January 1, 2014 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a passenger bus carrying Shi`a pilgrims in Quetta, killing at least three people. – The News International, January 1; Dawn, January 1
January 2, 2014 (IRAQ): According to media reports, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control of more than half of Falluja and parts of Ramadi. – AFP, January 2
January 2, 2014 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle killed 16 people near a car dealership in Balad Ruz, Diyala Province. – CNN, January 2
January 2, 2014 (LEBANON): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle killed at least four people in southern Beirut, where Lebanese Hizb Allah has strong support. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant reportedly claimed responsibility. – Daily Star, January 2; Daily Star, January 4
January 3, 2014 (IRAQ): The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) destroyed the Falluja police headquarters and mayor’s office, and then declared that the city, which is located in Anbar Province, was part of their new Islamic state. According to Reuters, “disgruntled tribesmen have sided with the insurgents to fight against the [Iraqi] government.” ISIL militants have also taken over parts of Ramadi. – New York Times, January 3; Reuters, January 6
January 4, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A car bomb exploded at the gate of a joint NATO-Afghan military base in Nangarhar Province. After the explosion, Taliban militants attacked the facility. Five Taliban militants and one NATO soldier were killed during the firefight. – RFE/RL, January 4
January 5, 2014 (SPAIN): Spanish authorities arrested a suspected Islamist militant at Malaga airport in southern Spain. The suspect, Abdeluahid Sadik Mohamed, had just arrived in Spain after allegedly fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria. Authorities described Mohamed as a Spanish national born in Ceuta. – CNN, January 5
January 5, 2014 (IRAQ): Two car bombs killed at least nine people in the mainly Shi`a Shaab district in Baghdad. – al-Arabiya, January 5
January 6, 2014 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a government school for boys in Hangu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The blast killed a teenage student. The Pakistani Taliban have blown up hundreds of schools in Pakistan, saying that they spread secular education. – Dawn, January 6
January 6, 2014 (SYRIA): Syrian rebel groups fought each other for control of the provincial capital Raqqa. A coalition of rebel groups attempted to unseat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the city. According to a local media activist interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, “the fighting was pitting other Islamist groups including Ahrar al-Sham, the Islamic Front, and al-Nusra Front” against the ISIL. A Reuters report suggested that “dozens of Syrian members of the [ISIL] had switched sides, joining other Sunni Islamist factions which have taken advantage of a local backlash against the ISIL and the foreign al-Qa`ida jihadists prominent among its leaders.” On January 7, the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qa`ida affiliate, called for a cease-fire, and the establishment of an Islamic court to settle disputes. – Los Angeles Times, January 7; Reuters, January 6; New York Times, January 7
January 6, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a security checkpoint in Ghazni Province, killing three police officers. – AP, January 6
January 6, 2014 (PAKISTAN): A senior Afghan Taliban leader was killed by his own security guards near Quetta, Baluchistan Province. According to Voice of America, the killing of Mullah Salim was just the latest incident of Afghan Taliban leaders dying under “mysterious circumstances” in Pakistan, fueling “suspicion of an organized campaign of assassination against Taliban leaders.” Afghan Taliban sources told the Wall Street Journal that they suspected Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security was behind the attacks.
– Voice of America, January 10
January 7, 2014 (YEMEN): A car bomb seriously wounded a Yemeni intelligence officer in Aden. – AFP, January 7
January 9, 2014 (UNITED STATES): According to the New York Times, “Islamic extremist groups in Syria with ties to al-Qa`ida are trying to identify, recruit and train Americans and other Westerners who have traveled there to get them to carry out attacks when they return home…” Citing intelligence and counterterrorism officials, the newspaper said that “at least 70 Americans have either traveled to Syria, or tried to, since the civil war started three years ago.” – New York Times, January 9
January 9, 2014 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives among Iraqi army recruits in Baghdad, killing 22 of them. – Reuters, January 9; New York Times, January 9
January 9, 2014 (PAKISTAN): A bomb tore through the convoy of one of Pakistan’s most well-known police commanders, Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam, the head of the criminal investigation department (CID), in Karachi. He was killed in the blast. Aslam built a reputation for “fearless anti-terrorism operations” in Karachi, and he had survived a number of assassination attempts in the past. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility. – The Nation, January 10
January 9, 2014 (SYRIA): A car bomb killed approximately 18 people near a school in Hama Province. Most of the dead were reportedly women and children. – Los Angeles Times, January 9
January 9, 2014 (SOMALIA): The Kenyan military said that they launched an airstrike against a meeting of al-Shabab fighters in Somalia’s Gedo area, killing at least 30 of them. – Voice of America, January 10
January 11, 2014 (SOMALIA): U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced that a handful of American military advisers arrived in Somalia in October 2013 and became fully operational in December. According to AFRICOM, “fewer than five” U.S. advisers are part of a “military coordination cell in Somalia to provide planning and advisory support to the African Union Mission in Somalia and Somali security forces to increase their capabilities and promote peace and security throughout Somalia and the region.” – Deutsche Welle, January 11
January 12, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber on a bicycle detonated explosives next to a police bus in Kabul, killing a policeman and a civilian. – Daily Star, January 12
January 12, 2014 (IRAQ): Gunmen attacked the Abu Ghurayb army base west of Baghdad and then fled into a nearby area. At least eight civilians were killed. – CNN, January 12
January 12, 2014 (SYRIA): The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant reportedly executed dozens of rival Islamists during the last two days and recaptured territory it had lost to them in Raqqa Province. – Reuters, January 13
January 13, 2014 (BELGIUM): Belgium Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said that “more than 200” people from Belgium have traveled to fight in Syria. “Most have joined the most extremist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” he said. Of the 200, more than 20 have been killed there. – AFP, January 13
January 13, 2014 (TURKEY): Turkey reportedly arrested a number of suspected terrorists during raids in several Turkish provinces. Turkish authorities said that top members of al-Qa`ida are among those arrested. – UPI, January 14
January 14, 2014 (NIGERIA): A bomb exploded and killed an estimated 43 people in Maiduguri, Borno State. – ThisDayLive, January 14; al-Jazira, January 14; Vanguard, January 16
January 16, 2014 (YEMEN): Al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants executed three simultaneous attacks on Yemeni army positions in Bayda Province. Ten Yemeni soldiers were killed. – AFP, January 16
January 16, 2014 (LEBANON): A car bomb exploded in Hermel, close to the Syrian border, killing five people. Hermel is a mostly Shi`a town, and many of its residents are closely allied with Lebanese Hizb Allah. – Los Angeles Times, January 16
January 17, 2014 (RUSSIA): A grenade exploded on the second floor of a restaurant in Dagestan. When police arrived, a car bomb detonated. At least five people were injured. It was not immediately clear whether Muslim separatists or criminal elements were responsible. – CNN, January 17
January 17, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A Taliban suicide bomber detonated explosives at the fortified entrance of the Taverna du Liban restaurant in Kabul. After the explosion, two other militants entered the restaurant and opened fire. The attack killed 21 people, including 13 foreigners. According to Agence France-Presse, “among the dead were three Americans, two British citizens, two Canadians, the International Monetary Fund head of mission, and the restaurant’s Lebanese owner, who was killed as he tried to fire back at the attackers.” The incident marked the deadliest attack on foreign civilians since the U.S.-led intervention in 2001. – AFP, January 18
January 17, 2014 (SYRIA): Abu Khalid al-Suri, a top figure in the rebel group Ahrar al-Sham, announced in an internet posting that he considers himself a member of al-Qa`ida. His statement criticized the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, saying that the jihadist group was not al-Qa`ida’s representative in Syria and that it was not doing the work of Usama bin Ladin or other al-Qa`ida leaders. – McClatchy Newspapers, January 17
January 17, 2014 (PAKISTAN): Taliban gunmen on motorcycles killed three men working for a private television station in Karachi. – The News International, January 17
January 19, 2014 (IRAQ): The Iraqi military began a major operation on Ramadi city to expel militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who took partial control of the city on January 1. Ramadi is the capital of Anbar Province. ISIL militants also control the nearby city of Falluja. – al-Jazira, January 19; Reuters, January 18
January 19, 2014 (PAKISTAN): A car bomb exploded inside a military base in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing 20 paramilitary troops. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility. – AP, January 20
January 19, 2014 (UNITED KINGDOM): According to the Telegraph, a defector from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant said that Western foreign fighters in Syria were being trained as jihadists, and then encouraged to return home to conduct domestic terrorist attacks. The newspaper reported that “recruits from Britain, Europe and the U.S. were being indoctrinated in extremist anti-Western ideology, trained in how to make and detonate car bombs and suicide vests and sent home to start new terror cells.” – Telegraph, January 19
January 20, 2014 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated explosives near Pakistan’s main military headquarters in Rawalpindi, killing 13 people. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility. – AP, January 20
January 21, 2014 (LEBANON): A suicide bomber killed at least four people in a pro-Hizb Allah area of southern Beirut. A group calling itself Jabhat al-Nusra in Lebanon claimed responsibility for the attack. – Bloomberg, January 21; al-Jazira, January 21
January 22, 2014 (ISRAEL): Israeli authorities announced that they arrested three Palestinians for alleged involvement in an al-Qa`ida plot to conduct terrorist attacks in Israel. The group reportedly planned to deploy a suicide bomber against the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as a separate attack against the International Convention Center in Jerusalem. – Haaretz, January 22; Fox News, January 23
January 22, 2014 (PAKISTAN): A bomb exploded near a police van in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing at least seven people. – al-Jazira, January 22
January 22, 2014 (PAKISTAN): Gunmen attacked Pakistani police escorting a Spanish cyclist who was trying to cycle around the world. The cyclist had just arrived from Iran into Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province when the incident occurred. The gunmen killed six police officers and wounded the cyclist. – AP, January 21
January 22, 2014 (LIBYA): A car bomb killed three people in Benghazi. Two of the dead were members of the Libyan special forces. – UPI, January 22
January 23, 2014 (SYRIA): Al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new audio message, calling on rebels in Syria to stop fighting each other. – Reuters, January 23
January 23, 2014 (PAKISTAN): A bomb exploded in a vehicle at an auto repair shop in the suburbs of Peshawar, killing at least six people. – Los Angeles Times, January 23
January 24, 2014 (EGYPT): A series of bombs targeted police in Cairo, killing at least 10 people. In one incident, a car bomb exploded outside Cairo’s police headquarters, killing three policemen. Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility. – Reuters, January 24; Washington Post, January 24
January 24, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber attempted to assassinate Mohammad Ismail Khan, a vice presidential candidate. The bomber, who was said to be in his 70s, detonated his explosives next to Khan’s car in Herat City, but Khan was not injured. – al-Jazira, January 24
January 25, 2014 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri issued a new audio statement calling on Muslims in Egypt not to fight their Christian compatriots. He said that Muslims should instead focus on opposing Egypt’s military-backed leaders. Al-Zawahiri said, “We must not seek war with the Christians and thus give the West an excuse to blame Muslims, as has happened before.” – AP, January 25
January 26, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated explosives close to a bus carrying soldiers in Kabul, killing at least four people. – BBC, January 25
January 26, 2014 (SOMALIA): The U.S. military conducted an airstrike against a “senior leader” affiliated with al-Qa`ida and al-Shabab in southern Somalia. According to officials speaking to the Associated Press, the strike appears to have killed the militant. Sources in Somalia later told Voice of America that the strike also nearly hit Ahmed Godane, al-Shabab’s leader. – CNN, January 26; Los Angeles Times, January 26; Voice of America, January 29
January 27, 2014 (SYRIA): Syrian activists and an Iraqi intelligence official announced that a senior leader in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was killed in a dispute with rival rebel factions earlier in January. He was identified as Haji Bakr. – AP, January 27
January 27, 2014 (SYRIA): A suicide bomber from Jabhat al-Nusra detonated explosives at an army checkpoint in the Syrian defense minister’s hometown in Hama Province. The attack killed 13 soldiers. The bomber was reportedly a Saudi foreign fighter. – Reuters, January 28
January 29, 2014 (GLOBAL): U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned that Jabhat al-Nusra “does have aspirations for attacks on the [U.S.] homeland.” Clapper said that the group is training a growing number of foreign fighters from Europe and the Middle East. Some of these militant camps are training people “to go back to their countries and conduct terrorist acts…” – AP, January 29; Guardian, January 29
January 30, 2014 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. Department of Justice said that it would seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the individual accused of bombing the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. The terrorist attack killed three people. – New York Times, January 30
January 30, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a police security tower in Nangarhar Province, killing at least two police officers. – CNN, January 30
January 30, 2014 (IRAQ): Gunmen attacked a government building in the heart of Baghdad, killing two people. According to one report, police shot and killed four of the fighters, while two others blew themselves up. – CNN, January 30
