Hezbollah
Israel Watches Warily as Hezbollah Gains Battle Skills in Syria
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Afghanistan
Shoe-bomb plots disclosed at trial of bin Laden son-in-law
Saudi Arabia
Saudi religious police level ancient graves
Syria
Among the roughly 150 regime detainees released in the swap for 13 kidnapped Syrian nuns are some rebel fighters; the Lebanese negotiator said the Al Nusrah Front had first demanded the release of 1,000 prisoners. Mohammed Haydar Zammar, the al Qaeda recruiter who helped assemble the “Hamburg cell” that carried out the 9/11 attacks, is […]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
War of narratives in prisoner exchange of Syrian nuns
Gulf Cooperation Council
Spurning Gulf Arab pressure, Qatar says foreign policy non-negotiable
Lebanon
The Army is preparing to fend off further terrorist attacks by the Al Nusrah Front and other jihadist groups, in the wake of recent threats and a European terror assessment warning that diplomatic, military, and governmental sites may be targeted. A judge issued arrest warrants for 12 suspected terrorists from the Al Nusrah Front, the […]
Libya
Libya key source for illicit arms, fueling conflicts: UN envoy
Egypt says suspect in Cairo attack fought in Syria and Libya
If al Taliawi is a member of Ansar Jerusalem and did indeed fight in Syria, he would be the third member of the group to have done so.
Palestinian Territories
Hamas claimed that it possesses rockets that can strike remote targets in Israel. Masked gunmen stole about $500,000 from a post office in Gaza. A Salafi jihadist in Gaza said there are currently 4,000 such fighters in the Hamas-run territory.
Israel
Israeli officials said they are concerned about future drone use by terror groups in Gaza and Lebanon. A Palestinian involved in a November 2012 bus bombing in Tel Aviv received a 25-year sentence. An Israeli official cautiously welcomed the idea of a joint missile defense system with Jordan and Egypt. The IDF displayed the weapons […]
Jordan
Israeli security forces killed Raed Zuaiter, a Palestinian judge working in Jordan, at the Jordan river crossing into the West Bank, in an altercation. The parliament is considering a revised antiterrorism bill that makes it a crime to fight with, or seek to join, radical groups. Mohammad al-Shalabi a.k.a. Abu Sayyaf, a Jordanian Salafist leader, […]
Egypt
Unidentified gunmen fired on a bus transporting soldiers in North Sinai. More than 100 Muslim Brotherhood supporters were released upon orders from Egypt’s prosecutor general. Four members of an alleged al Qaeda-linked terror cell were charged for offenses that included planning attacks against the American and French embassies in Egypt.
Al Qaeda-affiliated groups claim credit for joint attack on Hezbollah
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades and the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon have claimed credit for joint rocket attacks on Hezbollah “strongholds” in Hermel, Lebanon. The attacks are part of the spillover from the war in Syria.
Libya
Libyan vessels intercepted a North Korean-flagged tanker that illegally loaded oil, and escorted it to Misrata. The GNC issued an order authorizing militias in Tobruk, Benghazi, Sebha, Sirte, Misrata, and Tripoli to create a military force to bring the eastern oil terminals back under the government’s control. The US warned of civil liability, penalties, and […]
Tunisia
Ansar al Sharia Tunisia issued a statement denouncing France’s peacekeeping efforts in the Central African Republic and calling on wealthy Muslims to aid their Muslim brothers in CAR, whom they described as victims of “the Crusader war against Islam.” Following the arrest last week of a Tunisian national returning from Libya with a pistol at […]
Syria
Save the Children describes healthcare disaster in Syria
Syrian nuns held by Al Nusrah Front fighters are freed
Negotiations over the release of a group of kidnapped nuns were complicated by factors including the alleged involvement of Free Syrian Army fighters in the kidnapping.
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed nine civilians in separate attacks in Helmand province. Security forces killed 19 Taliban fighters, including three local commanders, in Farah, and eight more in operations in Kunar, Kunduz, Kandahar, Helmand, and Zabul. Vice President Fahim died of natural causes.
Iraq
An Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham suicide bomber killed 47 people and wounded 125 more in an attack at a checkpoint n Hillah. The ISIS also killed two soldiers in Mosul, two soldiers in Abu Ghraib, two more in Hillah, and another in Fallujah. Security forces killed two ISIS military leaders in Karmah […]
Al Qaeda
Spain on Islamist alert, decade after train bombings
Hamas
Jihadi head says Gaza groups growing
Syria
A group of 13 kidnapped nuns was released by the Al Nusrah Front in a swap for over 150 female detainees in regime prisons. Regime and Hezbollah forces continued to battle rebel forces including the Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, and the Islamic Front, in Yabroud, where the nuns […]
Lebanon
The Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon claimed that Shiite members of the Lebanese Army are fighting in Syria alongside regime forces. The head of General Security said negotiations have resulted in a deal to free 13 Syrian nuns kidnapped last year by rebels. The nuns will be handed over in Arsal and then taken to […]
Egypt
An official said that an Iranian arms shipment recently intercepted by Israel in the Red Sea was destined for militants in the Sinai or Gaza. At least two police officers were injured in a shooting attacker by gunmen in Zagazig. The army spokesman announced the arrest of 13 suspected militants in operations in North Sinai.
Libya
The Libyan Air Force refused orders to bomb a tanker that was illegally taking on oil at Essider. Prime Minister Zeidan said the Army refused orders from him and would answer only to the GNC and its commander in chief. A sum of $35 million was reportedly paid for the shipment and deposited in a […]
Africa
US military presence in Africa growing in small ways
Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed three soldiers in Ramadi, four soldiers west of Ramadi and, three policemen outside the city. An ISIS suicide bomber used a military vehicle to attack a checkpoint in Ramadi; 14 people were wounded. Security forces killed four ISIS fighters in Samarra and Fallujah.
Yemen
Four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and two Yemeni soldiers were killed as AQAP launched a suicide assault on a military base in Lawdar in Lahj province. Salafists from the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with Shia Houthis in the northern province of Al Jawf; 17 people are reported to have been killed over the […]
Syria
The Islamic Front and the Al Nusrah Front clashed with regime forces in Deir Izzour, in Aleppo, and in Hama. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham controls an oil well in Hama’s Jabal Sha’er area. An ISIS suicide car bomber detonated near an Al Nusrah checkpoint in Hasakah. The Islamic Front also battled […]