In Pictures: From Rusafa to Sadr City

May 15, 2008 7:27 AM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Images from Bill Ardolino's recent embed with the 3rd Squadron of the 89th Cavalry in Rusafa and Military Police units in Sadr City.
Comments (6)

Missile strike against Taliban safe house in Bajaur, Pakistan

May 14, 2008 6:08 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Seven to 14 reported killed in the town of Damadola in the Bajaur tribal agency. This is the fourth such attack this year.
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Clashes continue in Sadr City

May 13, 2008 8:46 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Iraqi and US forces kill 11 Mahdi Army fighters over the past 24 hours as the Mahdi Army continues to conduct attacks on barrier emplacement teams and patrols. The Iraqi Army has reinforced the Shula neighborhood.
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60 killed, 200 wounded in multiple bombings in India

Al Qaeda operatives killed in Afghanistan were Saudis

May 13, 2008 11:14 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

Otaibi was the minder for the minister of the Islamic State of Iraq's sharia courts. Abu Dejana was the brother of one of the four al Qaeda operatives who escaped from Bagram prison in 2005.
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In Pictures: Patrolling the Shorja Market with the Sons of Iraq

May 12, 2008 5:25 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Bill Ardolino goes on a night patrol in the Shorja Market in Baghdad's Rusafa District with the Al Sadria Sons of Iraq and the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment.
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Senior Afghan officials sacked, questioned over Kabul attack

May 12, 2008 1:56 PM ET
By Matt Dupee

Eight more officials have been sacked for their alleged involvement or failure to prevent the near assassination attempt on President Karzai’s life late last month. The move comes as Afghan Attorney General Abdul Jabar Sabit takes over investigation.
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Pakistani Taliban, Iraqi al Qaeda operatives killed in Afghanistan

May 11, 2008 7:28 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Mullah Nazir's deputy and the former leader of Islamic State of Iraq killed during recent clashes in eastern Afghanistan.
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Operations continue in Sadr City

May 11, 2008 10:55 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

Multinational Forces Iraq indicates the building of the wall and operations against the "Special Groups" will continue despite the cease-fire. EFPs are "the number one killer of our soldiers" in Baghdad.
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Sadrist bloc buckles, agrees to let Iraqi Army in Sadr City

US Special Forces fighting inside Sadr City

May 9, 2008 5:06 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Twenty-three Mahdi Army fighters have been killed in Sadr City over the past 24 hours. US Special Forces teams kill 13 Mahdi Army fighters over past two days.
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US military denies al Qaeda leader al Masri is in custody

May 9, 2008 8:23 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

The Iraqi security forces have issued yet another false report on the death or capture of Abu Ayyub al Masri. The latest incident appears to be a case of mistaken identity.
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Abu Ayyub al Masri, al Qaeda in Iraq’s leader, reported captured in Mosul

May 8, 2008 5:03 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

An unconfirmed report from the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said al Masri has been captured in the northern city and is in Iraqi Army custody. The US military has not confirmed al Masri’s capture.
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19 Mahdi Army fighters killed during Baghdad battles

May 8, 2008 9:30 AM ET
By Bill Roggio

US and Iraqi forces killed 19 Mahdi fighters and captured nine during raids and clashes in Sadr City and wider Baghdad. Sadr's radio station is shut down.
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Targeting al Qaeda in Iraq’s network, April-May 2008

May 7, 2008 2:15 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Coalition and Iraqi forces killed or captured 50 senior al Qaeda in Iraq operatives over the past month, including five in Mosul and three in Baghdad. Mosul remains an al Qaeda hotspot.
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US, Iraqi forces kill 18 Mahdi fighters during clashes, raids in Baghdad

May 6, 2008 7:09 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Iraqi troops arrest 42 policemen and 35 hospital workers in Shula. Explosively formed penetrators and weapons cache found in mosque.
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Covert Radio & The Long War Journal

May 6, 2008 4:49 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

The Long War Journal is partnering with Covert Radio to produce a weekly podcast on the important issues in the Long War.
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3-89 Cavalry conducts operations targeting Mahdi Special Groups in northern Rusafa

May 6, 2008 8:13 AM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Bill Ardolino is embedded with the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment in the Rusafa district in central Baghdad. US troops and Iraqi police conduct raids against Mahdi Army criminal enterprises and a suspected IED cell.
Comments (20)

Mahdi Army takes a hit in Baghdad, Basrah

May 5, 2008 5:32 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Eighteen Mahdi Army fighters killed in Baghdad since May 3. Iraqi forces clear another Basrah neighborhood.
Comments (17)

Baghdad police show progress, but challenges remain

May 4, 2008 5:31 PM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Bill Ardolino interviews an Iraqi Police general in the Rusafa district in central Baghdad. The general discusses the state of the police, the security situation, integration of the Sons of Iraq into the security forces, and problems with the militias.
Comments (15)

GMLRS strike knocks out Special Groups command center in Sadr City

May 3, 2008 1:25 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

Special Groups command and control center positioned near the Sadr Hospital destroyed in guided rocket attack. US, Iraqi troops kill 14 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad as an Iraqi delegation confronts Iran over arming militias.
Comments (23)

Iraqis begin to 'despise' the Mahdi Army in Baghdad's Rusafa district

May 3, 2008 11:57 AM ET
By Bill Ardolino

Bill Ardolino is embedded with the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment in the Rusafa district in central Baghdad, where Iraqi Shiites are turning on the Mahdi Army.
Comments (18)

May 15: In Pictures: From Rusafa to Sadr City

May 12: In Pictures: Patrolling the Shorja Market with the Sons of Iraq

May 10: Day Trip to Sadr City

May 6: 3-89 Cavalry conducts operations targeting Mahdi Special Groups in northern Rusafa

The Long War Journal is profiled in the March/April edition of The Columbia Journalism Review:

Blogging the Long War

May 15: Over the Horizon in Pakistan.

May 14: Abu Ayyub al Masri's stock has fallen. And for good reasons.

May 8: Iran accuses U.S., Britain of terrorist attack in mosque.

Al Qaeda

Osama bin Laden will release a tape addressing the 60th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israeli according to a banner posted at the Al Ekhlass forum. Al Qaeda is threatening to attack the Euro 2008 football tournament, according to Swiss police.

Iraq

Iraqi security forces have detained 833 suspects during security operations in Mosul. Coalition forces killed two al Qaeda cell members and captured three near Baghdad, and captured 14 al Qaeda operatives during raids in Mosul and Bayji. The Iraqi Army captured a Special Groups cell leader and three associates in Husayniyah. Two Iranian diplomats were wounded in a shooting in Baghdad.

India

Sketechs of four more suspects in this week's bombings in Jaipur have been released. The cell behind Jaipur attacks is likely the same Harkat ul-Jihad Islami cell behind the November 2007 bombings in Uttar Pradesh. The Students Islamic Movement of India is believed to be behind the bombing of a courthouse n Hubli on May 10.

Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda in Yemen threatened to attack against Westerners in the Arabian Peninsula. “We warn you not to enter the Arabian Peninsula under any name or cover be it as tourists, diplomats, scientists, experts or journalists; you will be a primary target for the mujahideen,” the group said on its website. “(Targeting) their blood and money are religiously right,”

Pakistan

US and Pakistani intelligence officials said the Bajaur attack was directed at a “high-value target … an Arab” planned attacks outside of Pakistan. Taliban leader Faqir Mohammad said the attack would not derail the peace negotiations. Numerous Pakistani political parties condemned the strike. The Taliban fired rockets at a military check post in Peshawar. A Taliban commander was killed in a dispute in Kurram.

Somalia

Ethiopian troops have deployed in northern Mogadishu after a string of attacks on convoys. Burundi said it would send more troops in June. The Somali government is optimistic about talks with the Islamists; Hassan Dahir Aweys said talks are "a waste of time."

Afghanistan

A burqa-clad suicide bomber killed 16 Afghans, including four police, at a bazaar in the western province of Farah. NATO said the peace deals in Pakistan's tribal areas are sparking a rise in attacks in Afghanistan. The US has intercepted night-vision devices destined for Afghanistan.

Lebanon

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group's uprising was a "reaction to the government’s decisions" and "the resistance’s weapons are targeting Israel. It is not planning any internal military activity." The Army denied rumors that officers resigned in protest of the military's conduct during Hezbollah's uprising.

India

A group called the Indian Mujahideen took credit for yesterday's bombings in Jaipur and said the attacks were intended to disrupt the tourist economy. The group sent videos to the media using an e-mail address that is nearly identical to the one used to announce the attacks in Uttar Pradesh in November 2006. Police released a sketch of the man believed to have planted the bombs.

Iraq

US troops killed five Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad. Iraqi troops arrested 11 "criminals" in Basrah. Iraqi security forces captured a communications specialist who conducted "remote distance communications transmitting and receiving from outside Iraq’s borders with neighboring countries.” Coalition forces detained 16 al Qaeda operatives during operations in Samarra, Balad, and Baghdad. The Tal Afar SWAT captured four al Qaeda fighters. A female suicide bomber killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded seven in an attack south of Baghdad.

Pakistan

A missile strike targeted a Taliban commander's compound in Bajaur; more than 14 have been reported killed. The Army is swapping prisoners with Baitullah Mehsud. The government claimed a breakthrough in talks with the Taliban in Swat; 30 students of a madrassa were detained for "militancy." The Taliban beheaded a "US spy" in Miramshah, North Waziristan. Music shop owners in Quetta have been threatened by the Taliban. A Moroccan and a Yemeni prince are being deported for links to al Qaeda.

Lebanon

Lebanon's cabinet is expected to cancel the orders to replace pro-Hezbollah secuirty chief of the Beirut airport and the dismantling of Hezbollah's communications network. Sunni groups are building a political and security bloc to oppose Hezbollah's power. The Syrian press said Hezbollah's actions are "legitimate."

Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda has purportedly ordered its fighters to leave Saudi Arabia and move to to Yemen. "Leave the country for Yemen, lest [you] be killed or arrested by Saudi security forces," the statement said on a website.

Iraq

Iraqi troops have begun operations in Qurnah north of Basrah. Prime Minister Maliki denied the Basrah operation is fully underway. Iraqi troops are operating in the Mahdi Army-controlled neighborhood of Shula in Baghdad. Iraqi troops captured two senior al Qaeda leaders near Mosul while five soldiers were killed and four wounded in a bombing in the city.

Pakistan

Fight continues in Darra Adam Khel as the Indus Highway remains closed due to Taliban attacks. A soldier was killed in a mortar and rocket attack on a check post in Bajaur. During peace talks in Sawt, the Taliban distributed pamphlets asking the government, military, and people of Pakistan to join hands with the Taliban against the United States. Maulana Abdul Aziz, the former leader of the Red Mosque, was granted bail in 26 of 27 cases.

India

Eight bombs were detonated in the tourist city of Jaipur. More than 80 have been killed and 200 wounded in the attacks. Security officials suspect the Bangladesh-based Harkat ul Jihad al Islami, an al Qaeda affiliate, as being behind the attacks.

Iraq

Iraqi security forces detained 142 "gunmen" since Operation Lion's Roar began in Mosul on May 10. US and Iraq forces captured seven al Qaeda operatives in Mosul. Iraqi security forces killed one "gunman" and captured 24 in Baghdad. The leader of the Dulaimi tribe said the US and Europe must help stop the "growing Iranian influence" in Iraq.

Lebanon

Eighty-one Lebanese have been reported killed in the six days of fighting since Hezbollah staged its uprising and took over Sunni neighborhoods in Beirut. Thirty-six were reported killed in yesterday's fighting between pro-Syrian Alawites and Sunnis near Tripoli. The Army said it would start intervening in the fighting on May 13. Lebanon's Christian community has sat on the sidelines as the fighting has continued.

Yemen

Dozens were killed in renewed fighting in the four-year Sa'ada War. Zaidi rebels destroyed several tanks and 12 soldiers were among the casualties. Military aircraft struck several villages after residents received warnings. Over 100,000 are internally displaced in Yemen.

Somalia

Shabab attacked an Ethiopian convoy in Mogadishu and a Somali and Ethiopian convoy in Baidoa. Casualties are not yet known in either event. The Islamic Courts Union is regrouping in the Gedo region.