Monthly Archives: August 2014

Syria

The Islamic State battled regime forces in Hama; Deir Izzour, where Shaitaat tribal officials begged forgiveness and mercy from the IS, and regime airstrikes targeted an IS training camp in the Tal Tabus area of al Shmeteyyi; and Raqqah, where the IS captured 20 soldiers and four civilians, including three women, and has executed other […]



Al Qaeda

Locked up: Finsbury Park Mosque detains journalist after tricky questions




Iraq

US seeks coalition against Islamic State, but military partners no sure bet


Lebanon

Security forces intercepted a vehicle loaded with RPGs in Hermel and detained the driver and a passenger; and arrested 32 Syrians in refugee camps in north and east Lebanon who did not have proper identification. Syrian airstrikes targeted border areas near Al-Rawhe outside Arsal. The Arab Tawhid Party announced it was closing its offices in […]


Libya

Recent Libya fighting ‘unprecedented in gravity,’ warns outgoing UN envoy



Jordan

Jordanian authorities arrested over 40 people suspected of membership in the Islamic State or the Al Nusrah Front, as “precautionary measures” to deter others from joining the terrorist groups. A lawyer for Jordan’s Salafist movement said that over the past week 46 members of the movement had been arrested for pledging alliegiance to the Islamic […]



France

French authorities arrested ISIS operative Fayez Boushran, who holds dual French and Moroccan citizenship, on his return to France, after prompting by Lebanese security officials. Boushan had confessed to arriving in Beirut in June for an ISIS bomb plot in Lebanon along with another would-be suicide bomber who was originally from the Comoros Islands.


United Kingdom

The head of Scotland Yard warned that about 250 militarized UK jihadists have returned home after fighting in Iraq and Syria, and said most of the estimated 600 who have traveled to those conflict zones were from London. He called for tougher counterterrorism measures, including revocation of citizenship for jihadist fighters and the reintroduction of […]



Canada

Michel Coulombe, head of Canada’s spy agency CSIS, recently stated that “well over 100 Canadians have left Canada to support or train with terrorist movements,” and that some are women, and some are Canadian born. He said Canadians should not assume that a mass-casualty attack could not happen in Canada. Last month Hasibullah Yusufzai, 25, […]





United States

The US has begun flying surveillance missions over Syria to gather intelligence on the Islamic State. The US denied a report that it is sharing intelligence with the Assad regime. Defense Secretary Hagel said that in addition to the US, seven other Western countries are providing weapons to Kurdish forces in Iraq fighting the Islamic […]




Iraq

Smugglers, Kurdish militants help Yazidis escape to Turkey



Hamas

Hamas, Jihad chiefs in first public appearance since July 8



Iraq

The US launched two airstrikes against Islamic State forces in Irbil. Thirteen Iraqis were killed in two separate bombings in Baghdad. The military claimed it killed 13 Islamic State fighters in an airstrike north of Tikrit.



Saudi Arabia

Police arrested eight people in Tamir who are suspected of recruiting for the Islamic State; among the suspects is a cleric and a teacher. The Special Criminal Court sentenced 12 people to jail for terrorism offenses, including plotting to bomb a US diplomatic mission, joining al Qaeda training camps in Yemen and Lebanon, and facilitating […]


Syria

The Islamic State battled regime forces in Raqqah; and in Deir Izzour, where the IS is preparing an assault on the military airport. The Islamic State also executed and crucified four men in Deir Izzour, including an Al Nusrah Front fighter; clashed with rebels in Aleppo; and fought the Kurdish YPG and the al-Karam army […]


Lebanon

The Muslim Scholars Committee asked the government to appoint a “neutral” mediator in negotiations for the release of kidnapped Lebanese security forces being held by Islamist militants; MSC chief Sheikh Malek Jadida said the abductors had “humanitarian” demands and that they also called for the withdrawal of Hezbollah from Syria. Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia […]