Egypt
The Muslim Brotherhood, Back in a Fight to Survive
Monthly Archives: January 2014
Afghanistan
Afghan officials claimed that five Pakistanis were among 15 Taliban fighters killed in Ghazni; the Taliban claimed two Taliban fighters and six policemen were killed. The Taliban killed five civilians in a rocket attack in Helmand.
Iraq
Military officials said that 22 soldiers, 12 civilians, and an unknown number of Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham fighters were killed during clashes in the contested city of Ramadi. The ISIS killed nine people in Baghdad, six truck drivers at a fake checkpoint in Baqubah, and two soldiers in Hillah. Security forces captured […]
Yemen
President Hadi said that the Yemeni government refuses to extradite `Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad `Abd al-Rahman al Humayqani to the US. In December, al Humayqani was added to the US’ list of global terrorists for serving as a leader, facilitator, and fundraiser for AQAP. Tribesmen in Hadramout bombed an oil pipeline.
Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with rebels and Islamist battalions in Raqqah. Kurdish YPG forces battled ISIS, Al Nusrah Front, and Islamist battalions in Hasakah. Regime forces clashed with Al Nusrah and Islamist battalions in Deir Izzour. Al Nusrah is reportedly mediating between ISIS and several rebel battalions in Aleppo: several […]
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
The Women of al Qaeda
Abdullah Azzam Brigades
The continuing evolution of al Qaeda 3.0
Syria
Is Turkey sending weapons to Syria under guise of aid?
Africa
Record number of UN peacekeepers fails to stop African wars
Tunisia
Debate on the draft constitution was suspended when a deputy from the leftwing Popular Front said he had received death threats after a hardline Ennahda MP publicly denounced him as “an enemy of Islam.” Tunisian MPs adopted language yesterday that said Islam was the state religion but promised freedom of conscience and rejected the idea […]
Morocco
The public prosecutor referred to 45 recently arrested members of the terrorist group Sham al-Islam, which was formed by Brahim Benchekroune and Mohamed Maz to recruit and train Moroccan jihadists for combat in Syria and attacks in Morocco. Other Moroccan Salafists, including former bin Laden bodyguard Abdellah Tabark, are also thought to have gone to […]
Libya
The New Zealander woman killed in Sabratha has been identified, and four arrests have reportedly been made. Protesters blockading the Foreign Ministry have departed. The blockade of three eastern oil terminals continued due to the presence of armed groups.
United States
Secretary of State Kerry said the US is not contemplating sending troops to Iraq to fight al Qaeda, and added that although the US could help Iraq, the fight was Iraq’s. Kerry also suggested that Iran might play a role in the Geneva II peace talks on Syria.
Iraq
Power Vacuum in Middle East Lifts Militants
Al Nusrah Front
Al Qaeda group leader’s letters discovered with plans to kidnap UN workers in Syria
Iraq
Al Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and allied tribes took control of the city of Fallujah. The military claimed that 25 ISIS fighters were killed during fighting in Ramadi, and 30 more were killed in Karma. Iraqi tribes are allying with the military to fight against the ISIS in Ramadi, Rawa, Anah, […]
Syria
The Al Nusrah Front released video of leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani’ conducting a battlefield tour in Aleppo. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with various rebel groups in Aleppo, and an ISIS commander is said to have been killed in Azaz. ISIS warned rebels that unless they stop attacking ISIS, release ISIS […]
Yemen
Seventeen people were killed as Shia Houthis and Sunni Salafists clashed in the northern province of Amran. Thirteen people, including a colonel and five soldiers, were killed as the military battled with tribesmen who were halting repairs on the country’s main oil pipeline.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s Worsening, and Baffling, Hunger Crisis
Saudi emir of Abdullah Azzam Brigades dies in custody
Majid bin Muhammad al Majid was reportedly seeking treatment for kidney disease when he was captured by Lebanese security forces.
Central African Republic
Nearly million people displaced by CAR conflict
Al Qaeda, tribal allies ‘control’ Fallujah
While the military and allied tribes organize to retake areas of Ramadi and launch operations in other cities and towns, Fallujah, a city that once represented the seat of power for al Qaeda in Iraq, has again fallen under control of the group.
United States
Jihad Jane faces ‘decades’ in prison
Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
Fallujah falls under Al Qaeda control in blow for Iraq security
Lebanon
Majid al Majid, who headed the al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades, died in a Badaro military hospital where he was receiving kidney dialysis. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham claimed the Jan. 2 suicide bombing of a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut and threatened further attacks. Unknown assailants set fire to a historic 80,000-volume […]
Taliban suicide assault team kills ISAF soldier in eastern Afghanistan
Security forces gunned down the suicide assault team before it penetrated security at the base in Nangarhar. The Taliban took credit for the attack.
Egypt
One soldier was killed and two others wounded when an IED exploded in North Sinai. Three people believed to be responsible for the attack were arrested. Authorities defused an explosive device found near a government building in North Sinai. The government said it planned to confront the Muslim Brotherhood with “full force.”
Hezbollah
Mystery in Hezbollah Operative’s Life and Death
Libya
The Congress denied reports that its head, Nuri Abu Sahmain, has been arrested. A military intelligence officer and a special forces soldier each survived assassination attempts in Benghazi yesterday. The UK Foreign Office identified the Briton killed near Sabratha as Mark De Salis, an engineer and resident of Tripoli.
United States
The State Department ordered a further drawdown of US Embassy personnel in Juba, South Sudan due to deteriorating security. Three US Senators warned Kabul against releasing Bagram detainees and urged Afghanistan’s president to sign the bilateral security agreement. A recent study raises questions about the Obama administration’s claim that only the Assad regime could have […]