June 1, 2013 (UNITED STATES): Al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a new six-minute, English-subtitled audio message addressed “to the American People.” The message said, “The Boston events…and the poisoned letters [sent to the White House], regardless of who is behind them, show that your security is no longer under control, and that attacks on you have taken off and cannot be stopped. Everyday you will be hit by the unexpected and your leaders will not be able to defend you.” Qasim al-Raymi, who read the statement, is AQAP’s military chief. – Sky News, June 2; CBS/AP, June 2
June 1, 2013 (IRAQ): The Iraqi Defense Ministry said that they foiled a plot by an al-Qa`ida cell to execute poison gas attacks in the Middle East, Europe and North America. The militants may have been planning to use remote-controlled toy planes to distribute the gas. Iraqi officials said that they arrested five suspects who had been using three facilities in Iraq to try to produce sarin and mustard gas using instructions from another al-Qa`ida group. The cell, however, had not yet been able to produce any lethal chemical agents. – Fox News, June 1; BBC, June 1
June 1, 2013 (MAURITANIA): Mauritanian officials announced that U.S. authorities recently transferred Yunis al-Mauritani, a senior al-Qa`ida operative previously held in Afghanistan, to their custody. – Reuters, June 1
June 2, 2013 (SYRIA): A car bomb exploded near a police station in Jubar district of Damascus, killing at least eight Syrian security forces. It was not clear which group was behind the attack, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suspected that it had been carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qa`ida-linked Salafi-jihadi militant group. – France24, June 2
June 2, 2013 (YEMEN): A suicide bomber tried to drive an explosives-laden vehicle into a gas pumping station in the southern port city of Balhaf, but gunfire from Yemeni guards detonated the vehicle prematurely. Besides the bomber, there were no casualties and the gas facility was unaffected. – Reuters, June 2
June 3, 2013 (GLOBAL): The U.S. State Department offered a $7 million reward for information leading to the location of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram in Nigeria. The U.S. government also authorized rewards up to $5 million each for information leading to the location of Yahya Abu al-Hammam, a leader in al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a former leader in AQIM who now heads his own militia. It also offered $3 million each for information leading to the location of AQIM leader Malik Abu Abdelkarim and Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) spokesperson Oumar Ould Hamaha. – Daily Post, June 4
June 3, 2013 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked a passing U.S. military patrol in Paktia Province, killing two U.S.-led coalition service members. The explosion also killed at least 10 schoolchildren and a police officer. – Guardian, June 3; Voice of America, June 3
June 3, 2013 (INDONESIA): A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated his explosives at a police compound in Poso in Central Sulawesi, killing only himself. A police source told Agence France-Presse that the bomber was suspected of being part of an Islamist terrorist group led by Santoso, Indonesia’s most wanted militant. – Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 3; AFP, June 3
June 4, 2013 (MALI): A suicide bomber blew himself up in the northern Mali city of Kidal after being chased by authorities. The bomber was the only casualty. – Voice of America, June 4; Reuters, June 4
June 5, 2013 (IRAQ): Gunmen ambushed a bus and executed 15 passengers on a desert road between Anbar Province and Karbala. The dead included 10 border police and five local residents. Authorities blamed al-Qa`ida in Iraq for the attack, saying, “Those terrorists hunt people along this road and kill according to religious sect.” – Reuters, June 5
June 5, 2013 (SYRIA): Syrian troops and Hizb Allah fighters captured the strategic border down of Qusayr from anti-government rebels. According to Voice of America, “the rebels had held Qusayr for more than a year in their overall struggle to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Its loss to government forces represented a major blow to rebels, whose most effective fighting units, the al-Qa`ida-linked al-Nusra Front [Jabhat al-Nusra], were defending the town.” – Voice of America, June 5
June 6, 2013 (GLOBAL): Al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new audio message, urging Syrians to unite to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad and prevent what he claimed was a U.S. plot to establish a client state in Syria to protect Israel’s security. – Reuters, June 6
June 6, 2013 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber drove a truck filled with explosives into a military base in Helmand Province, killing at least six Georgian soldiers. The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility. – Reuters, June 6
June 6, 2013 (RUSSIA/SYRIA): The head of the Russian security service, the FSB, said that approximately 200 Russian Islamists who support North Caucasus insurgents are fighting in Syria for al-Qa`ida. “The fact that around 200 fighters from Russia are fighting on the side of the Caucasus Emirate under the flag of al-Qa`ida and other related structures provokes concern in Russia,” FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said. – AFP, June 6
June 7, 2013 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle targeted a convoy of buses carrying Iranian Shi`a pilgrims near Muqdadiya, killing at least nine of them. – RFE/RL, June 7; BBC, June 7
June 7, 2013 (PAKISTAN): A U.S. drone reportedly killed six suspected militants in the Shawal area of North Waziristan Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper said that it was the “first such attack since Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as prime minister this week.” – Dawn, June 8
June 9, 2013 (IRAQ/SYRIA): Al-Jazira claimed to have obtained a copy of a letter from al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri addressed to the leaders of the Syria-based Jabhat al-Nusra and the Iraq-based Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). In the letter, al-Zawahiri said that ISI chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was “wrong” to declare a merger between the ISI and Jabhat al-Nusra, adding that al-Baghdadi’s rule was limited to Iraq. Al-Baghdadi had appeared to unilaterally announce the merger of the two groups in April 2013, but was rebuffed by Jabhat al-Nusra, which said that they pledge allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri but that they would not merge with the ISI. – al-Jazira, June 9; Voice of America, June 10
June 9, 2013 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a police checkpoint outside a Shi`a district in northwest Baghdad, killing at least seven people. – Reuters, June 9
June 10, 2013 (AFGHANISTAN): Militants tried to attack NATO’s headquarters at Kabul international airport. The attack, which involved suicide bombers, left seven militants dead, with Afghan authorities saying that the attack was thwarted. Two civilians were wounded. – Guardian, June 10
June 10, 2013 (IRAQ): Two car bombs exploded and a suicide bomber in another vehicle detonated his explosives at a produce market in Jadidat al-Shatt in Diyala Province. The three bombs killed at least 13 people. – RFE/RL, June 10
June 11, 2013 (SYRIA): Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives at a square in central Damascus, killing at least 14 people. – AFP, June 11; Los Angeles Times, June 11
June 11, 2013 (AFGHANISTAN): An Afghan Taliban suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked the entrance to Afghanistan’s Supreme Court in Kabul, killing at least 17 people. – AFP, June 11; al-Jazira, June 12
June 15, 2013 (IRAQ/SYRIA): The head of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, released a new audio message appearing to defy the orders of al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri not to merge with Jabhat al-Nusra, saying that “the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant remains [in existence], as long as there is blood in our veins and our eyes are blinking…It remains, and we will not compromise; we will not give up…until we die.” Al-Baghdadi also said, “I chose the command of God over the command that runs against it in the [al-Zawahiri] letter.” – AFP, June 15; AP, June 15
June 15, 2013 (PAKISTAN): A female suicide bomber detonated explosives on a bus carrying students of the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University in Quetta. After the explosion, a male suicide bomber was waiting inside the BMC Hospital ward for the arrival of high level officials, and he blew himself up when they arrived. In total, 25 people were killed, including 14 students of the women’s university, four nurses and Deputy Commissioner of Quetta Abdul Mansoor Kakar. The sectarian militant group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi claimed responsibility. – Dawn, June 16
June 16, 2013 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a crowded café in a largely Shi`a neighborhood of Baghdad, killing 11 people. – AP, June 16
June 16, 2013 (PAKISTAN): Two anti-polio vaccination volunteers were shot and killed while visiting homes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. – CNN, June 17
June 17, 2013 (KENYA): Kenyan police shot to death two suspected militants after they refused to surrender during a raid on a house in Mombasa. Police accused the men of plotting attacks in Kenya on behalf of Somalia’s al-Shabab militant group. – Reuters, June 17
June 18, 2013 (IRAQ): Two suicide bombers shot to death the guards outside the Habib ibn Mathaher Shi`a mosque in Baghdad, and then detonated their explosives inside the building. The double suicide attack killed at least 31 people. – BBC, June 18
June 18, 2013 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated explosives in a crowd of hundreds of mourners attending a funeral in the village of Sher Garh in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, killing 29 people. Among the dead was a recently elected lawmaker who may have been the target. The lawmaker, Imran Khan Mohmand, campaigned as an independent, but later supported the party of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. – AP, June 18
June 19, 2013 (IRAQ): A suicide bombing killed the leader of a provincial political party and four of his relatives in Ninawa Province. The leader, Yunus al-Ramah, was the head of the United Iraq Party. The incident occurred one day before elections in Ninawa and Anbar provinces, two Sunni-majority provinces where the April 20 polls were delayed due to security concerns. – AFP, June 19
June 19, 2013 (YEMEN): A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated his explosives in the middle of a market in Yemen’s mainly Shi`a city of Sa`da, killing two civilians. – AFP, June 19
June 19, 2013 (SOMALIA): Al-Shabab militants launched a major attack on the UN Development Program compound in Mogadishu, killing at least 15 people, including four foreigners. – BBC, June 19; Bloomberg, June 19
June 20, 2013 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. federal government charged Eric Harroun with conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction overseas. Harroun, a former U.S. Army medic from Arizona, allegedly fought in Syria against the Bashar al-Assad regime in coordination with the al-Qa`ida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra militant group. He was arrested near Dulles International Airport in Virginia in March 2013. – Politico, June 21
June 20, 2013 (AFGHANISTAN): The Afghan Taliban announced that they are ready to free U.S. Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five of their senior operatives held at Guantanamo Bay. Bergdahl, the only known American captive from the war in Afghanistan, has been held by the Afghan Taliban since 2009. – AP, June 20
June 20, 2013 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber killed three people at a vote counting center in Ramadi, Anbar Province. – AFP, June 21
June 21, 2013 (SPAIN): Spanish security forces broke up an al-Qa`ida-linked network accused of sending fighters to Syria, arresting eight people. The raids occurred in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa. – AFP, June 21
June 21, 2013 (PAKISTAN): A bomb tore through a Shi`a Muslim religious center in Peshawar, killing at least 15 people. – Voice of America, June 21
June 22, 2013 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a Shi`a mosque in northern Baghdad, killing at least 12 people. – Reuters, June 22
June 23, 2013 (PAKISTAN): Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants killed nine foreign mountain climbers, including a U.S. citizen, at a camp at Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth-tallest mountain. The TTP said that the attack was in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed Waliur Rahman, the second-in-command of the TTP, on May 29, 2013. – Washington Post, June 23
June 23, 2013 (SYRIA): A car bomb exploded in Aleppo in northern Syria, killing 12 soldiers. Jabhat al-Nusra, a Salafi-jihadi group linked to al-Qa`ida, claimed responsibility. – AP, June 23; AP, June 25
June 23, 2013 (SYRIA): Three suicide bombers detonated their explosives while trying to break into the Rukn al-Din police station in northern Damascus, killing five people. Jabhat al-Nusra, a Salafi-jihadi group linked to al-Qa`ida, claimed responsibility. – AP, June 23; AFP, June 23; AP, June 25
June 24, 2013 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber killed an Iraqi counterterrorism official as he left a university in Tikrit. The official, Colonel Ghazi Ali al-Jubouri, was the head of counterterrorism for Salah al-Din Province. – Reuters, June 24
June 25, 2013 (AFGHANISTAN): Five Afghan Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers targeted the Ariana Hotel, which the Taliban claim is the location for a CIA base, and the presidential palace in Kabul. The bombers drove at least two land cruisers similar to those used by NATO soldiers, as well as fake badges and vehicle passes, which allowed at least one of the bombers to gain access to a heavily guarded area. The Afghan Interior Ministry said that three Afghan security guards and all five assailants were killed. – New York Times, June 24; AFP, June 25
June 25, 2013 (IRAQ): Two suicide bombers detonated explosives at a protest camp near Tuz Khurmato, Salah al-Din Province, killing at least 10 people. The protesters were reportedly ethnic Turkmen demanding better security for the area. The dead included Ali Hashim Muhtaroglu, the deputy head of the Torkoman Front, along with two of his sons. – BBC, June 25; RFE/RL, June 26
June 26, 2013 (UNITED STATES): U.S. federal authorities announced that Justin Kaliebe, an 18-year-old Long Island high school student, pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists in a secret hearing on February 8, 2013. Kaliebe was allegedly inspired by Usama bin Ladin and attempted to travel to Yemen to join al-Qa`ida operatives waging “violent jihad.” According to NBC News, “Investigators said Kaliebe approached an undercover officer about joining a terror group and admitted he followed teachings of terrorist Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman—the blind sheik tied to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.” He was arrested on January 21, 2013, at Kennedy Airport trying to fly to Yemen. – NBC News, June 26
June 26, 2013 (PAKISTAN): A bomb exploded on a busy street during rush hour in Karachi. The bomb targeted Judge Maqbool Baqir, who has worked on a number of terrorism cases. The judge and eight members of his security detail were killed in the blast. – AFP, June 26
June 27, 2013 (UNITED STATES): A federal grand jury in Boston indicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston Marathon bombings, charging him with detonating a weapon of mass destruction. Tsarnaev could face the death penalty or life in prison. – Los Angeles Times, June 27
June 27, 2013 (SYRIA): A suicide bomber killed at least four people in a Christian area of Damascus. – AAP, June 28
June 27, 2013 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy in Farah Province, killing two civilians. – AP, June 29
June 29, 2013 (THAILAND): A roadside bomb killed eight Thai soldiers in Yala Province in southern Thailand. Authorities suspected that Muslim separatist insurgents were to blame for the attack. – Bangkok Post, June 29
June 30, 2013 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber killed at least 28 people in a Shi`a area of Quetta, Baluchistan Province. The sectarian militant group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi claimed responsibility. – Express Tribune, June 30; BBC, June 30; Dawn, July 1
June 30, 2013 (PAKISTAN): A remotely-detonated bomb targeted security forces in Peshawar, leaving 17 people dead. – BBC, June 30; UPI, June 30
