Islamic State
Nations Trying to Stop Their Citizens From Going to Middle East to Fight for ISIS
Yearly Archives: 2014
Iraq
Premier Haider Abadi’s new Iraq government
Al Nusrah Front
Syrian al Qaeda Moves in Next Door to Israel
Al Qaeda
ISIS may be eyeing up Egypt as its next target, experts say
Iraq
For Assad, US offensive will weaken one foe but bolster others
Syria
In the Damascus suburb of Hajar al-Aswad, the Islamic State entered into a ceasefire with moderate and Islamist rebels “because they consider the principal enemy to be the [Assad] regime.” The Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front are continuing their advance in Quneitra, and now control as much as 80% of the province. Regime […]
Lebanon
Militants from the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State raided three quarries in Arsal, smashing equipment and taking away several bulldozers into the hills. Tripoli Osama Mansour, 27, the head of a 20-member group of militants, expressed admiration for the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State but denied that his group had sworn […]
Afghanistan
The military claimed it killed 130 Taliban fighters during a month-long offensive in Kunduz; the Taliban are still said to control the district that was the target of the operation. The Taliban created the “Department of Prevention of Civilian Casualties.” The Taliban kidnapped a district governor in Paktia.
Iraq
The Iraqi military claimed it killed 50 Islamic State fighters in airstrikes in Jurf al Sakhar. US destroyed two Islamic State “armed vehicles” in two airstrikes near the Mosul Dam. Yesterday, 17 Iraqis were killed in bombings in Diwaniyah, Najarf, Karbala, and Baghdad.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Terrorists, traffickers forge unholy alliance
Iran
US opposes Iran role in coalition against Islamic State
Mali
A rebel group in Kidal in northern Mali captured an al Qaeda operative known as Meherig Jafar and transferred him to Malian security forces. Jafar is believed to be a deputy to Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a senior leader in the al-Murabitoon Brigade, which is separate from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb but loyal to al […]
Islamic State
Islamic State’s Twitter silence raises questions
Libya
Grand Mufti al Ghariani appeared at a pro-Libya Dawn demonstration in Tripoli, after returning from several months in London and a stopover in Qatar; British authorities were reportedly planning to arrest him for inciting violence and murder. Three men were murdered in Benghazi; Islamist forces are suspected. Local residents in Benghazi repelled Ansar al Sharia […]
Islamic State
Moderate Muslims’ quandary about Islamic State
Al Nusrah Front
How Philippine UN troops defied orders, opened fire and escaped the Al Nusrah Front
Tunisia
Seven soldiers were injured in a clash with religious extremists near a national guard station in Douz in Kaybelie following the arrest of an extremist. Security forces arrested five Salafists in a raid on a mosque in Douar Hicher in Mandouba; and two more in Meknassi in Sidi Bouzid who had explosives, military uniforms, and […]
Al Nusrah Front
Kerry plays down hopes of imminent anti-Islamic State coalition
Morocco
The Interior Ministry announced the arrest of seven members of an Islamic State recruiting cell that operated in Fez, Outat El Haj, and Zayou and that was also planning attacks against Morocco. The cell, said to be headed by a “teacher,” had sent several fighters to Syria and Iraq.
Analysis: Al Nusrah Front explains decision to release UN peacekeepers
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, explained its decision to release more than 40 UN peacekeepers in a video released earlier this week. The group disputes published reports saying that it demanded to be taken off the UN’s list of designated terrorist organizations. And it says the hostages were freed in compliance with sharia law.
‘Moderate’ Syrian Revolutionaries Front continues to support al Qaeda
President Obama’s strategy for confronting the Islamic State in Syria depends on empowering moderate Syrian rebels to take over areas once they are liberated. The problem is, ‘moderate’ rebels untainted by links to Islamist groups such as al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front seem to be nonexistent.
Nigeria
The military claimed to have killed as many as 150 Boko Haram fighters who had tried to storm Konduga, about 12 miles outside of the Borno capital of Maiduguri, repelling an advance by “hundreds” of militants. Four soldiers were injured in the three-hour battle, and vehicles, weapons, and ammunition were seized from the militants. The […]
Iraq
Opponents say Obama will need ground troops against Islamic State
Al Qaeda
Extremist threat hangs over key Tunisia elections
Afghanistan
Beating Islamic State will be much harder than Iraq or Afghan wars, officials say
Al Nusrah Front
US Pins Hope on Syrian Rebels With Loyalties All Over the Map
Iraq
The local forces dilemma for Obama in Syria and Iraq
Arab League
Russia fears the eastward spread of ‘jihadist cancer’
United States
The CIA now estimates that the Islamic State has between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters in Syria and Iraq. Ryan Crocker, former ambassador to Syria and Iraq, said the US currently has no clue who the non-Islamic State opposition is in Syria. Retired Gen. John R. Allen has been chosen to coordinate the military effort against […]
Free Syrian Army
How Will US Anti-Jihadist Plan Affect Syria?