Iraq
Islamic State recruits at record pace in Syria: monitor
Author Archives: Lisa Lundquist
Cameroon
Cameroon sealed its border with Nigeria, reportedly due to fears of the Ebola virus. Boko Haram has twice destroyed the major bridge connecting the two countries. Residents and government employees are fleeing the border areas for fear of Boko Haram.
Syria
The Islamic State clashed with Kurdish YPG forces in Hasakah, and kidnapped and killed a YPG commander; fought regime forces in eastern Hama; battled the Islamic Front and was targeted by regime airstrikes in Aleppo; killed a female dentist, issued rules for Al Mayadin city, and clashed with and was bombarded by regime forces in […]
Lebanon
Sheikh Adnan Amama of the Muslim Scholars Committee said the Islamist militants still holding Lebanese security forces captive have issued a list of their demands; he said the government has asked that the details of the demands be kept from the media. Amama said the Islamic State holds 11 soldiers and a corpse, and the […]
Islamic State
Morocco ramps up counter-terror fight
Libya
Operation Dignity forces conducted airstrikes against Islamist targets in Tripoli, reportedly killing five people and wounding 30 more. Both Libyan and NATO forces denied reports that their aircraft were involved in the strikes. The commander of Operation Dignity’s air forces warned that there will be similar attacks on Islamist fighters in the coming weeks “in […]
Belgium
Authorities are investigating the possibility that two explosions in March that put a major power transformer in Hainault out of order may have been caused by sabotage, as reports emerged that sabotage caused a nuclear reactor in Doel to shut down. Four of eight Belgian reactors are out of operation through the end of this […]
Iraq
Exclusive: Kurdish fighters protect Yazidis fleeing IS terror campaign
France
Eight men armed with Kalashnikovs ambushed a Saudi Embassy convoy as it headed to Bourget airport outside Paris. The attackers stole a vehicle, a suitcase filled with 250,000 euros, and allegedly “sensitive” diplomatic documents, but did not harm the members of the convoy, including an unnamed Saudi prince.
United Kingdom
Defense Secretary Fallon said the RAF’s efforts in Iraq against the Islamic State could last weeks or months, as it “is not simply a humanitarian mission,” but vowed that the British Army would not have boots on the ground in Iraq. Prime Minister Cameron issued a statement on Aug. 16 asserting that the fight against […]
United States
President Obama said the US is pursuing a “longterm strategy” against the Islamic State, and yesterday invoked the War Powers Act to justify authorizing airstrikes against Islamic State militants threatening Iraq’s Mosul Dam; the Pentagon has conducted 40 airstrikes since Aug. 16 to support operations of Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga to retake […]
Lebanon
Two Lebanese security forces were released by their Al Nusrah Front captors after negotiations by the Muslim Scholars Committee. In return, the militants reportedly were assured that the “security grip on Arsal Syrian refugee camps will be eased.” A negotiator, Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujeiri a.k.a. Abu Taqiyeh, said there may be more kidnapped security personnel as […]
Kenya
A leaked national intelligence report said that three Kenyans — Sheikh Ahmed Iman Ali, Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, and Abu Sandheere — are suspected of masterminding Shabaab’s September 2013 Westgate Mall attack. A think tank report warned that terrorism presents a threat to economic growth in at least eight of Kenya’s counties.
Libya
A sergeant in Operation Dignity’s forces in Benghazi was killed and decapitated. Saiqa forces were said to be pushing out of their Benina airbase stronghold in Benghazi, which has been under attack by Ansar al Sharia; Operation Dignity forces claimed to be trying to abide by the ceasefire ordered by Parliament. Benghazi University rejected the […]
Muslim Brotherhood
UK report into Muslim Brotherhood delayed: Financial Times
France
UK prime minister: Our generational struggle against a poisonous ideology
Al Qaeda
Did Ankara miss its chance to head off the Islamic State?
Iraq
Officials: US airstrikes pound ISIS near Iraqi dam
Iraq
Mount Sinjar dispatch: ‘The pilot was afraid for my safety. Within days he would be dead’
Iraq
Plight of Iraqi Minorities Worsens With Forced Conversions and Killings
Saudi Arabia
Top Saudi preacher calls for action to curb violence
Australia
Living in Australia, longing for jihad
Iraq
Britain to Keep Up Iraq Surveillance Flights
Syria
The Islamic State clashed with regime forces in Raqqah in Al Tabaqa; and in Aleppo, where the IS also battled the Islamic Front, the Al Nusrah Front, and Kurdish forces. In Deir Izzour, the Islamic State told families of Labor City oilfield workers to vacate their homes so foreign fighters could move in. The Syrian […]
Ansar al Sharia
Benghazi’s many faces
Lebanon
The US issued a travel warning for Lebanon noting that the Islamic State, the Al Nusrah Front, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, and Hezbollah all operate there, and stressed the increasing frequency of suicide bombings. A Free Syrian Army fighter was arrested in Sidon. Assad regime forces warned residents of the border town of Tfail to […]
Iraq
Strange bedfellows: terror groups, Kurdish factions unite against ISIS
Mali
Islamist militants carried out a suicide car bombing outside a patrol base in Ber, about 40 miles east of Timbuktu, killing two UN peacekeeping troops from Burkina Faso and injuring nine other troops. Three peacekeeping troops were injured earlier this week by land mines, in two separate attacks.
Boko Haram
Condemned but Undeterred, Boko Haram Is Still Abducting Nigerian Youths
Syria
Syrian Soldiers Celebrate Fall of Rebel Stronghold