Tripoli University has closed due to continuing insecurity in the capital city. Ansar al Sharia ignored the Parliament’s call for an unconditional ceasefire in Benghazi and Tripoli. Operation Dignity forces bombed a boat allegedly carrying fighters and weapons from Syria as it approached the port of Derna on Aug. 11; Islamist fighters in the city […]
The US donated 10 tons of personnel protective gear “to support Tunisia’s fight against terrorism and … to help Tunisia succeed in its transition to democracy,” and promised to “make available to the Tunisian Air Force 12 UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters to aid in the fight against terrorism.” A firefight broke out in Fernana on Aug. […]
Security forces sweeping terrorist cells in Tlemcen province killed two terrorists in Ouled Riyah and seized ammunition; the operation began after a tip-off. Algeria opened its borders to Egyptians fleeing Libya; the border to Libya had been closed since May 2013.
Scotland Yard chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said about half of the estimated 500 British jihadists in Syria and Iraq are from London, and warned that the task of addressing the threat posed by their return to the UK should not be underestimated. UK jihadist Nasser Muthana, an Islamic State fighter, posted photos of IEDs he […]
Obama administration shows little urgency for stemming Islamic State violence
A group of Lebanese clerics with links to Islamist groups mediated a ceasefire between the Lebanese military and fighters from the Islamic Front and the Al Nusrah Front in Arsal, which let as many as 2,000 Islamist fighters escape with over captive 35 Lebanese security forces.
After US troops’ assessment mission, rescue on Sinjar ‘far less likely’
The military claimed it killed 17 Islamic State fighters in airstrikes in Anbar while the Peshmerga said it killed 11 more during operations in Jalawla. Eight Iraqis were killed in two separate bombings in Baghdad.
Twenty people were killed as Houthi rebels clashed with government forces and tribe in Al Jawf in northern Yemen. Three Yemeni explosives experts and 10 civilians were killed in a bombing in Lahj.
Iraqi Kurds accuse local Arabs of supporting IS
Fighting escalated in Tripoli, and the Islamist Misratan forces shelled the largely Zintani-supporting neighborhood of Ghut Shaal. Suspected Islamist gunmen yesterday assassinated Tripoli security head Colonel Mohamed Al Suwaisi, a supporter of Operation Dignity. In Benghazi, Ansar al Sharia forces have deployed to a new checkpoint within striking distance of the Saiqa Special Forces base […]
The Jordanian Armed Forces denied reports that Syrian jets had violated Jordanian airspace. A JAF source warned against the publication of “false news” that can result in harm to the national security.
Lebanon – Arsali and refugee relations tense
The Islamic State released a video of seven captured Lebanese soldiers; negotiations for the release of some 35 kidnapped security forces are said to be ongoing. The military court has received the cases of captured Islamist commander Imad Jomaa and nine other militants arrested during recent clashes in Arsal.
Why is Turkey supporting Islamic State fighters in Iraq?–commentary
Sweden’s intelligence service is investigating reports that during a TV interview, an Islamic State supporter from Sweden named Sheikh Ahmed threatened violence in the country and war against Sweden and Europe. An estimated 80 Swedes are said to be fighting for rebel groups in Syria. An Uzbek imam who was shot in northern Sweden in […]
In the latest video released by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Ibrahim al Rubaish discusses a range of recent developments in the Muslim world.
President Hollande promised that “in the coming hours” France will deliver weapons to Kurdish forces in Iraq fighting the Islamic State. Interior Minister Cazeneuve said nearly 900 French citizens have traveled to Iraq or Syria to fight, and that some of them have joined the Islamic State.
Iraq crisis: International boost to arms and aid supply
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) militants conducted simultaneous attacks against security forces in Datu Piang in Maguindanao. Authorities looked into reports that a German couple kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf may be captive on a southern island. Captured Abu Sayyaf commander Khair Mundos has told authorities that he met last year in Maguindanao with Marwan a.k.a. […]
Thirteen people were reported killed today in Yemen’s southern Lahj province as an IED believed to have been planted by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was being defused.
The jihadist group ejected the rival Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and allied jihadist groups from five towns and villages in Aleppo province.
Disrupt ISIS’s Cash Flow in Iraq
Exclusive: Islamic State militants seize wheat from state silos – Iraq Grain Board
Islamic State seizes more territory in Syria: monitor
In a video released on Aug. 8, Abu Firas al Suri, a senior al Qaeda operative who currently serves as the Al Nusrah Front’s spokesman, discusses al Qaeda’s approach to waging jihad in Syria. Al Suri denies that Al Nusrah seeks to unilaterally establish an Islamic emirate.
Defense Secretary Hagel said 130 more US military assessment team members were sent to northern Iraq today; there are currently 250 US military advisers already in Iraq, along with 450 security forces, and 100 troops guarding the US Embassy in Baghdad. A Pentagon official said the US is conducting 50-60 sorties a day in Iraq […]
In Turkey, a late crackdown on Islamist fighters
New details on Afghan insider attack that killed Maj. Gen. Harold Greene
Syrian Kurdish fighters rescue stranded Yazidis