Al Qaeda
US to Curb Pakistan Drone Program
Author Archives: Lisa Lundquist
Syria
The Suqour al-Sham, an Islamist brigade in the Islamic Front, agreed to a truce with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham; the Free Syrian Army-linked Syrian Revolutionaries’ Front, which has clashed with the Islamic Front, condemned the ceasefire as illegitimate. The Al Nusrah Front and Islamic battalions clashed with regime forces in Reef […]
Lebanon
Lebanon – Tripoli residents leave as security crumbles
Lebanon
Caretaker Interior Minister Charbel said the army cannot monitor the movements of a drone seen hovering over the Maarab residence of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, because of a lack of radars. Six men, including Sunni cleric Omar Atrash, have been accused of involvement in the Jan. 2 and Jan. 21 suicide bombings in southern […]
Libya
The army said it has not been ordered to move against forces blockading the eastern oil ports. Qaqaa Brigade commander Abu Othman Milaiqtah set off gunfire in front of the Congress building because he had to wait for a meeting with President Abu Sahmain. Foreign Minister Abdelaziz announced the destruction of all of Libya’s usable […]
Caucasus Emirate
An Olympics in the Shadow of a War Zone
Russia
Police claimed to have a killed a possible mastermind of the Volgograd bombings, identified as “Mirzayev,” head of the “Kadarskaya gang.” He is said to have been killed during a shootout with security forces in Izerbash in Dagestan.
United States
US officials said they have sharply curtailed drone strikes in Pakistan at the request of the Pakistani government, which asked for a pause while it tries to negotiate with the Taliban. The Chair of the House Intelligence Committee charged that the Obama administration’s revisions to the drone targeting criteria, which permit strikes only against al […]
Central African Republic
UNICEF Urges Action to Prevent CAR ‘Catastrophe’
Al Qaeda
Meet Chechclearr, the Web-savvy foreign Islamic militant in Syria
Syria
The first UN report on the fate of children in Syria over the past two years details “unspeakable” abuses, including torture by government forces and the use of child soldiers by the opposition. Turkey has reportedly refused entry to some 2,000 refugees, mainly women and children, who have fled clashes with the Islamic State of […]
Lebanon
A judge issued an arrest warrant for Sunni preacher Omar Atrash, suspected of links to al Qaeda car bombings and attacks on Lebanese forces. The army is considering using antiaircraft weapons to shoot down a drone that has been hovering over the residence of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab. Geagea escaped an assassination […]
Lebanon
Attacks drive demand for ‘terrorism’ insurance in Lebanon
Germany
UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon Discusses Syria
Afghanistan
Karzai Arranged Secret Contacts With the Taliban
Tunisia
Seven Islamist militants and a policeman were killed during a clash when security forces tried to arrest the militants at a residence in Raoued; one militant was arrested and weapons, explosives, and suicide belts were found. Police had tried first to negotiate.
Sweden
An explosion early yesterday morning damaged the entrance of a Malmo district courthouse and blew out windows; hours later, the Malmo appellate court was evacuated when a suspicious package was discovered. A Sri Lankan man who claimed he had a bomb and tried to rush the cockpit while aboard a flight from Dubai to Stockholm […]
United Kingdom
A British jihadist of Afghan origin called Abu Layth has reportedly been killed while fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham in clashes with rebels; he is said to be the seventh British jihadist killed in Syria. Saajid Muhammad Badat, a British terrorist turned informant, has agreed to testify in the New […]
Afghanistan
Role of US Contractors Grows as Iraq Fights Insurgents
United States
Several cyber security initiatives lost after Snowden leaks
Shabaab
Elephant Campaign: How Africa’s ‘white gold’ funds the al Shabaab militants –
Syria
After al Qaeda disowned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, a prominent pro-al Qaeda Saudi cleric called on ISIS members to defect. An Islamic Front official praised al Qaeda’s move, and claimed ISIS is now “without cover or co-sponsor … totally stripped after al Qaeda and the people abandoned it.” An observer group […]
Ansar al Sharia
Kidnapping sparks Benghazi bloodshed
Turkey
Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said Turkish forces “had to hit” an Islamic State of the Iraq and the Sham convoy on Jan. 28 as the al Qaeda-linked group is threatening Turkey. Thousands of Turkmen living along the Syrian border have entered Turkey over the past week, fleeing clashes with ISIS. Syrian National Coalition offices in Istanbul […]
Lebanon
A suicide bomber detonated on a passenger van, killing himself and wounding the driver and a passenger in an area near Hebollah strongholds in southern Beirut. Security forces said the van was not the intended target, as the bomber had first tried to board a taxi but was refused. A north Lebanon mukhtar denied that […]
Libya
Libyan and US officials said all of Libya’s remaining chemical weapons have been destroyed during a secret US-led operation over the past three months at a site in the Libyan desert. The French foreign ministry denied reports that US commandos are operating in southern Libya to eradicate al Qaeda forces there. In Derna, an air […]
Mali
A group called the “al-Sahel Media Center” announced its creation, saying it will serve as the “podium of jihad and the mujahideen in Azawad and Mali.” ECOWAS and the African Union are trying to get help from the UN and the European Union so that a rapid response standby force with “lift capacity” can be […]
Syria
Al Qaeda’ s General Command issued a statement disassociating itself from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, deploring the “sedition” and “the enormity of the disaster that afflicted the Jihad in Syria.” An ISIS fighter who had previously served as a negotiator between ISIS and Islamic battalions detonated in the Islamic battalion center […]
Lebanon
Caretaker Prime Minister Mikati has reportedly been targeted for assassination by a suicide bomber from the Khaled bin al-Walid Brigades of the Islamic Front; some security officials dismissed the report, but security for Mikati was stepped up in Beirut and Tripoli. Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said the government must confront takfiri groups that conduct terrorist […]
United Arab Emirates
The UAE summoned Qatari ambassador Fares al Nuaimi, in an “unprecedented measure,” to protest against the remarks of Qatar-based Egyptian cleric Yusef al Qaradawi, who last month accused the UAE of “standing against Islamist regimes, punishing its leaders and putting them in jail.” Qatar’s foreign minister had said yesterday that Qaradawi’s remarks “do not reflect […]