Police said that two Iranian Qods Force members arrested June 19 were planning attacks in Kenya. They face terror charges for shipping over 200 pounds of RDX to Kenya; 33 pounds have been found. The suspects are said to have “a vast network in the country meant to execute explosive attacks….”
Abu Hafs al Mauritani, a senior al Qaeda ideologue, has been set free in Mauritania. Until earlier this year, Abu Hafs was held under a loose form of house arrest in Iran. His sudden extradition to Mauritania and subsequent freedom worries some US intelligence officials.
Northern Mali: A dying land
In Lebanon, a hard-line Sunni cleric gives voice to deep sectarian tensions
The al Qaeda-linked Boko Haram claimed the recent attacks on Christian villages near Jos that killed at least 58 people, saying that Christians “will not know peace again” until they accept Islam. Blame had initially fallen on Muslim herdsmen, and there is speculation that Boko Haram may have “acted with local communities.”
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leaders are Afghan nationals who were involved in suicide operations in Kunduz.
UNICEF accused Islamist groups in Mali of recruiting and training young boys and sexually abusing young girls. Ansar Dine Islamists lashed two men 80 times each for being drunk, and destroyed two ancient tombs in Timbuktu.
US urged to recruit master hackers to wage cyber war on al-Qaida
Some east Londoners lost their bid to block the siting of missile defenses nearby during the Olympics. Authorities have accused three terror suspects of planning to attack an English Defense League march; three more suspects in the investigation were arrested today.
Filipino rebels say talks at ‘make or break’ stage
Battling IEDs has to be about more than money
An al Qaeda suspect detained in the UK after visiting the site of the Olympic Games was trained by and fought with Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia. Leaked US government files show that Shabaab has sought to use its recruits in al Qaeda’s plots against the West.
Seventeen members of a Taliban suicide assault team were killed in attacks in Kandahar; three policemen and three children were also killed. A suicide bomber wounded 25 people in Jawzjan. The Taliban assassinated Ghazni’s attorney general. President Karzai wants the release of all of the Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo.
Syria held military exercises to simulate defending the country against outside aggression. The UN envoy said President Assad had agreed to a new framework for ending violence. Russia said it would halt new arms sales to Syria.
Mysterious fatal crash provides rare glimpse of US commandos in Mali
Egypt’s newly elected president moved to reinstate Parliament, which had been dissolved by military decree. The Supreme Court ruled against the president’s order. Parliament’s speaker said the chamber would reconvene on Tuesday anyway.
Three people were killed during fighting in Beledweyne. A pro-governemnt militia took control of El Bur as Shabaab forces retreated. Shabaab arrested a group of farmers in Jowhar after they refused to pay a tax.
Karzai Seeks Full Freedom for Taliban in Guantanamo
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), an offshoot of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has freed three of the seven captive Algerian diplomats, while negotiations continue over other hostages. The group is demanding the release of militants from Algerian jails and a ransom of 5 million euros for the diplomats.
A recent posting on the website of the Muslim Youth Center, a Shabaab affiliate in Kenya, claims that Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of one of the London 7/7 bombers, is recruiting and training all-female attack squads in Somalia. Kenyan police say she is being sheltered by Shabaab in southern Somalia.
The emir of the Al Badar Mujahideen said his group is waging jihad in both Afghanistan and Kashmir, and the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen said his group’s jihad is against the US and its allies.
A TV station yesterday broadcast audio clips of recordings between Toulouse shooter Mohammed Merah and police negotiators during the siege before his death in March. In the recordings, Merah claimed links with al Qaeda members in Pakistan.
One year on, South Sudan’s liberation incomplete: Kiir
The UK’s terror law watchdog said police may be intervening earlier in “marginal” cases due to the upcoming Olympic Games. A woman arrested yesterday in an antiterror operation was released. A suspected al Qaeda member passed through the Olympics site five times in recent months.
In Niger refugee camp, anger deepens against Mali’s al-Qaeda-linked Islamists
Pakistan – Elaborate security measures for DPC protesters: Malik
Video: Taliban shoot woman 9 times in public execution as men cheer
The Taliban killed eight Pakistani soldiers in North Waziristan. Jamaat-ud-Dawa flags were prevalent at the Difa-e-Pakistan march against the reopening of NATO’s supply routes to Afghanistan.
Twenty-two Taliban fighters and five Afghan policemen were killed during a clash in Helmand and seven ISAF soldiers were killed in IED attacks in the south and east. The Taliban killed 14 civilians in two IED attacks in Kandahar. Security forces killed 16 Taliban fighters in Kandahar, Helmand, Kabul, Kunar, and Kunduz.
Pakistan shuns physicist linked to ‘God particle’