August 1, 2009 (SOMALIA): Burundi’s military announced that a third battalion of 850 soldiers had been deployed to Somalia to reinforce the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu. – AFP, August 1
August 2, 2009 (RUSSIA): Militants attacked a three-vehicle police convoy in the mountains of southern Chechnya, killing “several” officers. – Voice of America, August 3
August 3, 2009 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new video message saying that the group’s “truce” offer to the United States still stands. The conditions of the truce demand that the United States remove all troops from Muslim lands and that Western countries stop supporting “corrupt and apostate regimes in the Muslim world,” among other conditions. – CBC News, August 3
August 3, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A bomb exploded near a police convoy in the western city of Herat, killing at least 10 people. The Taliban claimed responsibility, and said that the target was a local police chief. The local police chief was wounded in the attack. – New York Times, August 3
August 4, 2009 (AUSTRALIA): More than 400 police officers raided properties across Melbourne in a major Australian counterterrorism operation. Authorities arrested four men suspected of planning a “suicide terrorist attack on a defense establishment within Australia involving an armed assault with automatic weapons.” The men allegedly wanted to “kill as many soldiers as they could before they themselves were killed.” The four men were all between the ages of 22 to 26 and were Australian citizens of Somali or Lebanese descent. Police claim that the men are linked to al-Shabab, an insurgent group in Somalia that has ties to al-Qa`ida. – al-Jazira, August 4
August 4, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A bomb exploded under the convoy of the governor of Wardak Province. There were no injuries. – Guardian, August 4
August 5, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle killed or fatally injured Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – AFP, August 20
August 7, 2009 (UNITED STATES): A U.S. federal judge ordered the release and deportation of Shaykh Muhammad al-Mu’ayyad, who was previously convicted of supporting terrorism in a trial in New York City in 2005. His conviction, however, was overturned in October 2008. Al-Mu’ayyad, a cleric, will return to his home country of Yemen. His assistant and bodyguard, Mohamed Zayed, will also be released and deported to Yemen. – Washington Post, August 8
August 8, 2009 (MAURITANIA): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside the French Embassy in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. Two embassy guards were injured. Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility. – BBC, August 8; AFP, August 18
August 10, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban suicide bombers armed with rockets attacked Afghan government buildings in Logar Province. The attack killed two policemen. – AFP, August 10
August 10, 2009 (IRAQ): Two truck bombs exploded simultaneously in the Shi`a village of Khazna, just 10 miles east of Mosul. Estimates place the dead at 30. – UPI, August 10
August 11, 2009 (KUWAIT): Kuwait’s state-run news agency announced that security forces arrested six Kuwaitis linked to al-Qa`ida who were planning to attack Camp Arifjan, a U.S. military installation in the country, with an explosives-laden truck. It is unclear when the arrests occurred. – CNN, August 11
August 12, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Government troops attacked an Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) base in Basilan Province in the southern Philippines. At least 30 ASG fighters were killed, along with 23 Philippine soldiers. – GMANews.tv, August 12
August 13, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber rammed his motorcycle into a tribal elder’s vehicle in South Waziristan Agency, killing four people. The bomber targeted Malik Khadeen, who was killed in the attack. Khadeen was an anti-Taliban facilitator in Wana. – AFP, August 13
August 13, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A new Pew Research Center poll found that Pakistani views of al-Qa`ida and the Taliban have grown increasingly negative since last year. Pakistanis with an unfavorable view of al-Qa`ida and the Taliban doubled, with approximately two-thirds of those polled expressing negative views toward the groups. – Washington Post, August 13
August 14, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle detonated his explosives at an Afghan National Army base in Helmand Province, killing at least one soldier. – New York Times, August 14
August 14-15, 2009 (ISRAEL): Hamas crushed an Islamist group called Jund Ansar Allah in the Gaza Strip. The Salafi-jihadi group defied Hamas by declaring an “Islamic emirate” in Gaza, sparking an intense gun battle as Hamas policemen launched an offensive on the group’s positions. Jund Ansar Allah’s chief, Abdel Latif Moussa, was killed in the fighting when he detonated an explosives vest. At least 22 people, including six Hamas police officers, were killed during the clashes. – Bloomberg, August 15; Haaretz, August 17
August 15, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle killed seven people outside the International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul. The attack occurred in Wazir Akbar Khan district, one of the most secure districts in the capital. The Afghan Taliban claimed credit for the attack, stating: “The target was the U.S. Embassy, but we could not reach it.” – Reuters, August 15
August 17, 2009 (RUSSIA): A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden truck into the police headquarters in Nazran, the capital of Ingushetia, killing at least 20 people. – Bloomberg, August 17; New York Times, August 17
August 17, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Security forces apprehended Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Maulvi Omar. Omar was seized in Mohmand Agency, located on the border with Afghanistan. – AP, August 18
August 19, 2009 (IRAQ): A bomb deployed on a lorry exploded near Iraq’s Finance Ministry in Baghdad, killing at least eight people. Minutes later, a second truck bomb exploded outside the Foreign Ministry, killing at least 59 people. In the aftermath of the attacks, Iraqi authorities detained 11 security officers for questioning about security failures. The Islamic State of Iraq claimed credit for the bombings. – Daily Telegraph, August 20; Voice of America, August 20; AP, August 25
August 19, 2009 (SAUDI ARABIA): Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry announced that it arrested 44 al-Qa`ida suspects across the country during the past year. Details were not provided on whether the suspects were planning specific attacks, but authorities claimed that the suspects had links to the “original al-Qa`ida organization.” – CNN, August 19; AFP, August 19
August 19, 2009 (LEBANON): Lebanese soldiers detained Wissam Tahbish, a Palestinian militant allegedly linked to al-Qa`ida. Tahbish was arrested as he tried to enter Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camp, Ain al-Hilwah. – Reuters, August 19
August 20, 2009 (SCOTLAND): Scottish authorities released Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi from prison despite his life sentence for his role in the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Al-Megrahi, who is said to be dying of cancer, was allowed to return to his native Libya. – Washington Post, August 21
August 20, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghanistan held presidential elections, although there were widespread allegations of voter fraud. – New York Times, September 15
August 20, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates decided to keep 600 U.S. troops deployed to the Philippines, where they have been involved in a counterinsurgency operation known as the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines. – New York Times, August 20
August 21, 2009 (UNITED STATES): A U.S. federal judge ordered the release of Muhammad al-Adahi, a Yemeni who has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. The judge ruled that al-Adahi’s brief time at an al-Qa`ida training camp and two encounters with Usama bin Ladin was not enough to justify his continued detention. – Washington Post, August 21
August 21, 2009 (RUSSIA): Suicide bombers riding bicycles detonated their explosives in various locations in Grozny. Four police officers were killed in the attacks. – Voice of America, August 21
August 21, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud was appointed as the new head of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Aides to Faqir Muhammad told reporters that Hakimullah was chosen by a 42-member Taliban shura (council). – AP, August 22
August 21, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle killed at least 13 people near Miran Shah in North Waziristan Agency. – AFP, August 20; AP, August 22
August 21, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Philippine authorities arrested Khalil Pareja, the suspected leader of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), an al-Qa`ida-linked group tied to a number of bomb attacks in the Philippines. Pareja, whose given name is Dinno Amor Rosalejos Pareja, was apprehended in Marawi City in the southern Philippines. His arrest is seen as a major blow to the RSM. – GMANews.tv, August 21; AP, August 25
August 25, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A truck bomb exploded in Kandahar, killing at least 40 civilians. The Afghan Taliban denied responsibility. – Voice of America, August 25
August 25, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban commanders confirmed the death of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mehsud. The Pakistani Taliban said Baitullah died on August 23 from injuries sustained in an August 5 airstrike. – AFP, August 28
August 26, 2009 (SOMALIA): A French security adviser held by al-Shabab fighters in Somalia managed to escape his captors. Marc Aubriere, who was kidnapped along with a colleague from a hotel in Mogadishu on July 14, snuck past his kidnappers and weaved his way through Mogadishu to reach the safety of the presidential palace. The whereabouts of the second hostage, also a French security adviser, are not known. – Los Angeles Times, August 27
August 27, 2009 (SAUDI ARABIA): A suicide bomber attempted to assassinate Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Nayif. Nayif was slightly wounded in the attack. Al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed credit for the operation, and it identified the bomber as Abdullah Hassan Taleh Asiri. The bomber traveled across the Saudi border from Yemen. – AP, August 27; AFP, August 30
August 27, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle strike killed eight militants in South Waziristan Agency. – AFP, August 27
August 27, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber killed 22 policemen in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The bomber blew himself up in the police barracks in the border town of Torkham. The Pakistani Taliban claimed credit for the attack, saying it was the “first response since the death of our chief Baitullah Mehsud.” – AFP, August 27; AFP, August 28
August 27, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): The Philippines extradited Madhatta Haipe to the United States where he will face charges of “hostage-taking” in addition to other crimes. Haipe is an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf Group, and he was reportedly involved in abducting four Americans in Mindanao on December 27, 1995. – AFP, August 29
August 28, 2009 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new video statement accusing the United States of leading a crusade to divide Pakistan. – ABC News, August 28
August 30, 2009 (RUSSIA): Police stormed a home in Dagestan, killing “Doctor Muhammad,” an alleged Algerian national with connections to al-Qa`ida. – Reuters, August 31
August 30, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted a gathering of police recruits in Mingora in the Swat Valley, killing at least 15 of them. – Washington Post, August 31
August 31, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): The commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, said that a new strategy was needed to fight the Taliban. According to General McChrystal, “The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort.” – AP, August 31
