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Massive Earthquake Hits Japan, Followed by Devastating Tsunami

admin — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:40:01 +0000

An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit off the east coast of Japan early today. The quake — one of the largest in recorded history — triggered a 23-foot tsunami that battered Japan’s coast, killing hundreds and sweeping away cars, homes, buildings, and boats. Editors note: we’ll post more as the story develops..

See photos at Boston.com

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Shabaab Calls on Al Qaeda to ‘Expand the East Africa Jihad’

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 03:12:16 +0000

By Bill Roggio

December 26, 2010

Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia, has called for the global terror group to send more fighters to “expand the East Africa jihad.”

Shabaab’s top spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, who is also known as Ali Dheere, issued a call for al Qaeda fighters to come to Somalia. Rage made the statement during a joint press conference held in Mogadishu on Friday with Sheikh Abdifatah Mohamed Ali, Hizbul Islam’s spokesman.

“We call on our brothers [Al Qaeda] to come to Somalia and to help us expand the East Africa jihad,” Rage told reporters, according to Garowe Online.

Rage and Ali held the press conference to formally announce Hizbul Islam’s merger with Shabaab. On Dec. 19, Hizbul Islam’s top leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, announced he had joined forces with Shabaab after his forces lost control over much of their traditional strongholds south of Mogadishu during a Shabaab onslaught and the subsequent defection of local Hizbul Islam leaders.

On Dec. 23, Rage also held a press conference to “inform our brothers in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria and Uganda” of the Shabaab/Hizbul Islam merger, and he threatened the eastern African nations of Uganda and Burundi, which make up the African Union forces fighting in Mogadishu.

“We, al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam have united and we warn Uganda and Burundi forces and their people that we shall redouble our attacks,” Rage said, according to Reuters. “We also inform our brothers in Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria and Uganda, that we have united in one name — al Shabaab.”

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Female Suicide Bomber Kills 42 People in Pakistan’s Northwest

admin — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 16:22:30 +0000

By Bill Roggio

December 25, 2010

A female Taliban suicide bomber killed 42 Pakistani civilians in an attack today at a World Food Program ration distribution point in Pakistan’s tribal agency of Bajaur.

The female suicide bomber detonated her vest in the midst of a crowd of more than 300 people waiting at an outside checkpoint for handouts from the World Food Program in Khar, the main town in Bajaur. Those waiting for food were among the internally displaced people who had fled the fighting between the military and the Taliban over the past three years.

Pakistani officials said that 42 people were killed and 72 more were wounded, some critically.

Today’s attack takes place just one day after the Taliban launched a series of assaults on Pakistani Frontier Corps checkpoints in Mohmand, which borders Bajaur to the south. In those clashes, 11 Frontier Corps troops and 24 Taliban fighters were reported killed.

This summer, the Bajaur Taliban vowed to continue to attack security forces and pro-government tribes. On July 8, the Taliban issued pamphlets in Bajaur announcing their return and threatening to kill tribesmen who support the government.

In the pamphlets, the Taliban “threatened the people, particularly the government employees and security forces, not to support the agenda of the US and its allies,” The News reported. “The militants said that they would continue their ‘jihad’ against the US and its supporters. They also urged the Taliban fighters not to surrender to the government and warned them and security forces of stern action.”

Over the past two years, the Pakistani military has twice declared victory in Bajaur.

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Suicide bomber kills 50 in attack on tribal leaders in northwestern Pakistan

admin — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 02:36:51 +0000

By Bill Roggio

December 6, 2010

Taliban suicide bombers killed 50 people and wounded more than 100 in an attack today on a government official’s office in northwestern Pakistan.

A pair of suicide bombers dressed as tribal policemen detonated at the compound of the senior government representative in Ghalalnai, the administrative seat of the tribal agency of Mohmand in Pakistan’s northwest. The first bomber detonated his vest at the gate of the compound, and the second detonated his vest inside the building shortly afterward.

The Taliban bombers targeted a meeting of local administration officials and tribal leaders who have organized in an attempt to raise militias and oppose Taliban rule. Policemen, government officials, tribal leaders, and two journalists were among those killed.

Omar Khalid, the leader of the Taliban in Mohmand, took credit for the attack and warned anyone working with the government would meet the same fate.

“We will continue to attack all pro-government officials and their supporters who try to join any peace committees or Lashkars,” Khalid said, according to CNN.

“There was a meeting underway between the local administration chief and tribal elders, members of the peace committee (anti-Taliban militia) when the blast took place,” a local official in Mohmand said.

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Taliban Kill 18 in Suicide Assault on Police Headquarters in Karachi

admin — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:59:49 +0000

By Bill Roggio November 11, 2010

The Taliban took credit for a deadly suicide assault on a police headquarters in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi today. Eighteen people were killed in the attack and more than 100 were wounded.

A Taliban assault team attacked the Crime Investigation Department headquarters in a secured area of Karachi. Taliban fighters armed with assault rifles attacked the building and battled with police before a massive truck bomb was detonated inside the CID compound. The truck bomb, which is estimated to have carried more than 2,000 pounds of explosives, destroyed the building.

Police have confirmed that 18 people have been killed and 115 have been wounded. The death toll may rise as others may be trapped in the rubble of the building.

In a telephone call to news organizations, Azam Tariq, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said: “We will continue such attacks as long as military operations continue against us.”

While the specific reasons for today’s attack in Karachi attack are not known, the Taliban may have been trying to free a senior commander, a local Taliban leader, and several allied Lashkar-e-Jhangvi fighters who are thought to have been in custody at the CID building. On Nov. 3, police arrested a Taliban commander named Yousuf, who is also known as Qari. Yousuf was described as “a senior member of the TTP [Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] and was in contact with the top leadership of the banned outfit.” He is said to have planned a suicide attack on a police training center in Mingora earlier this year, and is thought to have been plotting to carry out attacks in Karachi.

Also, yesterday, police arrested six Lashkar-e-Jhangvi fighters from the Asif Ramzi group and a Taliban commander known as Iqbal. The Taliban leader is said to be a “a close aide” to Faqir Mohammad, the Taliban’s leader in the tribal agency of Bajaur. All seven terrorists were being interrogated by the CID in Karachi.

Pakistani military and police forces have been a major target of the Taliban over the past several years. The Taliban have conducted numerous attacks against heavily secured military, police, and intelligence compounds, as well as against other secured targets housing foreigners in Pakistan’s major cities. The most brazen was the assault on the Pakistani Army General Headquarters complex in the garrison city of Rawalpindi in October 2009.

The Taliban have been targeting the counterterrorism sections of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency, the Pakistani Central Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Investigation Agency. The ISI counterterrorism branch is responsible for targeting the Taliban and is supported by the US. The Taliban destroyed an ISI counterterrorism section building in Peshawar on Nov. 13, 2009, as well as the Pakistani Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Lahore on Oct. 16, 2009. Also, on March 8, 2010, a suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives into a Federal Investigation Agency building in Lahore, killing 11 people. Four days later, on March 12, a pair of suicide bombers attacked Pakistani Army vehicles at a bazaar in a military cantonment in Lahore, killing more than 50 people.
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/11/taliban_kill_18_in_s.php#ixzz17jWs9C6e

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Al Qaeda in Iraq Claims Massacre at Christian Church in Baghdad

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:29:46 +0000

By Bill Roggio

November 1, 2010

The Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaeda’s front organization, claimed credit for last night’s massacre at a Baghdad church that killed 52 Iraqis. Al Qaeda stated that the attack at the church was launched to avenge the treatment of Muslim women in Egypt.

Al Qaeda fighters armed with suicide vests, assault rifles, and hand grenades, and wearing uniforms of a local security company, attacked the nearby stock exchange, wounding two security guards. The attack on the exchange appeared to be a feint designed to lure security forces to the area while a squad estimated at between five to eight terrorists stormed the Our Lady of Deliverance church and took 120 Christians hostage, according to the Associated Press.

Two hours later, after cordoning off the church, Iraqi security forces stormed the church, sparking a gunbattle that resulted in 52 Iraqis killed and 67 wounded. Two priests,10 Iraqi policemen, and the entire suicide squad were killed during the battle, according to reports. At least 30 of the people were killed when one of the al Qaeda terrorists either detonated his vest or lobbed hand grenades at the Christian hostages being held in the basement.

Five terrorists, including one with “an Arab nationality,” or a non-Iraqi, were captured, the spokesman of the Baghdad Operational Command told Voice of Iraq.

Investigators later found “three Yemeni and two Egyptian passports thought to have belonged to the suicide bombers” at the church, an Iraqi official told The Washington Post.

Al Qaeda released a statement on the Internet claiming the attack.

“Upon guidance issued by the Ministry of War in the Islamic State of Iraq in support for our downtrodden Muslim sisters that are held captive in the Muslim land of Egypt and after accurate planning and selection, an angry group of righteous jihadists attacked a filthy den of polytheism,” according to the statement, which was obtained by The Long War Journal. “This den has been frequently used by the Christians of Iraq to fight Islam and support those who are fighting it. With the grace of God, the group was able to hold captive all those in the den and take over all its entrances.”

Based on the statement, it appears that al Qaeda in Iraq had hoped to hold the Christians in Baghdad hostage for at least two days, as a deadline for “the release” of Egyptian women supposedly being held in Coptic churches in Egypt was issued.

“The mujahidin in the Islamic State of Iraq give Egypt’s Christian and belligerent Church as well as its chief of infidelity a 48-hour ultimatum to disclose the status of our sisters in religion, who are held captive in Egypt’s monasteries of infidelity and churches of polytheism,” al Qaeda demanded. “The mujahidin further demand the release of all of them together with an announcement of the release via a media outlet that the mujahidin can access within the deadline.”

Al Qaeda said that if the demands were not met, “the lions of monotheism [al Qaeda's fighters], who wore their explosive belts, will not hesitate to kill the militant Iraqi Christian captives.”

Al Qaeda in Iraq also threatened to carry out attacks against Christian churches across the globe.

“Afterwards, various attacks will be launched against them inside and outside this country, in which their lands will be destroyed, their strength will be undermined, and they will be afflicted by the humiliation that God ordained for them,” al Qaeda said.

The attack in Baghdad took place just three days after an al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bomber killed 21 people and wounded 65 more in an attack on a cafe in the town of Balad Ruz in Diyala province. Shia Kurds were the target of the attack, which was the first major attack in Iraq more than a month.

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DC-Area Gunman May Have Grievance Against Marines

admin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:05:28 +0000

(AP) – 4 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A gunman who fired shots at a Washington-area Marine Corps museum and is believed to be responsible for three similar incidents may have a grievance against the U.S. Marine Corps, the FBI said Friday.

John Perren, the acting assistant director for the FBI’s Washington field office, said during a press conference that investigators believe the person takes issue with the institution of the Marines, but not those serving in uniform. Perren said the person has made sure no one has been hurt, and authorities don’t believe he wants to harm citizens or Marines.

“We’d like to know what this grievance is and what we can do to try to help solve it,” Perren said.

He said the suspect may be dealing with a traumatic event such as loss of a job, financial problems or divorce.

Perren said officials are working under the assumption that the individual was part of the Marine Corps.

Perren urged anyone who may have information about the suspect to contact authorities and told people to quickly report gunfire or suspicious activity.

Someone fired shots at the museum in Triangle, Va., between 9 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday, said Assistant Chief Mike Crosbie of the Prince William County Police Department. He said it appears someone fired from the side of the building facing Interstate 95.

The shooting is the second time someone has fired at the museum. Bullet holes were first found there Oct. 17. Two days later, shots were fired into two windows at the Pentagon.

A third military office — a Marine Corps recruiting station in Chantilly, Va., outside Washington — was shot at late Monday or early Tuesday.

The FBI has said the first three shootings are connected, and investigators say they assume the fourth is connected as well.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Friday that security would be even tighter than usual for the Marine Corps Marathon this weekend because of the recent shootings. The Pentagon is a staging ground for Sunday’s race.

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North Korea Exchanges Fire with South at Border

admin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:05:15 +0000

NBC News and news services updated 10/29/2010 6:46:31 AM ET

SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea exchanged gunfire across their heavily armed border on Friday, the South’s military said.

The North Korean frontline guard post fired two shots at around 5:26 p.m. local time toward a South Korean guard post which returned fire, a joint chiefs of staff official told Reuters.

It was not immediately clear why North Korea fired first, the official said.

There were no South Korean injuries and it was unclear whether it was an accident or an intentional provocation, a military official in Seoul told The Associated Press. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Yonhap news agency said the shots were fired in Hwacheon in the eastern province of Gangwon. Hwacheon is about 70 miles northeast of Seoul.

The clash came hours after the North vowed to retaliate against South Korea for its rejection of a North Korean proposal for military talks.

NBC News also reported that a meeting between officials from Pyongyang and Seoul didn’t occur as scheduled on Friday.

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Taliban Assassinate Kunduz Governor in Attack at Mosque

admin — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:39:50 +0000

By Bill RoggioOctober 8, 2010

The Taliban have murdered the head of Kunduz province, along with 14 other people, in a bombing today at a mosque in the neighboring province of Tahkar. The governor had been outspoken in his opposition to the Taliban and allied terror groups operating in the north.

Governor Muhammad Omar was killed while worshiping during Friday prayers at the Spinghar mosque in Taluqan, the provincial capital of Takhar province, Pajwhok Afghan News reported. Omar regularly attended Friday prayers at the Spinghar mosque. The Taliban are thought to have planted the bomb in the mosque prior to the service, and detonated it during prayers. Among those also killed in the blast was the prayer leader of the mosque.

“Prayers were ongoing when the massive explosion that shook the mosque took place,” a witness at the scene of the attack said.

Omar had survived several previous assassination attempts on his life, according to the BBC. And last year, his brother was also assassinated by the Taliban.

Omar had been vocal in his opposition to the Taliban, and had consistently warned of the spread of the Taliban and allied terror groups in the Afghan north. His assassination comes in the wake of news that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency has directed the Taliban to increase their attacks against civilian Afghan leaders, as reported in The Wall Street Journal.

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Taliban kill 55 in suicide attacks against religious minorities in Quetta and Mardan

admin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:33:52 +0000

By Bill Roggio

September 3, 2010

The Taliban again struck at religious minorities inside Pakistan, killing 54 people in a car bombing at a protest in Quetta and one more person outside a mosque in Mardan.

In Quetta, a suicide car bomb was detonated in the midst of a Qods Day protest held by Shia Muslims who oppose Israel’s control of Jerusalem. Gunmen then opened fire after the blast. Fifty-four people were killed and nearly 200 were wounded, according to reports from Geo News and Dawn.

In the district of Mardan in Pakistan’s northwest, a suicide bomber detonated outside a Ahmadi mosque in the town of Muslimabad Canal. The suicide bomber was armed with an assault rifle and attempted to enter the mosque to kill the worshipers, but was stopped by security guards. One person was killed and four more were wounded in the attack.

Ahmadis are a sect of Islam and are banned from calling themselves Muslims by the Pakistani government. The group is widely discriminated against in the country and is a frequent target of the Taliban and other Pakistani terror groups. On May 28, 2010, the Punjabi Taliban assaulted two Ahmadi mosques in Lahore, killing more than 70 people.

Today’s suicide attacks follow another that took place in Lahore just two days ago. More than 30 people were killed during suicide attacks against a Shia religious procession in the eastern city.

The Pakistani Taliban as well as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Almi, another name for the so-called Punjabi Taliban, claimed that they carried out the attack in Lahore. Shakirullah Mehsud, a spokesman for Qari Hussain Mehsud, the Taliban’s top trainer of suicide bombers, made the announcement.

“It’s revenge for the killings of innocent Sunnis,” Shakirullah told Reuters. “We also have videos of the fedayeen (suicide bombers) and we may release them.”

Today’s attack in Mardan is also the latest to have targeted Pakistanis at religious buildings and events. Over the past few years, the Taliban have shown no reservations about striking inside mosques and other religious sites, as well as during religious processions and events [see list below]. There have been 25 major attacks on mosques and other Islamic institutions in Pakistan since December 2007, according to information compiled by The Long War Journal.