Iraq
Iraq’s New Sunni Awakening
Monthly Archives: March 2013
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US military in Africa faces uncertain year after Benghazi, sequestration
Israel
Two IAF pilots were killed in a helicopter crash believed to have been caused by a technical malfunction. UN peacekeepers previously held by Syrian rebels entered Israel via Jordan. President Peres addressed the European Parliament and called for the designation of Hezbollah as a terror organization.
Egypt
Jama’a al-Islamiya and the Muslim Brotherhood announced that they and other Islamist groups are forming civilian militias with authority to make arrests. A survey revealed that Egypt’s budget since the fall of Hosni Mubarak has become less transparent. Authorities thwarted an arms smuggling attempt from Libya. Tribal leaders in the Sinai warned that Salafi jihadists […]
Palestinian Territories
Hamas called on Palestinians collaborating with Israel to hand themselves in and introduced voluntary weapons training to high schools in Gaza. A senior Hamas official said the US was pressuring Fatah not to reconcile with Hamas. A Palestinian journalist with ties to Al Jazeera was recently arrested by PA security forces.
France
France, Germany at odds over lifting Syrian arms embargo
Syria
Heavy fighting continued for a third day in the strategically important city of Homs in central Syria. Fighting renewed around Aleppo airport in northern Syria. A Ukrainian journalist held hostage by Syrian rebels escaped from her captors.
Yemen
A pro-government militia in Jaar tried and executed an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative for his involvement in a suicide attack that killed 40 people last year. A militia in Jaar claimed to have dismantled an al Qaeda cell operating in the city.
Somalia
Somalia’s army chief vowed to free all areas of Somalia that remain under Shabaab control. Pirates freed two ships and released 48 hostages after reportedly receiving ransom payments.
Syria
Syria, pressed by war, deploys all-female unit
Mali
The UN Human Rights Commission accused Malian soldiers of retaliatory attacks against ethnic groups perceived to be supportive of the Islamist takeover in Mali. The country’s private news outlets launched a strike to protest the arrest of an editor who published a letter complaining to the president about soldiers’ conditions in the north.
United States
The director of national intelligence said the al Qaeda-linked Al Nusrah Front is establishing a foothold in Syria. The Obama administration wants China to acknowledge the problem of Chinese cyberattacks, crack down on Chinese hackers, and agree to help set up global cybercrime standards. The Pentagon said it is creating a number of “offensive” teams […]
Syria
Erosion of Syrian power accelerating, top US intelligence official says
Syria
Whole generation of Syrian children could be lost, says UN
Germany
A German-language jihadist propaganda video has surfaced, featuring a Syrian Islamist fighter named Hajan M. who urges Germans to come fight with rebels in Syria. Authorities say the number of Salafists in North Rhine-Westphalia has doubled within a year to 1,000 men, including about 100 who are trained jihadists. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) […]
Russia
Russia starts formation of permanent Navy presence in Mediterranean
Afghanistan
Russia’s Top Drug Cop Warns On Afghan Opiates
European Union
Hezbollah’s European enablers
CIA
CIA Ramps Up Role in Iraq
Hamas
UN Ties Gaza Baby’s Death to Palestinians
Egypt
Al Qaeda chief’s kin, other Salafis push for a puritanical Egypt
Pakistan
Pakistan – TTP may include Dr. Khan, Faheem in list of guarantors
Pakistan
Pakistani Christians close schools to protest over riot
Algeria
‘Hidden hands’ pouring petrol on fire to blow southern Algeria to serve foreign agenda
Algeria
Algeria secures marine, aviation hubs
Afghanistan
An Afghan policeman killed two US Special Forces soldiers and two Afghan security personnel in an attack at a base in Wardak. The military said seven Taliban fighters were killed in a premature detonation in Helmand. Twenty Taliban fighters reconciled with the government in Kunduz.
Iraq
Insurgents killed seven Iraqis in attacks throughout Iraq; one of the attacks was carried out by a suicide bomber in Dibis. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed credit for the March 4 ambush that killed 48 Syrian and 9 Iraqi soldiers.
North Korea
As North Korea Blusters, South Breaks Taboo on Nuclear Talk
Syria
Fighting fire with fire: Syria calls for jihad on jihadists
Syria
Rebels broke through government lines, loosening a siege in central Homs. Government forces counterattacked with artillery and an airstrike. Both President Assad and rebel leaders vowed they would fight on until the other is defeated. However, neither side has been making major advances.