Iraq
Jordan on alert after ISIS seizes border crossing
Author Archives: Lisa Lundquist
Al Qaeda in Iraq
Records show how Iraqi extremists withstood US antiterrorism efforts
Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
Syrian Kurdish leader: Turkey turns blind eye to ISIS
United States
Secretary of State Kerry said there is “no military solution” to the crisis in Iraq, and urged all countries in the region to expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Kerry also called on the Kurds to support Iraqi unity. US military officials said about half of the US “assessment” troops promised for […]
Turkey
Turkey claims it has denied Syria entry to thousands of militants since 2012
Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham attacked regime forces in Raqqah, and clashed with the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front in Deir Izzour. Al Nusrah executed an Islamic brigade commander in Deir Izzour who had sworn allegiance to ISIS. Al Nusrah and the Islamic Front battled regime forces in Reef Dimashq […]
Libya
As Libya teeters near chaos, US keeps hands-off policy
Iraq
ISIS recruits Kurdish youth, creating a potential new risk in a peaceful part of Iraq
Lebanon
Sirajeddine Zureiqat, a fugitive Lebanese cleric and spokesman for the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, warned that Sunnis in Syria and Lebanon are aiming to strike Hezbollah, and threatened more attacks such as the recent bombings in southern Beirut. Lebanese authorities deported a Frenchman who was on his way to carry out a suicide bombing in Syria […]
Kenya
Suspected Shabaab militants killed five people in Witu near Lamu; six more were also reportedly killed in neighboring villages. A massacre in nearby Mpeketoni last week is being blamed on a major “security collapse,” as authorities had been warned of an impending attack. A Nairobi judge rejected the prosecution’s attempt to cancel bail for Ahmed […]
2 US military advisers injured in Paktia green-on-blue attack
In the second recorded green-on-blue attack this year, an Afghan policeman opened fire on US advisers and troops as they arrived at the Paktia provincial police headquarters in Gardez.
Libya
Turkey is evacuating 420 of its citizens from Misrata and another 140 from Labraq today. Ansar al Sharia assumed security at Benghazi’s Jalaa hospital after Benghazi Joint Security Room forces left it unguarded. Six people were injured when Benghazi’s Egyptian Market was set on fire. Four of five hostages held by Ansar al Sharia managed […]
Turkey
The first group of Turks leaving Libya after being threatened with arrest on espionage charges arrived home. Turkey has added Boko Haram to its list of terrorist organizations, in line with the recent UN designation of the group. The Turkish Armed Forces General Staff last week refuted claims that four Turkish military intelligence officers had […]
Nigeria
Suspected Boko Haram fighters raided Kumanza, Yaga, and Dagu villages in Borno, abducting 91 people, including more than 60 women. A witness said villagers were held hostage for several days before the abductions. About 30 villagers were said to have been killed in the raids. Four suspected Boko Haram members were arrested yesterday in the […]
Iran
Kerry promises ‘intense and sustained’ US support for Iraq
Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
ISIS Surge in Iraq Fans Regional Fears Including Lebanon
Syria
In Deir Izzour, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham designated the towns of Khesham and Tabia as military areas, sending residents fleeing; and ISIS distributed a statement in eastern Deir Izzour refuting rumors that ISIS considers other rebel fighters in the province to be infidels. The Islamic Front in Al Bo Kamal in […]
Lebanon
A suicide car bombing outside a cafe by a military checkpoint in Beirut wounded 12 people. One report said the bomber was a female who tried to cross the checkpoint but detonated when troops became suspicious of her behavior. Authorities had been looking for two suicide bombers and an explosives-laden truck before the attack. Security […]
Iraq
The British brothers fighting against ISIS in Iraq
United Arab Emirates
A court handed jail sentences to seven men arrested last year on suspicion of supporting the Al Nusrah Front in Syria and forming a terrorist cell in the UAE; six received seven-year terms, and the other, who was in absentia, was given a life sentence. Two other men arrested at the same time, both Arabs […]
Somalia
The AU said Kenyan jets bombed Shabaab bases in Anole and Kuday in the Lower Juba region, killing over 50 Shabaab fighters in Kuday and 30 in Anole. Airstrikes were also reported near Kulbiyo, close to the Kenya-Somalia border. The airstrikes took place after an ambush on Kenyan troops. Shabaab declared Kenya a “war zone” […]
Nigeria
A suspected Boko Haram bombing at a medical school in Kano killed at least eight people. A Boko Haram suicide car bombing hit a military post in Gwoza in Borno yesterday, killing three soldiers and injuring three more. The Igbo sociopolitical organization Obigbo warned Boko Haram that any attack in Nigeria’s southeast will be met […]
OPCW
Syria hands over remaining chemical weapons for destruction
United Kingdom
A man appearing in a recent ISIS recruiting video has been identified as Raqib, a Bangladeshi from Aberdeen. Police, intelligence, and local Muslim communities have said that there is a problem of Islamic radicalization in Cardiff, the city where the other two jihadists in the video came from. Labour MP Khalid Mahmood claimed that as […]
Iraq
ISIS plays with big bucks in estimated billion-dollar fortune
Iraq
Iraq jihadists ‘turning back clock’ in Mosul
Iran
Netanyahu Warns US Not to Work with Iran on Iraq Crisis
Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham captured the al Walid crossing in Iraq, opposite al Tanf in Homs. ISIS clashed with the Islamic Front and rebels in the Aleppo countryside and took over the towns of Ekthar and Ma’lan near the Turkish border; ISIS fighters were seen using American Humvees seized in Iraq. […]
Lebanon
Military intelligence arrested three Syrians and two Lebanese at the Harbata-Labweh checkpoint in the Baalbek region on suspicion of plotting a terrorist act; the five men were reportedly on their way to the Arsal hills with aid for Syrian opposition forces. One of them, Omar al-Satem, was said to be a wanted fugitive; his family […]
Egypt
News Analysis: Kerry visit signals breakthrough in US-Egypt ties