Part of Arlanda airport in Stockholm has been closed due to a bomb threat involving a passenger plane that was scheduled to depart for Baghdad, Iraq shortly after noon. The plane has been emptied of passengers and moved to a location under police control; police described the threat as “serious.”
Two British Muslim converts who hacked British soldier Lee Rigby to death on a busy street in Woolwich last year were sentenced to prison; Michael Adebolajo was handed a life term and Michael Adebowale will be incarcerated for at least 45 years. The judge said the pair, who were removed from the courtroom during sentencing […]
Eyeing Afghan exit, US intensifies campaign against Haqqani militants
The leader of the Al Nusrah Front told the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham that it had five days to stop attacking rebel and jihadist groups in Syria or they would jointly destroy ISIS in both Syria and Iraq. Al Nusrah also issued a statement of condolence for the death of Abu Khalid […]
An Israeli airstrike near the Syrian border on two Hezbollah trucks carrying missiles and a launcher to the group’s warehouses in Lebanon killed four Hezbollah fighters. The army released a photo of the suspected suicide bomber in an attack in Hermel on Feb. 22 that has been claimed by the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon.
The military prosecutor said the air force helicopter that crashed near Essider two weeks ago was shot down by an armed group calling itself Al-Isnad Alamni; armed militants had fired at the aircraft as it was leaving Benghazi airport. A group of Bangladeshi workers kidnapped yesterday in Benghazi was freed by special forces. Arsonists torched […]
Suspected Boko Haram militants assaulted a school in the village of Buni Yadi in Yobe state, killing as many as 40 students, in the first Boko Haram attack in Yobe this year. Security guards at a checkpoint outside the school withdrew a few hours before the attack. President Jonathan reportedly called the Boko Haram attacks […]
The Foreign Ministry expressed concern over reports that Saudi Arabia was planning to provide antiaircraft and antitank weapons to Syrian rebels as they are likely to be used far from Syria. The ministry also said it was worried about the use of Jordan’s territory for the transit of such weapons and for training camps for […]
Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg was arrested with three other people in Birmingham on suspicion of facilitating terrorism overseas. He has advocated against arresting British jihadists who fight in Syria.
Islamic battalions killed at least 15 regime soldiers in Quneitra. The Al Nusrah Front, Islamic Battalions, and Al-Mujahedin army clashed with regime forces in Aleppo, killing 18 soldiers and NDF fighters. In the city of Aleppo, Al Nusrah, Jaysh al Mujehidin, and Al Jabha Al Islameyya created a joint military operations room. The Islamic State […]
The Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon warned Lebanese military forces to stay out of the group’s conflict with Hezbollah. A military prosecutor filed charges against 21 people accused of membership in a network of al Qaeda-linked groups; only four of the 21 have been detained. Israeli warplanes hit a target in eastern Lebanon near the […]
The bodies of seven Egyptian Christians who had been dragged from their Benghazi home and shot in the head were found on a beach outside the city. The Qatari Embassy denied that six men arrested in Benghazi last week were Qataris, and said there were no Qatari citizens in Libya except embassy staff. Derna residents […]
Boko Haram militants attacked again in the largely Christian village of Izghe in Borno yesterday, burning the remainder of the village to the ground. Militants from the al Qaeda-linked terror group also attacked Mairari village in Borno, killing two residents and setting homes, shops, and vehicles on fire. The opposition APC party denounced President Jonathan’s […]
The head of Norwegian intelligence expressed concern about the growing threat posed by Norwegian jihadists in Syria. At least 40 or 50 Norwegians, including about a dozen women, are known to have traveled to Syria to fight; they have most often joined extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. The […]
Secretary of State Kerry issued a statement yesterday denouncing Boko Haram’s attacks in Nigeria and expressing US support for Nigerian authorities in their battle against the group; the US is providing counterterrorism assistance, he noted. Secretary of Defense Hagel is announcing proposed cuts to the Pentagon budget that will involve reducing the army to some […]
Top Military Body Against Syria’s Assad Is in Chaos, Undermining Fight
Saudi religious police to monitor social media?
Syrian rebel, friend of al Qaeda leader, killed by rival Islamists
Saudi Arabia is reportedly seeking Pakistan’s help in the provision of antiaircraft and antitank weapons for Syrian rebels. The Grand Mufti called on Saudi Arabians to donate to the Saudi National Campaign to Support Brothers in Syria. Between June 2012 and June 2013, the fund distributed over $114 million in support of displaced Syrians in […]
Kadyrov Launches New Assault On Chechens’ Collective Historic Memory
Taliban Say Talks Over US Soldier’s Release Suspended
Entrepreneurship Remains Alive in Syria
Abu Khalid al Suri, al Qaeda’s chief representative in Syria, was killed in Aleppo; the Islamic Front announced his death. An activist group said Suri was killed when at least one Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham suicide bomber detonated in an Aleppo office, killing six Ahrar al Sham fighters and injuring one of […]
An RPG was fired at the Tunisian Consulate in Benghazi, which was attacked by Ansar al Sharia in June 2012. Gunmen murdered the son of a prominent doctor in Benghazi who had escaped an assassination attempt months ago. Benghazi Medical Centre staffers went on strike after gunmen stole their cell phones and a TV. A […]
Taliban condemn violence in Central African Republic
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for cross-border aid access, the naming of besieged areas, and an end to barrel bombs. The Assad regime has increased bombardments in Deraa in advance of a rumored rebel assault. Regime forces clashed with Islamic battalions in Damascus, in Quneitra, and in Deraa; and battled the […]
In Yemen, a woman’s life entangled with al Qaeda
A suicide car bombing claimed by the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon killed three people and wounded 17 more near an army post in Hermel; the group has claimed three suicide bombings in Hermel since Jan. 1. Senior Abdullah Azzam Brigades operative Naim Abbas was referred to a judge along with three other suspects, including […]
Canadian killed in Somalia deeply involved in Ottawa community
A spokesman for the largely Christian “anti-balaka” militia that has been retaliating against Muslims said the militia will lay down its weapons only if the largely Muslim Seleka fighters are disarmed first. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently voiced grave concern over violence in the country, and warned of a “de facto” partition. The Afghan […]