Afghanistan
Chinook pilot awarded medal for Helmand rescue
Monthly Archives: March 2013
Mali
Mali’s war: Far from over
Social Media Jihad: Egyptian jihadist lionizes slain al Qaeda leader
Two Facebook posts contain messages from Ansar al Sharia Egypt leader Ahmed Ashush honoring slain al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al Libi and praising Ansar al Sharia Tunisia. The statements were first published last year but were re-posted online in recent weeks.
Palestinian Territories
A top Palestinian official said a partial settlement freeze would not be enough to restart peace talks with Israel. Five Palestinian youths were arrested for their suspected involvement in a rock-throwing attack that recently injured a number of Israelis, including an infant. A Palestinian carrying a pipe bomb was arrested near Nablus. The Turkish Prime […]
Israel
Hackers claimed to have breached the Mossad’s firewall and obtained details on over 34,000 Israeli officials. Israeli forces destroyed a Syrian machine gun nest after gunmen fired from Syria into Israel twice in the past 24 hours. A senior Israeli official said Israel’s recent apology to Turkey did not mean the blockade of Gaza was […]
Suicide bomber kills 17 Pakistani troops in North Waziristan
The suicide bomber rammed a water truck packed with explosives into a camp run by the Pakistani military’s Frontier Works Organization.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Slain AQIM commander Abdelhamid Abou Zeid has been replaced by Djamel Okacha (a.k.a. Yahia Abu El Hamam), an Algerian who is very close to AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel. Okacha was appointed by Droukdel to head AQIM’s Mali operations last fall. The reported death of Mokhtar Belmokhtar is still unconfirmed.
Al Qaeda
Syrian with ties to 9/11 hijackers still in US, virtually immune from deportation
Syria
Syria chemical weapons: finger pointed at jihadists
Libya
Thousands of Libyan missiles from Qaddafi era missing in action
Mali
In the third major offensive since fleeing in January, Islamist militants attacked French and Malian forces in Gao. An official said there were “a lot of them and they are very determined,” and that many of the militants had been killed but others had melted back into the population. The mayor of Gao said the […]
Malaysia
Malaysia declared the crisis in eastern Sabah to be “under control.” Authorities downgraded the alert level after a month of fighting against an incursion by the “Sulu royal army,” which had asserted a claim over Sabah.
Afghanistan
Excavating a future in Afghanistan
Iraq
A decade after Iraq invasion, America’s voice in Baghdad has gone from a boom to a whimper
Canada
Canadian police confirmed that the remains of a second Canadian terrorist killed during the In Amenas siege in Algeria have been identified, but did not disclose the terrorist’s name. The RCMP’s criminal investigation into the matter is ongoing.
Central African Republic
France sends troops to Central African Republic to stem rebel insurgency
Afghanistan
Insecurity Springs From Afghan Dam Projects
Afghanistan
The military claimed that more than 60 Taliban fighters were killed in Badakhshah; the Taliban denied the report. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in the east. Ismail Khan called on Afghans to reject a security pact with the US. The US and Afghanistan reached an agreement to transfer Bagram.
Iraq
Security forces captured al Qaeda’s mufti, or religious emir, for Babil province and 19 “wanted gunmen” in Baghdad. Al Qaeda killed two people in attacks that targeted the Awakening in Abu Ghraib.
Libya
Libya – Why I resigned – interview with Hassan Al-Amin
Sweden
SDL rally in Malmö sparks violent demo
Egypt
Sunni Leaders Gaining Clout in Mideast
Syria
Syria’s Continuing Civil War
Lebanon
Syria fires on Lebanon: Lebanese seethe, government mum
Syria
Rebels loyal to the al Qaeda-linked Al Nusrah Front and the Al Yarmuk Brigade captured a strategic military base south of Damascus. Crowds gathered in Damascus for the funeral of a pro-government cleric killed in a suicide attack earlier this week. Alawites opposed to President Assad met in Cairo to plot an alternative to his […]
Lebanon
Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced the resignation of his government amid disputes over upcoming parliamentary elections. The resignations exacerbated sectarian tensions fueled by the fighting in Syria.
France confirms death of senior AQIM commander Abou Zeid
President Hollande said that the senior al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb commander was killed “during combat led by the French military in the Ifoghas Mountains in northern Mali at the end of February.”
Afghanistan
Doubts Over Bagram Handover Ahead of Deadline
Oman
Oman’s Sultan pardons all jailed activists
Somalia
Somali troops fought amongst themselves in the town of Marka; five people are thought to have been killed. A human rights worker was gunned down in Mogadishu.