Clashes in Sulu province between Abu Sayyaf and the MNLF have resulted in the deaths of 20 MNLF fighters and 17 Abu Sayyaf militants. The fighting began in the village of Patikul when the MNLF tried to rescue a captive Jordanian hostage from Abu Sayyaf; the hostage, along with several others, including a Japanese, a […]
Bulgaria is prepared to release an investigative report that will blame Hezbollah and Iran for the Burgas terror attack that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian national.
Suicide Attack: German Prosecutors Were Probing Ankara Bomber
With Internet gaining wide influence in Russia, authorities seek to step up control over it
UK deploys toy-sized spy drones in Afghanistan
Israeli ex-military intelligence chief says Iran could have nuclear bomb in 4-6 months
Defense Secretary Panetta and top Pentagon officer General Dempsey said the US expects to keep some troops in Afghanistan after the NATO mission ends in December 2014. The US is developing new rules for its cyberwarfare program to address growing security concerns. Over the past year, a number of US banks and major news outlets […]
A suicide bomber killed 19 Awakening fighters and three soldiers in an attack in Taji. A senior counterterrorism official was killed in a car bombing in Abu Ghraib. The head of the Awakening warned that al Qaeda is returning to Anbar province.
The Foreign Minister said Iran could consider a new round of talks between Iran and six world powers over its nuclear program. The talks would start on Feb. 25 in Kazakhstan. He also said Iran would support talks with Syria’s rebel leaders.
A judge issued arrest warrants for two top Syrian intelligence officials. They were accused of being involved with a former Lebanese minister who was plotting a wave of attacks at the behest of Syria.
Shin Bet nabs Islamic Jihad cell plotting to kidnap Israelis
Two Russians and an Italian were released in a prisoner exchange with rebels. The leader of the rebel Syrian National Coalition called on President Assad to respond to his offer for a dialogue. Nearly 5,000 Syrians were killed in January.
Top Afghan commander: If UK leaves Afghanistan, Taliban will return to launch global jihad
Israeli forces in the West Bank arrested 25 members of Hamas, including three members of the Palestinian parliament. Sources said Israel planned to step up arrests to prevent a low-intensity conflict from turning into an uprising. Israeli intelligence said that three Islamic Jihad members arrested on Jan. 1 were planning to kidnap an Israeli soldier […]
Tunisia: Nation’s Dangerous Identity Politics
Maghreb economies confront terror fallout
Pakistan to build amusement park in Osama bin Laden town
Al-Qaeda’s world: A fascinating map of the group’s shifting global network
As Extremists Invaded, Timbuktu Hid Artifacts of a Golden Age
Nineteen anti-al Qaeda Awakening fighters and three Iraqi soldiers were killed in the suicide attack, which is the second of its kind in Iraq in two days.
Four Somalis and two Saudi al Qaeda fighters are reported to have been killed during clashes in Maneseeh in Baydah province. The government will prosecute more than 200 AQAP fighters. Iran denied that it chartered a ship that was carrying weapons for rebels. A Hezbollah delegation reportedly met with Yemeni officials and tribal leaders.
Over 40 attackers, some dressed in military uniforms, stormed a detention center in Benghazi near the Ansar al Sharia headquarters and freed a number of inmates; an office was torched as well. The chief of the National Numbers Department, which issues identity cards, was kidnapped from his office in Tripoli.
Shabaab claimed that it killed 24 Ethiopian soldiers during attacks on outposts in and around Baidoa. The commander of the African Union forces said that Shabaab has been weakened militarily. The UN’s secretary-general said that the 21-year-old arms embargo should be reviewed.
Tunisian Salafists set fire to the mausoleums of Sidi Abdeljabbar in Jammal and Sidi Amor Bouzid in Awlad Chamakh. There have been more than 30 such attacks on Sufi shrines in the country; the attacks have been met with mixed reactions from Tunisians.
Tuareg rebels reportedly captured Mohamed Moussa Ag Mouhamed, Ansar Dine’s former emir in Timbuktu, and Oumeini Ould Baba Akhmed, said to be behind the kidnapping of a French hostage by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa. French warplanes struck Islamist rear areas in and around Tessalit in northern Mali.
Foreign Minister Medelci claimed that the Algerian diplomats held hostage in Mali by the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa are “in a safe place.” The army has beefed up security along its border with Mali in an attempt to prevent fleeing militants from entering Algeria.
The Moro National Liberation Front attempted to free a Jordanian hostage being held by Abu Sayyaf in Jolo. Eight MNLF and 13 Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed in the clash; the fate of the Jordanian is not known.
Broad Powers Seen for Obama in Cyberstrikes
Morocco’s ruling Islamists target risky reforms
Eastern Afghanistan residents wary of US departure