Author Archives: Lisa Lundquist

Syria

Three Islamist fighting groups, including the large Islamic Front coalition as well as the Islamic Union of the Soldiers of al-Sham and the Army of the Mujahideen, issued a statement yesterday rejecting the Geneva II talks and vowing to fight on; they also thanked Turkey and Qatar for their support. In an effort to combat […]


Turkey

Turkish intelligence issued a warning that ISIS suicide bombers planned to attack hotels in Hatay, Ankara, and Istanbul in an attempt to target members of the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian Army in advance of the Geneva II talks. The army said it discovered and destroyed a 500-meter-long pipeline used for smuggling oil into Hatay […]


Lebanon

A suicide car bombing killed four people and wounded 46 more in a Hezbollah neighborhood in southern Beirut, the third bombing targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon so far this year, and the fourth such attack by al Qaeda in the country since November. The Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon claimed the attack, saying it was retaliation […]


Libya

The government denied rumors that foreign forces have entered through Libya’s southeastern border. Three journalists were beaten near Sebha by alleged pro-Ghaddafi fighters before being released. Heavy clashes continued south of the Tripoli suburb of Janzour. Five ministers from the Islamist Justice and Construction Party resigned from the government.


Mali

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali said five of its troops were injured when their vehicle ran over a land mine 20 miles outside of Kidal. A 395-member contingent of Chinese troops has arrived in Mali to join the UN mission.


Russia

Police killed Eldar Magatov a.k.a. Saifullakh, a wanted senior Islamist militant, in shootout during a raid on a home in Dagestan. Security forces also conducted two other simultaneous raids in the districts of Kizlyarsk and Khazavyurt in Dagestan.


United Kingdom

Foreign Secretary Hague demanded that the perpetrators of mass torture and killings in Syria blamed on the Assad regime and disclosed by a recent report be brought to justice. Ofcom, the communications watchdog, cleared three British broadcasters of breaching the broadcasting code for airing an interview with hate preacher Anjem Choudary, former leader of banned […]


Al Qaeda

Pakistan ‘disappointed’ with US aid being linked to Shakil Afridi’s detention




Iran

The UN withdrew its invitation to Iran to attend the Geneva II talks, after pressure by the US, Saudi Arabia, and the Syrian opposition. As part of the recent nuclear agreement, Iran suspended sensitive enrichment activities and world powers lifted some sanctions in response.



Syria

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has imposed a harsh version of Islam throughout Raqqah city and destroyed shrines in a mosque; the ISIS issued four decrees for Syrians in areas under its control in Raqqah province. ISIS took over the al Jarah military airport in Aleppo from an Islamic movement, and clashed […]


Canada

Geneva deal doesn’t stop Iran’s bid for a bomb: Israel


Russia

A militant Islamist group released a video threatening attacks at the Sochi Olympics and claiming two suicide bombings in Volgograd last month. Russian authorities are reportedly looking for as many as four ‘black widow’ suicide bombers, three of whom are from Dagestan, who may be targeting the Sochi Olympics, including Ruzanna (Salima) Ibragimova, who has […]


Libya

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is said to be regrouping and moving freely between bases in Libya and neighboring countries; one base is in the Akkakush mountains near the Algerian border. The lack of a functioning military and police force is hampering efforts to maintain security, as clashes continue in the south. The Sarir […]



United Kingdom

Counterterrorism police arrested a man at Stansted airport as he arrived from Turkey. An appellate court rejected the case of a Pakistani man whose father was killed by a US drone strike. Five of seven terror suspects to be freed from security restrictions later this month are deemed highly dangerous and likely to engage in […]


United States

Despite concerns about terrorism at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, heightened by the release of a threatening video by Islamist militants, the US is sending a relatively small security contingent to the games. The US wants the UN to disinvite Iran to the Geneva II peace talks unless Iran endorses the Syrian transition plan […]




Afghanistan

The end of an era in Kabul: Taliban attack on cherished restaurant shatters illusion of oasis


Syria

The head of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham released an audio message threatening that the US would soon have to confront ISIS directly; he also urged Syrians not to believe enemy propaganda about ISIS, criticized rebel attacks on ISIS as a “betrayal,” and called on rebels to stop fighting ISIS and focus […]



Turkey

Police stopped as many as seven trucks in Adana that were carrying weapons and explosives near the Syrian border; the Adana governor’s office said the trucks were on a regular duty for National Intelligence. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu claimed that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham is working with the Assad regime in Syria. […]




Libya

The army chief of staff was killed in a clash between gangs and security forces in Tripoli. Congress ordered a state of high alert across the country, due to violence in the south. Government forces regained control of the Tamenhint airbase, but clashes continued in Sebha between army forces and Tebu militants. Three soldiers were […]


United Kingdom

A Syrian defector from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham said the terror group is training British, European, and American recruits to conduct terror attacks in their home countries. Some 500 British fighters are believed to have traveled to Syria, and about 50 are thought to have already returned home. Jihadists in Syria […]


Syria

The Syrian National Coalition said it would attend the Geneva II talks, and that three rebel groups, Soldiers of the Levant, the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, and the Mujahideen Army, want to be represented in the delegation. An SNC official said the coalition would accept the regime’s offer of a ceasefire in Aleppo if the regime […]