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As Western and Pakistani intelligence sort through the fallout from the July 28 airstrike in South Waziristan, Pakistan, rumors are swirling that Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's second in command, was either killed or seriously wounded in the attack. All of these rumors have been based on Pakistani intelligence sources, which makes the allegations suspect. Without confirmation from the US military or intelligence, the reports from Pakistan should be viewed with deep skepticism. From the strike to the Zawahiri rumor Rumors of Zawahiri's death or wounding began four days after what appears to be a US Predator unmanned aerial vehicle...

Bill Roggio checks in with Brett to talk about the latest on the visit to the Middle East by Barack Obama, plus Bill's take on the latest in Iraq, Pakistan and also Yemen. Interesting revelations and analysis by Bill Roggio as always.

Map of Iraq. Click to view. Iraqi security forces are massing more than 30,000 soldiers and police for an upcoming operation against al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army in the eastern province of Diyala, according to police and military officials. The operation, which was expected to be launched this week, has been scheduled to kick off on August 1, an anonymous senior Iraqi military officer told AFP. "The operation is aimed at cleansing the region of insurgents, al Qaeda and militias who are still there," the officer said. Like other offensives against al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army, the...

Iraqi and US troops continue to press the offensive against the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army during a series of raids throughout Iraq. Since July 18, US and Iraqi forces have killed six Mahdi Army fighters and captured 18 during operations in central Iraq. Scores more have been captured, including senior leaders, weapons smugglers, financiers, trainers, and cell leaders. The raids have been driven by intelligence, much of it gleaned from captive Mahdi Army fighters, according to information contained in Multinational Forces Iraq press releases. Captive Mahdi Army leaders and cell members are providing US and Iraqi forces information on leaders and...

Joint al Qaeda and Taliban force behind Kunar base attack By Bill RoggioJuly 14, 2008 9:03 PM Kunar provincial map. Click to view. Yesterday's deadly complex attack on a joint US and Afghan outpost in Kunar province was carried out by a large, mixed force of Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied extremist groups operating eastern Afghanistan. Sunday's assault occurred just three days after 45 US soldiers, likely from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 25 Afghan troops established a new combat outpost in the town of Wanat. The troops had little time to learn the lay of the land, establish local...

The John Batchelor Show Sunday July 6th , 2008 Listenlive from 7pm – 10pm ET (4pm – 7pm PT) on WABC AM 770 New York City 10pm – 1am ET (7pm – 10pm PT) on KFI AM 640 Los Angeles If you missed last week show, listen on John Batchelor On-Demand Podcast Sunday July 6 WABC in New York and WMAL in Washington DC and KSFO in San Francisco. 705P ET: Mary Anastasia O’Grady, WSJ Americas Editor, re the spectacular Colombia special ops, "Operation Check-Mate," to rescue French citizen Ingrid Betancourt... 720P: Herb London, Hudson Institute, author, “America’s Secular Challenge:...

Clashes broke out in the Sadr City district in northeastern Baghdad after Iraqi forces detained a senior Sadrist leader, an Iraqi news outlet reported. Iraqi soldiers and police cordoned several neighborhoods in the Mahdi Army stronghold to contain the fighting that occurred after security forces detained Abbas Abdul Aal, who is a "senior Sadrist leader," Voices of Iraq reported. Aal's nephew was also detailed. "Security forces closed all of the city's outlets and prevented the movement of traffic and pedestrians," an eyewitness told the Iraqi newspaper. The move in Sadr comes one day after Iraqi soldiers closed the Sadrist office...

By Bill RoggioJune 27, 2008 3:14 PM Wanted poster for Siraj Haqqani. The image is a composite photo. Click to view. The Taliban has launched yet another attack on a US outpost in Afghanistan from inside Pakistan. A Taliban rocket teams fired at a US outpost in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan from two sites early this morning from two sites: one within Afghanistan and another about 400 meters across the border in Pakistan. Four rockets struck near the military base, but no casualties were reported. The military responded by attacking the two sites and notifying the Pakistani military of...

Bill Roggio's images over at Long War Journal.Org were used in an AQI video recently released. The images of the aftermath of a suicide bombing in Mosul in March of 2008 were originally posted on Long War Journal.Org, as a part of Bill Roggio's reporting. They can be viewed here. Apparently it was these same pictures that caught the eye of Al Qaeda in Iraq. According to LWJ's report on this account. "The 38-minute-long video, titled "The Islamic State is Meant to Stay," was produced by Al Furqan, al Qaeda's media arm in Iraq. Al Furqan has released few videos...

Red agencies/ districts controlled by the Taliban; purple is de facto control; yellow is under threat. The Pakistani Taliban continue military operations in the tribal agencies and the settled regions of the Northwest Frontier Province despite ongoing negotiations to sign a peace agreement with the government. Forces loyal to Baitullah Mehsud overran a town previously run by pro-government tribal forces, and beheaded 22 Pakistanis. In Peshawar, the provincial capital, police and government officials have said the Taliban is close to taking control of the city. Baitullah Mehsud strikes in South Waziristan As the Pakistani government continues negotiations with Baitullah Mehsud,...

US Special Operations Forces scored a major victory in Mosul today. US forces killed al Qaeda's emir, or leader, of the northern city during a raid on a safe house. The emir, who has not been named, was killed after a Special Operations Forces team form Task Force 88, the hunter-killer teams assigned to take down terrorists in Iraq, stormed a building in Mosul. The commandos opened fire after one of the terrorists attempted to detonate his suicide vest was shot and another reached for a pistol. A woman with the group attempted to detonate the vest on the dead...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ: Iraqi and Coalition forces in and around Baghdad captured more than 100 insurgents and defused 147 improved explosive devices during the past week as part of continued security operations, according to Iraqi and Coalition spokesmen. One insurgent was killed, six kidnap victims liberated and about 700 kilograms of TNT discovered during security sweeps in the past seven days, said Iraqi Army spokesman Major General Qassim Atta during a press conference in Baghdad today. The current security plan, called Fardh al-Qanoon, or `Enforcing the Law,’ has been in place since early 2007, when U.S. planners began implementing a U.S....

Iraqi security forces continue to target the Sadrist movement and the Mahdi Army in the southern provinces of Maysan, Dhi Qhar, and Wasit over the weekend. More than 113 Mahdi Army fighters and Sadrists were detained since Friday, including a senior Sadrist leader in the city of Al Kut. The arrests come as a major operation was launched in the former Mahdi Army stronghold in Maysan province. On Saturday, Iraqi forces detained Sayyid Tahseen, a senior member of Muqtada al Sadr's political movement, in Al Kut in Wasit province. Iraqi police described Tahseen as "one of the most important individual...

Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured a senior Mahdi Army commander with "close ties" to Muqtada al Sadr's office in Najaf on June 19. Two other senior Mahdi Army commanders in Baghdad and Hillah were captured on June 20 and 21. The Mahdi Army commander captured by Iraqi special forces is thought to be "an influential advisor in west Baghdad" with close ties to the Office of the [Martyr] Sadr in Najaf," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. The commander also is able to appoint Mahdi Army officers into command positions. The US military would not release the identity of the leader as...

Iraqi troops replace border guards. Local police forces are raised. Maliki gives deadline for Mahdi Army to disarm. Sadrists fear being targeted. The Iraqi government and military continue to shape the battlefield for the confrontation with the Mahdi Army in Maysan province. Starting late last week, Iraqi security forces started the operation by sealing off the entrances and exits to the province, deploying additional forces from Baghdad and Basrah, warning the population, starting patrols in Amarah, and relieving the provincial chief of police. Since then, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has ordered all wanted Mahdi Army fighters to turn themselves...

Muqtada al Sadr. Muqtada al Sadr has ordered the Sadrist political movement to boycott the upcoming provincial elections. Sadr's order comes one day after his order to disband the Mahdi Army as a fighting force and the creations of a small, armed wing to attack Coalition forces exclusively. Sadrist aides claim Sadr rejects the election process and fears being associated with the occupation. "Sayyid Muqtada does not believe in elections or in the coming provincial governments as long as the occupation forces are here," Salah al Obaidi, a senior aide to Sadr, told The Washington Post. "We don't want...

The US Army captured a senior Mahdi Army military commander in Baghdad. The Mahdi Army commander led a 2,000-man strong brigade in the Karadah district in eastern Baghdad, Multinational Forces Iraq reported. The US military could not release the commander’s name as they are still exploiting the intelligence information related to his capture, Major Joey Sullinger, a public affairs officer for Multinational Division Baghdad told The Long War Journal. The commander was detained during a raid in the Sumer al Ghadier neighborhood in the New Baghdad district, which borders Karadah to the north. US soldiers from the 66th Armor Regiment...

An Iraqi tank is stationed on the main road leading into Amarah. AFP photo. Iraqi security forces, backed by the US military, have started an operation against the Mahdi Army in the southern border province of Maysan. Amarah, the provincial capital of Maysan, is thought to be one of the locations senior Mahdi Army leader retreated to after Iraqi forces moved into Sadr City last month. Amarah is also a forward command and control hub for Iranian operations in southern Iraq. Iraqi security forces established checkpoints along the entrances to the province, and have closed down the border crossing...

Iraqi police have captured three Iranian-backed Special Groups operatives behind the kidnapping and murder of five US soldiers at the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center in January 2007. Meanwhile, US troops captured another Special Groups leader in the Al Kut region, The Iraqi police captured the three "key criminals" behind the 2007 Karbala attack in Musayyib, just south of Baghdad, on June 5. The three Special Groups operatives are "suspected of trafficking and emplacing explosively formed projectiles." Explosively formed projectiles are the signature weapon of Shia terrorists with links to Iran. The US military immediately suspected Iran's Qods Force, the...

Coalition special operations forces have captured four Iranian-backed Special Groups leaders and operatives south of Baghdad over the past two days. Three of the Shia extremists were captured in Wasit province, the gateway for weapons smuggled into Baghdad from Iran. Two of the Special Groups operatives were captured during separate operations on June 6 in the town of Al Hayy, a region about 30 miles south of Al Kut in Wasit province. The first raid netted an "Iranian-trained Special Groups leader suspected of directing and ordering attacks against Coalition forces in Wasit Province, as well as attacks and kidnappings against...