August 1, 2012 (IRAQ): The Iraqi Interior Ministry said that violence in Iraq hit a nearly two-year high during the month of July. A total of 325 people were killed in July, although 123 people were killed on a single day—July 23—when a series of coordinated attacks tore through the country. – CNN, August 1
August 1, 2012 (YEMEN): Purported al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants attacked a security headquarters in Jaar, killing four soldiers. AQAP controlled the town of Jaar until the military recaptured it in June 2012. – AP, August 1
August 1, 2012 (SOMALIA): A suicide bomber attempted to attack a national conference on a draft constitution, but was shot to death before he could detonate his explosives. A second suicide bomber blew himself up near the perimeter of the facility, injuring six police officers. Both bombers wore government uniforms. The new draft constitution was approved by Somalia’s constituent assembly. – Reuters, August 1; Voice of America, August 1
August 2, 2012 (SPAIN): Spanish authorities arrested three suspected al-Qa`ida militants who were allegedly plotting to attack in “Spain and/or other European countries.” The suspects—a Russian, a Russian of Chechen descent, and a Turk—were in possession of explosives. Spain’s interior minister said that the men had been in Spain for about two months, and were under surveillance for several weeks. He also said that the suspects were “clearly not acting as lone wolves.” Authorities suggested that the men may have been planning to attack a shopping mall in Gibraltar. – Christian Science Monitor, August 2; New York Times, August 2; CNN, August 6
August 3, 2012 (GERMANY): Prosecutors charged a 26-year-old German man with membership in an Islamist terrorist organization and helping to prepare attacks in Afghanistan. The suspect is accused of traveling to the Afghan-Pakistan border area in 2009 to be trained in weapons and explosives. He is also accused of participating in an attack on a joint U.S.-Afghan military base in Afghanistan in 2009. He was arrested in Turkey in July 2010 and extradited to Germany in early 2012. – AP, August 3
August 3, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Hundreds of suspected Taliban militants launched simultaneous attacks in Kunar Province, killing an Afghan soldier and female civilian. The attacks struck five districts, including Watapur, Manogay, Marawara, Shigal and Dangam. – RFE/RL, August 3
August 3, 2012 (KENYA): A suspected suicide bomber wounded nine people near a military airbase in Nairobi. The bomber, who detonated a grenade, was likely trying to target a group of soldiers in a Somali-dominated area of the capital. – Reuters, August 3
August 3, 2012 (NIGERIA): A suicide bomber tried to kill the emir of Fika, who is also the chairman of the Yobe State Council of Chiefs, at a mosque. A policeman noticed that the bomber was trying to get near the emir, and confronted him. The bomber then detonated his explosives, injuring four people. – Daily Times Nigeria, August 3; AFP, August 3
August 4, 2012 (YEMEN): A suicide bomber attacked a gathering in Jaar organized by an anti-al-Qa`ida leader, killing at least 45 people. Ansar al-Shari`a claimed responsibility for the attack. – Bloomberg, August 5; Reuters, August 5
August 4, 2012 (YEMEN): A suspected U.S. drone killed three suspected militants in Hadramawt Province. – Reuters, August 5
August 5, 2012 (NIGERIA): A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a military checkpoint in Damaturu, Yobe State, killing six soldiers and two civilians. Authorities blamed Boko Haram. – Reuters, August 5
August 6, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Eleven Afghan policemen reportedly defected to the Taliban in Musa Qala district of Helmand Province. According to the BBC, “It is the second such defection in recent weeks—a police commander and 13 junior officers joined the Taliban in western Farah Province in late July.” – BBC, August 6
August 6, 2012 (YEMEN): A U.S. drone killed seven suspected militants in two vehicles in Rada, Bayda Province. – AP, August 7
August 6, 2012 (RUSSIA): A suicide bomber killed four people in Chechnya, including two officers and a soldier. – al-Jazira, August 6
August 7, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a truck rammed into the gate of a NATO base in Logar Province. No deaths were reported. The Taliban claimed responsibility. – AP, August 7
August 7, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A remote-detonated bomb exploded along a road outside Kabul, killing at least eight people in a minibus. According to the New York Times, “The target may have been another vehicle carrying workers to their jobs at the Defense Ministry, some of them in military uniforms. The ministry vehicle was traveling behind the minibus carrying civilians…and the bomber may have gotten the timing wrong when setting off the explosives.” – New York Times, August 7
August 7, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Two men wearing Afghan army uniforms killed a U.S. soldier in Paktia Province. – AP, August 10
August 7, 2012 (YEMEN): A U.S. drone targeted a vehicle in Hadramawt Province, killing three suspected militants. – AP, August 7
August 8, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed three NATO troops and one civilian in Kunar Province. – AP, August 8
August 9, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Two Afghan soldiers tried to kill a group of NATO troops outside a military base in eastern Afghanistan. There were no NATO casualties, and one of the assailants was shot to death by return fire. – AP, August 10
August 9, 2012 (YEMEN): A senior Yemeni military officer was killed after a bomb planted in his car exploded in Mukalla, Hadramawt Province. Authorities blamed the incident on al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula. – Reuters, August 10
August 10, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): An Afghan police officer killed three U.S. Marines in Sangin district, Helmand Province. – CNN, August 10; AP, August 10
August 10, 2012 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber in a truck attacked a Shi`a mosque in Mosul, Ninawa Province, killing at least five people. – Reuters, August 10
August 10, 2012 (IRAQ): Gunmen killed four anti-al-Qa`ida fighters near Dujail, 50 miles north of Baghdad. – AP, August 10
August 10, 2012 (SYRIA): The Associated Press quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying that al-Qa`ida is expanding in Syria, and is now building a network of well-organized cells. – AP, August 10
August 11, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suspected Taliban infiltrator shot to death 11 Afghan policemen in Delaram district of western Nimroz Province. – AAP, August 12
August 14, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Three suicide bombers killed at least 20 people in Zaranj, Nimroz Province. – AP, August 14
August 15, 2012 (ALGERIA): Authorities arrested three armed Islamists in Berriane, located in southern Algeria. One of the men was identified as Abderrahmane Abou Ishak Essoufi, a senior member of al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb. The men were apprehended while traveling toward the Sahel border. – AFP, August 20
August 16, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A NATO helicopter crashed in Kandahar Province, killing 11 people, including seven NATO troops. The Taliban said they shot down the aircraft, although NATO would not confirm that claim. – AP, August 16
August 16, 2012 (IRAQ): A series of bombings tore through Iraq, killing more than 70 people. – Reuters, August 16
August 16, 2012 (PAKISTAN): At least nine Taliban fighters attacked Pakistani Air Force Base Minhas in Kamra, killing one security official. According to Fox News, “the militants scaled a wall surrounding the air base following the intense rocket barrage and a two hour-plus gunfight ensued. … Security forces were able to retake the base, but one soldier and the nine militants were killed.” Some experts believe that the base in Kamra may be linked to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons arsenal. – Fox News, August 16
August 18, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A NATO airstrike killed at least 20 Taliban insurgents who gathered to oversee a public execution in Chapa Dara district, Kunar Province. – New York Times, August 18
August 18, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle killed five people, including members of the Frontier Corps, at a checkpoint in a Quetta suburb. – AP, August 18; AFP, August 18
August 18, 2012 (YEMEN): Suspected members of al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula attacked Yemen’s intelligence services headquarters in Aden, killing at least 14 Yemeni soldiers and security guards. The BBC reported that “the militants attacked the building from two sides, firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons inside.” – Washington Post, August 18; BBC, August 18
August 18, 2012 (RUSSIA): Masked gunmen wounded eight worshippers at a mosque in Dagestan. – al-Jazira, August 18
August 19, 2012 (IRAQ): A car bomb exploded next to the convoy of a prominent Iraqi Sunni cleric, critically wounding him and killing four of his bodyguards. The cleric, Mehdi al-Sumaidai, recently urged Islamist militant groups in the country to end their insurgency. The incident occurred in Baghdad. – Reuters, August 19
August 19, 2012 (YEMEN): A suicide bomber killed the leader of a pro-army militia in Mudiya, Abyan Province. Authorities blamed al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula. – AFP, August 19
August 19, 2012 (RUSSIA): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives as policemen in southern Russia gathered at the funeral of a colleague. The blast, which occurred in Ingushetia, killed at least seven policemen. – AP, August 19
August 21, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): An insurgent rocket attack damaged the plane of U.S. General Martin E. Dempsey as it sat parked on a runway in Bagram. “Indirect fire at Bagram is not unusual, so we don’t believe his aircraft was targeted,” said a Pentagon spokesperson. – AP, August 21
August 21, 2012 (IRAQ): An Iraqi man living in Kentucky pleaded guilty in federal court to plotting to assist al-Qa`ida in Iraq. The man, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, was arrested in May 2011 and admitted to targeting U.S. forces in Iraq. His accomplice, Waad Ramadan Alwan, pleaded guilty to a number of terrorism charges in December 2011. – CNN, August 21
August 21, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A U.S. drone reportedly killed Badruddin Haqqani in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The Taliban refused to officially confirm Badruddin’s death, although Afghan and Pakistani officials, as well as a senior Taliban leader, said that Badruddin died in the strike. Badruddin is considered the operations commander in the Haqqani network, and is the son of the network’s founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani. – Wall Street Journal, August 26
August 23, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) e-mailed Pakistani media outlets, claiming that the group had established a “suicide bombers squad” to attack Pakistani troops if an offensive is launched in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – PakTribune, August 23
August 24, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A NATO airstrike killed senior Pakistani Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah, along with 12 other militants, at a compound in Kunar Province. Dadullah was the leader of the Pakistani Taliban faction in Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. According to the New York Times, “Mullah Dadullah, also the name of an Afghan commander of the Taliban who was killed in 2007, was the nom de guerre of Jamal Said, a prayer leader from the village of Damadola, in Bajaur. He rose through the ranks of the Pakistani Taliban and in 2008, headed its vice and virtue department, enforcing strict edicts based on a narrow interpretation of Islamic texts.” Dadullah became the leader of the Pakistani Taliban faction in Bajaur after the Taliban leadership fired his predecessor, Faqir Muhammad, for participating in peace talks with Islamabad. – New York Times, August 25
August 24, 2012 (PAKISTAN): U.S. drones fired missiles at three militant hideouts in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, killing 18 suspected insurgents. – AP, August 24
August 26, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Insurgents attacked a checkpoint in Washir district, Helmand Province, killing 10 Afghan soldiers. Five other soldiers were either kidnapped or joined the assailants. – AP, August 26
August 26, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Suspected Taliban militants beheaded 17 Afghan civilians, including two women, in Kajaki district of Helmand Province. – Voice of America, August 27
August 26, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Dozens of insurgents from Afghanistan crossed into Pakistan and attacked an anti-Taliban militia post in Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. One soldier and 20 militants were killed. – AP, August 26
August 27, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): An Afghan soldier shot to death two U.S. troops in Laghman Province. – Wall Street Journal, August 27
August 27, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle exploded in Kandahar, killing four civilians. The bomb appeared to target Abdul Raziq, Kandahar’s police chief, but he was not injured. Raziq is leading a strong campaign against insurgents in Kandahar, the Taliban’s former stronghold. – Voice of America, August 27; New York Times, August 28
August 27, 2012 (SOMALIA): African Union and Somali troops captured the port of Marka from al-Shabab. Somalia’s al-Shabab militant group has suffered a string of losses recently, and it now only controls two other ports: Barawe and Kismayo. – AFP, August 27
August 27, 2012 (KENYA): Unidentified militants shot to death a Muslim cleric in Mombasa. The cleric had been previously accused by the United States of helping Islamist militants in Somalia. The killing sparked large protests, with angry rioters smashing vehicles and setting churches on fire. –Reuters, August 27
August 28, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb hit an Afghan army convoy in Kunar Province. When soldiers exited their vehicle, a suicide bomber on foot detonated explosives, killing five Afghan troops. – Dawn, August 29
August 28, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban militants based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Kunar Province crossed into Pakistan and attacked Pakistani troops in Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. After the attack, 15 soldiers were missing. On August 31, the Pakistani Taliban released a video showing the severed heads of a dozen Pakistani soldiers. – New York Daily News, August 31; Voice of America, August 31
August 28, 2012 (RUSSIA): A female suicide bomber killed Said Atsayev, a leader of Sufi Muslims in the region, in Dagestan. The blast also killed six of Atsayev’s followers. The bomber was later identified as Aminat Saprykina, an ethnic Russian woman who lost two husbands—both militants—in the North Caucasus conflict. At the time of her death, she was married to another wanted militant. – AP, August 28; Reuters, August 28; RFE/RL, August 29
August 28, 2012 (RUSSIA): A border guard shot and killed seven servicemen at a frontier post in Dagestan. The guard was killed by return fire. – Reuters, August 28
August 29, 2012 (IRAQ): Gunmen killed Iraqi Brigadier General Nadhim Tayih in Baghdad. The general was the head of police emergency responders in west Baghdad. – AFP, August 30
August 29, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban fighters killed at least eight Pakistani soldiers in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – New York Times, August 29
August 31, 2012 (THAILAND): Suspected Malay-Muslim separatists executed a wave of bombings in southern Thailand, wounding two soldiers. The “bomb-like” devices were planted in at least 60 locations in Narathiwat and Pattani provinces, although most of the devices were fake. – Reuters, August 31
