Iran
In Iran, Fordow Nuclear Plant Virtually Sacred Ground
Monthly Archives: September 2013
Russia
President Putin said he could not be “100 percent” sure the Assad regime would follow through on the deal to surrender its chemical arms but that recent moves by the regime “inspire confidence.” Defense Minister Shoigu said Russia does not currently plan to dispose of Syrian chemical weapons on its own territory under the Russian-US […]
Al Nusrah Front
Moroccan terror suspect arrested in Ceuta
Iraq
The bodies of 10 men between the ages of 18 and 25 were found killed in a Shia neighborhood in Baghdad. The men were executed. US Ambassador to Iraq Lukman Faily said al Qaeda is pushing the country to civil war.
Nigeria
Boko Haram killed 23 civilians in yesterday’s attack in the village of Benisheik near Maiduguri; hundreds of homes and cars were torched. Boko Haram fighters also killed a soldier and the wife of a policeman in Yobe.
Russia
Syria moves chemical weapons again, motive unclear
Al Qaeda
Court document references al Qaeda-linked chemical weapons program in Somalia
Salafi jihadist from Gaza reportedly killed fighting for ISIS in Syria
A Palestinian from the northern Gaza City of Beit Hanoun reportedly died recently in a “martyrdom operation” while fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria. Mohammed Za’anin is at least the fourth jihadist from Gaza to have been killed fighting in Syria.
Report: American-supplied arms fell into al Qaeda’s hands
According to Syrian opposition sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, some light weapons and ammunition “funneled” by the CIA into Syria have been captured by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al Qaeda affiliate.
Israeli Arab killed in Syria fought with Al Nusrah Front
An Israeli Arab recently killed in Syria is reported to have fought alongside the Al Nusrah Front prior to his death.
Turkey
The government shut the Öncüpınar border gate after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized the nearby Syrian town of Azar. The key crossing itself, which includes the Syrian Bab al-Salameh gate, has been held by Syrian rebels, chiefly the Free Syrian Army’s Northern Storm Brigade, since last year. According to a recent […]
Egypt
At least one police officer was killed during clashes between militants and security forces in the town of Kardasa. Authorities reportedly arrested 51 people in Kardasa. The country’s cabinet announced plans to shorten the country’s curfew by two hours beginning Saturday. Egypt returned $2 billion that Qatar had deposited in the country’s central bank. 15 […]
Al Qaeda
An Enlisted Airman Deciphered al Qaeda’s ‘Conference Call’ of Doom
France
President Hollande said France supports arming the Syrian rebels in a controlled manner so they do not end up in the hands of Islamists. A French Muslim convert was arrested in the Calvados region on terror charges for serving as administrator of the radical Islamist website Ansar al Haqq and as a translator of al […]
Denmark
Trial began in Copenhagen for 11 men accused of sending 11 million Danish kroner (nearly $2 million) to aid the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey. All of the defendants have pled not guilty to terror charges but some admitted to raising the money for other purposes. The case arose from information obtained during the […]
Indonesia
The US added Said Ahmad Sungkar and Afif Abdul Majid to its terrorism blacklist for their activities with the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah and Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid, and said the two terrorist groups pose significant threats. The embassies of the US, UK, and Australia issued warnings that Islamist extremists may attack the Miss World competition; […]
Iran
Obama Administration Weighs Iran Talks at U.N.
United States
The administration appeared to back off from the demand that the Assad regime provide a full and complete list of its chemical weapons arsenal by Sept. 21, and said “forward momentum” is the goal. The head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee questioned why none of the terrorists who attacked the US Consulate in Benghazi […]
Afghanistan
The Taliban gunned down the head of the election commission in Kunduz. A former senator from Sar-i-Pul has joined the Taliban. Security forces captured the Taliban’s finance minister for Farah. Afghan officials claimed US drones killed six Taliban fighters in Kunar. Three policemen were killed in infighting in Helmand.
Syria
Snipers haunt Syrian Christian town of Maalula
France
France turns to crowdsourcing to fight Mali aid corruption
Iran
President Rouhani said Iran would never develop nuclear weapons and that it was seeking only “peaceful nuclear technology.” Earlier this week, Supreme Leader Khamenei spoke of the need for “heroic flexibility” and said it was “not necessary” for the Revolutionary Guards to be politically active.
US adds 2 Indonesian jihadists to terrorism list
The two Indonesian jihadists are senior leaders linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid, and Al Qaeda in Aceh.
Iraq
Al Qaeda in Iraq killed six Iraqis in three car bombings in Mosul and Tuz Khurmatu, and also killed an Iraqi soldier in a sniper attack in Haswa. Security forces captured al Qaeda’s military leader for Babil and two of his aides.
Syria
President Assad said disposal of Syria’s chemical weapons would take about a year and cost $1 billion. He strongly denied that his government was behind the Aug. 21 gas attack, and said Syria is committed to the US-Russian agreement for the surrender of Syria’s chemical arsenal. Syria gave Russia materials said to implicate the rebels […]
Nigeria
Government officials said that 16 soldiers were killed during an operation against Boko Haram in Borno; officials claimed that 150 Boko Haram fighters were killed. One report claimed that 40 soldiers were killed and 65 more are missing. Boko Haram killed five civilians in a raid on a village in Borno.
Israel
The family of an Israeli Arab recently killed in Syria said it is likely their son was fighting with an al Qaeda group. A top Israeli general said that Assad “will stay on for years … though he deserves to pass from this world, and the quicker that happens, the better.” A former Israeli commander […]
Egypt
Authorities partially reopened the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip, which had been closed after two suicide car bombings in the Sinai. Gama’a al Islamiya said that it is opposed to attacks on Egyptian security forces. A military court sentenced five Palestinians to a year in prison for trying to illegally enter Egyptian territorial waters.
Palestinian Territories
Hamas accused Palestinian Authority security forces of arresting 10 of its supporters in the West Bank. Israeli authorities apprehended a Palestinian youth in the West Bank who has planning on carrying out a terror attack. Hamas accused Egyptian authorities of destroying smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt to tighten the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Turkey
Analysis: Turkey’s ‘worthy solitude’ sidelines Erdogan in Middle East