Iran
New flagpoles in Iran spark rumors of clandestine satellite jamming technology
Monthly Archives: November 2012
Afghanistan
Afghanistan presses Pakistan on Taliban releases
Iraq
“Gunmen” kidnapped 20 Iraqi police recruits at a cafe in Bayji. The recruits are thought to have been taken to Anbar province near the border with Syria; al Qaeda is suspected of carrying out the operation.
Al Qaeda
In Sinai: The Uprising of the Bedouin
European Union
UN’s Palestine vote divides Western allies
Israel
Following the UN vote recognizing Palestinian statehood, Israel said it would build new settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The government authorized the construction of 3,000 new homes and ordered preliminary work for thousands more.
Syria
Syrian fighting rages as rebels push for Damascus breakthough
Syria
Militant leader in Syria seeks Islamic state, says his men do not fear death
Syria
Fighting continued around the Damascus airport. The government said the route to the airport had been reopened, but the airport remained closed. The Internet outage continued for a second day.
Egypt
Mursi takes on judges in battle over Egypt’s future
Egypt
Tens of thousands of demonstrators returned to Cairo’s Tahrir Square for a third day. Demonstrators protested against a new draft constitution as well as President Morsi’s new powers.
Turkey
Turkey lifts headscarf ban in religious schools
Turkey
Government forces launched over 15 operations against the Kurdistan Communities Union, the alleged urban wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), detaining at least 87 people and arresting 34, including the deputy mayor of Iğdır province. Turkish forces killed eight PKK militants in Hakkari.
Libya
The Foreign Ministry called on Libyan citizens living abroad to refrain from attacking Libyan embassies. The 12 alleged homosexuals picked up by an Islamist militia are said to have suffered injuries at the hands of the militia.
Mali
Mali Islamists whip unmarried couples in public
Ansar Dine
Mali” Ansar Dine plays double game
Mali
Last week, Ansar Dine sent reinforcements to fight Tuareg rebels in Gao; the move was in violation of an agreement with ECOWAS. The African Union urged the UN to move immediately and approve military intervention against Islamist fighters in northern Mali.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Military action against al Qaida-linked extremists in Mali unlikely for months
Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood Powers Through Opposition in Egypt
Hamas
Israeli Success in Downing Hamas Rockets Has World’s Attention
France
UN vote gives Palestinians new diplomatic powers
Boko Haram emir praises al Qaeda
Abubakar Shekau said he and his fighters support jihad in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Algeria, Libya, and Mali.
United States
Defense Secretary Panetta said al Qaeda “continues to show up” in Afghanistan, where it is “looking for some kind of capability,” and that the US will continue to wage a counterterrorism mission against al Qaeda in Afghanistan after 2014. The Senate approved the imposition of new sanctions on Iran, to be added to the annual […]
Pakistan
Forgotten past: In the throes of neglect, Swat’s Buddhist heritage continues to crumble
Free Syrian Army
Syria rebels using children in battle: HRW
Afghanistan
Afghan Clerics Want Power To Issue Legally Binding Fatwas
Qatar
Qatar sentences poet to life in prison for criticizing emir
Pakistan
US drones killed three “militants” in a strike in South Waziristan; the strike is the first in Pakistan in 36 days. Mullah Nazir was wounded in a suicide attack in Wana in South Waziristan; six people were killed in the blast.
Sweden
Sweden too slow to counter terror: agency
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed 10 civilians in a bus bombing in Uruzgan, four civilians in an IED attack in Ghazni, and one child in a bombing in Khost. Three Taliban fighters in Zabul reconciled with the government.