September 1, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Philippine authorities announced the arrest of a suspected terrorist accused of kidnapping at least four Americans and dozens of Filipinos. Hajer Sailani, an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf Group, was arrested at some point last week in Cotabato City. – BBC, September 1; New York Times, September 1
September 2, 2009 (AUSTRALIA): An Australian court sentenced Shane Kent to five years in prison for being part of a terrorist cell and making a jihadist propaganda video. Kent participated in jihadist military training at the al-Faruq camp in Afghanistan in August 2001. Due to time already served, however, Kent will be eligible for parole in nine months. – Herald Sun, September 2
September 2, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghanistan’s second-ranking intelligence official was killed by a suicide bomber in Laghman Province. Abdullah Laghmani, the deputy director of the National Directorate for Security, was killed along with at least 15 others. The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. – New York Times, September 2
September 2, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Gunmen shot and wounded Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Pakistan’s religious affairs minister. The attack occurred in Islamabad. – Reuters, September 2
September 4, 2009 (THAILAND): A bomb in a truck exploded in southern Thailand’s Yala Province, killing a policeman and wounding 10 villagers. – Reuters, September 4
September 5, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani security forces reportedly killed at least 43 Islamist militants in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The operation targeted militants part of Lashkar-i-Islam and their headquarters in Khyber’s Tirrah valley. – AFP, September 5
September 7, 2009 (UNITED KINGDOM): A jury in the United Kingdom declared three men guilty of plotting to blow up transatlantic planes in an al-Qa`ida terrorist plot. The men, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Tanvir Hussain and Assad Sarwar, were part of the so-called “liquid explosives” plot in August 2006. The three men could be sentenced to life in prison. Four other defendants, however, were acquitted of the same charges. – Los Angeles Times, September 8
September 7, 2009 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a checkpoint just outside Ramadi, Anbar Province. The attack killed nine people. – Reuters, September 7
September 7, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone killed five suspected militants near Mir Ali in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Local officials said that four of the dead were ethnic Arab militants. Early press reports stated that Algerian national and al-Qa`ida member Mustafa al-Jaziri, in addition to Pakistani guerrilla commander Ilyas Kashmiri, may have been killed in the attack. – BBC, September 8; UPI, September 8; New York Times, September 18
September 8, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle blew up outside the entrance to Kabul’s international airport. Three Afghan civilians were killed. The Afghan Taliban claimed credit for the attack and said that it targeted a foreign military convoy. – BBC, September 8; Voice of America, September 8
September 8, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban militants killed four schoolchildren in Atmankhel town of Orakzai Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Officials stated that the attack was sectarian and the children were targeted because they were Shi`a. Atmankhel tribesmen reportedly retaliated for the attack on the schoolchildren and killed two militants. – Christian Science Monitor, September 8
September 8, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Gunmen on the outskirts of Quetta set fire to eight trucks carrying fuel supplies to NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan. Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan Province. – AFP, September 8
September 9, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside Camp Bastion, a major British base in southern Helmand Province. The explosion killed at least two Afghan civilians. – AFP, September 9
September 10, 2009 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated a truck filled with explosives in the Kurdish village of Wardak in northern Iraq, killing at least 19 civilians. A second suicide bomber, also in a truck filled with explosives, tried to detonate a second blast in the same village, but Kurdish peshmerga forces killed him before he reached the inside of the town. The village of Wardak lies 18 miles east of Mosul. – Reuters, September 9
September 10, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Muslim Khan, the spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s Swat faction, was apprehended by authorities. Four other senior Tehrik-i-Taliban leaders were also captured. – Dawn, September 12
September 11, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed 14 civilians in Uruzgan Province’s Chora district. – AFP, September 11
September 11, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters attacked a police post in Kunduz Province and killed seven policemen. – AFP, September 11
September 12, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters and Afghan and international forces clashed in western Farah Province, leaving seven Afghan and two U.S. soldiers dead. Approximately 40-50 Taliban militants were killed. – AFP, September 13
September 12, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of a police station in Hangu District of the North-West Frontier Province. The attack injured a police official and two civilians. – Dawn, September 13
September 12, 2009 (RUSSIA): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives after being confronted by police in Grozny. The bomber was killed, and three police officers were injured. – Focus News Agency, September 12
September 13, 2009 (GLOBAL): A new audio message purportedly from al-Qa`ida leader Usama bin Ladin was posted on jihadist websites. – Voice of America, September 14; The Australian, September 14
September 13, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A roadside bomb killed three Pakistani soldiers in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – Voice of America, September 13
September 13, 2009 (THAILAND): A group of militants attacked an army ranger base in Yala Province, killing five Thai soldiers. – Reuters, September 13
September 14, 2009 (UNITED STATES): Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and police officers from the terrorism task force raided three apartments in New York City that had been visited by a possible al-Qa`ida operative. The possible operative had returned to the United States from Afghanistan recently. The suspect was later identified as Najibullah Zazi, who is 24-years-old. – Toronto Star, September 15; USA Today, September 16
September 14, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone killed four alleged militants near Mir Ali in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. One of the dead was later identified as Najmiddin Kamolitdinovic Jalolov (also known as Abu Yahya Muhammad Fatih), a senior Uzbek militant linked to al-Qa`ida. Jalolov was the founder of the Islamic Jihad Union. – BBC, September 14; Reuters, September 17
September 14, 2009 (SOMALIA): U.S. commandos launched a raid in southern Somalia and killed wanted al-Qa`ida militant Salah Ali Salah Nabhan. Nabhan was wanted for playing a leading role in an al-Qa`ida attack on an Israeli hotel in Mombasa, Kenya in 2002; he may have also been involved in al-Qa`ida’s U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998. According to the New York Times, “American military forces have been hunting [Nabhan] for years, and…villagers near the town of Baraawe said four military helicopters suddenly materialized over the horizon and shot at two trucks rumbling through the desert.” The trucks were carrying al-Shabab fighters, in addition to Nabhan and other foreign fighters. The New York Times report further stated that “the helicopters landed, and the commandos inspected the wreckage and carried away the bodies of Mr. Nabhan and other fighters for identification.” – New York Times, September 14
September 15, 2009 (UNITED STATES): A federal court in New York sentenced Oussama Abdullah Kassir to life in prison for trying to establish an al-Qa`ida training camp in the United States and operating websites that contained information on how to make bombs. – Reuters, September 15
September 15, 2009 (UNITED STATES): U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said that the United States is targeting al-Qa`ida more aggressively because the U.S. government has finally built up years of information on the group. – AFP, September 15
September 15, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Sher Mohammad Qasab, a feared Pakistani Taliban leader known for beheading opponents, was apprehended by authorities after an army operation. Qasab reportedly sustained injuries during the operation. – BBC, September 16
September 15, 2009 (SOMALIA): A spokesman for al-Shabab said that the group would attack Western targets in retaliation for the September 14 death of al-Qa`ida operative Salah Ali Salah Nabhan, who was killed in a U.S. military raid in southern Somalia. – Guardian, September 15
September 16, 2009 (RUSSIA): A female suicide bomber detonated her explosives next to a police car in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s southern region of Chechnya. Six people were wounded in the blast. The bomber was described as a “young woman” by an eyewitness. – Reuters, September 16
September 17, 2009 (UNITED STATES): A U.S. judge ordered the Barack Obama administration to release a Kuwaiti detainee held at Guantanamo Bay. The detainee, Fouad al-Rabiah, has been in detention for seven years on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to al-Qa`ida and the Taliban. – Reuters, September 17
September 17, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden vehicle killed six Italian soldiers in Kabul. At least 10 civilians were also killed in the blast. – BBC, September 17
September 17, 2009 (INDONESIA): Indonesian police killed Noordin Mohamed Top, a top leader in the al-Qa`ida linked Jemaah Islamiya terrorist group and the most wanted militant in Indonesia. The killing was seen as a major success for Indonesia, as Noordin was involved in multiple terrorist attacks in the country, including the August 2003 JW Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta and possibly the July 17, 2009 twin suicide bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta. DNA tests confirmed the identity of Noordin’s body. – Reuters, September 17; Bloomberg, September 18
September 17, 2009 (SOMALIA): Al-Shabab suicide bombers launched a major attack on the headquarters of the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu. The al-Shabab fighters disguised two vehicles with United Nations markings and followed a legitimate UN convoy directly into the headquarters. The al-Shabab suicide bombers detonated their explosives and killed 17 peacekeepers, including the AU force’s second-in-command from Burundi, Major-General Juvenal Niyonguruza. Other senior leaders were injured. It is believed that one of the bombers may have been a Somali-American from Seattle, Washington. An al-Shabab spokesman later said that the attack was revenge for the September 14 death of al-Qa`ida operative Salah Ali Salah Nabhan, who was killed by U.S. special forces in southern Somalia. – Telegraph, September 17; AFP, September 17; CNN, September 24
September 18, 2009 (GERMANY): Al-Qa`ida spokesman Abu Talha (also known as Bekkay Harrach) appeared in a new video warning Germans that there would be a “bad awakening” in Germany if they did not vote to change their government in the September 27 national elections. Abu Talha spoke in German on the video, and told Muslims to avoid vital services in Germany for two weeks following the elections. He also wore a suit and tie and was clean shaven. – Bloomberg, September 18
September 18, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden vehicle killed 33 people after striking a hotel and market on the outskirts of Kohat, in the North-West Frontier Province. – Reuters, September 18; AP, September 18
September 19, 2009 (UNITED STATES): U.S. authorities arrested Najibullah Zazi on charges of making false statements to federal agents after investigators allegedly discovered bomb-making instructions on his laptop. His father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, was also arrested, along with Ahmad Wais Afzali, an Afghan immigrant in New York. Both Najibullah Zazi and his father were arrested in Colorado. The men are suspected of being part of an al-Qa`ida sleeper cell that was planning a major terrorist attack in the United States. – The Times, September 21
September 20, 2009 (GERMANY): Al-Qa`ida spokesman Abu Talha (also known as Bekkay Harrach) appeared in a new online video threatening Germany. Unlike his video on September 18 in which he wore a suit and tie, in the latest video Abu Talha wore a mask. – Reuters, September 20
September 20, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Sher Mohammad Qasab, a feared Pakistani Taliban leader who was apprehended on September 15, died in government custody, presumably from injuries sustained during his arrest. – Dawn, September 20
September 20, 2009 (SOMALIA): The Somali insurgent group al-Shabab released a new 48-minute video in which its leader, Abu Zubayr, pledged loyalty to Usama bin Ladin. In the video, crowds of al-Shabab fighters chanted “at your service, Usama,” and Abu Zubayr said, “we await your [Usama bin Ladin] guidance in this advanced stage of jihad.” In addition to appearing on the web, al-Shabab fighters reportedly distributed the video in several neighborhoods in Mogadishu. It was the first time that the group officially pledged loyalty to al-Qa`ida. – Voice of America, September 22; AFP, September 22; CBS News, September 22
September 20, 2009 (SOMALIA): A leading Islamist leader in Somalia, Shaykh Hassan Dahir Aweys, called upon “the people” to “carry out more attacks against African [Union] forces; they came to Somalia to assist our enemy, kill them…in any way possible and use suicide attacks to kill them.” Aweys is part of the Hisbul Islamiyya militant opposition group in Somalia. – AFP, September 20
September 20, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Philippine Marines seized the Abu Sayyaf Group’s (ASG) main camp in the jungles of Sulu Province in the southern Philippines. During the fighting, eight soldiers and at least 22 ASG terrorists were killed. The military launched the operation with the hopes of capturing or killing three senior ASG leaders who were believed to be in the camp; the three leaders, however, were not killed or captured in the fighting. – Philippine Star, September 22; Bloomberg, September 22
September 21, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Pakistan’s military arrested Nasim Shah (also known as Abu Faraj), who was identified as a close associate of the Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah. Shah is allegedly an expert at making suicide vests and training suicide bombers. – Voice of America, September 21
September 22, 2009 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new video statement apparently marking the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. In the video, al-Zawahiri said, “Obama has resorted to the policies of his predecessors in lying and selling illusions.” In his concluding remarks, he said, “America has got involved in many wars and lost them…But this one isn’t like others. You have become embroiled with the Islamic nation and its mujahidin, and the nation has begun to wake up.” – Reuters, September 22; Reuters, September 23
September 22, 2009 (SOUTH AFRICA): The U.S. government temporarily closed its embassy, three consulates and other aid offices in South Africa. U.S. officials “refused to disclose any details about the threat that prompted” the closures, according to Voice of America. A South African newspaper, however, said that the closures were prompted after an al-Qa`ida-linked group telephoned a threat to the U.S. Embassy on September 21. – Voice of America, September 24
September 23, 2009 (SOMALIA): Al-Shabab named its own governing council to run the strategic port city of Kismayo. According to Reuters, however, the move angered the militant opposition group Hisbul Islamiyya: “Both groups want to control Kismayo, which is a lucrative source of taxes and other income for their fighters, and until this week they controlled the port in an uneasy alliance…Residents say both sides are rushing in reinforcements in anticipation of battle, and on Thursday [September 24] a senior Hizbul Islam leader said that they would not recognise the new authority.” – Reuters, September 24
September 24, 2009 (UNITED STATES): Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested on September 19 on charges of making false statements to federal agents, was indicted in New York on a charge of conspiring to detonate bombs against targets in the United States. According to USA Today, the indictment stated that “Zazi received explosives training from al-Qaeda and bought large quantities of hydrogen peroxide and nail-polish remover at beauty supply stores to make bombs.” – USA Today, September 25
September 24, 2009 (UNITED STATES): The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a 19-year-old Jordanian accused of trying to blow up an office tower in downtown Dallas, Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, “Authorities said the Jordanian, who claimed to be a supporter of al-Qaeda, parked an SUV packed with what he thought were explosives outside Fountain Place, a 60-story office tower at Ross Avenue and Field Street.” He is charged with trying to detonate a weapon of mass destruction. The case was not connected to a similar case in Illinois involving Michael C. Finton. – Dallas Morning News, September 26
September 24, 2009 (UNITED STATES): The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Michael C. Finton on charges of attempted murder of federal employees and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Finton, who converted to Islam while in an Illinois prison from 2001-2006, drove a van he thought was loaded with explosives to the Paul Findley Federal Building in Springfield, Illinois. According to the New York Times, Finton then allegedly “locked the vehicle, then moved a few blocks away before twice making cellphone calls he believed would trigger a blast that would kill or injure people inside the building.” The operation involved undercover FBI agents posing as low-level al-Qa`ida operatives. The case was not connected to a similar case in Texas involving Hosam Maher Husein Smadi. – New York Times, September 27
September 24, 2009 (GERMANY): Al-Qa`ida released a third video threatening Germany before its upcoming September 27 parliamentary elections. The latest video called on Muslims in Germany to take part in jihad. – AP, September 25
September 24, 2009 (IRAQ): Sixteen al-Qa`ida in Iraq (AQI) operatives escaped from a prison in Tikrit, Salah al-Din Province. Five of the escaped men were awaiting execution. According to one Iraqi official, “We suspect that they had accomplices inside [the prison] because there was such a high number of fugitives.” One of the escapees was recaptured on the same day. Five of the escaped men, including the “ringleader,” were recaptured the following day on September 25. – AFP, September 24; AFP, September 25
September 24, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone killed 10 militants in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – AFP, September 29
September 25, 2009 (GLOBAL): Usama bin Ladin purportedly released a new audio statement calling on European countries to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, stating that “an intelligent man does not waste his money and sons for a gang of criminals in Washington.” The statement had German and English subtitles. – BBC, September 25
September 25, 2009 (AUSTRALIA): An Australian court sentenced Belal Khazaal to nine years in jail for producing a training manual on how to conduct jihad, which included information on how to make bombs, conduct assassinations and shoot down airliners. He was arrested in June 2004. – AFP, September 24
September 26, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck into a police station in Bannu District of the North-West Frontier Province, killing 10 people. Other reports said that two vehicles may have been involved. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. – Reuters, September 26; AP, September 26
September 26, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle killed 10 people in Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province. The bomber first threw a hand grenade toward a crowd of people, and then detonated the approximately 100 kilograms of explosives in the vehicle. – Reuters, September 26
September 27, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghanistan’s energy and water minister, Mohammad Ismail Khan, escaped injury after Afghan Taliban tried to kill him in a roadside bombing. The attack, which occurred in Herat Province, killed at least three people. – Reuters, September 27
September 27, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone may have killed Tahir Yuldashev, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The attack occurred in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – Reuters, October 2; The Times, October 2
September 28, 2009 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new audio statement eulogizing slain Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in August by a suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle. Al-Zawahiri also criticized U.S. President Barack Obama on the audio recording, stating: “Have we realized the truth of Obama the criminal, or do we still need more crimes to be carried out in Kabul, Baghdad, Mogadishu and Gaza to be sure of his criminality?” – AP, September 28; AFP, September 28
September 28, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban militants ambushed a convoy of trucks in Kunar Province, killing six drivers and burning their vehicles. A seventh truck driver was kidnapped. The trucks were carrying construction materials and were headed to a military base. – AP, September 28
September 28, 2009 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into an Iraqi police outpost in Ramadi in Anbar Province, killing at least seven people. The truck exploded near the front gate of the post. – AP, September 28
September 28, 2009 (PAKISTAN): Kalimullah Mehsud, the brother of new Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed by Pakistan’s security forces. The clash occurred in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – BBC, October 1
September 28, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber killed an anti-Taliban tribal elder in the Bakakhel area of Bannu District in the North-West Frontier Province. The elder, Gul Hakim, was killed along with three others. – BBC, September 28
September 29, 2009 (AFGHANISTAN): A bus filled with civilians traveling from Herat to Kandahar hit a roadside bomb, killing at least 30 people on the bus. Ten children and seven women were among the dead. – BBC, September 29
September 29, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone killed five suspected Taliban militants in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – AFP, September 29
September 29, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone fired missiles at militants associated with the Haqqani network in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Seven Afghan Taliban may have been killed in the attack. – AFP, September 29
September 29, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Two U.S. Navy personnel and one Philippine soldier were killed by a landmine in Sulu Province in the southern Philippines. They were the first deaths since 2002 among U.S. forces deployed to the Philippines. – GMANews.tv, September 29; Reuters, September 29
September 29, 2009 (PHILIPPINES): Suspected Abu Sayyaf Group militants detonated explosives to damage a bridge used by Philippine Army tanks in Sulu Province in the southern Philippines. – AP, September 30
September 30, 2009 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial drone killed approximately six people near Mir Ali in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – BBC, September 30
