Yearly Archives: 2012



United States

The US said it would collaborate with Turkey to set up a “working group” to address the Syrian conflict; the group would involve the military and intelligence services of both the US and Turkey. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the number one goal is to “hasten the end of the bloodshed and the Assad […]



Syria

The US and Turkey discussed Syria, including a potential no-fly zone and the possibility of a Syrian chemical attack. The number of Syrian refugees surged to 150,000. Rebels renewed attacks in Damascus. Jordanian and Syrian forces clashed along the border.






Yemen

Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al Qirbi said that the government would negotiate with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula if it agrees to renounce violence. President Hadi announced a major reorganization of the military and security forces.


Somalia

Eight Somali soldiers were killed in an IED attack in Mogadishu two days ago; Shabaab claimed credit for the attack. Security forces detained nine suspected Shabaab fighters in Baidoa.


Nigeria

The Joint Task Force detained several suspect Boko Haram fighters and seized weapons caches during raids in Maiduguri and Jere. Police arrested 20 suspects in the church massacre in Kogi.


Libya

Libya’s new assembly elected as president Mohamed el-Megaryef, a founding member of the exiled Libyan National Salvation Front, now associated with the National Front Party. The new president is considered to be an Islamist who is close to the Muslim Brotherhood.


Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb released video of five of the six French hostages. AQIM said it was willing to negotiate for their release and dropped its demand that France withdraw from Afghanistan.


Germany

German intelligence officials worry that the German Salafist group Millatu Ibrahim may be establishing a base in Egypt since the crackdown on the militant group in Germany in June. Over a dozen German Salafists are known to have moved to Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring and the election of Islamist president Mohamed […]


Philippines

An Indian man held captive for 14 months by Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu province escaped from his captors. The al Qaeda-linked militants had demanded a ransom but the captive’s family had refused to pay; police said his life was spared because he was a Muslim.


Al Qaeda

Echoes of Iraq: Yemen’s War Against al-Qaeda Takes a Familiar Turn


Iran

Israel wants to attack Iran before US vote: Israeli report




Pakistan

Pakistan – Islamic financing facility: Standard Chartered steps up for PIA



United States

US intelligence officials said al Qaeda is gaining strength in Syria. The State Department imposed new sanctions on Syria’s state-owned oil company, and Treasury imposed new sanctions on Hezbollah. AWOL US soldier Naser Jason Abdo, a Muslim convert, was sentenced to life in prison for plotting an attack against US troops in Texas.


Israel

Analyis: Israel fears new generation of jihadists on its borders


Afghanistan

An Afghan police commander killed three US soldiers in Helmand province. The Taliban killed six civilians in an IED attack in Helmand, three ISAF soldiers in the south, and a British soldier in a separate attack in Helmand.


Iran

A History Of Iranian Weapons Shipments To Iraq


Iraq

A suicide bomber killed five people in an attack on a Shia mosque in a village near Mosul. Insurgents killed four Awakening fighters in an attack near Tikrit. Security forces detained seven al Qaeda fighters in Daqouq.


Lebanon

A new computer virus targeting Lebanese banks to gather financial information on Hezbollah, Syria, or Lebanon was detected. Lebanon arrested a former minister and close ally of Syrian President Assad for helping to plan bomb attacks against Sunnis. Amid the rising tensions, Sunni Syrian workers fled Shiite neighborhoods.


Yemen

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula killed Brigadier General Omar Salem Barashid, the director of the Command and Staff College, in an IED attack in Mukalla in Hadramout province. President Hadi suspended 450 National Security officials accused of kidnapping protesters.