Some 300 militants crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan's territory and stormed seven security checkpoints along the Durand Line Aug. 27. There were conflicting reports about the casualties suffered by Pakistani security personnel in the coordinated attacks by apparent Taliban militants. Pakistan's military put the figure at 25, while the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Malakand division, which claimed responsibility for the attack, claimed killing 80 troops and capturing another six. Islamabad said 16 of the dead belonged to the Chitral Scouts, a wing of the paramilitary Frontier Corps. (The News, Pakistan, Aug. 28)

Libya's Transitional National Council (TNC) suffered a setback Aug. 26 when the African Union, in an emergency summit at Addis Ababa, refused to recognize it as the country's legitimate government. The TNC has been recognised by more than 40 countries, but divisions remain within the AU. South African President Jacob Zuma, one of only three African heads of state to attend the summit, opposed recognition. He said that the AU would not recognize the TNC as long as fighting continues. The AU has called for an "all-inclusive transitional government" for Libya, that could involve some Qaddafi officials. That proposal was rejected by the TNC. (The Independent, Aug. 27)

Eighteen people—including two civilians—were killed, and some 35 injured, when two suicide bombers struck military barracks in the Algerian town of Cherchel, some 100 kilometers west of the capital, Aug. 26. The attack came soon after iftar—the moment when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. It was the third such attack in recent weeks. On July 16, militants used the same technique—a suicide blast at the front gate, followed by a second charging in on a motorcycle—claimed four lives, including one civilian, at a police station in Bordj Ménaïl, Boumerdes province, in the Kabylia region. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility. On Aug. 14, a suicide car bomb attack outside of a police station left 29 wounded, including 11 police, in Tizi-Ouzou, Kabylia's regional capital. Prior to this summer, Algeria's last suicide attack was on July 25, 2010, at a police barracks in a village near Tizi Ouzou. (Ennahar Aug. 27, Reuters, Long War Journal, Aug. 26)

The most intransigent leader of the Tuareg rebels in Mali was killed Aug. 26 in a supposed accident in in his remote Saharan homeland. "Ibrahim ag-Bahanga died Friday in an accident in north-eastern Mali. His funeral has already taken place," said Baye ag Alhassane, a relative in a statement. The nature and circumstances of the accident were not made clear. Local sources cited by Reuters say he was involved in a dispute with fellow traffickers who were moving weapons to the Libyan rebels, who just toppled Moammar Qaddafi.

On Aug. 23, Peru's Congress unanimously approved a new law that guarantees indigenous peoples' right to free, prior and informed consent to any projects affecting them and their lands. President Ollanta Humala says he supports consultation, and has 15 days to sign the bill into law. The "Prior Consultation Law" complies with commitments set out in ILO Convention 169, the only international standard designed to protect tribal people’s rights.

A team of armed men who arrived in sport utility vehicles and a pickup truck entered the crowded Casino Royale in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey on Aug. 26, ordered the staff and patrons out—and set the building ablaze with a flammable liquid while people were still scrambling for the doors. At least 52 were killed. President Felipe Calderón said: "It is evident we are not facing common delinquents, we are facing true terrorists who have surpassed not only the limits of the law but...respect for life."

El Salvador's Supreme Court on Aug. 25 blocked the extradition of nine military officers accused of overseeing the 1989 "Jesuit Massacre," defying Interpol "red notices" for the suspects. The court said that Spain had not presented a formal extradition request, but Spain immediately protested that the Interpol warrants had been requested for the purpose of securing extradition for trial. Spanish Judge Eloy Velasco has sent El Salvador a letter seeking clarification of the suspects' status. The men surrendered to judicial in El Salvador voluntarily earlier this month, but are not formally under arrest, the high court said. The court did deny a claim by defendants that their detainments were arbitrary.

Turkish warplanes have continued to bomb supposed strongholds of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the mountains of northern Iraq in recent days—despite a formal diplomatic protest this week. On Aug. 26, Baghadad summoned Turkey’s ambassador Murat Ozcelik to demand an immediate end to the air-strikes. (Beirut Daily Star, Aug. 26) On Aug. 27, Baghdad denied reports that three missiles had been fired from southern Iraq at Kuwait's Mubarak al-Kabeer port, currently being built on the mini-state's Boubyan Island. (Kuwait Times, Aug. 27)