A Jihadist website has announced that Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, is the new leader of al-Qaida, as had been expected since the killing of bin Laden in May.

A web posting Thursday said Zawahri has assumed responsibility for the group, and that there will be no shift in al-Qaida policy. The post said the decision was taken by the general leadership of the group.

Zawahri had been tipped to lead the organization after bin Laden was killed in a U.S. operation in Pakistan six weeks ago.

Militant Islamist group Boko Haram is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing outside a police headquarters in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, Thursday. At least two people were killed and several others wounded in the blast.

Nigerian police spokesman Olusola Amore says the explosion struck the parking lot of a police headquarters Thursday morning, killing the suspected suicide bomber and a police traffic warden, and destroying at least 30 cars.

Amore said the explosion occurred when the traffic warden climbed into the bomber's vehicle to direct it to the parking lot to be searched.

Armed militants have attacked government buildings near the southern Yemeni town of Houta, which they assaulted on Wednesday.

Residents told Reuters news agency the attackers in the Thursday assault briefly took over a security forces administrative building and council offices before retreating.

On Wednesday, the al-Qaida-linked group Ansar al-Sharia, or Supporters of Sharia (Islamic law), attacked Houta before dawn, briefly seizing key areas of the provincial capital and battling with government security forces.

Fighting in northeast Burma between the army and ethnic Kachin rebels has spilled over into neighboring Shan state, raising concerns about the conflict spreading. Thousands of villagers have fled to the border with China, which is urging restraint from both sides.

Sporadic clashes continued Thursday between Burma's army and ethnic Kachin rebels near a mountainous border with China.

The fighting in northern Kachin state, which started a week ago, has spilled into neighboring Shan state, home to the ethnic Shan.

A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed two armed insurgents and detained several more suspected insurgents during a nighttime security operation in Mota Khan District, Paktika province, yesterday.

The Afghan-led security force encountered the armed insurgents while searching for a Haqqani network facilitator. The facilitator is a roadside and car bomb expert who conducts, coordinates and directs attacks against Afghan and coalition forces within the district.

Bagram is no stranger to indirect fire attacks, but actual assaults by ground forces is few and far between. One of the reasons bad guys rarely come near the wire is because of the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron’s Quick Response Team.

The QRT’s mission is to provide a security deterrence outside the perimeter at Bagram as well as a mobile reserve for forces inside the wire.

Afghan forces now stand guard over every street in the Washir marketplace and man observations posts on hilltops surrounding the villages.

Operation Afghan Warrior, that began 6 June, is now in its final stages having encountered no direct resistance from insurgent forces.

Soldiers assigned to 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade and Afghan government officials attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new biometrics facility at the Weesh border crossing point, Afghanistan, June 9, 2011.

The new facility, which is aimed at gathering forensic data from individuals, will improve the overall security of pedestrian traffic entering Afghanistan from Pakistan, said Capt. Vivian Chiu, Border Actions officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade , or BfSB.

Gunrunner: ATF Director Melson ‘very much in the weeds’

Kenneth Melson, the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was “very much in the weeds” on the way his subordinates conducted Operation Fast and Furious, to the point that he allegedly could watch suspected illegal gun transactions on a live feed to his office.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/gunrunner-atf-director-mel...

Article by Dave Workman