April 1, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A bomb killed a police official in Uruzgan Province. The slain officer, Toor Jan, was in charge of several checkpoints in Uruzgan’s capital Tarin Kot. – AP, April 1
April 2, 2012 (UNITED STATES): An image appeared on Islamist websites showing a picture of the Manhattan skyline with the words, “Al Qaeda Coming Soon Again in New York.” The NYPD Intelligence Division’s cyber unit said it was investigating the origin of the image. “There’s nothing operational about this but obviously it’s cause for concern and it reminds us that New York is very much on their minds,” said New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. – Newsday, April 2; ABC News, April 3
April 2, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Militants attacked a police post in Helmand Province, killing four police officers and two civilians. Three other police officers were missing. – New York Times, April 3
April 2, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Militants attacked a police checkpoint in Badakhshan Province, killing three police officers. An additional 11 police officers were missing. – New York Times, April 3
April 2, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A judge in Pakistan sentenced Usama bin Ladin’s three widows and two daughters to 45 days of house detention for living illegally in Pakistan. After they serve out the term of their house arrest, they will all be deported to Saudi Arabia. – CNN, April 2; USA Today, April 13
April 2, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Heavily-armed Taliban fighters attacked a security post in Mohmand Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Four security personnel and at least 14 militants were killed. – RTTNews, April 2; Voice of America, April 2
April 3, 2012 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. government offered a $10 million bounty for Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-i-Tayyiba (LeT). Saeed is now the chief of Jama`at-ud-Da`wa (JuD), widely considered an LeT front group. According to the BBC, Saeed “was in Islamabad last week protesting outside parliament—calling for Pakistan to cut all ties with both the US and India. He has consistently denied any suggestion that either he or JuD—which he says is a charity—have played any role in militant violence. The Pakistani government has not commented on the US announcement, but it has long argued that it cannot take action against him unless police or the courts formally instigate proceedings.” – BBC, April 3
April 3, 2012 (YEMEN): Yemeni officials said that a series of U.S.-supported airstrikes led by the Yemeni Air Force killed dozens of fighters linked to al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula in the country’s south. – CNN, April 3
April 3, 2012 (MALI): French Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Juppe warned that the Tuareg rebellion that has seized control of half of Mali is increasingly dominated by Islamists who are “closely tied” to al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb. “Apparently, there are two opposing tendencies among the Tuaregs,” explained Juppe. “On one hand, the MNLA wants independence for Azawad, which is unacceptable to us because we’re very committed to Mali’s territorial integrity. Then, there’s another faction, Ansar Dine, which is closely tied to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Its goals are not clear, but it may be to install an Islamic regime across the whole of Mali.” – AFP, April 3
April 4, 2012 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. military formally ordered a military trial for five alleged al-Qa`ida militants who are accused of planning the 9/11 attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people. The self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, is one of the defendants. The trial will be held at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, and the defendants could face the death penalty if found guilty. – Voice of America, April 5
April 4, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated explosives among a group of U.S. soldiers and Afghan police officers in Maimana, Faryab Province. The explosion killed at least nine people, including three U.S. soldiers. According to the New York Times, the attack has “raised concerns that the Taliban are moving into a spring offensive now that the high mountain passes are thawing and travel routes from Pakistan are opening.” – New York Times, April 4
April 4, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Militants attacked an outpost manned by a government-sponsored militia in Farah Province, killing 10 members of the security force. – AP, April 5
April 4, 2012 (SOMALIA): A female suicide bomber targeted a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of Somali National Television, killing at least eight people. The president of Somalia’s Olympic Committee and the head of the football association were among the dead. The attack, which was claimed by al-Shabab, occurred at Somalia’s national theater. – Bloomberg, April 4; Voice of America, April 4
April 4, 2012 (NIGERIA): Suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed seven people in a market in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. – Reuters, April 5
April 5, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted a bazaar in Kishim district of northeastern Badakhshan Province, killing two people, including Nazok Mir, an elder in the region. According to the Associated Press, “Provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb said the attacker was targeting Nazok Mir, an area elder who commanded Afghan fighters against the Soviets in the 1980s. Insurgents killed Mir’s brother last year. Insurgents plot to kill leading figures in the north to eliminate opposition to the Taliban, which has its strongholds in the south.” – AP, April 5; BBC, April 5
April 5, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a vehicle carrying a senior police official in Karachi, killing four people. The target of the bombing, Malir police chief Rao Anwar, was not injured. – AP, April 5
April 6, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces apprehended a militant from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in Faryab Province. – AP, April 7
April 6, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed the head of a provincial peace council and his son in Kunar Province. The peace envoy was identified as Mohammad Hashim Munib. – Voice of America, April 6
April 6, 2012 (YEMEN): A suicide bomber from al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula died after his explosives detonated prematurely. The bomber was planning to attack an intelligence office in Mansoura in Aden Province. – AP, April 6
April 8, 2012 (NIGERIA): A suicide bomber in a vehicle detonated explosives near a church on Easter morning in Kaduna, killing at least 38 people. Analysts suspect that the Boko Haram group was responsible. – Wall Street Journal, April 8; New York Times, April 8
April 9, 2012 (SOMALIA): A bomb tore through a market in Baidoa, killing at least 11 people. – AFP, April 9
April 10, 2012 (UNITED KINGDOM): Europe’s human rights court ruled that the United Kingdom can extradite Abu Hamza al-Masri, a radical Muslim cleric, and four other suspects to the United States to face terrorism charges. According to the Associated Press, “The court said Britain would not violate EU human rights rules by extraditing the suspects, who could face life sentences in a maximum-security prison.” – AP, April 10
April 10, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle killed 12 people outside a government center in Guzara district of Herat Province. – New York Times, April 10
April 10, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Three suicide bombers attacked the Musa Qala district headquarters in Helmand Province, killing at least four police officers. – New York Times, April 10; AP, April 10
April 10, 2012 (YEMEN): Militants belonging to Ansar al-Shari`a, which has ties to al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula, attacked a military post in Marib Province, killing at least eight soldiers. – CNN, April 10
April 12, 2012 (UNITED STATES): Tarek Mehanna, 29-years-old, was sentenced to 17 and one-half years in prison for conspiring to help al-Qa`ida. Mehanna, a U.S. citizen, grew up in a Boston suburb but later traveled to Yemen to seek training at a terrorist camp with the intention of going to Iraq to fight against U.S. soldiers. – AP, April 12
April 13, 2012 (UNITED STATES): Jubair Ahmad, who lived in Woodbridge, Virginia, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for providing material support to Lashkar-i-Tayyiba. He is 24-years-old. – AFP, April 13
April 14, 2012 (YEMEN): A U.S. drone reportedly killed seven members of al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula in the town of al-Zahar south of Sana`a. – AP, April 14
April 15, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Multiple Taliban gunmen—who the Central Intelligence Agency later identified as members of the Haqqani network—launched an assault on Kabul, targeting the diplomatic quarter and the parliament. At the same time, other Taliban fighters launched coordinated assaults in three eastern provinces. According to the New York Times, “The multiple sieges ended in Kabul on Monday [April 16] morning after nearly 18 hours, and silence fell on the city with roads in the bullet-strafed areas beginning to reopen…The assaults—at least three in Kabul, two in Nangarhar Province and one each in Paktia and Logar Provinces—began simultaneously at 1:45 p.m., and witnesses described nearly identical patterns of attack: light gunfire, followed by explosions and then protracted firefights with Afghan security forces, with the militants in several cases fighting from empty buildings or construction sites near their main targets.” At least five civilians were killed, in a surprisingly low casualty count. Authorities killed 39 of the assailants, 16 of them in Kabul. – New York Times, April 15; New York Times, April 16; Voice of America, April 16
April 15, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Hundreds of Taliban fighters raided a prison in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, freeing 384 inmates. Among those freed were 21 high-profile prisoners. – CNN, April 16
April 17, 2012 (SAUDI ARABIA): Saudi Arabia said that al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has taken credit for the kidnapping of a Saudi diplomat in Yemen last month. The diplomat, Abdullah al-Khaldi, is the deputy consul at the Saudi consulate in Aden. AQAP is demanding the release of prisoners and a ransom payment. – AP, April 17
April 17, 2012 (YEMEN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle killed three Yemeni soldiers in Abyan Province. – AP, April 17
April 18, 2012 (NIGERIA): The U.S. government warned its citizens living in Nigeria that Boko Haram is plotting attacks in the capital, Abuja, “including against hotels frequently visited by Westerners.” – Reuters, April 18
April 18, 2012 (AZERBAIJAN): The Azeri government said that its security forces killed the head of an al-Qa`ida-linked group and arrested 19 of his followers. The alleged leader of the group was identified as Azeri citizen Vugar Padaro. – Reuters, April 18
April 19, 2012 (UNITED STATES): Saajid Badat, a UK terrorist convicted for plotting in December 2001 to blow up a shoe bomb on an airliner heading from Europe to the United States, revealed in a U.S. court that he met Usama bin Ladin several times in Afghanistan. Badat later said that Bin Ladin expected the shoe bombing plot to bring down the U.S. economy. According to Badat, “So he [Bin Ladin] said the American economy is like a chain. If you break one—one link of the chain, the whole economy will be brought down. So after Sept. 11 attacks, this operation [the shoe bombing plot] will ruin the aviation industry and in turn the whole economy will come down.” – CNN, April 20; NBC, April 24
April 19, 2012 (IRAQ): Near simultaneous bomb blasts tore through Baghdad and at least five northern cities, killing approximately 30 people. The Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility. – Deutsche Welle, April 19; AP, April 20
April 20, 2012 (NORWAY): Anders Behring Breivik, who has admitted to conducting the July 22, 2011, terrorist attacks in Oslo, told a court that he acquired the knowledge to carry out the bombing and shooting attack on the internet by studying case studies from al-Qa`ida. – AP, April 20
April 21, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan officials announced that they arrested five militants with 11 tons of explosives that they had brought from Pakistan with the intent to carry out a major attack in Kabul. Three of the five men arrested with the explosives were reportedly members of the Pakistani Taliban, while the other two were from the Afghan Taliban. Afghan officials also said that they foiled an assassination plot against the vice president. – AP, April 21
April 22, 2012 (YEMEN): Mohammed Saeed Umda, a senior al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operative, was killed by a U.S. drone in Marib Province. He has been described as the “fourth-most wanted” AQAP militant. – Los Angeles Times, April 24; ABC, April 24
April 23, 2012 (UNITED STATES): During the trial of Adis Medunjanin in a federal court in Brooklyn, Bryant Neal Vinas “provided details of a plan for a suicide bomber to detonate explosives aboard a Long Island Railroad train as it entered a tunnel on the commuter line to create maximum devastation,” according to CNN. – CNN, April 23
April 24, 2012 (YEMEN): Yemeni officials said that they have recaptured the strategic southern town of Zinjibar from al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula. – Los Angeles Times, April 24
April 24, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A bomb tore through a Lahore railway station, killing at least two people. – BBC, April 24
April 26, 2012 (NIGERIA): A suicide bomber attacked the offices of the Nigerian newspaper This Day in Abuja, killing four people. Authorities suspect that Boko Haram was involved in the attack. – AFP, April 26
April 26, 2012 (NIGERIA): A car bomb exploded outside a complex housing a number of newspaper offices, including This Day, in Kaduna. Four people were killed. Authorities suspect that Boko Haram was involved in the attack. – AFP, April 26
April 26, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Pakistan confirmed that Usama bin Ladin’s three widows, two adult daughters, as well as nine children—at least one of whom is a grandchild—have been deported to Saudi Arabia. – Telegraph, April 26
April 27, 2012 (SYRIA): A suicide bomber attacked the Damascus Zain al-Abideen mosque, killing nine people, including a number of security officers. According to Reuters, “A local resident said security officials at the scene told him a man in military uniform had triggered an explosives vest when he was challenged by soldiers as he walked towards the area.” A group calling itself Jabhat al-Nusra claimed responsibility. – Reuters, April 27; Lebanese Daily Star, April 29
April 28, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): According to the New York Times, “In an episode with worrisome significance for the security industry, two Taliban insurgents with pistols hidden in their shoes evaded a U.S.-operated full-body scanner and nearly succeeded in assassinating the governor of Kandahar [Tooryalai Wesa]…With two semi-automatic, Spanish-made Astra Cub pistols hidden inside their shoes under the soles of their feet, the pair were cleared by the operator of the machine, and managed to make it to the threshold of the governor’s office in Kandahar before being shot dead by other guards.” – New York Times, April 28
April 29, 2012 (NIGERIA): Suspected Boko Haram group gunmen killed at least 15 people at a Christian service in Kano. – Reuters, April 30
April 29, 2012 (NIGERIA): Suspected Boko Haram group gunmen killed four people in an attack on a church in Maiduguri. – Reuters, April 30
April 30, 2012 (SYRIA): Suicide bombers detonated explosives near a hotel and security buildings in Idlib, killing at least nine people. – RTTNews, April 30
April 30, 2012 (NIGERIA): A suicide bomber targeted a senior police official’s convoy in Taraba state, killing 11 people. The official was not injured. – Vanguard, April 30
