Special operations forces killed a Taliban leader in Kunduz, and captured an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander and nine insurgents in Takhar, Logar, and Kandahar. ISAF disputed a UN report that said hundreds of Afghan children were killed during raids last year.
Insurgents killed 31 Iraqis in a series of car bombings in Baghdad. Security forces captured six al Qaeda fighters in Kirkuk, and launched an operation against the terror group in the Al Jazeera desert in Anbar and Ninewa provinces.
The government called on Iran to halt weapons shipments to Houthi rebels and Southern separatists. The Iranian press accused the US and Israel of blaming Iran for shipping weapons. Ten people were killed in an explosion at an arms depot in Hajja.
Iran’s ambassador to Bulgaria denied that his country was involved in a bombing that killed five Israelis in Bulgaria last year. After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had accused Hezbollah and Iran of waging a terror campaign.
Syria: how jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra is taking over Syria’s revolution
Meanwhile, US drones killed two Arab al Qaeda operatives, including an explosives expert, in a strike in North Waziristan.
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Palestinian security forces in the West Bank arrested more than 25 members of Hamas. The arrests follow Monday’s raids by the Israeli army that also targeted Hamas members.
Across the country thousands of demonstrators marched, denouncing President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. One was killed and 40 injured in clashes with police.
Rebels continued to push forward in Damascus, fighting while government forces fought back in an effort to retake sections of the strategic ring road. The UN reported 5,000 refugees per day are fleeing Syria.
The assassination of a popular politician has sparked a crisis in Tunisia. Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, an al Qaeda-linked group, has called for a common Islamist solution to the crisis.
The strike reportedly killed Sheikh Abu Waqas, a Yemeni explosives expert; Abu Majid al Iraqi; and four Uzbeks.
An online banner advertising a video dedicated to Khalid Salah Abdul Hadi Jadullah, a Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem terrorist, portrays him as an al Qaeda martyr.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army are said to be on high alert for fear Israel will conduct a surprise raid similar to the recent raid in Syria. A colonel in Israel’s Nahal Brigade, which will soon increase deployment in the north of Israel, said that “[w]e are psychologically ready for battle in Lebanon.”
Protesters clashed with police in Tunis as crowds of 50,000 turned out for the funeral of slain opposition leader Chokro Belaid and chanted anti-regime slogans. Belaid’s widow said her husband had received daily threats before his death; she holds Salafists and the ruling Islamist Ennahda party responsible.
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen on motorbikes killed nine polio health workers in Kano. Some Muslim leaders in Kano claim the vaccination campaign is a plot against Muslim children.
Algeria captured four heavily armed militants near its border with Mali. Al Qaeda fighters have tried to cross the border after a French offensive drove them from Mali’s northern cities.
French special forces parachuted into Tessalit and seized the town and its airfield. A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated near a Malian army checkpoint in Gao, killing himself and slightly injuring a Malian soldier. The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa claimed the bombing and threatened further attacks. Gunfighting between rival Malian […]
Can Social Media Disarm Syria’s Chemical Arsenal?
The Turkish Parliament ratified a bill on terror financing which may prevent Turkey from being blacklisted with Iran and North Korea by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Turkey’s Western allies reportedly believe that the bill will be insufficient.
CIA director nominee John Brennan testified that US drone strikes meet “rigorous standards” in “full compliance with the law” and that civilian casualties are “exceedingly rare, and much, much rarer than many allege.” He also said the US remains “at war with al Qaeda and its associated forces.” The US is urging the European Union […]
Giving up: Der Spiegel is pulling out its only correspondent from Pakistan
The Taliban killed a police chief and three bodyguards in Balkh and claimed that eight soldiers defected in Ghazni. An ISAF helicopter crashed in Kapisa; the Taliban claimed they shot it down.
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Iran’s leader Khamenei rejected an offer from the US for direct talks over its nuclear program. State television broadcast videos it said were taken from a US spy drone captured in December 2011. The US and Western nations imposed a new round of economic sanctions on Iran.
Several hardline Muslim clerics issued a fatwa calling for the killing of prominent opposition leaders. The government condemned the action and beefed up security around the opposition leaders’ homes.
Inching closer to the center of Damascus, rebels overran government positions on a key road. Government forces responded with air and artillery attacks. After 16 days of fighting, government troops took control of the central town of Karnaz.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said he was in talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over forming a national unity government. A Palestinian court sentenced a man to a year in jail for cursing President Abbas on Facebook.
Pentagon leaders favored arming Syrian rebels
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