Monthly Archives: July 2013

Egypt

Army chief el Sisi called on Egyptians to take to the streets on Friday to give the army a mandate to “confront violence and potential terrorism.” A senior Muslim Brotherhood official responded by saying that protests against the army would continue. Militants fired RPGs at a police station in the Sinai. In a separate attack […]


Israel

Israeli officials will begin sharing intelligence information with their European counterparts to help them enforce the recent designation of Hezbollah’s military wing. Israel said the focus will be on providing countries such as Germany, France, and Spain with information regarding Hezbollah operations inside their borders. Israeli officials recently complained about leaks from the Pentagon regarding […]


Kenya

Police in central Nairobi discovered 403 rolls of ammonium nitrate disguised as books in a bus that was headed for the inland city of Voi. The driver of the bus was arrested and interrogated about the explosive cargo, which had been sent from Tanzania, and was destined for Mombasa.




France

Police and residents in the Parisian suburb of Trappes said recent clashes between youth and police were due to tensions, not the arrest of a man who attacked police for checking the ID of his unlawfully veiled wife. The head of the local police union claimed that although there are a small number of Salafists […]





Jordan

Syrian refugees stranded along Jordanian border; humanitarian crisis feared


Afghanistan

Growing Insecurity And Rise in Military Casualties Destroying Afghanistan’s Future: Experts


United States

The CIA has begun closing a number of clandestine bases in Afghanistan, pulling staff back to main bases in Kabul, Bagram, Kandahar, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad, and Herat. The US asked Afghanistan to sign a bilateral security agreement by October. Intelligence chief James Clapper said he would be “very concerned” if proposed restrictions on the NSA’s […]



Syria

Syria: disillusioned rebels drift back to take Assad amnesty




Afghanistan

A Taliban suicide bomber killed three US soldiers and a translator in Wardak; the Taliban claimed it killed 31 US soldiers in two suicide attacks in Wardak and Ghazni. Eight Afghan soldiers and six Taliban fighters were killed in separate attacks.


Syria

The UN Security Council will hold an informal meeting on Syria this week; Middle East envoy Robert Serry said Syria was “increasingly turning into a regional, if not a global, battleground.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called again for the release of two bishops kidnapped near Aleppo by “rebel fighters from the Caucasus.” The […]


Iraq

Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed credit for the suicide assaults on two prisons that freed more than 500 terrorist commanders and fighters. Security forces captured six al Qaeda fighters in Tikrit. Parliament’s foreign relations committee asked Iran to halt the flow of al Qaeda and “Iranian-backed militants” into Iraq.


Turkey

The army vowed to retaliate “in multiples” against any fire from Syria; tensions are rising along the border since Kurdish forces seized the town of Ras al-Ayn from the Al Nusrah Front last week. Turkey said it will not tolerate Kurdish autonomy in Syria. A military prosecutor asked for a 25-year sentence for a Turkish […]


Israel

Authorities filed an indictment against two sisters of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Defense Minister Ya’alon said authorities have increased deployment and rocket defenses near the border with Egypt. The Home Front Command conducted a simulation of a chemical missile attack on Tel Aviv. The director of military intelligence, Aviv Kochavi, said the situation in Syria […]


Egypt

At least six people were killed in clashes near Cairo University between supporters and opponents of former president Morsi. A police officer was shot dead by unidentified gunmen, and militants reportedly tried to blow up an army vehicle in the Sinai. A new poll revealed that 44% of Egyptians do not know the name of […]


Palestinian Territories

The Popular Resistance Committees called on Hamas to stop arrests of ‘mujahideen’ in the Gaza Strip. Hamas officials recently met with Hezbollah and Iranian officials in Lebanon to discuss their relationships, which have frayed as a result of the Syrian civil war. Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh called on the Egyptian media to end its incitement against […]







Somalia

Eleven people have died from polio in the Hiran region; 71 cases of the deadly disease have been reported in Somalia. Security forces arrested a suspected Shabaab fighter who is accused of planting an IED that killed five people in Kismayo.


Libya

A mortar launched from a car toward the Corinthia hotel in Tripoli missed its target, hitting an elderly couple’s flat instead. Security guards thwarted an attempt to bomb Benghazi Medical College on July 21. That same day, a retired army colonel was assassinated in Derna. The commander of the Benghazi search and rescue team was […]