November 1, 2012 (UNITED STATES): A U.S. court sentenced Rezwan Ferdaus to 17 years in prison for plotting to use remote-controlled model planes to bomb the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Ferdaus is a U.S. citizen of Bangladeshi descent. – AP, November 2
November 2, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) threatened Pakistan’s largest political party in Karachi, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). The TTP called the MQM the “apostate tyrants of Karachi.” The MQM has been publicly critical of the Taliban, especially since the shooting of 15-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai by Taliban militants. – Dawn, November 2
November 3, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted the regional head of a government-allied militia in Buner District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing the leader as well as five other people. – AP, November 3
November 3, 2012 (BURKINA FASO): Representatives of Ansar Eddine, an Islamist militant group in control of northern Mali, arrived in Burkina Faso for mediation talks with President Blaise Compaore. Ansar Eddine is one of three Islamist groups that control northern Mali; the other two are al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa. – AP, November 3
November 3, 2012 (SOMALIA): Two suicide bombers targeted the Village restaurant and café near Mogadishu’s Soobe intersection, killing at least one person. The restaurant is frequented by government officials and members of the Somali diaspora. – GaroweOnline, November 3
November 4, 2012 (KENYA): Suspected militants threw a grenade into a church located in a police compound in Garissa, killing one policeman. Garissa is close to Kenya’s border with Somalia. – BBC, November 3
November 5, 2012 (GLOBAL): The United Nations added the Haqqani network to its Taliban sanctions list. The United States also recently designated the Haqqani network as a global terrorist group. – BBC, November 5
November 5, 2012 (SYRIA): A suicide bomber killed a number of Syrian soldiers at a checkpoint in Hama Province. Syria’s state-run news agency said that the blast killed two people, while the opposition claimed that the bomber killed 50 soldiers. The bomber was a member of Jabhat al-Nusra, a Salafi-jihadi group. – CNN, November 5
November 5, 2012 (NIGERIA): Nigeria’s national security adviser warned that there is “increasing cooperation between the Boko Haram group in Nigeria and established terror groups operating in the Sahel.” – AFP, November 5
November 6, 2012 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new video telling Somalia’s al-Shabab insurgents to fight back against the “crusader invaders.” Kenyan troops recently pushed al-Shabab out of its last major stronghold in Kismayo. Al-Zawahiri urged al-Shabab to “show them [foreign troops] the fire of jihad and its heat. Chase them with guerrilla warfare, ambushes, martyrdom [suicide operations].” – Reuters, November 6
November 6, 2012 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a group of Iraqi soldiers outside an army base in Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad, killing approximately 31 people. – Reuters, November 6
November 7, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber on foot targeted the vehicle of a senior police investigator in Peshawar, killing him and his colleagues. The explosion killed at least six people. – AFP, November 7
November 7, 2012 (YEMEN): Gunmen on a motorbike assassinated a Yemeni intelligence officer in Sana`a. “Officials say at least 55 military, intelligence and police officers have been killed in Yemen since mid-2011, with most of the assassinations focusing on individuals working in counterterrorism operations,” according to the Associated Press. Al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula is suspected of being behind the assassination campaign. – AFP, November 7
November 7, 2012 (SOMALIA): A car bomb exploded outside Mogadishu’s Federal Parliament building, killing one officer. – GaroweOnline, November 7
November 8, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden truck into one of the entrances of the Pakistan Rangers headquarters in Karachi’s North Nazimabad area, killing at least three soldiers. – Dawn, November 8; BBC, November 8
November 8, 2012 (YEMEN): A suspected U.S. drone killed three suspected members of al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula near Sana`a. – al-Jazira, November 9
November 12, 2012 (UNITED KINGDOM): A UK court ruled that Abu Qatada, an alleged al-Qa`ida operative, could not be deported from the United Kingdom to Jordan to face terrorism charges. The judges said that they were not convinced he would face a fair trial in Jordan. He was allowed to return to his home in London. – CBS News, November 12
November 14, 2012 (GLOBAL): U.S. General Carter Ham, the head of U.S. Africa Command, warned that al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) “will become stronger and they will gain capability to export violence throughout a broader region than Africa and certainly the high potential to export violence into Europe and to the USA” if the group is not stopped. – AFP, November 14
November 14, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban militants shot to death two Afghan men who worked as interpreters for NATO troops in Logar Province. – AFP, November 14
November 14, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Pakistan said that it released at least seven senior Afghan Taliban prisoners as part of peace negotiations in neighboring Afghanistan. – New York Times, November 14
November 16, 2012 (UNITED STATES): Adis Medunjanin, a Bosnian-born U.S. citizen, was sentenced to life in prison for his role in plotting a suicide bomb attack on New York City subways in 2009. – Reuters, November 16
November 16, 2012 (UNITED STATES): The Federal Bureau of Investigation added Radullan Sahiron, an Abu Sayyaf Group leader, to its list of most wanted terrorists. The FBI also added Omar Hammami, an American member of Somalia’s al-Shabab, to the list. – Philippine Star, November 16
November 16, 2012 (YEMEN): A suicide bomber linked to al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula killed three people inside the headquarters of government-allied militias in Abyan Province. – Reuters, November 16
November 19, 2012 (UNITED STATES): U.S. authorities charged four Los Angeles area men who were allegedly on their way to Afghanistan to train with the Taliban and al-Qa`ida. The men were also allegedly plotting to kill U.S. soldiers and bomb government installations. Authorities discovered the men due to jihadist social media postings. According to CNN, “The three exposed their connection to each other and their radical leanings explicitly on Facebook for over a year. And one of them detailed his intentions to participate in jihad in an online chat with an FBI employee.” – CNN, November 20
November 19, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A female suicide bomber wearing a burqa targeted Qazi Husain Ahmad, the former chief of Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan, in Mohmand Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Qazi Ahmad escaped unharmed, however. – AP, November 19
November 21, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed two Afghan guards outside a NATO-run military compound in the main diplomatic area of Kabul. Guards shot to death a second suicide bomber before he could detonate his explosives. – NBC News, November 21
November 21, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted a Shi`a Muslim procession and killed at least 13 people in Rawalpindi. The attack occurred only hours after two other bomb blasts killed at least three people near a Shi`a gathering in Karachi. – The News International, November 21; Reuters, November 21
November 22, 2012 (PAKISTAN): The Pakistani Taliban promised to attack India to avenge the death of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani man who was executed by India on November 21 for his role in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. – CNN, November 22
November 23, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle detonated explosives near a NATO-run training base in the capital of Wardak Province, killing three people. – AFP, November 23
November 23, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a joint Afghan-NATO border post in Torkham in Nangarhar Province, injuring five Afghan security guards. – AFP, November 23
November 24, 2012 (MOROCCO): Authorities in Morocco announced that they broke up a cell training youths to fight in Mali. – Reuters, November 24
November 25, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A bomb ripped through a Shi`a Muslim procession in Dera Ismail Khan, killing at least six people. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. – AP, November 25
November 25, 2012 (NIGERIA): Two suicide bombers attacked a church in a barracks in Kaduna State, killing at least 11 people. Authorities suspect that the Boko Haram group was responsible. – Reuters, November 25
November 26, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A bomb was discovered under the vehicle of well-known television anchor Hamid Mir. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the failed assassination, saying that Mir was “promoting secular forces.” – AP, November 27
November 27, 2012 (IRAQ): Three separate bomb attacks in predominately Shi`a Muslim areas of Baghdad killed at least 19 people. – BBC, November 27
November 28, 2012 (YEMEN): Gunmen assassinated a Saudi diplomat and his bodyguard in Sana`a. Authorities suspect that al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula was responsible, although the group later denied involvement. The gunmen were wearing army uniforms. – Voice of America, November 28; Yemen Post, December 2
November 29, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber attempted to assassinate Mullah Nazir, a prominent pro-government, anti-U.S. Taliban commander. Mullah Nazir was injured in the attack, which occurred in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – Dawn, November 29
November 29, 2012 (NIGERIA): Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a new video, expressing solidarity with global jihadists. He saluted fighters from the “Islamic state in Mali,” as well as those in Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and Palestine. – AFP, November 29
November 30, 2012 (YEMEN): Yemen’s Interior Ministry announced the arrest of Suleiman Hassan Mohammed Murshed Awad (also known as Abu Osama al-Abi) in Zinjibar, Abyan Province. He was described as an al-Qa`ida leader and one of the country’s most wanted fugitives. – AP, December 1
December 1, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle detonated explosives near a police headquarters in Uruzgan Province, killing two children and a civilian. – RFE/RL, December 1
December 1, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. drone killed a Yemeni al-Qa`ida-linked fighter in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The man was identified as Abdul Rehman al-Zaman Yemeni. – Dawn, December 1
December 2, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Multiple Taliban suicide bombers attacked a joint U.S.-Afghan airbase in Jalalabad, killing four Afghan soldiers and two civilians. According to Afghan authorities, nine suicide attackers were involved. NATO said that the militants failed to penetrate the airbase. According to the BBC, “Afghan officials said the first four attackers had arrived in explosive-laden cars and targeted different entrances to the airfield early on Sunday. Others who had followed on foot battled security guards.” – BBC, December 2
December 2, 2012 (NIGERIA): Suspected Boko Haram group members killed 10 Christians in Chibok, Borno State. – al-Jazira, December 3
December 3, 2012 (GLOBAL): U.S. General Carter Ham, the head of U.S. Africa Command, said that there are “clear indications of collaboration amongst” al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Boko Haram. He said that the United States has seen evidence that Nigeria’s Boko Haram “is receiving financial support, some training, probably some explosives from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in a relationship that goes both ways.” – Bloomberg, December 3
December 4, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle attacked a checkpoint outside a police station in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, wounding six people. – AFP, December 4
December 5, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Two suicide bombers in an explosives-laden vehicle attacked the Zarai Noor Camp in Wana, South Waziristan Agency, killing at least three Pakistani soldiers. – CNN, December 5; Voice of America, December 5
December 6, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber attempted to assassinate Afghan Intelligence Chief Asadullah Khalid in Kabul. Khalid survived the attack, but sustained injuries to his abdomen and chest. Authorities said that the bomber posed as a Taliban peace messenger, detonating his explosives vest near Khalid. The Afghan Taliban quickly took responsibility. – Bloomberg, December 6
December 6, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. drone killed a senior al-Qa`ida leader in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The leader was identified as Khaled bin Abdel Rahman al-Hussainan (also known as Abu Zaid al-Kuwaiti). – Voice of America, December 8; AP, December 9
December 9, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan and coalition forces rescued Dr. Dilip Joseph, an American physician who was kidnapped by the Taliban, in eastern Afghanistan. During the raid, at least six people were killed, including a member of a U.S. Navy SEAL team. – New York Times, December 9
December 9, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. drone killed a senior al-Qa`ida commander and three others in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The commander was identified as Mohammad Ahmed Almansoor. – Reuters, December 9
December 10, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): Gunmen shot to death a female official in charge of the women’s affairs department for eastern Laghman Province. According to the Associated Press, the woman, Najia Sediqi, had taken the job after her predecessor was killed in a bomb attack in July 2012. – AP, December 10
December 10, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed the police chief for Nimroz Province as he was traveling home from neighboring Herat Province. – AP, December 10
December 10, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Four Taliban suicide bombers attacked a police station in Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing at least eight police and civilians. – Reuters, December 10
December 10, 2012 (SYRIA): The U.S. State Department designated Jabhat al-Nusra, a Salafi-jihadi rebel group in Syria, as a foreign terrorist organization linked to al-Qa`ida in Iraq (AQI). The State Department essentially identified the group as a wing of AQI. – CNN, December 11; Christian Science Monitor, December 10
December 11, 2012 (UNITED STATES): A U.S. court sentenced Shaker Masri to almost 10 years in prison for plotting to attend a militant training camp in Somalia with the hopes of becoming a suicide bomber for al-Qa`ida and al-Shabab. Masri, a Chicago man, was born in Alabama. – AP, December 11
December 12, 2012 (IRAQ): A suspected al-Qa`ida detainee attempted to blow himself up inside a prison cell in Baghdad. The explosion wounded the man, along with six others. Iraqi authorities were trying to determine how the detainee acquired an explosives belt. – AP, December 12
December 13, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a NATO base in Kandahar, killing a U.S. soldier and two civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility. – AFP, December 13
December 14, 2012 (YEMEN): Yemeni airstrikes killed two militants in Abyan Province. – AAP, December 15
December 15, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Militants attacked a military base attached to Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar, killing at least three civilians. The militants fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the airport. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility. – Washington Post, December 15
December 16, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): France announced that officials from the Afghan government, the Taliban movement and other factions would soon meet near Paris to discuss the future of Afghanistan. – Reuters, December 16
December 17, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber attacked a U.S. contracting company’s compound in Kabul, killing two Afghan civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility. – Reuters, December 17
December 17, 2012 (SOMALIA): Al-Shabab released a new statement saying that American al-Shabab member Abu Mansur al-Amriki had been kicked out of the group. The al-Shabab statement called al-Amriki’s past videos “childish petulance.” Al-Shabab also said that the group’s goals would not be tarnished by the “superficial allegations, frivolous ramblings and whimsical desires of those who wish to enhance their image at the price of jihad and the mujahideen.” Earlier in 2012, al-Amriki had criticized al-Shabab in a number of video statements. – CNN, December 17
December 20, 2012 (MALI): The UN Security Council authorized military action to retake northern Mali from the control of al-Qa`ida-linked militants. The resolution, however, demanded that the plan must entail both military and political solutions to help reunify the country. – AP, December 20
December 20, 2012 (NIGERIA): A group of approximately 30 militants kidnapped a French engineer in Katsina State. French President Francois Hollande suggested that the militants probably belonged to al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb or an allied group. – BBC, December 21
December 21, 2012 (YEMEN): Gunmen kidnapped two Finns and one Austrian in Sana`a. According to Agence France-Presse, “The three are an Austrian man and a Finnish man, both students of Arabic, and a Finnish woman who arrived recently in Yemen.” Authorities suspect that the gunmen belonged to al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula. – AFP, December 22
December 21, 2012 (PAKISTAN): An explosion killed Taliban commander Maulvi Abbas in South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Two other people were killed as well, including one of the commander’s sons. There was no claim of responsibility. – RFE/RL, December 21
December 21, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Gunmen stopped a bus in Baluchistan Province, checked the identification of the passengers, and then executed three men. Two other male passengers, who were kidnapped by the militants, were later found dead. – RFE/RL, December 21
December 21, 2012 (TUNISIA): Authorities in Tunisia announced that they arrested 16 members of an al-Qa`ida-linked cell in the country. – Bloomberg, December 22
December 22, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber killed a Pakistani politician at a rally for the Awami National Party in Peshawar. The politician, Bashir Balour, was a provincial cabinet minister. The blast killed at least seven other people. – al-Jazira, December 22
December 23, 2012 (IRAQ): Iraqi authorities arrested 66 members of the Islamic State of Iraq in Karbala Province. An Iraqi security source said that the men were planning attacks against Shi`a Muslims. – UPI, December 24
December 24, 2012 (YEMEN): A suspected U.S. drone killed two al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula militants in Ra`da, Bayda Province. Three other militants were critically injured. – AP, December 24
December 26, 2012 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle detonated explosives outside Camp Chapman, a major U.S. military base in Khost Province. An Afghan guard and two Afghan civilians were killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility. – AP, December 26
December 28, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud said that his militia is willing to negotiate with authorities, but they will not disarm. “We believe in dialogue but it should not be frivolous,” he said. “Asking us to lay down arms is a joke.” In the video, Hakimullah Mehsud is seen sitting next to his deputy, Wali-ur-Rehman. – Reuters, December 28
December 28, 2012 (YEMEN): A suspected U.S. drone killed two suspected militants belonging to al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula in Hadramawt Province. – Reuters, December 28
December 29, 2012 (YEMEN): Al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) placed bounties worth tens of thousands of dollars to anyone who kills the U.S. ambassador to Yemen or an American soldier in the country. AQAP said the offer was valid for six months. – New York Times, December 30
December 30, 2012 (PAKISTAN): Authorities found the bodies of 21 tribal policemen who were previously kidnapped by the Taliban near Peshawar. The men, who were discovered tied up and blindfolded, had all been executed. – Guardian, December 30
December 30, 2012 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into a bus carrying Shi`a Muslim pilgrims in Baluchistan Province, killing 19 people. – Guardian, December 30
