April 1, 2010 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Ahmad Khalaf Shabib al-Dulaymi, who is suspected of smuggling weapons to Iraq and having ties to Usama bin Ladin. Al-Dulaymi is a native of Falluja, but lives in London. The Treasury Department also placed sanctions on Atilla Selek who is currently in a German jail for plotting attacks on U.S. soldiers and civilians in Germany. Selek is of Turkish descent. – AFP, April 1
April 1, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): An explosion killed one member of the NATO-led international force in southern Afghanistan. – Reuters, April 1
April 2, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Three German soldiers were killed during fighting in Kunduz Province. – Reuters, April 2
April 3, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani police said that they killed eight suspected criminals who had ties to Islamist militants on the outskirts of Peshawar. Three policemen were also killed in the fighting. – Reuters, April 3
April 3, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants in Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Six soldiers were also killed in the fighting. – Reuters, April 3
April 4, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): A roadside bomb killed four Afghan civilians, including three women, in Ghazni Province. – Reuters, April 5
April 4, 2010 (IRAQ): Three car bombs ripped through Baghdad, killing at least 40 people. The bombs targeted the Iranian and German embassies, in addition to the Egyptian Consulate. Authorities blamed the attack on al-Qa`ida in Iraq. – Los Angeles Times, April 5
April 4, 2010 (PHILIPPINES): Gunmen possibly belonging to the Abu Sayyaf Group abducted a Swiss-born man from his home in Zamboanga, located in the southern Philippines. Charlie Reith, 72-years-old and a naturalized Filipino, was taken away by boat in the direction of Basilan Island. – AFP, April 5
April 5, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters kidnapped four Afghan policemen after ambushing their convoy in Baghlan Province. The militants also stole a number of police vehicles. – Reuters, April 5
April 5, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Multiple militants attempted to storm the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar. The militants detonated a car bomb to destroy the external security post at the diplomatic mission, before trying to drive a second vehicle, carrying two suicide bombers, into the facility. The entrance barrier, however, blocked the vehicle, causing the militants to detonate their explosives prematurely. Other fighters dressed in military fatigues launched rocket-propelled grenades at the building as well. At least five people were killed in the coordinated attack. – Voice of America, April 5; Los Angeles Times, April 6
April 5, 2010 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber attacked an Awami National Party political rally in Lower Dir District of the North-West Frontier Province, killing at least 43 people. – BBC, April 5
April 5, 2010 (RUSSIA): A suicide bomber killed at least two police officers in Ingushetia, located in Russia’s North Caucasus. The bomber targeted a police car in the town of Karabulak. Less than an hour after the suicide bombing, a car bomb exploded in the same area in an attempt to target first responders, causing several injuries. – New York Times, April 5; Bloomberg, April 5
April 6, 2010 (IRAQ): At least seven bombings tore through mostly Shi`a neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 35 people. – Washington Post, April 7
April 6, 2010 (ISRAEL): A leading al-Qa`ida operative, Salah al-Karawi, accused Lebanese militant group Hizb Allah of “protecting Israel.” According to al-Karawi, “They [Hizb Allah] don’t allow us to act, but they don’t strike Israel themselves,” stating that the Lebanese Shi`a group was “nothing more than protectors of the Jews. It is the biggest hurdle delaying our activity on the ground against Israel.” – Haaretz, April 6
April 7, 2010 (GLOBAL): U.S. Treasury Department official David Cohen announced that al-Qa`ida “is now in the worst financial shape it has been in for years.” He also said, “We have seen financial networks that were the source of Al-Qaeda’s financing, particularly out of Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf, increasingly disrupted.” Cohen warned, however, that the Taliban has enough financing to pose a threat to civilians and international forces in Afghanistan. “The Taliban still has the funding necessary to hold territory, buy allegiance and fundamentally challenge our core national security objective” of bringing stability to Afghanistan, he explained. – Bloomberg, April 7
April 7, 2010 (UNITED STATES): Various press reports, citing U.S. officials, claim that the Obama administration has “authorized the CIA to capture or kill a U.S.-born radical Muslim cleric alleged to be an al-Qaida operative.” The cleric has been identified as Anwar al-`Awlaqi, who is believed to be hiding in Yemen. – Voice of America, April 7
April 8, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by Taliban fighters in June 2009, appeared in a new Taliban propaganda video posted to Islamist web forums. It is not clear when the video was filmed. – Telegraph, April 8
April 8, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters killed a tribal elder, Haji Abdul Samad, along with four other people in Marja, located in Helmand Province. – Reuters, April 9
April 8, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan police arrested five members of a Taliban bomb squad, preventing a terrorist attack in Kabul. According to the Afghan Interior Ministry, the men, armed with firearms and suicide vests, were arrested as they tried to drive into the center of the capital. – Daily Times, April 9
April 9, 2010 (UNITED STATES): According to the Washington Post, “U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson ruled that Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian, must be released from custody because the government was unable to prove that at the time of his capture he was part of al-Qaeda or was providing any support to the organization.” Slahi is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. – Washington Post, April 10
April 9, 2010 (SOMALIA): Somalia’s al-Shabab insurgent group forced the BBC off the air in regions they control, accusing the network of spreading Christian propaganda. According to the group, the “BBC is owned by England and it spreads (a) colonial and Christian agenda in the Muslim world. BBC fights Islam…it is against the Islamic administration in Somalia.” Voice of America was also taken off the air. – Reuters, April 9; Voice of America, April 9
April 10, 2010 (YEMEN): The powerful al-Awaliq tribe in Yemen threatened violence against anyone trying to harm the radical, U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-`Awlaqi. According to Agence France-Presse, “A US official said on Wednesday that President Barack Obama’s administration had authorised the targeted killing of the cleric, even though he is an American citizen.” The tribe, which is heavily armed, is active in Yemen’s Abyan and Shabwa provinces. – AFP, April 10
April 11, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters threatened to execute two French journalist hostages unless a prisoner exchange is organized. The Taliban are demanding the French government negotiate the release of prisoners held by U.S. and Afghan authorities. – Independent Online, April 12
April 12, 2010 (GLOBAL): President Barack Obama’s top anti-terrorism homeland security adviser, John Brennan, warned that “al-Qaeda has been engaged in the effort to acquire a nuclear weapon for over 15 years, and its interest remains strong today.” He also said, “There have been numerous reports over the years, over the past eight or nine years, about attempts throughout the world to obtain various types of purported material that is nuclear related. We know that al Qaeda has been involved in a number of these efforts to acquire it. Fortunately, I think they’ve been scammed a number of times, but we know that they continued to pursue that. We know of individuals within the organization that have been given that responsibility.” – AFP, April 12; WhiteHouse.gov, April 12
April 12, 2010 (IRAQ): A suicide bomber in a vehicle killed a policeman and a civilian in Mosul, the capital of Ninawa Province. The bomber targeted a police patrol. – AFP, April 12
April 12, 2010 (PAKISTAN): A suspected U.S. aerial drone killed at least five militants in North Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. According to a Pakistani security official, the targeted compounds were “owned by local Taliban commander Tariq Khan.” – Dawn, April 12
April 12, 2010 (PAKISTAN): More than 100 Pakistani Taliban militants attacked a checkpoint in Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Pakistan’s security forces managed to repulse the insurgents, killing an estimated 38 Taliban fighters. Two Frontier Corps soldiers were also killed. – New York Times, April 12
April 12, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani media announced that a fourth suspect in a plot to bomb New York City was arrested in Pakistan several weeks ago. The plot, which involved Najibullah Zazi, targeted New York City’s Grand Central and Times Square subway stations. – Reuters, April 13
April 13, 2010 (UNITED STATES): U.S. President Barack Obama announced an executive order blocking any U.S. assets of the Somali insurgent group al-Shabab. – Reuters, April 14
April 13, 2010 (PHILIPPINES): Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants disguised as police and military troops launched an attack in Isabela City on Basilan Island in the southern Philippines, killing at least eight people. Three Philippine Marines were among the dead. Philippine authorities suggested that the ASG fighters may have been working on behalf of local political figures. – Manila Standard, April 14; Philippine Inquirer, April 15
April 14, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): U.S. soldiers withdrew from the Korengal Valley, located in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. The valley is a Taliban stronghold, and its rugged mountainous terrain caters to the Taliban’s guerrilla tactics. U.S. General Stanley A. McChrystal said, “The battle changes, the war changes. If you don’t understand the dynamics, you have no chance of getting it right. We’ve been slower here [in Korengal] than I would have liked.” – BBC, April 14; New York Times, April 14
April 14, 2010 (IRAQ): A U.S. counterterrorism official told reporters that Iraqi authorities uncovered plans by al-Qa`ida to fly hijacked planes into Iraq’s Shi`a mosques. It is not clear how far the plan had advanced, but the potential targets reportedly included holy sites in Najaf and Karbala. – AFP, April 14; Christian Science Monitor, April 15
April 15, 2010 (UNITED STATES): Robert Mueller, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned U.S. lawmakers about the threat from unaffiliated extremists, or “lone wolf” terrorists. “Al-Qaeda and its affiliates are still committed to striking us in the United States,” he said. “Home-grown and lone-wolf extremists pose an equally serious threat.” According to Mueller, “These terrorist threats are diverse, far-reaching and ever-changing, and to combat these threats, the FBI must sustain our overseas contingency operations and engage our intelligence and law enforcement partners both here at home and abroad.” – AFP, April 15
April 15, 2010 (UNITED STATES): The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two “high-profile” Pakistani trust fund chiefs who are allegedly linked to terrorism. The men were identified as Mohammed Mazhar, the director of al-Akhtar Trust, and Mufti Abdul Rahim, the head of al-Rashid Trust. – AFP, April 15
April 15, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Two car bombs exploded in downtown Kandahar, killing at least two people. Early reports suggested that the second bomb targeted a compound housing Western workers. – New York Times, April 15
April 15, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban fighters killed four German soldiers in a rocket attack in Baghlan Province. – New York Times, April 15
April 15, 2010 (IRAQ): Gunmen stormed into a home in Mosul, killing four people, including three women. – Reuters, April 15
April 16, 2010 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a civil hospital in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province, killing 11 people. It appears that Shi`a Muslims were targeted, as the emergency room was filled with friends and family members of a Shi`a bank manager killed earlier in the day. – Daily Times, April 17
April 16, 2010 (PAKISTAN): At least four militants were killed in a U.S. aerial drone strike in North Waziristan Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. – AFP, April 16
April 16, 2010 (NORTH AFRICA): Al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released an Italian couple who has been held hostage since December 2009. The couple was kidnapped in Mauritania, but released in Mali. – BBC, April 16
April 17, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): According to the Washington Post, “The Taliban has begun regularly targeting U.S. government contractors in southern Afghanistan, stepping up use of a tactic that is rattling participating firms and could undermine development projects intended to stem the insurgency…Within the past month, there have been at least five attacks in Helmand and Kandahar provinces against employees of U.S. Agency for International Development contractors who are running agricultural projects, building roads, maintaining power plants and working with local officials.” – Washington Post, April 17
April 17, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Two male suicide bombers disguised in burqas attacked a refugee camp in Kohat District of the North-West Frontier Province, killing at least 41 people. – Los Angeles Times, April 17; AFP, April 17
April 18, 2010 (IRAQ): U.S. and Iraqi forces killed Abu Ayyub al-Masri (also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir), the head of al-Qa`ida in Iraq (AQI), in addition to Abu `Umar al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State of Iraq. U.S. General Ray Odierno called the deaths “potentially the most significant blow to Al Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency.” AQI later confirmed the deaths. According to the Washington Post, “Acting on a tip they received in recent days, Iraqi and U.S. Special Forces descended on a safe house shared by the leaders of the Sunni Muslim insurgent group in Tikrit, in northern Iraq…As the troops approached the house, an explosion occurred inside, likely the result of a suicide bombing…American forces then quickly dropped a bomb on the house, U.S. officials said.” – Los Angeles Times, April 20; Voice of America, April 25; Washington Post, April 20
April 18, 2010 (IRAQ): General Ray Odierno, the head of U.S. forces in Iraq, said he was confident that he would be able to draw down U.S. troops by an end-of-August deadline. “We are…on target to be at 50,000 [troops] by August,” he told Fox News. “We’re at about 95,000 today…our plans are intact. I feel very comfortable with our plan. And unless something unforeseen and disastrous happens, I fully expect us to be at 50,000 by the 1st of September.” – Reuters, April 18
April 18, 2010 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle near the Belly Tang Police Station in Kohat District of the North-West Frontier Province. The blast killed at least seven people. – The Nation, April 19; Voice of America, April 18
April 19, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Afghan police and intelligence officials announced that they prevented a planned commando-style raid by Taliban insurgents in Kabul. Nine would-be suicide bombers were arrested. The militants apparently wanted to attack strategic government and foreign targets in the capital. – Reuters, April 19; AFP, April 19
April 19, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Taliban gunmen shot dead the deputy mayor of Kandahar city, Azizullah Yarmal, while he was praying at a mosque. – BBC, April 20
April 19, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): A bomb attached to the back of a donkey exploded in Kandahar city, killing three children. – Reuters, April 19
April 19, 2010 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber targeted a crowded market in Peshawar, killing at least 23 people. – BBC, April 19
April 20, 2010 (IRAQ): Iraqi and U.S. troops killed a regional al-Qa`ida in Iraq leader. Hazim Ilyas Abdallah al-Khafaji (also known as Yasir al-Hambali) was killed during the morning operation in Ninawa Province. – USA Today, April 20; AFP, April 20
April 22, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani Taliban militants ambushed a military convoy in North Waziristan Agency, killing seven soldiers. – New York Times, April 23
April 22, 2010 (NIGER): Police in Niger believe that armed gunmen linked to al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb kidnapped one Frenchman and one Algerian citizen in the north of the country. – AP, April 23
April 23, 2010 (UNITED STATES): Taxi driver Zarein Ahmedzay pleaded guilty in a New York court to conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiring to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support to Usama bin Ladin’s al-Qa`ida network. Ahmedzay, a U.S. citizen, is a former school classmate of Najibullah Zazi, who pleaded guilty to similar charges in February 2010. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Knox also for the first time named the senior al-Qa`ida operatives involved in the case, identifying them as Salah al-Somali and Rashid Rauf. Al-Somali is the head of international operations for al-Qa`ida and was killed in a U.S. drone strike in December 2009. – Reuters, April 23; AP, April 24
April 23, 2010 (IRAQ): A series of car bombs exploded outside Shi`a mosques in Baghdad, killing at least 69 people. At least 10 bombs were detonated. – Washington Post, April 24; AP, April 23
April 24, 2010 (PAKISTAN): A car bomber targeted a prison van in Lower Dir District of the North-West Frontier Province, wounding at least 10 policemen. No prisoners were in the van at the time. – AP, April 24
April 24, 2010 (PAKISTAN): A bomb tore through a bakery in the town of Sibi, located in Baluchistan Province. Six people were wounded. – Reuters, April 24
April 24, 2010 (PAKISTAN): The Pakistani Taliban apparently issued a “last warning” to media to “stop working as an ally” of the Pakistani government and the army. – Reuters, April 24
April 25, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed four people in an attack at a bazaar in Zabul Province. – BBC, April 25
April 25, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Militants reportedly attacked a checkpoint in Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, but were rebuffed by Pakistan’s security forces. Local officials say that nine militants were killed in the firefight. – AP, April 25
April 26, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): A NATO airstrike killed a senior Taliban commander and two advisers in Kunduz Province. – Voice of America, April 26
April 26, 2010 (YEMEN): A suicide bomber attempted to kill Britain’s ambassador to Yemen as he traveled to work in an armored vehicle. The ambassador, Timothy Torlot, was uninjured in the attack, which occurred a few hundred yards from the popular Movenpick Hotel in Sana`a. Yemeni police quickly arrested several al-Qa`ida suspects in connection with the attack. – Deutsche Press Agency, April 26; Christian Science Monitor, April 26; Australian Broadcasting Corporation, April 28
April 26, 2010 (MOROCCO): Morocco’s Interior Ministry announced that it had broken up an al-Qa`ida-linked militant cell planning attacks throughout the country. A total of 24 militants belonged to the cell. – Voice of America, April 26
April 27, 2010 (GLOBAL): Anwar al-`Awlaqi, an American-born Muslim cleric now based in Yemen, appeared in a new video released by al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). According to CNN, “In the video released to media outlets, al-Awlaki said the goal of the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq is to get Muslims to fight each other by blaming market bombings on Islamic militants…A top Yemen government official said al-Awlaki met with Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, who has been charged in a botched attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet en route from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, on Christmas Day. The attempt to ignite explosives hidden in AbdulMutallab’s underwear failed to bring down the plane.” – CNN, April 27
April 27, 2010 (UNITED STATES): Syed Hashmi, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in a New York City court to one count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Hashmi, a former student in New York, admitted that while living in London he helped a friend send waterproof socks, ponchos and sleeping bags to al-Qa`ida fighters in Afghanistan. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Hashmi could have received a sentence of 70 years had he been convicted on the four counts he originally faced. As part of his deal, the government will drop three other charges and allow him to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to Al Qaeda, prosecutors said. In a letter, the government said both parties agreed that 15 years would be a reasonable sentence.” – Reuters, April 27; New York Times, April 27
April 27, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): A suicide bomber killed three people near Kandahar Airfield. The attack targeted a compound providing logistical support to NATO forces. – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, April 27; CBS News, April 27
April 27, 2010 (IRAQ): A roadside bomb killed one U.S. soldier in Diyala Province. – Reuters, April 28
April 27, 2010 (SOMALIA): Three suicide attackers drove a truck filled with explosives toward an African Union (AU) peacekeeping base in Mogadishu. AU forces opened fire on the truck, killing all three militants inside. The subsequent explosion, however, wounded two AU soldiers. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, and said that it was to avenge the recent deaths of al-Qa`ida’s leaders in Iraq. – Voice of America, April 27; UPI, April 29
April 28, 2010 (IRAQ): Two suspected suicide bombers in vehicles attacked police checkpoints in southern Baghdad, killing five people. – Reuters, April 28
April 28, 2010 (IRAQ): A bomb on a pickup truck exploded at the Electricity Ministry, wounding two employees and two bystanders in western Baghdad. – Reuters, April 28
April 28, 2010 (PAKISTAN): A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a police checkpoint on the outskirts of Peshawar, killing four officers. – AFP, April 27
April 29, 2010 (IRAQ): A roadside bomb wounded one U.S. soldier in Baghdad’s northern Adhamiya district. – Reuters, April 30
April 29, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Pakistani security officials claimed that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan leader Hakimullah Mehsud is alive, despite reports that he was killed in a U.S. drone strike in January 2010. – Los Angeles Times, April 29
April 29, 2010 (RUSSIA): A suicide bomber killed two police officers in Russia’s Dagestan region. – AP, April 29
April 30, 2010 (GLOBAL): Islamist web forums hosted a new audio message purportedly containing the voice of Humam al-Balawi, the Jordanian doctor who killed seven CIA agents in eastern Afghanistan in December 2009. Al-Sahab, which produced the audio/video message, announced al-Badawi with subtitles, reading, “A message that was delivered on the night before his martyrdom operation against the American intelligence in Khost.” – CNN, April 30
April 30, 2010 (UNITED STATES): Prosecutors charged two New York men—Wesam El-Hanafi and Sabirhan Hasanoff—with conspiracy to provide material support to Usama bin Ladin’s al-Qa`ida network. The men allegedly provided computer expertise and purchased seven watches online for al-Qa`ida. El-Hanafi was born in Brooklyn, while Hasanoff is a dual U.S.-Australian citizen. – Reuters, April 30
April 30, 2010 (AFGHANISTAN): Explosives planted on a bicycle wounded five Afghan civilians in Musa Qala district of southern Helmand Province. – Reuters, April 30
April 30, 2010 (IRAQ): Gunmen threw a hand grenade at a U.S. military patrol in Hawija, north of Baghdad. One Iraqi civilian was wounded. – Reuters, April 30
April 30, 2010 (PAKISTAN): Khalid Khwaja, a former official in Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was found dead in North Waziristan Agency with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Khwaja was kidnapped on March 26 by a group calling itself the “Asian Tigers.” Khwaja’s death was greeted with some surprise, as he had deep connections to the Taliban and al-Qa`ida. The group is still holding hostage two other individuals kidnapped with Khwaja: retired Colonel Amir Sultan Tarar and British journalist Asad Qureshi. – Dawn, April 30; New York Times, April 30
