China
China launches first Nigerian offshore patrol vessel
Author Archives: Lisa Lundquist
Africa
US Marines start new rotation of Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Africa
United States
Federal prosecutors said they plan to seek the death penalty for suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Uzbek terror suspect Jamshid Muhtorov, a Colorado resident, filed a court challenge to the use of NSA information in the prosecution of his case. The US blamed Syria for delays in the removal of its chemical weapons arsenal. […]
Afghanistan
US Aid to Afghans Flows On Despite Warnings of Misuse
Syria
The Islamic State of the Sham clashed with Islamic battalions and rebels in Aleppo, and killed five regime forces in Damascus. Syrian officials said “certain security threats” have delayed the transfer of Syrian chemical weapons out of the country, according to the OPCW. At the Geneva II talks, the Assad regime presented a resolution that […]
Syria and the fog of infowar
The war in Syria has increasingly become a battle of competing perceptions and narratives.
Hezbollah
Hezbollah expanding drone use to Syria and Lebanon
Al Nusrah Front
Al Qaeda groups in Syria want to attack US
Russia
Russian authorities identified Asker Samedov and Suleyman Magomedov, who were members of a militant Islamist group in Dagestan, as the two suicide bombers who detonated in separate attacks in Volgograd last month. Two accomplices, brothers Magomednabi and Tagir Batirov, were arrested yesterday in Dagestan.
Libya
The son of Benghazi’s special forces commander was kidnapped in Benghazi. Following the kidnapping, clashes broke out in the city, including at a checkpoint in Gwarsha controlled by Ansar al Sharia. France has denied reports that it plans to intervene militarily in southern Libya. Regional militias secured Sebha airport.
Pakistan
Pakistan PM Scotches Speculation of Taliban Offensive
Ahrar al Sham
The Dawn of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham
Al Qaeda
Obama Calls for Limited Strikes Against al Qaeda
Russia
US intel sees uptick in Olympic threat reports
United States
National Intelligence Director James Clapper warned in the agency’s 2014 threat assessment that “Syria has become a significant location for independent or al Qaeda-aligned groups to recruit, train, and equip a growing number of extremists, some of whom might conduct external attacks,” and said elements of Syria’s biological warfare program might be capable of production […]
Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
Bitterness of Syrian war on display at talks
Syria
US intelligence estimates that over 7,000 foreign fighters from 50 countries are now fighting the Assad regime in Syria. Regime forces dropped barrel bombs on rebel-held areas of Aleppo, killing 13 people. Turkish forces attacked an Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham convoy in Syria near the border after ISIS opened fire on a […]
Lebanon
The military prosecutor charged 13 al Qaeda-linked suspects with planning terror attacks in Lebanon; among those charged is Jamal Daftardar, a.k.a. Mohammad Ahmad al-Masri, a top Abdullah Azzam Brigades leader accused of recruiting, training, and facilitating the transfer of dozens of jihadists to Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen. The son of a former Lebanese Forces […]
Africa
Africa a ‘hothouse’ for extremist groups: US
Syria
Syrian Opposition in Geneva Tries to Polish Image, Project Unity
Nigeria
‘Nobody thinks I’d dare show my face here’ – inside a Nigerian sharia court
Turkey
Israel’s head of military intelligence said al Qaeda maintains bases in Turkey, reportedly in the provinces of Karaman, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa, and warned that foreign jihadists enter Syria weekly but “do not stay there.” Prime Minister Erdogan visited Tehran in an effort to improve relations and secure a discount for the purchase of natural gas, […]
Syria
Turkey’s Syria policy needs to be recalibrated
Al Nusrah Front
Rebels in Syria Claim Control of Resources
Libya
Gunmen in Tripoli attacked the armored car of Deputy Prime Minister and acting Interior Minister Sadiq Abdulkarim Abdulrahman, but he escaped the attempted assassination. Gunmen in Benghazi kidnapped an engineer and tried to murder a pilot on Jan. 27. A cameraman was wounded by gunfire during clashes in Kufra yesterday. The UN Mission in Libya […]
Algeria
Algeria has adopted legislation to try to retake control of the thousands of extremist mosques in the country, forbidding their use for illicit personal or collective goals or to “harm people or groups.” Last week Algeria offered new gas and oil concessions in the southwest and the north to international bidders, but foreign investment may […]
Denmark
Justice Minister Hækkerup said that since Denmark cannot prosecute Danes for having traveled to fight in Syria, Denmark plans to work with other European Union countries to prevent would-be jihadists from leaving their home countries. Danish intelligence reported that since 2012, at least 90 people have left Denmark to fight in Syria and 11 have […]
Pakistan
Thousands flee North Waziristan fearing more air strikes
Afghanistan
Pakistan – JUI-S opposes operation against Taliban
Afghanistan
No ‘unilateral’ decision on Waziristan operation: Pakistan PM