An Algerian court sentenced Nadji Abdelaziz, a former Guantanamo detainee, to three years in prison on Monday. Abdelaziz served both Lashkar-e-Taiba and al Qaeda, according to memos prepared by Joint Task Force-Guantanamo.
A suicide bomber killed one person in an attack outside a military base in Nangarhar. “Gunmen” killed an anti-Taliban tribal leader in the Dand district in Kandahar. Twenty insurgents in Ghazni reconciled with the government.
US officials urged South Korea to reduce oil imports from Iran. The UN’s nuclear monitoring agency plans to send a delegation to Iran by the end of January.
Insurgents killed five policemen during an attack on a checkpoint in Rutbah near the Jordanian border. Abu Mustafa al Khazali, the head of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades, said his militia would not surrender its weapons despite the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
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The government rejected a call for Arab troops to be sent to stop the violence. Hamas leaders evacuated their families due to the deteriorating security situation. Both the US and France said Iran was supplying Syria with weapons.
The European court ruled that Abu Qatada, al Qaeda’s representative in the UK, cannot be transferred to Jordan.
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Kenyan troops killed six Shabaab leaders in an attack on a command post in Tatar. Ethiopian and Somali forces clashed with Shabaab forces in Beledweyne; no casualties have been reported.
“Gunmen” killed a police corporal in Mubi and three Chadian nationals in Damaturu. No group has claimed the murders but Boko Haram has been active in the cities over the past several months.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters kidnapped the governor of Illizi in the southeastern region of Algeria near the Libyan border. The AQIM fighters are thought to have taken the governor across the border into Libya.
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An Islamic extremist group posted a video on Facebook threatening revenge for Norwegian involvement in the Afghan war. Arfan Bhatti and others have been given permission to demonstrate on Jan. 20 outside the Norwegian Parliament against the war. The Police Security Service said radical Islamism is still the biggest threat facing Norway.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that radical cleric Abu Qatada should not be deported to Jordan from the UK. Convicted in absentia of terrorism in Jordan, he claimed he faced possible retrial in Jordan that might involve evidence obtained through torture. Unless the UK appeals the court’s ruling, Qatada will be released.
Kareem Ibrahim, 65, a Guyanan imam who provided religious and operational support to a group planning to set off explosions under JFK Airport in 2007, was sentenced to life in prison. Ibrahim had sought to involve Iran and also to use suicide bombers.
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The Taliban claimed to have shot down a civilian helicopter in Helmand province; three people were killed in the crash. ISAF said there are no signs that the Taliban has infiltrated the Afghan security forces.
Insurgents killed 11 Iraqis and wounded dozens more in car bombings in Mosul and Hillah. Security forces detained 14 al Qaeda members, including a leader, in Kirkuk.
Europe is expected to agree to ban the import of Iranian oil by the end of the month. Saudi Arabia said it could make up for the loss of Iranian oil exports. Iran warned Gulf Arab states they would suffer consequences if they raised oil production to replace Iranian oil.
The US and Israel agreed to postpone a joint military exercise to avoid exacerbating tensions in the region. Mossad agents were alleged to be behind the recent assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist.
An agreement was reached between the political parties to install a Muslim Brotherhood leader as speaker of the newly elected parliament. The Islamist parties won 69% of the seats in parliament.