May 1, 2009 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber attempted to blow himself up near a mosque in Kirkuk, yet was wrestled to the ground before he could detonate his explosives. Authorities identified the Syrian man as Ammar Afif Hamada, and they believe he is close to Abu `Umar al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, who Iraqi police claim is already in their custody. – AFP, May 2
May 2, 2009 (IRAQ): An Iraqi Army soldier opened fire on U.S. soldiers at a combat outpost near Mosul, Ninawa Province, killing two of them. U.S. soldiers returned fire and killed the assailant. At the same time, another militant opened fire on other U.S. soldiers at the same outpost, although the second assailant managed to flee. – Washington Post, May 3
May 2, 2009 (IRAQ): U.S. and Iraqi forces arrested Nadhim al-Jabouri, the leader of a government-backed Sunni Arab militia group. Al-Jabouri, along with two of his brothers, were arrested “under the charge of terrorism.” According to Reuters, “As an Awakening leader, Jubouri was a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the largely Sunni [Salah al-Din] Province, where Saddam Hussein’s hometown is located.” The Iraqi government accuses al-Jubouri of involvement in al-Qa`ida-supported killings in the largely Shi`a town of Dujail during 2006-2007. – Reuters, May 3
May 2, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Taliban militants kidnapped and beheaded two government officials near Mingora in the Swat Valley of the North-West Frontier Province. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said that the attack was in response to government security forces killing two insurgent commanders earlier in the day. – Reuters, May 3
May 2, 2009 (PAKISTAN): The government for the North-West Frontier Province announced the creation of an Islamic appellate court in Malakand as part of a peace deal reached in February with Pakistani Taliban militants. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan, however, quickly rejected the court’s legitimacy. – AFP, May 2
May 4, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A teenage suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of a municipal administration building in Lagham Province, killing seven people. The mayor of the province, Muhammad Rahim, was killed in the attack. – Reuters, May 4
May 5, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a police checkpoint just outside Peshawar on the border with Khyber Agency, killing six members of the security forces. – CNN, May 5
May 6, 2009 (IRAQ): A car bomb exploded in the crowded Alwat al-Rashid market in Baghdad, killing at least 10 people. – UPI, May 6
May 7, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber driving a motorbike attacked a convoy of British troops in Helmand Province, killing 21 people. Two British soldiers were among the dead. – Reuters, May 7; Sky News, May 8; New York Times, May 10
May 7, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani government officials renounced a peace deal with Pakistani Taliban factions and said that they will begin more aggressive military operations in the Swat Valley. – UPI, May 7
May 7, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Suspected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants ambushed police forces in Sulu Province in the southern Philippines, killing four police officers. Among the dead was Sulu Province’s police chief, Julasirim Kasim. Four ASG members were also killed during the clash, which occurred in the town of Maimbung. – Philippine Inquirer, May 7
May 8, 2009 (MALAYSIA): A spokesman for Singapore’s embassy in Malaysia said that Malaysian authorities had apprehended a top Islamic terrorism suspect who escaped a high security Singaporean jail in February 2008. The Jemaah Islamiya suspect, Mas Selamat Kastari, is accused of involvement in a plot to crash a hijacked plane in Singapore. – AP, May 7
May 9, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Missiles fired from a suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone killed approximately eight people in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – The Nation, May 9
May 10, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A coordinated double suicide attack targeted Afghan security forces on patrol in Gereshk, Helmand Province. The two bombers killed seven people. The first suicide bomber was riding a motorbike and blew himself up next to the patrol, while the second bomber detonated his explosives minutes later after a crowd formed around authorities tending to the casualties. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmedzai claimed credit for the attack. – New York Times, May 10
May 10, 2009 (LIBYA): A Libyan newspaper reported that accused al-Qa`ida operative Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi committed suicide in a Libyan prison. – CNN, May 12
May 11, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated a vehicle filled with explosives at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Peshawar, killing two paramilitary soldiers and eight civilians. – Reuters, May 11
May 11, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Philippine police told reporters that they had killed more than 20 Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants in retaliatory attacks since the killing of Sulu Province’s chief of police on May 7. The police chief, Julasirim Kasim, was ambushed and killed by suspected ASG militants. – AFP, May 11
May 12, 2009 (UNITED STATES): A federal jury in New York convicted Oussama Kassir on charges of plotting to help al-Qa`ida recruit militants by establishing a weapons training camp in Oregon in 1999 and of distributing terrorist training manuals on the internet. Kassir was found guilty of all 12 charges. He was arrested in Prague in 2005. – UPI, May 13
May 12, 2009 (UNITED STATES): A federal jury in Miami convicted five men of plotting with al-Qa`ida to blow up Chicago’s Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices with the goal of causing an anti-government insurrection. A sixth man was acquitted. The convicted defendants include: Narseal Batiste, Patrick Abraham, Rothschild Augustin, Burson Augustin, and Stanley Grant Phanor. Sentencing is scheduled for July 26. – Los Angeles Times, May 13
May 12, 2009 (ITALY): Italian police announced that two French nationals they arrested on immigration offenses in November are now suspected of being key al-Qa`ida figures. The men—identified as Bassam Ayachi, a 63-year-old Syrian-born imam, and Raphael Gendron, a French citizen and convert to Islam—have been served with arrest warrants for planning “terrorist attacks and guerrilla actions.” One of the alleged targets was Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The men previously lived in Belgium. – BBC, May 12
May 12, 2009 (IRAQ): A new audiotape from the Islamic State of Iraq appeared on Islamist web forums, in which a voice claiming to be Abu `Umar al-Baghdadi denied his capture by Iraqi security forces. The Iraqi government claimed they captured al-Baghdadi in April, although the U.S. government has cast doubt on the assertion. – Reuters, May 12
May 12, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban militants attacked government buildings in a complex, coordinated operation in Khost. The fighters, who were disguised in burqas and military uniforms, held out for nearly six hours. The attack involved at least four suicide bombers, one of whom detonated a vehicle laden with explosives. Militants barricaded themselves inside a building with hostages for hours until they were finally killed by Afghan and Western soldiers. At least four Afghan Army soldiers were killed, along with two civilians. Approximately 11 insurgents were also killed. – Reuters, May 12; AFP, May 12
May 12, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone fired missiles at targets in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, killing at least eight people. – Reuters, May 12
May 13, 2009 (IRAQ): A bomb placed underneath the vehicle of an anti-al-Qa`ida Sunni Arab militia leader exploded in Abu Ghurayb, on the outskirts of Baghdad. The leader, Abu Ahmed al-Zobaie, died in the explosion, along with his young son. – AFP, May 13
May 13, 2009 (SOMALIA): The top UN envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, accused Islamist opposition leader Shaykh Hassan Dahir Aweys of trying to “take power and topple a legitimate government.” He also blamed Aweys for recent fighting in Mogadishu, saying it was part of a coup attempt. – AFP, May 13
May 13, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): A roadside bomb targeted the governor of Sulu Province, Abdusakur Tan. The governor survived the attack, although five of his security guards were injured. – Reuters, May 13
May 13, 2009 (MALI): A Malian senior military officer who was investigating an al-Qa`ida-affiliated group was assassinated in his home in Timbuktu. The officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lamana Ould Bou, was shot to death. – Voice of America, June 11
May 14, 2009 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. Treasury Department announced that it was freezing the assets of Sa’ad Uwayyid ‘Ubayd Mu’jil al-Shammari, identified as a senior leader of al-Qa`ida who allegedly helped transport militants from Syria to Iraq. Al-Shammari, who is known as Abu Khalaf, also helped recruit young North Africans for al-Qa`ida. – Dow Jones Newswires, May 14
May 14, 2009 (SOMALIA): Hardline opposition leader Shaykh Hassan Dahir Aweys accused the top UN envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, of “destroying” Somalia. Aweys said that Abdallah “consistently defends the government policies as if he is the president of this country, and he is not playing his role of engaging every side of the conflict.” He also spoke about claims that foreign fighters were supporting opposition militants: “It is possible that young, excited Muslim men had arrived in Somalia individually, but it is unfortunate to exaggerate this as a hideout for foreign fighters. As Somalis, we reach our own decisions, and we had not requested any organization or governments to come and fight along with us.” – Reuters, May 14
May 15, 2009 (RUSSIA): A suicide bomber killed three people in Grozny after an alleged attempt to blow up the Interior Ministry. The bomber, along with one other assailant, was stopped outside of the ministry by police, at which point he detonated his explosives. – Reuters, May 15
May 15, 2009 (SOMALIA): The top UN envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, said that an estimated 280 to 300 foreigners were fighting with opposition militias in Somalia, primarily with al-Shabab. “I have seen figures from UN Security Council documents submitted by the U.S. where they are estimated to be between 280 and 300,” he said. – Reuters, May 15
May 16, 2009 (IRAQ): Three alleged members of a Syrian-based al-Qa`ida cell were apprehended near Mosul in Iraq. The men are accused of sneaking weapons from Syria into northern Iraq. They are suspected of being part of an al-Qa`ida cell led by Abu Khalaf, who had his assets frozen by the U.S. Treasury Department on May 14. – Voice of America, May 16
May 16, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected car bomb ripped through Peshawar, killing at least 10 people in the city’s Kashkal area. – Voice of America, May 16
May 16, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone strike destroyed an Islamic school and a nearby vehicle in Mir Ali, North Waziristan Agency, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Approximately 12 people were killed, including two suspected foreign militants. – AP, May 15
May 17, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Suspected Taliban militants attacked a police post in Helmand Province, killing six officers. – Voice of America, May 18
May 17, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Speaking with London’s Sunday Times, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari pledged to go “into Waziristan, all these regions, with army operations. Swat is just the start. It’s a larger war to fight.” Zardari, however, said that his country would need billions of dollars more in foreign aid to defeat al-Qa`ida and the Taliban. – UPI, May 17
May 17, 2009 (SOMALIA): Opposition Islamic insurgents affiliated with al-Shabab took control of the strategic southeastern town of Jowhar, the capital of Middle Shabelle Region. – AP, May 17
May 18, 2009 (UNITED STATES): Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta defended the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to target al-Qa`ida militants. When asked about the effectiveness of UAVs, Panetta said that “these operations have been very effective.” UAV strikes, he said, are “very precise” and “very limited in terms of collateral damage and very frankly, it’s the only game in town in terms of confronting and trying to disrupt the al-Qa`ida leadership.” – AFP, May 18
May 18, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was ambushed in Sarobi district, Paktika Province. He managed to escape unharmed, although one of his bodyguards was killed. – Reuters, May 18
May 18, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Police arrested four suspected al-Qa`ida militants following a shootout in Karachi. Police allege that the suspects were planning to attack politicians. The men also reportedly had links to the Baitullah Mehsud-led Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and to Lashkar-i-Tayyiba. – Dawn, May 18
May 18, 2009 (SOMALIA): Opposition Islamic insurgents affiliated with al-Shabab took control of Mahaday, a strategic town approximately 13 miles north of Jowhar, which is also in the hands of al-Shabab fighters. Al-Shabab now has control of three of the four districts of Middle Shabelle region. – Shabelle Media Network, May 18
May 19, 2009 (SOMALIA): Reports surfaced that Ethiopian troops reentered Somalia, although the Ethiopian government denied any incursion. – Australian Broadcasting Corporation, May 20; CNN, May 19
May 20, 2009 (UNITED STATES): Mohammed Abdullah Warsame pleaded guilty in the United States of conspiring to provide support and resources to al-Qa`ida. He has been in U.S. custody since December 8, 2003, and authorities allege that he once dined with Usama bin Ladin, fought with the Taliban and attended training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Warsame is a Canadian of Somali descent. – AP, May 20
May 20, 2009 (UNITED STATES): An Obama administration official announced that a top al-Qa`ida suspect held at Guantanamo Bay will be sent to New York to face trial, making it the first Guantanamo detainee to face trail in a civilian criminal court. The suspect, Ahmed Ghailani, is Tanzanian and was captured in Pakistan in 2004. – AP, May 20
May 20, 2009 (SPAIN): Spanish police announced that they arrested 14 people suspected of financing Islamic extremists. Spanish media said that those arrested consisted of Algerians and Moroccans and were involved with al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb. – AFP, May 20
May 20, 2009 (IRAQ): A car bomb ripped through a predominately Shi`a area of Baghdad, killing approximately 41 civilians. – Reuters, May 21; AP, May 21
May 20, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Two Americans were killed in a roadside bomb attack on a U.S. military convoy on the outskirts of Kabul. – Reuters, May 20
May 20, 2009 (NORTH AFRICA): Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a new statement that gave the United Kingdom a further 15 days to release Jordanian cleric Abu Qatada from prison in exchange for the release of a British hostage. AQIM had previously said it would execute the hostage unless the British government released Abu Qatada by May 15. – Reuters, May 21
May 20, 2009 (SOMALIA): Al-Shabab told reporters that they have established a new Islamic administration in Jowhar, a town they seized control of on May 17. – Shabelle Media Network, May 20
May 21, 2009 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber killed seven people in Kirkuk, in an attack that targeted Sunni anti-al-Qa`ida militia members who were standing in line to receive their pay. – Reuters, May 21; AP, May 21
May 21, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives near a military fort in Jandola, a town in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Four civilians were killed in the attack. – AFP, May 21
May 21, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistan’s information minister told reporters that fighters from Uzbekistan and Chechnya were among foreign forces helping Pakistani Taliban fighters in the Swat Valley. “There is no doubt that some Uzbeks, Chechens and people of other nationalities were found involved with their designs to create an insurgency in Swat,” he said. – Bloomberg, May 22
May 22, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A car bomb exploded outside a movie theater in Peshawar, killing six people. – Los Angeles Times, May 23
May 23, 2009 (EGYPT): Egyptian authorities announced that they arrested seven members of an alleged al-Qa`ida-affiliated cell that bombed a Cairo bazaar on February 22, an attack that left a teenage French tourist dead. Those arrested include a French woman of Albanian origin, a British man of Egyptian descent, two Palestinians, a Belgian man of Tunisian descent and two Egyptians. – AFP, May 23
May 24, 2009 (SOMALIA): A suicide bomber exploded a vehicle loaded with explosives in front of a base for government soldiers in Mogadishu. The blast killed six security officers and a civilian. Al-Shabab later claimed credit for the attack. – Shabelle Media Network, May 24; Voice of America, May 24; UPI, May 25
May 25, 2009 (IRAQ): A roadside bomb killed three Americans near Falluja in Anbar Province. The dead included a soldier, a defense contractor and a civilian State Department employee. – Los Angeles Times, May 27
May 26, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a military convoy in Kapisa Province, killing three U.S. soldiers and three Afghan civilians. – AP, May 26
May 26, 2009 (UZBEKISTAN): Uzbek state television announced that a suicide bomber killed a police officer in the eastern city of Andijan. – BBC, May 26
May 26, 2009 (SOMALIA): The UN Security Council extended the mandate of African Union peacekeepers in Somalia. The mandate has been extended to December 31, 2009. – Voice of America, May 26
May 27, 2009 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. Defense Department confirmed that five percent of former Guantanamo Bay detainees have returned to the fight against the United States and its allies. – AFP, May 27
May 27, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Suspected Taliban militants assassinated the governor of Omna district in Paktika Province. The governor, Mohammad Nader, was killed along with his adult sons. – AP, May 27
May 27, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A group of suspected Taliban militants shot at police officers in Lahore, and then detonated a powerful car bomb that killed at least 23 people and damaged buildings belonging to the police and the country’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. Approximately 16 policemen were among the dead. A group calling itself Tehrik-i-Taliban Punjab claimed credit for the attack. – BBC, May 28; Dawn, May 28
May 27, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Philippine soldiers stormed a jungle base of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) affiliated militants, killing at least two rebel commanders and eight gunmen. At least one military officer was killed in the assault. The operation, which occurred on Basilan Island in the southern Philippines, targeted militants involved in a wave of kidnappings. – GMANews.tv, May 27
May 27, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): The U.S. State Department announced a reward totaling $2.5 million to anyone who could help authorities capture three Abu Sayyaf Group militants, identified as: Radullan Sahiron, Abdul Basit Usman, and Kahir Mundos. – GMANews.tv, May 27
May 28, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): U.S.-led coalition troops raided a heavily guarded suspected training camp for foreign militants in Paktika Province. Approximately 34 militants were killed in the firefight, including 22 Arabs and Pakistanis. Six of the militants detonated their suicide vests during the battle. – AP, May 28
May 28, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Two bombs hidden on motorcycles exploded at the busy Qissa Khawani market in Peshawar, killing at least six people. When police arrived on the scene, gunmen opened fire on them from rooftops. – AP, May 28
May 28, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A car bomb exploded in Dera Ismail Khan in the North-West Frontier Province, killing four people. The car may have been driven by a suicide bomber. – Reuters, May 28; Bloomberg, May 29
May 28, 2009 (IRAN): A bomb exploded in a crowded Shi`a mosque in Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, killing 25 people. The Sunni opposition group Jundallah later claimed credit for the bombing. – Reuters, May 29
May 29, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber killed 50 people at a mosque in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The mosque was used by paramilitary soldiers stationed at a nearby post. – McClatchy Newspapers, June 2
May 30, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Militants attacked a police checkpoint and killed four policemen in Farah Province. – AP, May 31
May 30, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb injured Mohammad Omar, the governor of Kunduz Province. – CNN, May 30
May 30, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Taliban militants attacked a paramilitary camp in South Waziristan Agency near the border with Afghanistan. During the eight-hour gun battle, at least 40 Taliban fighters and four Pakistani security officers were killed. – UPI, May 31
May 30, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistan’s military claimed that its forces regained control of Mingora, the main town in the Swat Valley. “Mingora is now under full control of the army,” a Pakistani spokesman said. “We were expecting an intense fight between security forces and militants in Mingora but it did not happen.” – AFP, May 30
May 31, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Suspected Taliban insurgents attacked a joint patrol of Afghan and NATO troops in Farah Province. Afghan and NATO forces, however, repelled the attack and killed 18 militants. – AP, May 31
