October 1, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): NATO officials announced that international forces in Afghanistan captured Haji Mali Khan in Paktia Province on September 27. Khan has been identified as a senior commander for the Haqqani network in Afghanistan. He is also the uncle of Haqqani network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani. – BBC, October 1
October 1, 2011 (KENYA): Six Somali gunmen stormed a home on the island of Manda on Kenya’s northern coast, kidnapping 66-year-old, wheelchair-bound Frenchwoman Marie Dedieu. The recovering cancer patient and quadriplegic, who had lived on Manda for years, was taken by boat to Somalia. – Reuters, October 13
October 2, 2011 (INDONESIA): Authorities in Indonesia announced that they arrested one of the country’s most wanted Islamist militants, identified as Beni Asri, during the previous week in the town of Solok in West Sumatra Province. Asri is accused of helping to plot a suicide bombing in a church in the central Java city of Solo on September 25, 2011. He is also wanted for his role in a suicide attack at a mosque in a police compound in Cirebon, West Java, in April 2011. – Voice of America, October 2
October 3, 2011 (UNITED STATES): U.S. President Barack Obama said that a terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11 would be “very difficult” for al-Qa`ida to achieve in the next two years. – AFP, October 3
October 3, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed at least one civilian in Kandahar city. – AFP, October 3
October 3, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber wearing an army uniform detonated his explosives at an Afghan Army garrison in Kandahar city, killing one guard. – AFP, October 3
October 3, 2011 (IRAQ): Between four and six militants disguised as police officers attacked a police compound in al-Baghdadi, Anbar Province. According to the Associated Press, “Four insurgents wearing explosives vests underneath police uniforms and armed with grenades and pistols with silencers walked into the police station in al-Baghdadi around 9 a.m.…Because the gunmen were wearing police uniforms, they were not searched.” The attack killed approximately four people, including a local police chief. – AP, October 3; BBC, October 3
October 4, 2011 (SOMALIA): An al-Shabab suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives killed more than 100 people in a massive blast in Mogadishu. The bomber detonated his explosives at a checkpoint outside a Mogadishu compound housing a number of government ministries, including the Education Ministry. According to the Associated Press, the bomber “was a [school] dropout who had declared that young people should forget about secular education and instead wage jihad.” – Los Angeles Times, October 4; AP, October 6
October 5, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A NATO airstrike killed a senior commander in the Haqqani network, identified as “Dilawar.” The commander was a “principal subordinate” to Haji Mali Khan, the top Haqqani network commander in Afghanistan who was captured by coalition forces on September 27. According to Reuters, “NATO also said that Dilawar helped foreign militants move into Afghanistan and had links with both al Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.” – Reuters, October 5
October 5, 2011 (YEMEN): A U.S. drone strike killed five al-Qa`ida-linked militants in southern Yemen’s Abyan Province. – AP, October 5
October 7, 2011 (IRAQ): The U.S. State Department offered a $10 million reward for information on the whereabouts of Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali Badri, the leader of al-Qa`ida in Iraq. – Los Angeles Times, October 7
October 9, 2011 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) confirmed the deaths of Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-`Awlaqi as well as Samir Khan, who were both killed in a U.S. airstrike on September 30. AQAP’s statement said that while the United States killed al-`Awlaqi, it “cannot kill his ideas.” The terrorist group also threatened to “retaliate soon.” – CNN, October 10; Washington Post, October 10
October 9, 2011 (SOMALIA): Thousands of Mogadishu residents packed into a stadium to protest al-Shabab for its October 4 suicide bombing that killed more than 100 people. According to the New York Times, “It was one of the largest rallies in years in Mogadishu.” – New York Times, October 9
October 11, 2011 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri appeared in a new video message, praising Libyan rebels for seizing Tripoli. He urged Libyans to adopt Shari`a (Islamic law), and warned, “The first thing that this NATO will ask of you is to relinquish your Islam…Be careful of the plots of the West and its henchmen while you are building your new state. Don’t allow them to deceive you and steal your sacrifices and suffering.” – AFP, October 12; Telegraph, October 12
October 11, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed Abdul Wali, the deputy head of Kandahar Province’s Zhari district, along with six of his bodyguards. – AFP, October 11
October 11, 2011 (PAKISTAN): Militants fired two rockets at a rally led by the governor of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing one person. Governor Masood Kasur was not injured in the attack, which occurred in Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – Reuters, October 11
October 11, 2011 (KYRGYZSTAN): Security forces in Kyrgyzstan said that they foiled a plot by al-Qa`ida-linked militants to disrupt the country’s upcoming presidential elections scheduled for October 30. The plot, reportedly organized by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Jihad Group, included ethnic Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Uighur, Tajiks and a Kazakh who had trained in camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. – Reuters, October 11
October 12, 2011 (UNITED STATES): Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to detonate a bomb on a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day 2009, pleaded guilty in a Detroit courtroom. “I intentionally carried an explosive device on Flight 253 for the US tyranny and oppression of Muslims,” Abdulmutallab told the courtroom. He described the explosives packed into his underpants as “a blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims.” – Guardian, October 12
October 12, 2011 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a police station in Baghdad’s Karrada neighborhood, killing 13 people. – AP, October 12
October 12, 2011 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a police station in Baghdad’s mainly Shi`a neighborhood of Hurriya, killing nine people. – AP, October 12
October 13, 2011 (PAKISTAN): U.S. drone strikes killed 10 militants, including a commander in the Haqqani network, in both North and South Waziristan agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – AFP, October 13
October 13, 2011 (KENYA): Suspected al-Shabab gunmen abducted two Spanish female aid workers at Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp. According to Reuters, the incident marked “the third abduction of Westerners in Kenya by attackers linked to Somalia in a month.” – Reuters, October 13
October 14, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle killed three police officers at a border checkpoint in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province. – AP, October 14
October 14, 2011 (PAKISTAN): Two separate U.S. drone strikes killed Abu Miqdad al-Masri and Abd al-Rahman al-Yemeni, two al-Qa`ida veterans, in Pakistan’s tribal region. – Washington Post, October 27
October 14, 2011 (YEMEN): A U.S. drone strike reportedly killed Egyptian-born Ibrahim Banna, identified as the media chief for al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The same strike also killed Abdul-Rahman al-`Awlaqi, the son of deceased Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-`Awlaqi. AQAP later denied al-Banna’s death. – Los Angeles Times, October 16; ABC News, October 19; AFP, October 30
October 15, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters launched a surprising attack in the Panjshir Valley, assaulting a U.S. base. All four militants were killed, as well as two civilians. According to Reuters, it was the first time in the 10-year U.S.-led invasion that a suicide bomber struck in Panjshir. – al-Jazira, October 15; Reuters, October 15
October 15, 2011 (KENYA): Kenya’s top security officials said that Kenyan forces would pursue militants into Somalia in the future. The statement follows the kidnappings of two Spanish aid workers on October 13 and the abductions of British and French women in recent weeks. According to the Associated Press, “The plan to pursue fighters inside Somalia signals a huge change in Kenya’s approach to the security threat posed by the lawless state of Somalia. While the African countries Uganda and Burundi each have thousands of troops fighting al-Shabab militants in Mogadishu, Kenya has not actively engaged in the fight.” – AP, October 15
October 16, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Three suicide bombers attacked the convoy of Paktia Province Governor Juma Khan Hamdard in Gardez. One police officer and a civil servant were killed in the attack, but the governor escaped injury. – Washington Post, October 16
October 16, 2011 (SOMALIA): Hundreds of Kenyan soldiers entered Somalia, bombing and strafing al-Shabab positions along the border. According to a Kenyan official, “They’re going all the way to Kismayo. We’re going to clear the Shabab out.” – New York Times, October 16
October 17, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted a provincial chief of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), in Faryab Province. The explosion killed a child and injured the NDS official. – AFP, October 17
October 17, 2011 (SOMALIA): In response to the Kenyan military’s move into Somalia, al-Shabab threatened Kenya with suicide bombings similar to the terrorist attack in Kampala, Uganda in July 2010. As stated by an al-Shabab spokesman, “We say to Kenya: Did you consider the consequences of the invasion?…Your attack to us means your skyscrapers will be destroyed, your tourism will disappear. We shall inflict on you the same damage you inflicted on us. You have to see what happened to the other aggressors, like (Uganda President Yoweri) Museveni and his country when they invaded us. We hit them in their country.” – AP, October 17
October 18, 2011 (SOMALIA): A suicide bomber in a vehicle detonated explosives near two government ministries in Mogadishu, killing at least three people. – Reuters, October 18; New York Times, October 18
October 19, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed five Afghan soldiers in Herat Province. – AFP, October 19
October 19, 2011 (SOMALIA): The French government announced that Marie Dedieu, who was kidnapped from Kenya by Somali militants on October 1, has died in captivity. The exact date and circumstances of her death are not known. – New York Times, October 19; BBC, October 19
October 20, 2011 (UNITED STATES): A U.S. court convicted two Minnesota women of conspiring to funnel money to the al-Shabab terrorist group in Somalia. The women were both U.S. citizens of Somali descent. – AP, October 20
October 20, 2011 (LIBYA): Mu`ammar Qadhafi, Libya’s dictator for 42 years, was killed by revolutionary fighters in his hometown of Sirte. – ABC News, October 20
October 23, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Security guards shot to death a suicide bomber who was trying to assassinate Afghan Interior Minister Bismullah Khan. The incident occurred in Parwan Province. – AFP, October 23
October 23, 2011 (ALGERIA): Suspected al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb militants kidnapped three European aid workers—two Spanish and an Italian—at a refugee camp in western Algeria. – Telegraph, October 23
October 24, 2011 (IRAQ): Gunmen in a speeding car shot at a police checkpoint in Baghdad, killing two policemen and two civilians. – AP, October 24
October 25, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A bomb killed the leader of an anti-Taliban militia in Lower Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. – CNN, October 25
October 26, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. drone killed 13 Pakistani Taliban militants in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – Reuters, October 28
October 26, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. drone killed approximately 22 Pakistani Taliban militants in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – Reuters, October 28
October 27, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters attacked the U.S.-run Camp Nathan Smith base in Kandahar city, killing at least one Afghan civilian. Two of the assailants were killed. – Voice of America, October 27; Washington Post, October 27
October 27, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked Combat Outpost Pul, a U.S. military base, in Kandahar city, killing one Afghan civilian. – Washington Post, October 27
October 27, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. drone killed five Pakistani Taliban militants in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – Reuters, October 28; Voice of America, October 28
October 28, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber killed a senior police official, Ajmer Shah, as well as his aide in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. – CNN, October 28
October 29, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle attacked a NATO armored shuttle bus in Kabul. The blast killed at least four U.S. soldiers, eight American civilian contractors, a Canadian soldier and four Afghans. According to Reuters, “The assault on the ISAF convoy took place late in the morning in the Darulaman area in the west of the city, near the national museum.” – New York Times, October 29; Reuters, October 30
October 29, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A militant wearing an Afghan Army uniform killed three Australian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter in southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan Province. – USA Today, October 29
October 29, 2011 (TURKEY): A female suicide bomber killed two people in Bingol Province in southeastern Turkey. – BBC, October 29
October 29, 2011 (SOMALIA): A team of suicide bombers and gunmen disguised as soldiers attacked an African Union base in Mogadishu. The number of casualties was not clear. According to press reports, “the two suicide bombers blew themselves up near the entrance to the compound, then more armed attackers jumped over the walls.” Al-Shabab militants claimed that one of the suicide bombers was a Somali-American. – AP, October 29
October 30, 2011 (SOMALIA): Kenyan fighter jets bombed al-Shabab targets in the Somali town of Jilib, killing at least 10 people. – Voice of America, October 30
October 31, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a checkpoint in Kandahar city, killing four people and damaging a United Nations building. After the explosion, gunmen stormed into the area and seized control of a building; Afghan and NATO forces eventually secured the area. – CBS News, October 31
October 31, 2011 (KAZAKHSTAN): A suspected suicide bomber detonated explosives near the offices of the Atyrau city’s prosecutors, police and national security committee. There were no casualties other than the death of the bomber. – RFE/RL, December 1
