Mullah Omar talks green-on-blue, ‘modern education,’ and inclusivity
In an Eid al-Fitr statement, the Afghan Taliban leader attempts to softly spin the Islamic Emirate’s aims.
Monthly Archives: August 2013
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Al Qaeda’s widening North African jihad confounds foes
Salafi cleric reportedly released from Hamas prison
Salafi jihadist media units report that Hamas recently released a Salafi cleric who had been imprisoned since mid-June. Salafi jihadists had been waging a campaign to secure the cleric’s release since his arrest.
Turkey
Turkey urged all of its citizens to leave Lebanon, after two Turkish pilots were kidnapped in Beirut today. Turkey’s embassy in Yemen was put on ‘red alert’ and security was increased, but remains open. Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for four suspects charged in the Cilvegözü border gate attack that killed 18 people.
Lebanon
Two Turkish airline pilots were kidnapped in Beirut by members of the Zuwwar al-Imam Ali al-Reda, which demanded that nine Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped by Syrian rebels in Aleppo last year be released. Security forces arrested two Palestinians and a Syrian who were headed to the northeastern town of Arsal from Syria; arms and an explosive […]
India
Fear Stalks Villages on Kashmir Border
Hamas
Is Hamas Considering A Move to Beirut?
Hezbollah
Israel fears next war with Hezbollah will hit civilians harder
Egypt
Sinai jihadists have Eilat in sights
Nigeria
The Nigerian military claimed to have captured over 1,000 members of Boko Haram since the government declared emergency rule three months ago in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe. The al Qaeda-linked group still has an estimated 6,000 active fighters, who have moved into other states to continue the insurgency.
Libya
A popular TV presenter who had just delivered a mosque lecture on assassinations and car bomb attacks in Benghazi was killed in a drive-by shooting in the city. A colonel on the army’s general staff was shot and killed in Tripoli. Human Rights Watch reported that there have been at least 51 political assassinations in […]
Afghanistan
Taliban forcibly collect usher in Paktika
Afghanistan
Karzai Appeals to Taliban for Ceasefire, Changes Tone Negotiations
United States
The US evacuated most of its diplomatic staff from Lahore, Pakistan, because of “specific threats” against the US Consulate, and warned American citizens against traveling to Pakistan. Federal authorities in Miami, Fla., charged Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed, 30, a naturalized US citizen and resident of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and Mohamed Hussein Said, 25, a Kenyan […]
Pakistan
A suicide bomber killed 30 people, including at least 21 policemen, in an attack at a funeral for a police officer at a mosque in Quetta. Four senior police officials were among those killed in the blast.
North Korea
Study Suggests North Korea Is Doubling Area Devoted to Uranium Enrichment
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed 14 women and children in a bombing at a graveyard in Nangarhar. President Karzai said the Taliban should open a political office in Afghanistan.
Iraq
Al Qaeda killed a policeman, his wife, and three children in an attack on his home in Tikrit; eight more people were killed in a car bombing outside of his home. An al Qaeda bombmaker died in a premature detonation. Police killed an al Qaeda fighter and captured two more on a boat on the […]
Yemen
US drones killed six al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives and two civilians in a pair of strikes in Hadramout province. Yemeni officials are denying that AQAP plotted to take over the city of Mukallah and two petroleum export facilities.
Al Qaeda
As Foreign Fighters Flood Syria, Fears of a New Extremist Haven
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda Yemen Branch Plot Prompted U.S. Alert
United Arab Emirates
Scotland Yard counter-terrorism unit investigate Dubai abduction
Al Qaeda
Al-Qaida’s growing closeness to LeT, JeM worries security establishment
Iran
A letter purportedly signed by over 50 prominent political prisoners, most of whom are currently incarcerated, was sent to President Obama urging him to seek dialogue with new president Rouhani, to remove sanctions, and to seek a “dignified” solution to the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. Two days ago, in his first press conference, President […]
Morocco
The Salafist tide: is Morocco next?
Syria
Rebels led by two al Qaeda affiliates, the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have killed over 200 people, captured dozens of villages, and seized an airport over the past two days in an Alawite area. Rebels are targeting aviation hubs in Aleppo as well, including the Kweiris military […]
Al Qaeda
Yemen Steps Back from Plot Claims, Highlighting US Challenge
Saudi Arabia
Authorities disclosed the recent arrest of two men, a Chadian and a Yemeni, who are suspected of planning suicide attacks. The Interior Ministry said the men were part of a “deviant group abroad,” a term it uses for al Qaeda, and claimed the ongoing investigation is related to the recent closure of US diplomatic facilities […]
Egypt
At least two soldiers were wounded in another militant attack in the Sinai overnight. Supporters of former president Morsi took to the streets despite calls by authorities to end ongoing sit-ins. Authorities reportedly foiled a plot to target sites in Eilat, the Sinai, as well as near the Suez Canal with Iranian-made missiles.
Israel
The IDF ordered the closure of Eilat airport for a number of hours as a result of security concerns. Authorities have previously expressed concern that jihadists may try to target planes landing and taking off from the airport. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are expected to resume on Aug. 14 in Jerusalem. US Air […]