Syria
Fear reigns in Syria city at the center of the uprising
Fear reigns in Syria city at the center of the uprising
Algerian security forces foiled a plot by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to carry out suicide attacks on US and European ships in the Mediterranean from the coast of Algeria.
The head of Egypt’s ruling military council said the country’s state of emergency decree would be lifted. The decree had been in place since 1981.
In Egypt, Signs of Accord Between Military Council and Islamists
US Has No Plan to Experiment New Political System in Afghanistan
Sanctions Benefit Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
A Shabaab suicide bomber attacked an Ethiopian base in Beledweyne; the number of casualties is unknown. The UN has opened a political office in Mogadishu.
Police said that Boko Haram killed 186 people in the attack in Kano on Jan 20. Boko Haram has killed 935 people since it launched its insurgency in 2009, according to Human Rights Watch.
Pakistan Rejects US Self-Defense Claim on Strikes
Israeli officials worry over Iran’s bomb-making abilities
East Afghan frontline emerges as major hurdle
Shabaab claimed a member of its “Martyrdom Brigades” killed 33 Ethiopian soldiers and officers in an attack in western Somalia.
Too early to say if Taliban behind French attack: NATO
An official Pakistani military report on the Mohmand incident said US troops fired first in an intentional, “unprovoked attack,” and called a US investigation an attempt “to contort the facts and confuse the issue.” US drones killed four “militants” in North Waziristan.
Vice President Hashemi said he would face a court in Baghdad if Prime Minister Maliki resigns. Insurgents killed a soldier in Mosul and an Awakening commander and three others in Kirkuk.
The US and the Afghan government have been negotiating with the Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin. ISAF killed five Taliban fighters in an airstrike in Kapisa. The Taliban killed two children in an IED attack in Kapisa.
Rights suffer under army power grab in Pakistan: report
An official Pakistani military report on the Mohmand incident said US troops fired first in an intentional, “unprovoked attack,” and called a US investigation an attempt “to contort the facts and confuse the issue.”
Relatives of Bilal al Berjawi think he was traced after calling his wife, who had just given birth.
With EU On Board With Iran Oil Sanctions, Western Eyes Turn To Asia
The European Union banned Iranian oil imports. British and French naval ships joined the US carrier group in the Strait of Hormuz. The UN’s nuclear watchdog agency confirmed it would send a mission to Iran by the end of January.
Syria rejected an Arab League-sponsored plan for President Assad to step down and hand over power to his deputy, calling it flagrant interference in Syria’s internal affairs. The EU expanded sanctions. Russia signed a $550 million deal to sell Syria 36 jet aircraft.
The military is sending troops and armored vehicles to positions outside of Rada’a, which is under al Qaeda’s control. The leader of the Southern Movement denied reports that AQAP has captured the town of Al Habilain in Lahj province.
Kenya said its war against Shabaab is “halfway done” as it has effectively targeted logistics and command and control centers in the south. Some Shabaab and al Qaeda leaders believe that an informer divulged the location of Bilal al Berjawi, who was killed in a Jan. 21 drone strike.
Boko Haram claimed that it was receiving payments from several governors in northern Nigeria; the governors rejected the charges. Police found eight car bombs in Kano.
Ex Pakistan intelligence chief calls for Norway agent arrests
Pakistan – Fear of militants haunts Khyber IDPs
EU Pledges 60 Million Euros to Afghanistan
US ‘opens talks with Hizb-i-Islami insurgent group’
German anti-Semitism ‘deep-rooted’ in society