Map of the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province. Five senior al Qaeda leaders, including Abu Laith al Libi and Abu Khabab al Masri, were killed during the 2008 strikes. There were 36 recorded airstrikes and cross-border raids in 2008, compared to 10 in 20 combined. The US has attempted to counter al Qaeda’s growth in Pakistan’s tribal areas by ramping up airstrikes against camps and safe houses that are believed to facilitate al Qaeda external operations against the West and in Afghanistan. Despite the rise of the Taliban, the government and military have conducted numerous negotiations with the Taliban throughout the year. The Taliban has attacked NATO convoys in Khyber and the provincial capital of Peshawar, and forced the closure of the Khyber Pass twice. The districts of Swat, Shangla, Bannu, Tank, Dir, and Malakand are under Taliban control, while the Taliban has a strong presence in every other district.Īs of last summer, US intelligence estimated the Taliban and al Qaeda run more than 150 training camps and maintain more than 400 support locations throughout the northwest. The Pakistani Taliban, led by South Waziristan chieftan Baitullah Mehsud, is in full control of the tribal areas and has gained more ground in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province. Pakistan remains the central front in the war against al Qaeda, the Taliban, and allied movements such as and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The following is an overview of the major developments in the most active theaters across the globe in the Long War.īaitullah Mehsud from a recent Taliban video. Algeria fought a low-intensity terror insurgency with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Indonesia has driven Jemaah Islamiyah underground.
The Philippines made progress against its Islamic insurgency and dealt blows to Abu Sayyaf and the radical Rajah Solaiman Movement. The US struck a senior al Qaeda leader in Syria, and Imad Mugniyah was assassinated in Damascus. The battles continue in lesser known theaters.
Al Qaeda is poised to retake control of Somalia. Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon, and the West has no plan to avert the crisis. A “surge” in Afghanistan will take place this year. Afghanistan experienced the worst year since the US invasion to oust the Taliban in 2001. Iraq has dealt major defeats to al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army, and is moving towards reconciliation. India has emerged as a central battlefield in the war. Pakistan teeters on a civil war and a potential war with India, after Taliban gains and an attack launched on Mumbai from within Pakistan. The past year has seen significant developments in the Long War.
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