August 5, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): An Afghan soldier opened fire on senior U.S. officers at a military training facility on the outskirts of Kabul, killing a U.S. Army general. – New York Times, August 5
August 6, 2014 (UNITED STATES): The FBI arrested a 62-year-old man from northeast Philadelphia, Hayatullah Dawari, and accused him of having ties to Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin, an al-Qa`ida-linked militant group. – WPVI-TV Philadelphia, August 6
August 6, 2014 (PHILIPPINES): The Philippine military said that Zulkifli bin Abdul Hir (also known as Marwan), a top Malaysian jihadist bombmaker, is still alive and in the southern Philippines. The government originally said that Marwan was killed in a U.S.-backed airstrike in February 2012. – AFP, August 6
August 7, 2014 (UNITED STATES): President Barack Obama said that he has approved limited airstrikes in Iraq to prevent the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from committing an “act of genocide” against some 40,000 religious minorities trapped on a remote mountaintop in northern Iraq. – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, August 7
August 10, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle attacked a NATO convoy in Kabul, killing four civilians. – Voice of America, August 10
August 10, 2014 (NIGERIA): Suspected Boko Haram fighters kidnapped dozens of boys and men during a raid on a remote town in northeastern Nigeria. The fighters were wearing police and military uniforms. – Reuters, August 15
August 13, 2014 (FRANCE): The French government announced that it will send weapons to Kurdish forces in Iraq to help fight the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. – Los Angeles Times, August 13
August 14, 2014 (GLOBAL): A leader in al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) praised the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for its “victories in Iraq,” but did not pledge allegiance to ISIL’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The AQAP figure, Ibrahim al-Rubaysh, also urged an end to infighting between the Sunni mujahidin. – AFP, August 14
August 14, 2014 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban militants attacked two airbases in Quetta, Baluchistan Province. Security forces repelled both attacks. – The News International, August 15
August 16, 2014 (YEMEN): A drone killed three suspected al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula militants in Hadramawt Province. – Reuters, August 16
August 16, 2014 (MALI): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle attacked a patrol base in Ber, 40 miles east of Timbuktu. The attack killed two UN peacekeepers. – Reuters, August 16
August 17, 2014 (UNITED KINGDOM): British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is a direct threat to the United Kingdom. According to Cameron, “If we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain.” – France 24, August 18
August 19, 2014 (SYRIA/IRAQ): The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant released a video showing the beheading of American journalist David Foley. – Reuters, August 20
August 19, 2014 (SAUDI ARABIA): Saudi Arabia’s top cleric, Grand Mufti Shaykh Abdul Aziz al-Shaykh, called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Qa`ida Islam’s “enemy number one.” He also said that “Muslims are the main victims of this extremism.” – AFP, August 18
August 22, 2014 (IRAQ): Shi`a militiamen reportedly opened fire on a Sunni mosque in Diyala Province, killing at least 68 people. – NBC News, August 23
August 23, 2014 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into Baghdad’s intelligence headquarters, killing at least eight people. – NBC News, August 23
August 23, 2014 (YEMEN): A car bomb exploded under the vehicle of a Yemeni army general in Aden, killing the man. – AFP, August 23
August 24, 2014 (SYRIA): Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qa`ida’s affiliate in Syria, released hostage Peter Theo Curtis, an American freelance writer who was kidnapped nearly two years ago. Curtis’ freedom came after extensive mediation by Qatar. – New York Times, August 24
August 24, 2014 (NIGERIA): Boko Haram claimed to have established a caliphate in northeastern Nigeria. – al-Jazira, August 25
August 25, 2014 (PHILIPPINES): The Philippine military said that it was examining reports that about 100 Filipinos were training to be jihadists in Syria. – Bangkok Post, August 25
August 26, 2014 (UNITED STATES): U.S. officials said that American jihadist Douglas McCain died in the past few days while fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). McCain, a one-time aspiring rapper from California, converted from Christianity to Islam about a decade ago. He died while fighting against ISIL’s rival group, Jabhat al-Nusra. – AFP, August 26
August 30, 2014 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle attacked the Afghan intelligence agency in Jalalabad. After the explosion, armed militants stormed the building. The dead included at least three militants, two security guards, and three civilians. – NBC News, August 30
August 31, 2014 (SOMALIA): Al-Shabab launched a coordinated attack against the Somali intelligence headquarters in Mogadishu, killing at least five people. Seven militants were also killed. – AFP, September 1
