November 1, 2011 (UNITED STATES): A U.S. federal appeals court upheld the convictions of five men accused of trying to join al-Qa`ida to blow up the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago, as well as to bomb FBI offices in several cities. The men were part of the “Liberty City Seven.” – AP, November 2
November 2, 2011 (THAILAND): Suspected Muslim insurgents killed six people in southern Thailand’s Narathiwat Province. According to Agence France-Presse, “Thailand’s southernmost provinces have been plagued by more than eight years of conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 4,800 people, both Muslims and Buddhists.” – AFP, November 2
November 3, 2011 (CANADA): Canada’s top court upheld a lower court decision to halt the extradition to the United States of Abdullah Khadr, an alleged al-Qa`ida arms supplier. – AFP, November 3
November 3, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters launched an attack at the compound of ESKO company, a contractor working with the international coalition, in Herat Province. At least one guard was injured in the attack. – AP, November 3
November 3, 2011 (IRAQ): Shi`a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said that despite the upcoming U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, “the American occupation will stay in Iraq under different names.” Al-Sadr charged that since the U.S. military plans on keeping troops in the larger region, the United States wants to “control the Middle East.” – AP, November 3
November 3, 2011 (IRAQ): Two roadside bombs exploded near a police checkpoint in Karrada district of Baghdad, killing four policemen and one other person. – AFP, November 3
November 3, 2011 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber targeted anti-al-Qa`ida militiamen near Ba`quba, Diyala Province. Ten minutes after the blast, a car bomb exploded in a nearby parking area. A total of five people were killed in the two blasts. – AFP, November 3
November 3, 2011 (IRAQ): Gunmen shot to death a policeman at his home in Mosul, Ninawa Province. – AFP, November 3
November 3, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A U.S. drone strike killed at least three militants in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The attack targeted members of the Haqqani network. – AFP, November 3
November 3, 2011 (KENYA): Kenya’s military spokesman warned on Twitter that al-Shabab “has resorted to using donkeys to transport their weapons,” and said that “Kenyans dealing in donkey trade along the Kenya-Somali border are advised not to sell their animals to Al Shabaab.” – MSNBC, November 3
November 4, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban leader Mullah Omar released a statement to his fighters, telling them to avoid causing civilian casualties. He said, “If it is irrefutably proven that the blood of innocent Muslims is spilled by the negligence of mujahidin, then a penalty should be implemented in accordance with Shari`a.” In response, a U.S. spokesperson told reporters: “They [the Taliban] say one thing and do another…it’s an obvious contradiction. From the top down, the Taliban is waging a murderous campaign that deliberately targets civilians…The facts speak for themselves.” – AP, November 4; Reuters, November 8
November 4, 2011 (YEMEN): Yemeni government forces killed five suspected al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula militants in southern Abyan Province. – CNN, November 5
November 4, 2011 (NIGERIA): Suicide bombers attacked a military base in Maiduguri, Borno State. Authorities suspect that Boko Haram was behind the violence. The number of casualties was not immediately known. – AP, November 4; BBC, November 4
November 4, 2011 (NIGERIA): A car bomb exploded outside a building used by Nigeria’s military in Damaturu of northeastern Yobe State. The bomb was part of a series of attacks on churches and mosques in Damaturu. The number of casualties from the coordinated assault was not immediately clear, although dozens are presumed dead. – AP, November 4; Telegraph, November 6
November 5, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near Quetta, Baluchistan Province. The bomber’s device appeared to detonate prematurely, and he was the only casualty. – Dawn, November 5
November 6, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Two suicide bombers attacked worshippers on the outskirts of Old Baghlan City in Baghlan Province, killing seven people. Two of the dead were police commanders. According to Afghan police, one bomber successfully detonated his explosives while the other was apprehended before he could execute his part of the attack. – AP, November 6
November 7, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb exploded near a police vehicle in northern Badghis Province, killing 11 people. – Voice of America, November 8; AFP, November 8
November 7, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted a former government official outside a mosque in Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing the man, his son as well as his bodyguard. The official was a distinguished leader in the Awami National Party. – AP, November 7; The News International, November 8
November 7, 2011 (YEMEN): Yemeni security forces killed six militants in Zinjibar, Abyan Province. – AP, November 7
November 8, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A large contingent of Taliban fighters attacked a U.S. military post in eastern Paktika Province. According to Afghan officials, at least 50 Taliban militants were killed after soldiers called in coalition air support. There were no reports of coalition casualties. – Voice of America, November 9
November 9, 2011 (UNITED STATES): Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi man accused of plotting the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, appeared in a military courtroom in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was the first time al-Nashiri has been seen in public since his capture nine years ago. According to the New York Times, “He is also the first ‘high-value’ detainee—a senior terrorism suspect who was held for a time by the C.I.A. at a ‘black site’ prison and subjected to what the agency called ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’—to receive a trial at Guantanamo. For that reason, his case is also seen as a forerunner to the planned prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other accused conspirators in the Sept. 11 attacks.” – New York Times, November 9
November 9, 2011 (NORTH AFRICA): Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a top leader in al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claimed to have acquired weapons from neighboring Libya. Analysts worry that AQIM may be in possession of surface-to-air missiles, taken from slain Libyan leader Mu`ammar Qadhafi’s arsenal. – AFP, November 9
November 10, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A group of Taliban suicide attackers stormed a government office in Paktia Province, killing three Afghan policemen and injuring three U.S. soldiers. – AFP, November 10
November 12, 2011 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani security forces raided a Lashkar-i-Jhangvi hideout in Jellum district of Punjab Province. During the raid, however, four intelligence officials were killed. – AP, November 12
November 12, 2011 (KAZAKHSTAN): A militant in the southern town of Taraz killed seven people. The man first shot to death four law enforcement officers and two civilians before being captured by a police captain. He then detonated a suicide bomb, killing the police captain. A group calling itself Jund al-Khilafah (Soldiers of the Caliphate) took credit for the attack. – RFE/RL, November 14
November 13, 2011 (YEMEN): Yemeni security forces killed at least nine suspected al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula members in southern Abyan Province. – Voice of America, November 13
November 13, 2011 (NIGERIA): Algeria’s deputy foreign minister said that intelligence reports show coordination between al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb and the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram. – Reuters, November 13
November 15, 2011 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new video message reminiscing about Usama bin Ladin, saying that the slain al-Qa`ida leader was “tender” and “kind.” – BBC, November 15
November 15, 2011 (UNITED KINGDOM): Police arrested four men for plotting to execute a suicide attack in Birmingham. The men are accused of terrorism fundraising and traveling to Pakistan for terrorist training. – Telegraph, November 16
November 15, 2011 (NORWAY): Three Norwegians charged with plotting to bomb a Danish newspaper for printing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad pleaded not guilty in court. The ringleader of the group, Mikael Davud, allegedly trained at an al-Qa`ida camp in Pakistan. – Reuters, November 15
November 15, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. drone killed seven alleged militants in Miran Shah, North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – AP, November 15
November 15, 2011 (PAKISTAN): Suspected U.S. drones killed 16 alleged militants in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – AP, November 16
November 16, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A car bomb exploded at a police checkpoint in Karachi, killing three suspected militants and one police officer. – AP, November 16
November 16, 2011 (PAKISTAN): Insurgents attacked a military checkpoint in Kurram Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, killing one officer. – AP, November 16
November 17, 2011 (PAKISTAN): U.S. drones killed eight suspected militants in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – Voice of America, November 17
November 17, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated a grenade after Pakistani security forces raided his apartment in Karachi. He was killed in the blast. Authorities found in his possession both U.S. and Pakistani passports. He has been identified as Saeed Abdul Salam. – AP, November 19
November 17, 2011 (SOMALIA): The African Union is weighing a plan that could bring thousands of Ethiopian troops back into Somalia to apply more pressure on al-Shabab. The Ethiopian troops would be part of a new offensive. African Union troops are currently in Mogadishu, and Kenyan forces are fighting in the south on the Somalia-Kenya border. By November 19-20, reports suggested that Ethiopian military convoys had moved across the border into Somalia. – New York Times, November 17; Voice of America, November 20
November 18, 2011 (IRAQ): Senior Iraqi Interior Ministry official Adnan al-Asadi warned that the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq has given al-Qa`ida and its affiliates the opportunity to strengthen operations in the country’s northern and western provinces. “When the U.S. withdrew from this triangle which is Diyala, Salahuddin, Anbar and Mosul…a gap was left behind,” he told Reuters. “Al Qaeda has redeployed in the area…Al Qaeda is present, it appears and disappears and carries out operations, attacks and retreats. It’s a guerrilla war, but they are no longer able to hold ground.” – Reuters, November 18
November 19, 2011 (UNITED STATES): Police arrested Jose Pimentel on charges of plotting to bomb police and post offices in New York City, as well as U.S. troops returning home from overseas. The “al-Qa`ida sympathizer” is 27-years-old, a U.S. citizen and a resident of Manhattan. He is originally from the Dominican Republic. New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said authorities “had to act quickly…because he was in fact putting this bomb together. He was drilling holes and it would have been not appropriate for us to let him walk out the door with that bomb.” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that Pimentel “appears to be a total lone wolf. He was not part of a larger conspiracy emanating from abroad.” – AP, November 21
November 21, 2011 (NIGERIA): Nigeria’s secret police said that Islamist sect Boko Haram had “political patronage and sponsorship” in the country. According to Agence France-Presse, “Speculation has been rife over political links to at least certain factions of Boko Haram, which has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks, including an August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja which killed at least 24 people. Such speculation has pointed to local politics in Borno State, where Maiduguri is the capital, or opposition to President Goodluck Jonathan in the mainly Muslim north.” – AFP, November 21
November 22, 2011 (GLOBAL): According to the Washington Post, “Ayman al-Zawahiri and his second in command, Abu Yahya al-Libi, are the last remaining ‘high-value’ targets of the CIA’s drone campaign against al-Qaeda in Pakistan, U.S. officials said, although lower-level fighters and other insurgent groups remain a focus of Predator surveillance and strikes.” – Washington Post, November 22
November 22, 2011 (TURKEY): Turkish police detained 15 people suspected of having links to al-Qa`ida. The police raids occurred in the central Anatolian city of Konya. – AP, November 22
November 22, 2011 (PAKISTAN): Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, resigned over a reported attempt to seek U.S. assistance to rein in Pakistan’s military. On November 23, he was replaced by lawmaker Sherry Rehman, a former information minister, who will serve as Pakistan’s new ambassador to the United States. – AP, November 17; Los Angeles Times, November 24
November 22, 2011 (PAKISTAN): The Pakistani Taliban announced a cease-fire with the Pakistani government in support of peace talks. – AP, November 22
November 24, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban militants killed at least seven local guards in an attack on a goods convoy in western Farah Province. – Voice of America, November 24
November 24, 2011 (NIGERIA): A purported spokesman for Islamist sect Boko Haram claimed to “have links with al-Qa`ida…They assist us and we assist them.” – AFP, November 24
November 24, 2011 (MALI): Two French geologists were abducted from their hotel by gunmen in Hombori, Mali. – BBC, November 24
November 25, 2011 (MALI): Gunmen killed a German man in Timbuktu, while also abducting three men from the Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden. According to the Associated Press, “A witness and an official said gunmen burst into the restaurant, grabbed four tourists dining there and executed one when he refused to climb into their truck.” – AP, November 26
November 26, 2011 (PAKISTAN): NATO helicopters and fighter jets killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in Pakistani territory at a checkpoint on the Afghan border. Afghan and Western officials, however, said that they first came under fire from across the Pakistani border, which is why the deadly airstrike was ordered. The incident has added severe tension to the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. – Telegraph, November 26; Wall Street Journal, November 28
November 26, 2011 (KENYA): Suspected al-Shabab fighters raided a police post near Mandera in northern Kenya, seizing weapons and ammunition. – Reuters, November 26
November 27, 2011 (MOROCCO): An Islamist party in Morocco won power for the first time in the country’s history. Election results showed that the Islamic Justice and Development Party won a majority of parliamentary seats. The elections come after the Moroccan king decided to bring reforms in the face of the Arab Spring protests. – Telegraph, November 27
November 27, 2011 (PHILIPPINES): A bomb ripped through the Atilano Pension House, a budget hotel in Zamboanga City, killing three people. Authorities blame the Abu Sayyaf Group. – Sun Star, November 28
November 28, 2011 (NORTH AFRICA): British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned that mercenary fighters driven out of Libya could end up joining al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb. – AP, November 28
November 28, 2011 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the gate of the al-Hout prison in Taji, north of Baghdad. Ten policemen and nine civilians were killed. – AP, November 28
November 28, 2011 (SOMALIA): Al-Shabab banned 16 aid agencies operating in famine-hit Somalia, accusing them of political bias. Some of the banned agencies are affiliated with the United Nations, such as Unicef. – BBC, November 28
November 29, 2011 (PAKISTAN): Authorities announced the arrest of Commander Toofan, a key figure in Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was apprehended in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. – The News International, November 29
November 29, 2011 (YEMEN): Government troops killed at least 11 suspected al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula militants in Abyan Province. – CNN, December 1
November 30, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A car bomb killed Hashim Khan, an anti-Taliban tribal leader, in Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – CNN, November 30
November 30, 2011 (SOMALIA): A suicide bomber killed at least five people outside a military compound in Mogadishu. The bomber detonated explosives after being approached by security forces outside Villa Baidoa, a government base in the capital. – Voice of America, November 30
December 1, 2011 (UNITED STATES): Obama administration national security lawyers said that U.S. citizens are legitimate military targets if they join arms with al-Qa`ida. – Toronto Star, December 1
December 1, 2011 (PAKISTAN): Al-Qa`ida claimed responsibility for the August 2011 kidnapping of Warren Weinstein, a 70-year-old American aid worker, in Pakistan. Al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri said that Weinstein would be released if the United States halted airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Al-Zawahiri also demanded the release of all al-Qa`ida and Taliban suspects around the world. “Just as the Americans detain all whom they suspect of links to al Qaeda and the Taliban, even remotely, we detained this man who is neck-deep in American aid to Pakistan since the 1970s,” al-Zawahiri said. – CBS News, December 1
December 2, 2011 (UNITED STATES): U.S. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano warned that the risk from “lone wolf” terrorists had increased. “There’s been a lot of evolution [with terrorism] over the past three years,” she said. “The thing that’s most noticeable to me is the growth of the lone wolf.” Napolitano also said, “From a U.S. perspective, over the last several years we have had more attacks emanating from AQAP than from core al-Qaida.” – AP, December 2
December 2, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed three people outside a small U.S. military base in Logar Province. – UPI, December 2
December 3, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed three NATO soldiers in eastern Afghanistan. – AFP, December 3
December 5, 2011 (PHILIPPINES): Armed men abducted an Australian man from his home on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines. Authorities suspect that the Abu Sayyaf Group is responsible. – AFP, December 5
December 6, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted a crowded Kabul shrine as Shi`a gathered to mark the festival of Ashura. The explosion killed at least 55 people. A Taliban spokesman publicly denied involvement. – Reuters, December 6
December 6, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A bicycle bomb exploded near a Shi`a mosque in northern Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, killing four people. A Taliban spokesman publicly denied involvement. – Reuters, December 6; BBC, December 6
December 6, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan President Hamid Karzai assured that Pakistan would play a role in any Afghan peace process. “Pakistan’s role in any negotiations with the Taliban is very important and that is what we are seeking,” he said. – Reuters, December 6
December 6, 2011 (SOMALIA): A suicide bomber in a vehicle detonated explosives 50 meters from the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu, killing at least three people. – Reuters, December 6
December 7, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed 19 Afghan civilians in Helmand Province. – BBC, December 7
December 7, 2011 (YEMEN): Militants linked to al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula attacked an army post in Abyan Province, but were driven back. Approximately nine militants and one Yemeni soldier were killed. – Huffington Post, December 8
December 7, 2011 (SOMALIA): Al-Shabab created a Twitter account. According to the BBC, al-Shabab “writes sophisticated press releases in excellent English, complete with photographs. And now it has a Twitter account. Perhaps this is in response to the highly active Twitter account of Kenya’s military spokesman.” – BBC, December 8
December 8, 2011 (UNITED STATES): The White House released a new plan to combat homegrown domestic terrorism and attempts by al-Qa`ida to radicalize or recruit American Muslims. The document, called the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP), aims to “prevent all forms of violent extremism, [but] we will prioritize preventing violent extremism and terrorism that is inspired by al-Qaeda and its affiliates and adherents.” – AFP, December 8
December 8, 2011 (GERMANY): German police arrested a 27-year-old man in Bochum on charges of planning an al-Qa`ida attack. – Reuters, December 9
December 9, 2011 (UNITED STATES): An indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charged Sayfildin Tahir Sharif with conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists. Sharif is currently in custody in Canada. According to the Associated Press, “Prosecutors say he was part of a terror network behind separate attacks in Iraq in 2009 that killed five American soldiers outside a U.S. base and seven people at an Iraqi police complex. They say Sharif was caught on a wiretap giving the attackers encouragement and advice. The 38-year-old Canadian citizen and Iraqi national was arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, on a U.S. warrant in January [2011].” – AP, December 9
December 9, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed a district police chief and five other people outside a mosque in Kunar Province. – Reuters, December 9
December 9, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A roadside bomb killed three Pakistani soldiers in Karachi. – AFP, December 8
December 10, 2011 (PHILIPPINES): A 14-year-old American boy who was kidnapped by suspected Abu Sayyaf Group militants escaped after five months in jungle captivity. He was recovered by a village official in Lamitan town on southern Basilan Island. – AP, December 10; Philippine Inquirer, December 12
December 12, 2011 (YEMEN): Several militants from al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula escaped a prison in Aden, tunneling their way to freedom. At least 10 prisoners escaped through the 130-foot long tunnel. – AP, December 12
December 13, 2011 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber killed a police officer in Baghdad. – AFP, December 13
December 13, 2011 (IRAQ): Gunmen shot and killed a Christian man and his wife in Mosul, Ninawa Province. – AFP, December 13
December 13, 2011 (YEMEN): Yemeni security forces arrested six alleged al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula militants for planning attacks on foreign and local targets. – Reuters, December 13
December 13, 2011 (NORTH AFRICA): Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) posted photos of five Europeans kidnapped in Mali in November. – Reuters, December 13
December 14, 2011 (CANADA): Canada announced it would prosecute a Toronto man, Mohamed Hassan Hersi, who is charged with planning to fly to Africa to join al-Shabab. – AFP, December 14
December 14, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): According to the Wall Street Journal, “Afghanistan recalled its ambassador in Qatar on Wednesday to protest the Persian Gulf nation’s attempts to exclude Kabul from secret U.S.-backed efforts to establish the first openly operating Taliban representative office since 2001, Afghan officials said.” – Wall Street Journal, December 15
December 16, 2011 (UNITED STATES): Waad Ramadan Alwan, an Iraqi man, pleaded guilty in a Kentucky courtroom to trying to send weapons and cash to al-Qa`ida operatives in Iraq. – AP, December 16
December 16, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): At least one Taliban fighter attacked a police station in Kabul with gunfire and grenades before fleeing. There were no casualties. – New York Post, December 16
December 18, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A man threw grenades at a police vehicle in a crowded market in Khost city, and then fled the area. Eighteen civilians and two policemen were wounded. – AFP, December 17
December 19, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Despite protests from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, NATO said it would continue its night raids against suspected insurgents in Afghanistan. According to the Associated Press, “The raids have become a flash point for anger over foreign meddling in Afghanistan and whether detention operations will be run by the Afghans or Americans. Karzai has demanded that foreign troops stop entering homes, saying Afghan citizens cannot feel secure if they think armed soldiers might burst into their houses in the middle of the night. [Brigadier General Carsten] Jacobson countered that the raids remain the safest form of operation to take out insurgent leaders. They account for less than 1 percent of civilian casualties, and in 85 percent of cases no shots are fired, he said.” – AP, December 19
December 19, 2011 (YEMEN): Fighting between Yemeni soldiers and al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula in Abyan Province left two soldiers and 13 militants dead. – AFP, December 20
December 20, 2011 (GLOBAL): A new video from al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula appeared on Islamist web forums, eulogizing slain Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-`Awlaqi. Al-`Awlaqi was killed by a U.S. drone in September 2011. – CNN, December 20
December 20, 2011 (UNITED STATES): A federal jury found Tarek Mehanna guilty of four terrorism-related charges and three charges of lying to authorities. He faces life in prison. Mehanna was born in the United States and raised in the suburbs of Boston. – AP, December 20
December 20, 2011 (MAURITANIA): Suspected al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb militants kidnapped a Mauritanian policeman near the border with Mali. – Reuters, December 21
December 20, 2011 (SOMALIA): The first contingent of Djiboutian soldiers landed in Mogadishu to join the African Union peacekeeping force. “An advance party consisting of 100 troops…arrived at Mogadishu airport this afternoon,” a statement said. “A further 800 troops will follow in the course of the next week or so to bring the Djiboutian contingent up to strength.” – AFP, December 20
December 21, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed five Polish soldiers in Ghazni Province. – AP, December 21
December 22, 2011 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. State Department and Treasury Department announced a $10 million bounty for information that leads to the arrest of Kurdish-Syrian Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, also known as Yasin al-Suri, an al-Qa`ida financier and facilitator operating from Iran. The statement read, “Al-Suri’s network has served as a financial conduit, collecting funds from donors throughout the Gulf and moving those via Iran to al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Iraq. Al-Suri’s network also serves as the core pipeline for al Qaeda to funnel operatives from the Middle East to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Al-Suri works with the Iranian government to secure the release of al Qaeda operatives held in Iranian prisons. Once released, the Iranian government transfers the prisoners to al-Suri, who then helps them transit to Pakistan.” – ABC News, December 22
December 22, 2011 (IRAQ): Sixteen blasts mostly targeting Shi`a tore through Baghdad, killing at least 69 people. – AP, December 23
December 22, 2011 (YEMEN): A suspected U.S. drone killed a relative of al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula chief Nasir al-Wahayshi in Abyan Province. – Reuters, December 23
December 23, 2011 (PAKISTAN): According to the Los Angeles Times, “In an effort to mend badly frayed relations with Pakistan, the CIA has suspended drone missile strikes on gatherings of low-ranking militants believed to be involved in cross-border attacks on U.S. troops or facilities in Afghanistan, current and former U.S. officials say. The undeclared halt in CIA attacks, now in its sixth week, is aimed at reversing a sharp erosion of trust after a series of deadly incidents, including the mistaken attack by U.S. gunships that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last month.” – Los Angeles Times, December 23
December 23, 2011 (SYRIA): Two suicide bombers in vehicles detonated explosives outside the compounds for Syria’s intelligence services in Damascus, killing at least 40 people. The Syrian government blamed al-Qa`ida for the blasts. – Huffington Post, December 23; Wall Street Journal, December 24
December 24, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a paramilitary camp in Bannu town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing six soldiers. – AP, December 24
December 24, 2011 (KENYA): Two grenades were thrown at a nightclub in Wajir district in northeastern Kenya near the Somali border. At least seven people were wounded. Authorities suspect that al-Shabab was behind the attack. – Reuters, December 25
December 25, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated explosives during a funeral in the northern city of Taloqan, Takhar Province. At least 20 people, including a member of parliament, were killed. – Reuters, December 25
December 25, 2011 (NIGERIA): A series of Christmas Day bomb attacks tore through Nigeria, killing at least 40 people. Some of the attacks targeted churches. The Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility. – Sydney Morning Herald, December 26
December 25, 2011 (YEMEN): Gunmen shot to death an intelligence chief in Aden. Authorities blamed the assassination on al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula. – AFP, December 25
December 26, 2011 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a Baghdad checkpoint near the Iraqi Interior Ministry, killing seven people. – AP, December 26
December 27, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed three NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan. – AP, December 28
December 27, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): Gunmen shot to death a community council leader in Musa Qala district of Helmand Province. The man’s 20-year-old son and two-year-old grandson were also killed. – AP, December 28
December 27, 2011 (GAZA STRIP): Israeli officials said they killed an al-Qa`ida-affiliated militant in the Gaza Strip, accusing him of plotting attacks on Israel from Egypt. The man, identified as Abdallah Telbani, was killed in a missile strike. – Reuters, December 27
December 29, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): An Afghan soldier shot to death two French soldiers in Kapisa Province. The Afghan soldier was apparently in league with the Taliban. As stated by the Los Angeles Times, “A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the shooting had been carried out by what it described as a sleeper agent named Ibrahim, who had joined ‘the puppet army’ for that specific purpose.” – Los Angeles Times, December 29
December 29, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed 10 members of a British-trained Afghan force in southern Afghanistan. – Wall Street Journal, December 30
December 30, 2011 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed four Afghan civilians in Uruzgan Province. – AFP, December 30
December 30, 2011 (PAKISTAN): A possible suicide bomber killed at least 13 people in Quetta, Baluchistan Province. The Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility. – The Nation, December 31
December 31, 2011 (IRAQ): Gunmen killed five members of a government-backed Sunni militia at a checkpoint in Diyala Province. – Reuters, December 31
December 31, 2011 (IRAQ): Iraqis commemorated the official withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Although the last U.S. troops departed Iraq on December 18, the date of December 31 marked the end of the 2008 U.S.-Iraq security pact. “I declare this day, the 31st of December, on which the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq is complete, as a national day,” said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. “It is Iraq’s day. It is a feast for all Iraqis. It is the dawn of a new day in Mesopotamia…Your country is free.” – Reuters, December 31
