way home from his office. Seven others were killed in the attack, including Baig’s bodyguard and driver. Witnesses report that the suicide bomber ran up to the vehicle pretending to be a beggar. – guardian.co.uk, February 25
February 25, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani authorities arrested Qari Saifullah Akhtar on the suspicion that he was involved in an October suicide bombing attack on Benazir Bhutto and her supporters, although the attack failed to kill Bhutto; she was later assassinated in a separate suicide bombing on December 27. Authorities stated that Bhutto named Qari Saifullah Akhtar as a suspect in the October attack before her death. It is believed that Akhtar used to run al-Qa`ida’s Rishikor training camp in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. – AP, February 26
February 25, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Police arrested four militants in Lahore who were suspected of plotting terrorist attacks on foreign missions. The men are allegedly members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an al-Qa`ida-linked militant group. Authorities claimed that one of the suspects, Fahad Munir, confessed to involvement in the November 1 suicide bombing on a bus transporting military personnel in Sargodha, which left eight people dead. – AP, February 26
February 25, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Approximately 12 militants attacked the offices of the non-governmental organization Plan, an aid group that works with local communities to offer education and other benefits to children. The attack, which occurred in the North-West Frontier Province, left three staff members dead. – CNN, February 25
February 26, 2008 (ALGERIA): Algerian security forces killed an al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb leader in Legatha, which is 40 miles east of Algiers. The leader, who was identified by the alias “Abdi Abdi,” was suspected of involvement in the September 12, 2006 bomb attacks on police stations in Dergana and Reghaia, in addition to a June 2007 attack in Reghaia that left two police officers dead. – AP, February 27
February 26, 2008 (ISRAEL): Major General Amos Yadlin told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that al-Qa`ida operatives had slipped into the Gaza Strip during the January 23 border breaching incident on the Egyptian border. – Jerusalem Post, February 26
February 26, 2008 (IRAQ): At least eight people were killed after a suicide bomber exploded on a bus near Mosul in Ninawa Province. There are conflicting reports, however, as one account stated that the bomber detonated his explosives after being confronted by a soldier who had boarded the bus at a checkpoint. – Reuters, February 26
February 26, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Five policemen were killed after a bomb destroyed their vehicle in Khost Province. – AFP, February 26
February 26, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber attempted to kill coalition forces in Kandahar, but his explosives detonated prematurely after he was hit by coalition gunfire. – AFP, February 26
February 26, 2008 (UNITED STATES): The Pentagon announced that charges against Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al-Bahlul, who is accused of creating propaganda videos for al-Qa`ida and assisting Usama bin Ladin, have been finalized. The Yemeni faces a military trial at the Guantanamo Bay naval base. A trial date, however, has not been set. – AP, February 27
February 26, 2008 (UNITED KINGDOM): Mohammed Hamid, who refers to himself as “Usama bin London,” was convicted of operating terrorist training camps in England and of recruiting Muslims to attend the camps. One of the men who attempted to bomb London’s public transportation system on July 21, 2005 had attended one of the camps. – Washington Post, February 27
February 26, 2008 (TUNISIA): A Tunisian court sentenced 17 men to prison terms ranging from 2-12 years for creating a terrorist cell with links to al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb. The men were all arrested in 2006. – Reuters, February 27
February 27, 2008 (IRAQ): The U.S. military killed two Saudi al-Qa`ida militants in Mosul, one of which, Abu Yasir al-Saudi, was believed to have been behind the deaths of five U.S. soldiers on January 28. The two foreign fighters were hit by a helicopter precision missile strike as they were driving in the city. – AP, March 2
February 27, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A six-hour gunfight erupted in Helmand Province after Taliban militants engaged a government team that was destroying opium crops in Marja district. According to the provincial police chief, approximately 25 Taliban fighters were killed during the battle, including a Taliban commander known as Mullah Naqeebullah. – AFP, February 28
February 27, 2008 (THAILAND): A Thai soldier was killed after his patrol vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Krongpinang district of Yala Province. – Bangkok Post, February 27
February 27, 2008 (SINGAPORE): Mas Selamat bin Kastari, a leading operative of Jemaah Islamiyah, escaped from a police detention facility in Singapore. Kastari was arrested by Indonesian police on that country’s island of Bintan in January 2006, and custody was given to Singapore, where he has been detained ever since. Kastari was the leader of the Singaporean wing of JI. – Reuters, February 28
February 28, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A house in Kaloosha village of South Waziristan Agency was destroyed by a missile, killing approximately 10 suspected Islamist militants, some of whom were believed Arab in origin. Press reports speculated that the missile was possibly fired from a U.S. Predator drone and that the targets were connected to al-Qa`ida. – Reuters, February 28
February 28, 2008 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it had placed economic sanctions on four individuals—Badran Turki Hishan al-Mazidih, Ghazy Fezza Hishan al-Mazidih, Akram Turki Hishan al-Mazidih and Saddah Jaylut al-Marsumi—who are accused of facilitating the flow of weapons, money, terrorist operatives and other materials from Syria into Iraq. – AP, February 28
February 28, 2008 (IRAQ): Authorities arrested an insurgent leader who led a cell that recruited women for suicide bomb operations. According to the U.S. military, “The ringleader was a man trying to recruit women to carry out SVEST (suicide vest) bombings. The cell leader used his wife and another woman, to act as carriers of his next SVEST attack.” The arrest occurred near the town of Kan Bani Sad in Diyala Province. – AP, March 1
February 29, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives during a funeral for a slain police officer, killing at least 50 people in Mingora of Swat District, North-West Frontier Province. – Chicago Tribune, March 4
February 29, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): National police chief Director General Avelino Razon told reporters that authorities had arrested three days earlier a foreigner involved in a plot to assassinate President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and bomb foreign embassies in the country. Little information was revealed about the suspect, except that he has links to Jemaah Islamiyah and al-Qa`ida. The foiled terrorist plot was first revealed by authorities on February 14. – The Age, February 29
March 1, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): A bomb exploded at a bar near a Philippine military camp on Jolo Island. U.S. troops involved in the country’s counter-terrorism mission were present at the camp at the time of the explosion. Two Filipino soldiers were injured, along with four female bar employees. – AP, March 2
March 2, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber killed at least 39 people on the outskirts of Peshawar during a meeting of tribal leaders. The leaders were attending a jirga with the intent to form a “committee of locals” to oppose anti-government militants. – Reuters, March 2
March 2, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): According to local officials in Helmand Province, gunmen destroyed a cell phone tower in Sangin district. The attack was the third of its kind since a February 25 Taliban statement warning four cell phone companies that operate in Afghanistan to cease operating every night between 5 PM and 7 AM. – RFE/RL, March 3
March 2, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A Canadian soldier was killed after a convoy bringing supplies to an Afghan army outpost was hit by a roadside bomb. The attack occurred near an area known as Mushan, 28 miles southwest of Kandahar city. – Globe and Mail, March 3
March 2, 2008 (IRAQ): The U.S. military announced that a car bomb killed at least four people in Samarra, including one child. – AP, March 3
March 2, 2008 (IRAQ): A combined U.S.-Iraqi military operation targeted an al-Qa`ida in Iraq cell that was involved with assassinations and bomb attacks in Ninawa Province. The operation resulted in the killings of nine suspected insurgents, and the capture of eight others. – AP, March 6; The Canadian Press, March 6
March 2, 2008 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida released a new video eulogy for their slain operative Abu Laith al-Libi, who was killed by a U.S. Predator drone in Pakistan in late January. The new video, which was posted on jihadist web forums, displays the deceased body of al-Libi. – AP, March 2
March 2, 2008 (GLOBAL): A new book by al-Qa`ida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri appeared on Islamist internet forums. In the 215-page book, Zawahiri attacks the “revisions” of a number of former radical Islamist leaders who have spoken publicly against certain al-Qa`ida tactics, especially suicide bombings and attacks that kill large numbers of civilians. In the book, titled Exonerations, Zawahiri says that “this message that I present to the reader today is the most difficult, if not the hardest I have written in my life,” and argues that former jihadist ideologues who have come out publicly against al-Qa`ida’s violent tactics are serving “the interests of the Crusader-Zionist alliance with the Arab leaders to drug the mujahidin and drag them away from the confrontation.” – AP, March 3
March 3, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters attacked a NATO and Afghan military compound in Sabri district, Khost Province. During the attack, the fighters fired on soldiers guarding the compound, and then drove a truck bomb into the compound, detonating it inside. The number of casualties were not immediately reported. – Reuters, March 3
March 3, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): Two NATO soldiers and two Afghan civilians were killed after a suicide car bomber targeted a government building in Yaqoubi district, Khost Province. – AP, March 4
March 3, 2008 (SAUDI ARABIA): The Saudi Arabian government announced that 28 al-Qa`ida suspects were recently apprehended under suspicion of planning to launch a “terrorist campaign” inside the country. The group was part of the same plot that involved an earlier set of 28 arrests in December. According to the Interior Ministry, there are now 56 suspected individuals part of the plot, and some of them were in direct contact with al-Qa`ida’s senior leadership, including Ayman al-Zawahiri. According to the ministry, “They were instructed to rebuild the deviant organization and launch a terrorist campaign inside Saudi Arabia. Preparations for these criminal plans had reached advanced stages.” – AFP, March 3
March 3, 2008 (INDONESIA): Abu Dujana, one of the top Jemaah Islamiyah leaders in custody, told a court that he was involved in procuring weapons and handling funds for the group. The operative said that he trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 1989. In the 1990s, he was an instructor in the southern Philippines. According to Dujana, he became JI’s military leader in October 2005. – AP, March 3
March 3, 2008 (SOMALIA): The U.S. Navy launched at least two Tomahawk cruise missiles into southern Somalia in an attempt to kill a “known al-Qa`ida terrorist.” The target was Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Kenyan wanted by the FBI for suspected involvement in a terrorist attack on a hotel and airliner in Mombasa, Kenya in 2002. Furthermore, Kenyan authorities allege that Nabhan was also involved in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. It is not believed that he was killed in the strike. – New York Times, March 4
March 3, 2008 (IRAQ): A suicide car bomber killed at least 21 people in Baghdad’s Bab al-Mudham neighborhood. Reports state that the assailant targeted a neighborhood watch group’s checkpoint. – AP, March 3
March 3, 2008 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber tried to drive an explosives-laden minibus into the headquarters of the Interior Ministry’s 4th Brigade in Baghdad’s eastern Zayouna neighborhood. Iraqi security forces, however, managed to prevent the vehicle from entering the compound, although the vehicle still exploded and killed at least two Iraqi soldiers. – AP, March 3
March 3, 2008 (IRAQ): Iraqi police announced that three officers were killed after a car bomb exploded in Shikaat, a town north of Baghdad. – AP, March 3
March 4, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): One policeman was killed in Tani district of Khost Province after a suicide car bomber attempted to destroy a government building. The explosion was detonated prematurely after Afghan guards fired at the vehicle as it was approaching its target. – AP, March 4
March 4, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in conjunction with a press report quoting intelligence authorities and local officials, a Jordanian Jemaah Islamiyah operative is training Abu Sayyaf Group members in bomb-making and sabotage techniques in Basilan. The operative was named as Pidas Mohammad. – Philippine Star, March 4
March 4, 2008 (PAKISTAN): At least four people were killed after two suicide bombers attacked a naval war college in Lahore. According to an individual interviewed by the New York Times, “One suicide bomber was stationed outside the rear gate of the college…[he] exploded himself, probably to make way for the second attacker. The gate was destroyed as a result of the explosion. A naval vehicle was entering into the college at that time, and under that cover, the second bomber on a motorbike tried to enter the premises. He was challenged and he exploded himself near the transport shed, next to the gate.” – New York Times, March 5
March 5, 2008 (UNITED STATES): Former U.S. Navy sailor Hassan Abu-Jihaad was convicted by a jury of providing material support to terrorists and disclosing classified information. Abu-Jihaad, a U.S.-born citizen, is a Muslim convert who was previously known as Paul R. Hall. He could face 25 years in prison and will be sentenced on May 23. – CNN, March 5
March 5, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): CENTCOM commander Admiral William Fallon told the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that he does not expect the Taliban to launch a spring offensive this year. – AP, March 5
March 5, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A Pakistani court sentenced al-Qa`ida-linked militant Anwarul Haq to death for his role in a 2006 suicide attack that left U.S. diplomat David Foy, and three other people, dead. The attack occurred on March 2, 2006 outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. – AFP, March 5
March 5, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Taliban militants attacked another telecom tower in Afghanistan, making it the fourth attack on a cell phone tower since late February. The attack occurred in southern Zabul Province. – Reuters, March 6
March 6, 2008 (IRAQ): Two bombs ripped through a busy Baghdad shopping district, killing approximately 68 people. The attack occurred in the primarily Shi`a, middle class Karrada neighborhood. – AP, March 7
March 6, 2008 (PHILIPPINES): Philippine authorities announced the arrests of two Arab militants who were plotting to bomb the embassies of the United States, Israel and the United Kingdom in Manila. The men were arrested last month during raids on the island of Mindanao. – Reuters, March 6
March 6, 2008 (ISRAEL): A single Palestinian gunman opened fire at the Mercaz Harav religious seminary in Jerusalem, killing eight people. All of the dead were rabbinical students. – Bloomberg, March 6
March 7, 2008 (IRAQ): A car bomb exploded outside a Mosul police station, killing at least two Iraqi police officers and one civilian. – AP, March 7
March 8, 2008 (SAUDI ARABIA): Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority, Grand Mufti `Abd al-`Aziz al-Shaykh, warned Saudis against providing financial support to “evil” groups, a likely reference to al-Qa`ida. According to the shaykh, “It is bad to give funds to just anyone who asks, and to parties with shabby reputations or unknown backing. It’s even worse to give it to an organization that’s known for its evil and for hurting Islam and its followers.” – AP, March 8
March 9, 2008 (UNITED KINGDOM): According to media reports, “four British police officers are under surveillance after being identified as possible al-Qa`ida spies…” It is believed that the operatives joined the police department to monitor potential terrorism raids by London’s Metropolitan Police. MI5 and investigators are watching the suspects in order to build up an effective case against them, and they have not yet been arrested. – Fox News, March 9
March 9, 2008 (YEMEN): Jaber al-Banna, a Yemeni-American and one of the FBI’s 26 most wanted terrorists, was granted bail on his own recognizance and was free to leave the court. Al-Banna previously appeared in court on February 23 and was not subject to any form of incarceration at that time either. – AFP, March 9
March 10, 2008 (GLOBAL): Top al-Qa`ida operative Abu Yahia al-Libi appeared in a new video posted on Islamist web forums. In the video, al-Libi claims that the recent revisions by Sayyid Imam, the former mufti of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, was a forgery created by the Egyptian security apparatus, which is the “master of deception.” Al-Libi asked, “If the document really reflects its author’s belief, then why is the security apparatus keeping him behind bars?” – AP, March 11
March 10, 2008 (PHILIPPINES/INDONESIA): According to the Associated Press, “Philippine and Indonesian police are planning to set up a DNA databank to help rapidly identify captured or slain members of the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.” The proposed system would involve Interpol. – AP, March 10
March 10, 2008 (IRAQ): A female suicide bomber killed Thaer Saggban al-Karkhi, a prominent Sunni Arab tribal leader who led a neighborhood security group in Kanaan, Diyala Province. The bomber knocked on the door of the chief’s home, and then detonated her explosives when he came to the door. In addition to al-Karkhi’s death, three others were killed including the chief’s niece. – Reuters, March 10
March 10, 2008 (IRAQ): A suicide car bomber targeted a hotel popular with foreigners and government officials in Sulaymaniyah Province. The Sulaymaniyah Palace Hotel was damaged in the blast, and at least one person was killed. – Reuters, March 10
March 10, 2008 (IRAQ): Five U.S. soldiers were killed after a suicide bomber targeted their foot patrol in Mansour district of Baghdad. – Reuters, March 10
March 10, 2008 (IRAQ): Three U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. – AP, March 11
March 10, 2008 (TUNISIA): Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb released a statement that claimed credit for the kidnappings of two Austrian tourists who disappeared from Tunisia in February. According to the statement, the tourists were abducted on February 22 and were seized in response to the West’s support for Israel. According to al-Jazira, “The spokesman said in the tape that the group will announce its conditions for the release of the two tourists at a later stage.” – BBC News, March 10
March 11, 2008 (UNITED KINGDOM): A British court sentenced Khalid Khaliq to 16 months in jail for possessing an al-Qa`ida training manual. Khaliq was in personal contact with some of the July 7 London bombers. – BBC News, March 11
March 11, 2008 (IRAQ): A bus traveling from Najaf to Basra was hit by a roadside bomb, killing at least 16 civilians. – AP, March 11
March 11, 2008 (PAKISTAN): Two suicide car bombers drove an explosives-laden vehicle into Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore, killing approximately 17 people and largely destroying the building. – CNN, March 11
March 11, 2008 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber drove a van into a house in an area of Lahore known as Model Town, killing three people. – CNN, March 11
March 11, 2008 (THAILAND): Suspected insurgents killed a local official in Saiburi district of Pattani Province. – TNA, March 11
March 11, 2008 (SOMALIA): A roadside bomb partially destroyed a Central Bank of Somalia vehicle, in southern Mogadishu, killing two police officers. – AFP, March 11
March 12, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide car bomber targeted a NATO-led convoy in Kandahar, but failed to cause casualties among the troops. One civilian, however, was killed in the attack. – Reuters, March 12
March 12, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb blew up next to a vehicle containing Romanian ISAF troops on a road between Kandahar and Zabul Province. Three of the soldiers were wounded. – AFP, March 12
March 12, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): According to Nimroz Governor Ghulam Dastagir Azad, Afghan and coalition forces killed 41 Taliban militants who were traveling through Helmand Province. – The Press Association, March 13
March 12, 2008 (JORDAN): The Jordanian government freed Isam Mohammed Taher al-Barqawi (also known as Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi) after being in police custody since 2005. Al-Maqdisi is considered a mentor to now deceased al-Qa`ida in Iraq leader Abu Mus`ab al-Zarqawi. Zarqawi and al-Maqdisi shared a cell block between 1995 and 1999. – AP, March 12
March 13, 2008 (NORTH AFRICA): A statement by al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb was posted on an Islamist website, and the group declared that it would free two abducted Austrian tourists if all of AQIM’s jailed operatives were released in Tunisia and Algeria. The statement also included six photographs of the two hostages as proofs of life. It is believed that the two tourists were kidnapped on February 22. – AP, March 13
March 13, 2008 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. troop convoy in Kabul, damaging two armored vehicles. Although no coalition troops were killed in the attack, at least six civilians died in the blast. The Taliban claimed responsibility. – Voice of America, March 13
March 13, 2008 (IRAQ): Iraqi authorities announced that alleged al-Qa`ida militants attacked the Benizad village in Diyala Province, killing five members of an Awakening Council and then beheading them. – AFP, March 13
March 13, 2008 (IRAQ): A suicide car bomber killed at least 18 people in central Baghdad’s Bab al-Sharji area. – AFP, March 13
March 13, 2008 (GERMANY): Abdelali Miftah, a Moroccan charged for recruiting and smuggling fighters to al-Qa`ida in Iraq, appeared in court today and could be sentenced to five years in prison if convicted. Miftah was arrested in March 2007 in Sweden. – AP, March 13
March 14, 2008 (UNITED STATES): The Pentagon announced that a high-level al-Qa`ida operative, Mohammad Rahim, was now in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay. Rahim, who allegedly helped Usama bin Ladin escape from Afghanistan in 2001, was likely detained in the summer of 2007, although the circumstances of his apprehension are not clear. – AP, March 14
