Afghanistan
Obama concedes strains between US, Pakistan
Obama concedes strains between US, Pakistan
Al-Jazeera opts not to air Merah shootings video
Liberals, Islamists tussle over Egypt constitution
Makhdum Nusrat, “the senior Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader in Afghanistan,” was killed along with several IMU fighters during a raid in Faryab.
Pakistan – Afghan Taliban say US must rebuild trust for talks
France launches hunt for Islamic extremists after attacks
Khalifa Ali Al-Akili, a.k.a. James Marvin Thomas Jr., was arrested on a weapons charge on March 15. According to an affidavit, the Pittsburgh resident told an FBI informant he planned to move to Pakistan and “wanted to strap on a bomb” and die a martyr. Al-Akili claimed the FBI had been trying to “set him […]
US and Pakistan bargain over CIA drones
An Afghan soldier killed two British troops in Helmand, and an Afghan Local Policeman killed an ISAF solider in the east. The Taliban killed two senior security officials in Takhar and an Italian soldier in Farah. A suicide bomber killed only himself in Uruzgan.
Pakistan: Court due to charge bin Laden family
Security forces detained 11 “terrorists” in Daqouq and Rashad near Kirkuk. Insurgents killed a policemen in Fallujah. The government declared a 10-day-long vacation in preparation for the Arab League summit.
Syria’s opposition groups, meeting in Istanbul, tried to form a more united front. Turkey and the United States planned to provide “nonlethal” aid to Syrian rebel groups. Turkey closed its embassy, following similar closures by several other countries.
Turkey’s former military chief of staff went on trial for “terrorism.” General Ilker Basbug was accused of being the leader behind a series of plots against the government of Prime Minister Erdogan.
Shabaab forces abandoned El Bur, a town northeast of Mogadishu, as Ethiopian troops and fighters from a rival militia advanced. El Bur served as a major base for Shabaab.
Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, a.k.a. Mullah Krekar, was sentenced to five years in prison for making death threats; he immediately appealed the sentence. Krekar founded Ansar al Islam in Iraq, but humanitarian reasons prevent Norway from deporting him there.
President Sarkozy will bar radical Islamist preachers, including Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, from entering France for a conference of the Union of French Islamic Organizations, a group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. Footage of Mohamed Merah’s killing spree was mailed to Al Jazeera the day police besieged his apartment.
The government’s top counterterrorism lawyer said that 52 suspected terrorists were held under the controversial control order program between 2005 and 2011. Under a more lenient system introduced in 2012, nine of the 52 suspects are still subject to certain restrictions.
Afghan Interior MInistry Concerned Over Foreign Support Extended To Insurgents
Sixteen Coalition soldiers have been murdered by Afghan security personnel this year. ISAF said the overall number of attacks on its personnel by Afghan forces is “classified.”
Muslim Brotherhood asserts its strength in Egypt with challenges to military
In Nigeria, Boko Haram Targets Schools
US negotiation efforts with Taliban have failed: Report
Pakistan – Pakistan wants civil nuclear technology: Gilani
The Taliban killed seven Afghan soldiers and a translator, three ISAF soldiers, and two children in separate attacks. The US paid $860,000 to the families of those killed and wounded by a rogue US soldier in Kandahar.
Delays Keep Omar Khadr at Guantánamo, Despite Plea Deal
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has seized control of the coastal town of Radum in Shabwa province. AQAP assassinated an intelligence official in Lahj.
The police chief of Dubai warned that the Muslim Brotherhood was plotting to take over the Persian Gulf states. The states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have been governed for centuries by ruling families.
Hundreds of riot police fought Shiite protestors in Sitra, a poor district southeast of Manama. Sitra has long been a battleground for Shiites who feel the government has marginalized them politically and economically.
A coastal town in Shabwa province is the latest to fall to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Shabaab withdrew from the town of Mahas in Hiran province. Shabaab fighters assassinated two civilians in Mogadishu. Kenyan warplanes killed two civilians in Gedo.