Monthly Archives: April 2013

Mali

The French government announced that a French soldier was killed in combat in the far north of the country. He is the sixth French soldier killed since the intervention began in January. The soldier was killed and two others were wounded when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.




Russia

Security forces raided the home of two suspected terrorists in Dagestan, killing both. One of the dead men was identified as “the bomber” Shakhrudin Askhabov, who was linked to attacks on police and local stores. Five suspected insurgents have been killed in Dagestan this week, and thousands of people were evacuated from a Dagestani village […]


Georgia

President Saakashvili again denied allegations that the previous government had sent as many as 120 Chechens living in exile in Europe to join the North Caucasus insurgency. A Russian media report alleged that Boston Marathon bomber Tamarlan Tsarnaev had attended seminars by Georgia’s Caucasus Fund.


United Kingdom

The government is said to be planning a reversal of the 1968 “East of Suez” policy that resulted in the closing of a number of its military bases in the Gulf; the military is considering the establishment of a strong shadow presence in the area following the drawdown from Afghanistan. The UK’s Chief of Defence […]




Hamas

Is Iran trying to set up a new arms smuggling route to Gaza from Sudan?



United States

Two US Congressmen said there are “persons of interest” in the Boston Marathon bombing case who are in the United States. The parents of the two known suspects in the case, the Tsarnaev brothers, canceled plans to return to the US from southern Russia.


Russia

Russia Says Chemical Weapons No Pretext For Syria Intervention


Canada

Lawyers for convicted terrorist Omar Khadr said they plan to appeal his conviction. He was transferred to a Canadian prison from Guantanamo in 2012, and is eligible for a parole hearing this summer. Canadian authorities say his fate rests with the Parole Board of Canada.


Morocco

Prime Minister Benkirane, an Islamist, said criticism of the Prophet Mohammed is unacceptable. The UN’s envoy to the Sahara said that Morocco and the Polisario Front are deadlocked, and that the terrorist threat in the region had not moved the parties to reach a solution.




Libya

Armed gunmen in 20 vehicles blocked the Foreign Ministry, demanding that Gaddafi-era officials be banned from government positions. The militants also called for the closure of a number of embassies.



United Kingdom

The Royal Air Force stated that it has begun supporting ISAF and Afghan ground troops with “armed intelligence and surveillance missions” using drones remotely piloted from Britain. A former chief of defense intelligence said terrorists operate in “a condition of sanctuary” in parts of Afghanistan.





United States

Russian authorities this week turned over information about Boston Marathon bomber Tamarlan Tsarnaev and his mother Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, including the fact that mother and son discussed jihad in a telephone conversation in 2011, and that Zubeidat also spoke about jihad with a man in Russia who is under investigation by the FBI. Mother and son […]



Official: Russia heard Boston suspects’ mother ‘discussing jihad’


Afghanistan

Four ISAF soldiers were killed when an aircraft crashed in Zabul. A policeman killed two of his colleagues in Paktia. The Taliban announced the start of the Khalid bin Waleed spring offensive. The departing French ambassador had harsh words about the situation in Afghanistan.


Iraq

Sunni tribes in Anbar formed the “Army of Pride and Dignity” and are preparing to defend the province from government forces. Insurgents killed four soldiers in Ramadi and three policemen in Taji. Security forces killed a senior al Qaeda leader in Baqubah.