Yearly Archives: 2014

Islamic State

What IS Militants Fantasize About: Fighter Jets, White Horses, And Destroying Big Ben





Kenya

Kenyan police announced the arrest of 10 suspected Shabaab operatives at the Somali border on Nov. 12. Two of the suspects are women who authorities claim intended to conduct suicide attacks.


Somalia

Somali security forces searched vehicles in Mogadishu on Nov. 13 in response to a series of attacks on government workers in the city. Shabaab kidnapped 20 people and beheaded two women after briefly taking over Kuhda Island in southern Somalia.


Nigeria

Boko Haram has reportedly retaken Chibok, site of the infamous kidnapping of more than 200 school girls in April. A Nigerian Air Force helicopter crashed in Yolo, Adamawa State, killing all three crew members. A coalition of Nigerian Army, “local hunters, and civilian vigilantes” are reported to have recaptured the towns of Mubi and Maiha […]


Egypt

Jihadists killed five off-duty soldiers and policemen after setting up ad hoc checkpoints in the Sinai. Five sailors were injured and eight remain missing after an Egyptian naval vessel was attacked in the Mediterranean by an unidentified group on Nov 12.



Europe

Samantha Power, US Ambassador, Issues Warning on Anti-Semitism in Europe


Libya

A pair of car bombs detonated near the closed Egyptian and UAE embassies in Tripoli, causing no injuries but some damage. The UAE blamed Libya Dawn and Ansar al Sharia for the attack. Ansar al Sharia released a video showing the beheading of a Libyan soldier who was fighting among General Khalifa Hiftar’s pro-government forces […]



Syria

Rebel sources are claiming that leaders from the Islamic State and the Al Nusrah Front have agreed to a truce in light of Western intervention. The US launched another round of airstrikes against Al Nusrah, targeting “at least one top operative” of the Khorasan Group. Western airstrikes on the Islamic State in Raqqa have reportedly […]


Tunisia

Two presidential candidates were notified by security forces of assassination threats; one of the candidates specified Ansar al Sharia was the source of the threat against him. Government agencies are preparing for a wave of Libyan refugees from the neighboring conflict, despite public resentment about the potential impact on resources and the economy.


France

A court sentenced French citizen Flavien Moreau, 27, a Muslim convert with a prior criminal record, to seven years in prison for joining Islamist militants in Syria. Interior Minister Cazeneuve has said that authorities have been monitoring about 350 possible jihadists, including some 80 minors and 150 women, and have prevented at least 70 people […]


Philippines

Government soldiers clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants in the mountains on Sulu during a raid on a camp in Talipao where some 300 militants were reportedly based. At least 14 Abu Sayyaf fighters and five soldiers were killed, and 26 soldiers were wounded in the hours-long gun battle. A group of 50 Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom […]



United States

Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Dempsey said the US is considering sending a small number of US combat troops to fight alongside Iraqi forces against the Islamic State. Dempsey also said some 15,000 Syrian rebels will be needed to pressure Islamic State forces in northern and eastern Syria. Defense Secretary Hagel claimed that the coalition air […]



France

The Lost Children: France Takes Stock of Growing Jihadist Problem



Libya

Turkey’s role in Libya adds to pro-Islamist perception



AQAP releases interview with Jalal al Marqishi

In a new interview, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninusla commander Jalal al Marqishi comments on recent developments in the group’s war against the Houthis and expounds on the nature of the US-Houthi relationship.



Syria

US and allied forces conducted 16 airstrikes in Syria since Nov. 10; 10 of them near Kobane. US President Barack Obama has requested a review of policy towards Syria and may be open to the deposition of the Assad regime, according to senior officials interviewed by CNN. The Kurdish YPG is angling for self-rule in […]



Turkey

Authorities today released 12 members of the Turkish Youth Union (TGB) who were arrested for assaulting three US sailors yesterday in Istanbul. The US Navy, Turkish national police, and the US Embassy are working together to investigate the incident. Authorities have arrested 386 people in connection with protests in early October against the Islamic State’s […]


Bosnia-Herzegovina

State police arrested 11 people in raids in five towns, including Sarajevo; the suspects are thought to be involved in financing and recruitment of terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. Several of the suspects are thought to have fought with jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria, and some had weapons and explosives.


Germany

Four men who belonged al Qaeda’s “Dusseldorf cell” and had planned to detonate two cluster bombs amid a large crowd in Germany were sentenced to jail terms ranging from four to nine years. The plans for the attack were found on the hard drive of one of Osama bin Laden’s computers. Antiterrorism police in Cologne […]