Counterterrorism Blog
The first multi-expert blog dedicated solely to counterterrorism issues, serving as a gateway to the community for policymakers and serious researchers. Designed to provide realtime information about terrorism cases and policy developments.
December 2009 Archives

FBI follows up on terror accomplice claim

Nigeria says plane bomber began journey in Ghana

Yemen, Somalia, and Al Qaeda

Yemen Shi'ite rebels ready for talks with Saudi

Yemen: Al Qaeda 'most dangerous' arrested

Yemen: The U.S. Weighs the Military Options

In Gaza, Hamas faces jihadist challenge

(Somalia) A US pipeline for jihad in Somalia?

Dutch to use full body scanners for US flights

(Pakistan) Bajaur Levies personnel killed

(Pakistan) CIA arrest man impersonating as SSP

(India) Militant hideout busted in JK

Nigeria airports to buy 3-D full body scanners

Yemen's problems will not stay in Yemen

Yemen seeks Western support against Al-Qaeda

Yemen Raids Al Qaeda Hide-Out; 1 Arrested

Yemen's Mixed Results in the War on Terror

Pakistan troops kill wanted militant: army

Nigeria sect violence victims 'mostly children'

Yemen: Al-Qaeda's New Staging Ground?

Nigeria moves to assuage terror fears

Iraq faces test as US pullout looms

Yemen terror camps attract 'stream of Britons'

Pakistan bombing kills 25 at Shiite procession

Pakistan clashes kill 15: officials

Iraq troops defuse bombs as millions mark Ashura

(Yemen) CIA present in Yemen since 2008: Report

Yemen arrests 29 al Qaeda suspects after raids

Algeria takes action after kidnappings

Bombing Attempt Highlights Nigeria Concerns

(Iraq) Holiday in Iraq Is Largely Peaceful

(Mexico) Bodies of 5 Men Found in Mexico

Plane attacker lived outside Nigeria: government

FBI identifies explosive in terror probe

Pak forces bust militant hideouts in Waziristan

US bomb suspect was denied British visa: source

In Iraq, a rash of assassination attempts

(Pakistan) Car bomb in Karachi injures 19

US drone strike kills five in Pakistan

Hamas grip on Gaza tighter a year after war

Israeli troops kill 6 in West Bank, Gaza

8 Taliban militants killed in N Afghanistan

(Pakistan) Taliban militants blow up schools

Anti-Taliban Pakistan leader beheaded: officials


Cops Hunt For UK Link After US 'Jet Bomb' Plot

Bomb attacks fails in US-bound plane

AP sources: Al-Qaida link in failed plane attack

(Pakistan) Explosions rock 3 Pakistan schools

(Somalia) 15 reported dead in Somalia clash

Fort Hood Shooter's Cleric Dead? - commentary

Pakistan police: Americans may face terror charges - 5 DC area men

Taliban video claims to be of captured US soldier - Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl captured 6/30

(Yemen) Al Jazeera reporting denial of al-Aulaqi death - (in Arabic) "..but Al-Jazeera correspondent in Sana'a quoted local sources, Sheikh Anwar Aulaqi not hurt as previously announced." (Google translation)

(Indonesia) Police arrest terrorist M Top's father-in-law - Bahrudin Latif alias Baridin

Cigarette smuggling operation revealed: Feds focus on alleged illegal sales - Knoxville TN FBI investigation

Bin Laden Daughter in Iran Seeks Refuge

Israelis seek arrest of Hamas leaders abroad - lawsuit in Belgium

Yemen says Fort Hood-linked imam may be dead - Anwar al-Aulaqi

Somalia's Shebab put the squeeze on foreign NGOs with rumor about Fazul Abdullah as new leader of Shabaab

(Kenya) Fazul Abdallah kept us on tenterhooks - Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Al Qaeda

Bin Laden's Family Under House Arrest in Iran: Asharq Al-Awsat - Interview with son Omar

Bin Laden daughter hides in Saudi embassy in Iran - says family detained by Iran since 2001, not 1997 re previous story

Need To Focus More on Rana - Tahawwur Hussain Rana, David Coleman Headley case

Iran 'holding bin Laden relatives' - Son Abdul Rahman bin Laden said that Eman, his sister, one of his stepmothers and five of his brothers have been detained in Tehran since 1997, said Eman in refuge at Saudi embassy

Should the U.S. Destroy Jihadist Websites? - Time magazine

Al-Qaeda vows revenge for Yemeni strike: TV

(Lebanon) Renewed Lebanese drug trade hikes Mideast tensions - Bekaa Valley is Hezbollah stronghold

'Sleeper cell plotter' revealed in UK court papers Alleged associate of 2006 airplane bomb plotters

From Guantánamo to Desk at Al Jazeera - Sami al-Hajj

Domestic Terror Incidents Hit a Peak in 2009

How an accused secret agent has tied up India-Pakistan-US relations - David Coleman Headley

Bomber Attacks Pakistani Press Club - Peshawar

Panel: Lithuanian security approved CIA prisons

(Turkey) Questions linger after Lt. Col. Tatar's alleged suicide - Assassination plot in military

Hong Kong Firm Leased Plane Carrying Weapons - ongoing investigation of cargo plane held in Thailand

US professor among 5 sentenced to die in Ethiopia - Exiled opposition leader Berhanu Nega teaches at Bucknell University

(India) Kasab continues to deny 26/11 charges for third day - Mumbai attacks

(Yemen) Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi takes final breath

U.S. reaching out to former foes in Iraq

(Indonesia) Cops: Terror suspect posed no threat, deported - Abdul Basir Latip

(Israel) Six foiled Hezbollah attacks likely behind Israel-Lebanon tension - attempts foiled in Turkey

(Kenya) Amisom losing out in Somalia

Saudi Al-Qaeda militants killed in Yemen - reports miltants' escape from Yemen hospital

U.S. sends 12 Guantanamo detainees to their home nations - Names of the men transferred to Afghanistan, Somaliland, Yemen

Pakistani militants relocate to heartland

Soldier killed in Afghanistan explosion

(Pakistan) Mosque raid kills 15

Iraq says new mass grave found near Kirkuk

US: Iraq not 'pushed around' by Iran

Criminal complaint in US Court NY Southern District - Cocaine & terrorism case re FARC/AQIM

FBI Linguist Guilty of Leaking Classified Documents - Shamai Kedem Leibowitz leak to unnamed blogger

U.S. Charges 3 in Drug Case With Helping Al Qaeda - Oumar Issa, Harouna Touré, Idriss Abelrahman arrested in Ghana, flown to US

Thailand confirms US helped in weapons seizure

Muslims Say F.B.I. Tactics Sow Anger and Fear

Yemen Says Strikes Against Qaeda Bases Killed 34

High court blocks Pakistani officials from exiting country - CNN: Nearly 280 government officials and ministers have been placed on an exit control list

Raids crack down on counterfeit goods - "a dotted line" to terrorism

Twitter Hacked by 'Iranian Cyber Army'

(Kenya) Somalia spy network exposed Allegations about officials working with AMISOM providing information to U.S., South Africa intelligence

Pakistan Reported to Be Harassing U.S. Diplomats

34 killed in Yemen terror raids

Leaders of Colombian Narco-Terrorist Organization Plead Guilty in U.S. District Court to Conspiring to Import Tons of Cocaine into the United States - FARC leaders JORGE ENRIQUE RODRIGUEZ MENDIETA, a/k/a "Ivan Vargas," and GERARDO AGUILAR RAMIREZ, a/k/a "Cesar"

Pre-massacre concerns about Hasan may have been off limits to FBI - Fort Hood

Saudi spies hunt al-Qaida in Yemen - "unprecedented Saudi intelligence presence in Yemen"

Philippines arrests alleged militant wanted by US - Abu Sayyaf co-founder Abdul Basir Latip wanted in 1993 kidnapping

US-Pakistan Detainees Swap Suggests 5 Americans swap for Aafia Siddiqui

Mauritania introduces anti-terror legislation

Gitmo detainees not free in US after prison

Thais Investigate Destination of Weapons Cache

Report: Islamic terror rising as al-Qaida fades

U.S. to announce transfer of detainees to Ill. prison - Guantanamo

Suicide Bomber Strikes Near Hotel in Kabul

(Atlanta) US man gets 17 years for conspiracy to support terror - Ehsanul Islam Sadequee

Spain: 11 guilty of belonging to terror group

Accused Qaeda Detainees May Be Tried in Brooklyn

2nd Chicago terror suspect knew about Mumbai attack - Tahawwur Hussain Rana

Pakistan police probe Americans in terror case

Interagency Rift Cited in New York Terror Case - Imam in Zazi case

(Thailand) Six arrested in passport scam, terror link seen - EU passport forgery ring

Al Qaeda looking to Yemen as next base

Pakistan looks at militant as key to Americans' journey - Saifullah

Gunmen storm jail, free 31 prisoners in Philippines - 2 Moro Islamic Liberation Front leaders escape

Petraeus Sees Shift in Al Qaeda's Iraq Tactics

Secret document exposes Iran's nuclear trigger

Pakistan ponders new onslaught

Iraq: 13 suspects arrested in Baghdad blasts

(Iraq) Car bomb kills 2 in western Iraq

(Iraq) Four killed in Iraq bombings

(Israel) Hezbollah rules out war with Israel

U.S. Freezes $2 Billion in Iran Case Marine barracks attack in Beirut 1983

Pakistan PM backtracks on Waziristan remarks

Lebanon pressing US to deliver military aid

'Iranian $2 billion frozen in US bank'

Bomb kills 3 police in northern Iraq

Iraq security chiefs grilled about bombings

Americans held in Pakistan straddled 2 worlds

Al Qaeda's Yemen Connection May Be Dead. Exclusive: Al Qaeda Leader Believed Killed by Drone Said to Be Strategist for Moving Militants From Pakistan to Yemen.

Al-Qaeda 'not behind Pakistan bloodshed': US militant - Adam Gadahn

Fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan

Yemen says 2 pro-al-Qaida suspects arrested

Arrest of US terror suspects 'wake up call': imam - Virginia mosque

Thousands Flee Iran as Noose Tightens

(Mali) Cocaine Trade Finds West Africa Window

(Pakistan) Malik blames terrorism on outside powers - Federal Interior Minister blames India

Somalia suicide bomber 'was from Denmark'

Ecuador: US helped Colombia attack on FARC chief - report on 2008 raid


International Counterterrorism Policy in the Obama Administration - Daniel Benjamin, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism

Family of Gitmo detainee sues Kenya gov't for $30M - Mohamed Abdulmalik, accused in 2002 Kenya attack on Paradise Hotel

Mom denies terror link as 6 arrested in Pakistan - Mother says son was in Pakistan to get married, father also arrested

(UK) Bomb plot leader's friends convicted of terror offences - 2006 transatlantic airliner bomb plot

Pakistan Detains Five Americans Tied to Militants - Umer Farooq, Ramy Zamzam, Ahmed Abdullah, Waqar Khan, Aman Yasir

Cleric in Fort Hood probe grew more radical in Yemeni jail - Anwar al-Aulaqi

(Geneva) US wants tough bioweapons ban, but no verification - also Text of speech by Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security

Kenya: 50 Foreigners Seized in Swoop

Somalia suicide bomber from Denmark The suicide bombing that killed 23 people in Somalia last week was carried out by a man who grew up in Copenhagen

Captive Helps Close the Distance Between Israelis - Gilad Shalit

Terror charges for man in Germany over US targets - Islamic Jihad Union

(AQIM) Al Qaeda claims aid worker kidnappings - Spanish aid workers kidnapped in Mauritania Nov. 29

F.B.I. Sets New Review of Shootings at Ft. Hood

(Norway) La police norvégienne arrête deux personnes avant la remise du Nobel à Obama - Norwegian police arrest 2 before Obama's Nobel visit (AFP wire in French)

Syria Exports Trouble - Commentary by Michael Young on Forbes.com

Russian authorities foil 81 terror acts in N.Caucasus in 2009 - FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov

India arrests "Hawala" kingpin - Naresh Jain

(Philadelphia) Lebanese man accused in arms buy to be detained - Hezbollah

Afghanistan 'unable to pay for troops for 15 years' - Hamid Karzai

(Israel) Popular Fatah Leader Complicates Prisoner Swap - Marwan Barghouti

Police: Attack on Pakistan intel office kills 12 - Multan, Pakistan

For 9/11 Cases, a Short List of Lawyers

(Colombia) Colombian judge issues arrest warrant for Venezuelan lawmaker - Amílcar Figueroa - conspiracy to commit kidnapping, fund terrorism and training of illegal groups, for allegedly supporting a terrorist organization (FARC)

Chicagoan Charged with Conspiracy in 2008 Mumbai Attacks in Addition to Foreign Terror Plot in Denmark - David Headley, also charges unsealed against Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), a retired major in the Pakistani military, relating to Denmark plot.

Major militant attacks in Pakistan - AP chronology 10/09-

Suicide Bomber in Pakistan Kills 7 - Peshawar

Police, Protesters Clash at Iran University

Somali Gov't Warns of Suicide Attack Threat

No Firm Plans for a U.S. Exit in Afghanistan

(UK) Al-Qaeda and a decade of terror - Michael Burleigh commentary

(India) Headley's 26/11 links: FBI may shed light today - Mumbai attacks link to U.S. suspects

(Iraq) Security developments in Iraq, Dec 6

(Iraq) Four police gunned down in Iraq market

Obama's Afghanistan Plan Marks Strategy Shift

The Demons That Haunt the Pakistanis

Pakistani court postpones Mumbai attack trial

Blast in Pakistan's Peshawar kills 3

U.S. Marines advance in southern Afghanistan

Somebody at Fort Hood Should Be Walking the Plank - Louay Safi (IIIT/ISNA)

Update: Pakistan Rawalpindi mosque attack kills many. At least 40 people have been killed and more than 80 injured in a co-ordinated attack at a mosque in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, officials say.

(Lebanon) Hezbollah's Latest Mission

(New York) New Charges Planned for Suspect in Terror Plot Case - Najibullah Zazi

Suicide bombers kill 40 at Pakistan mosque - Rawalpindi

Rewards for Justice - Reward Offer for Pan Am Flight 73 Hijackers - Up to $5 million each for Wadoud Muhammad Hafiz al-Turki, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, Muhammad Abdullah Khalil Hussain ar-Rahayyal, and Muhammad Ahmed al-Munawar (Abu Nidal 9/5/1986)

Arms smuggling heightens Iran fears

Bin Laden Not in Pakistan, Prime Minister Says

(Rochester NY) 2 Yemenis sentenced

(Russia) Chechen rebels claim Russian train bombing - Doku Umarov

Evidence blocked arrest of imam with Fort Hood tie - Anwar al-Awlaki -- Anwar al-Aulaqi

Fort Hood Suspect Faces New Charges

Somalia: Senior Al-Shabab commander defects to gov't - Sheik Ali Hassan Gheddi

Gates: 'Severe consequences' for Afghan failure

(Israel) Gaza group vows jihad against Israel