President Morsi called for a military operation in the Sinai to secure the release of seven hostages recently abducted by Islamist gunmen. A large combat force is expected to enter the Sinai in the next 48 hours. A leading Salafist condemned the Muslim Brotherhood for not implementing sharia law and for working with Shia Muslims.
President Assad said he will not step down before elections. The father of the deputy foreign minister was kidnapped in Daraa. The rebel Judicial Council, which includes the Tawheed Brigade, al-Sham Liberals, and the Al Nusrah Front, clashed with another rebel group, the Ghurabaa al-Sham, which the Judicial Council had accused of plundering factories in […]
A curfew was imposed on Maiduguri as the campaign against Islamist groups continued. Military forces killed 10 fighters, arrested 65 more, and seized stockpiles of weapons, including RPGs. Many Borno state residents have fled to the Cameroon border. Kabiru Sokoto, the alleged Boko Haram ringleader behind the deadly Christmas Day 2011 bombing, was arraigned. Witnesses […]
Angry Afghan MPs halt debate on women’s rights
The army’s Thunderbolt battalion raided Benghazi’s arms market, shutting it down after confiscating weapons along with contraband alcohol and drugs, and leaving 10 mobile units for security at the market. Bombs and an RPG were thrown at three army posts in Benghazi last night.
The Tuareg MNLA claimed its forces were attacked in the town of Anefis by militants from the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa; two Tuareg fighters and seven Islamists are said to have been killed in the ongoing clash. The Malian army said the MNLA was fighting not with MUJAO but with another […]
Members of two terror cells arrested on May 9 said they tried to set up a jihadist camp near Nador for launching attacks on Morocco. The “Attawhid” and “al-Mouahidoun” cells had ties to other extremist groups in Mali, Belgium, and Spain, including the coastal enclave of Melilla. The cells also planned schools, and recruited fighters […]
Abdallahi Ould Mohamed Ghailani, a guard at the Salah Eddine prison, was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for spying for al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb; he facilitated communications between Salafist prisoners and terrorists outside. Four university students were sentenced to five years in prison and fined for trying to send jihadists to […]
A look at ‘enforced disappearances’ worldwide
Embassy Threats Grow in Mideast
The State Department added Al Nusrah Front emir Sheikh Abu Muhammad al Julani ito its list of global terrorists. The FBI is questioning New Hampshire resident Musa Khadzhimuratov, a Chechen refugee and former separatist fighter, about his ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. In Idaho, Uzbek national Fazliddin Kurbanov pled not guilty to […]
Video: The Telegraph visits Syrian Sayyida Zainab mosque
Agence France Presse interviewed Sami Ben Khemais Essid, describing him as one of the “organizers” of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia’s planned conference this weekend. Essid was formerly the “head” of al Qaeda’s operations in Italy, according to the US State Department.
Turkish Parliament discusses bill restricting alcohol sale
Do-it-yourself weaponry: How Syrian rebels wage war
Security forces killed nine Taliban fighters in an airstrike in Paktika province and seven more in Ghazni. Russia is considering deploying troops to the Afghan-Tajik border, citing a “general destabilization of the situation” in northern Afghanistan.
Forty-three Iraqis were killed after two bombs were detonated outside of a Sunni mosque in Baqubah. The second bomb was detonated after people rushed to help the victims of the first blast.
Russia delivered advanced Yakhont antiship missiles to Syria under an existing contract; they have a range of some 180 miles. Two archbishops kidnapped by Arabic-speaking rebels on April 22 are still missing.
Authorities closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza in response to the kidnapping of seven security personnel by Islamist gunmen on May 16. A senior Hamas official called on Egypt to open the crossing. Due to the situation in the Sinai, the international peacekeeping force in the area has been put on a state of alert.
Security forces killed 13 Shabaab fighters while repelling assaults in the towns of Farwaley and Ara As. Four civilians were killed as Shabaab launched attacks in El Barde.
The Nigerian military is launching airstrikes against Boko Haram camps and strongholds in the northern states where a state of emergency has been imposed. Thousands of soldiers have been deployed, and the military hopes to prevent the Islamist fighters from fleeing the country.
France’s defense minister said his country intends to keep a force of 1,000 soldiers in Mali indefinitely to carry out operations against Islamist terrorists. From May 2 to May 9, French jets carried out a dozen airstrikes in Mali. France has decided to purchase two medium-altitude unarmed Reaper drones from the US Air Force for […]
The International Security Assistance Force has balked at mentioning al Qaeda in press releases since the end of January.
Fazliddin Kurbanov, an Uzbek, was arrested in Boise, Idaho and charged with helping the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan to build a weapon of mass destruction for a terrorist act overseas. Authorities have found that Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a message claiming responsibility for the attack and saying it was “collateral damage” and […]
A Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin suicide bomber killed 6 Americans and nine Afghans in an attack in Kabul. Special operations forces targeted an al Qaeda-linked Taliban commander in Kunar province.
Insurgents killed 28 Iraqis in attacks in Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Tarmiyah. Security forces detained six members of an Al Nusrah Front cell in Al Qaim and six al Qaeda fighters in Siniya.
Fazliddin Kurbanov is charged with supporting the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, training others to purchase and assemble components of a bomb, and possessing an “unregistered destructive device.”
Pressure of War Is Causing Syria to Break Apart
Russia Signals Deep Support for Syria With New Missiles
The head of the CIA made a surprise trip to Israel to discuss the ongoing turmoil in Syria with Israeli officials. His trip came a day after an Israeli official warned that more strikes may take place against advance weaponry in Syria.