Mali
French forces and an AQIM-affiliated group clashed in the Tigharghar valley near the Algerian border. One French paratrooper and about 20 of an estimated 30 militants were killed, according to the French defense minister.
Category Archives: Today In …
Nigeria
Boko Haram attacked the town of Mubi, again violating the recent ceasefire with the government as negotiations are ongoing in Chad. The group ransacked the local emir’s palace, freed jailed militants, burned houses, and killed “several people.” The Nigerian air force launched airstrikes in retaliation.
France
The state-owned utility EDF said complaints have been filed against the unnamed persons who have flown drones over seven of France’s nuclear plants between Oct. 5 and Oct. 20. Interior Minister Cazeneuve said an investigation has been launched and measures are being taken to neutralize the drones. Foreign Minister Le Drian said a French paratrooper […]
Turkey
Turkish authorities claimed that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was responsible for the murder of three Turkish soldiers in Hakkari on Oct. 25, but the PKK denied responsibility. A Turkish officer was shot by masked men in Diyarbakır. An estimated 50 to 150 Free Syrian Army soldiers crossed over from Turkey into Syria to assist […]
Belgium
Security was heightened during the trial of 46 members of the terrorist group Sharia4Belgium in Antwerp on Oct. 27 after reports surfaced that defendant Fouad Belcakem was planning to escape. The trial against the terrorist group, which is suspected of sending fighters to Syria, began on Sept. 29. Only eight defendants were present; the other […]
United Kingdom
Antiterrorism police arrested a man in east London who is suspected of Syria-related terrorism offenses. Police are questioning a man who doused himself with gasoline and tried to set himself on fire outside the Woolwich barracks, close to the spot where British soldier Lee Rigby was murdered by Islamist extremists in May 2013.
United States
The Homeland Security Department said security will be stepped up around federal government buildings in Washington and in other US cities due to the threat of terrorism. Robel Phillipos, a friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was convicted of lying to investigators.
Iraq
The Iraqi military claimed it killed 15 Islamic State fighters in airstrikes in Albu Faraj south of Tikrit. The US launched nine airstrikes against the Islamic State in Haditha, west of Baghdad, near the Mosul Dam, and Sinjar. Iraqi sources claimed 60 Islamic State fighters were killed in the airstrikes in Sinjar.
Yemen
Yesterday, a suicide bomber killed 20 people in an attack on Shiite Houthis in the Manesseh area of Baydah province. More than 250 people have been killed in the fighting in Manesseh between al Qaeda and the Houthis over the previous three days. AQAP killed a soldier in an IED attack in Hadramout.
Syria
150 Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga departed for Syria (via Turkey) to join the fight in Kobane. The US conducted four airstrikes near Kobane, “destroying a small Islamic State unit and four fighting positions.” Turkey has named conditions for assisting the West in the battle for Kobane, insisting on Free Syrian Army leadership instead of “Kurdish ‘terrorists.’” […]
Egypt
Egypt has placed civilian infrastructure under the jurisdiction of the military in the wake of the Oct. 24 terrorist attack in the Sinai that killed 33 Egyptian security personnel. The army has intensified operations in the Sinai, killing four “suspected terrorists,” capturing 10, and deploying Apache attack helicopters to destroy 33 “terrorist hideouts,” according to […]
Libya
Egypt’s foreign minister warned that Islamist militias are close to seizing Libya’s oil fields. Heavily-armed militias have surrounded Niger’s embassy in Tripoli. Pro-government forces have called for residents to evacuate the Sabri district as heavy fighting continues in Benghazi. Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani has accepted a Sudanese proposal for peace talks. A UN special envoy […]
Somalia
Uganda has started sending 2,700 additional troops to Somalia, three weeks after capturing the strategic port of Barawe from Shabaab. African peacekeeping forces said the terrorist group has been pushed from eight towns since major operations began in September. Despite recent gains, an International Crisis Group report predicts that “it will be a long war.”
Tunisia
Multiple reports have confirmed that the secular party Nidaa Tounes has defeated the Islamist party Ennahda (83 seats vs. 68) in Tunisia’s historic elections.
Algeria
Algerian officials have pledged a strong response to terrorism after a local group has declared allegiance to the Islamic State. Yesterday, the defense ministry announced that Algerian troops killed two militants and seized “two Kalashnikov rifles, a pair of binoculars, three grenades, cell phones and other items” in Jijel province on Oct. 26.
Mali
France has criticized the “slow deployment of UN peacekeepers,” citing an increase in attacks by Islamist groups, and plans to redeploy troops from neighboring countries to reinforce its operations in northern Mali.
Nigeria
A government spokesman and Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs have stated that negotiations with Boko Haram to release more than 200 school girls kidnapped in April are still underway, despite the terrorist group’s violation of a ceasefire. The group kidnapped 60 additional women and girls on Oct. 22, after the agreement was announced.
United Kingdom
Armed soldiers have been deployed to guard military barracks in Whitehall after last week’s terrorist attacks in Canada. Counterterrorism police are looking into reports that Sparkbrook resident Tareena Shakil left the UK with her young son to join the Islamic State in Syria. UK authorities have arrested over 100 people so far this year for […]
Iraq
A suicide bomber killed 27 Shiite militiamen in an attack in Jurf al Sakhar. Shiite militias are executing dozens of suspected Islamic State fighters in Jurf al Sakhar. The Islamic State killed seven Iraqis in a bombing Tuz Khurmatu. Officials claimed that 60 Islamic State fighters were killed in US airstrikes in Sinjar and 16 […]
United States
The coordinator of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, Ret. US Gen. John Allen, urged partner nations to “clearly, forcefully and consistently” reject the Islamic State’s ideology and provide alternatives to it. ISAF said its main focus in Afghanistan will be missions to “train, advise, and assist” Afghan forces and that the extent to […]
Canada
RCMP Commissioner Paulson said that a video made by Ottawa shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau before the attack included reference to “Allah” and cited Canada’s foreign policy. The RCMP chief said the attack was motivated by Bibeau’s “distorted world view” and not by mental illness; he also said last week’s terrorist attacks in Ottawa and Quebec were […]
Syria
The death toll in Kobane has surpassed 800 after 40 days of fighting; the tally includes 481 Islamic State fighters, 302 Kurdish YPG, and 21 civilians. The US carried out five airstrikes near Kobane over the weekend, as Kurdish forces repelled four consecutive days of jihadist assaults on the Turkish border crossing near the town. […]
Somalia
A Mogadishu military court executed two members of Shabaab by firing squad on Sunday after the pair were convicted of killing a journalist.
Egypt
The Egyptian military conducted airstrikes on suspected terrorists in north Sinai, killing six, wounding 11, and destroying “ammunition storehouses and several vehicles.” The operation was conducted in response to attacks that killed 33 Egyptian soldiers on Oct. 24. A senior Egyptian official has blamed the violence on Palestinian militants, and the country’s foreign minister is […]
Tunisia
There was high voter turnout for the first general election under Tunisia’s new constitution. The secular party Nidaa Tounes has taken the lead in parliament, winning 80 seats versus 67 seats for the Islamist party Ennahda, according to a preliminary ballot count from a “party source.”
Libya
The death toll rose to at least 130 amidst heavy fighting in the Libyan Army’s offensive to retake Benghazi from Islamist militias. Three jihadist leaders, including two Ansar al Sharia commanders and the head of the Brega Martyrs Brigade, are reported to have been captured by government forces. Southern Libya has become a haven for […]
Nigeria
Boko Haram kidnapped 30 more boys and girls from the town of Mafa, casting further doubt on a recently announced ceasefire with the government. A Human Rights Watch report detailed the torture, forced conversion, and other abuse of previously held captives at the hands of the terrorist group.
United States
The US handed over Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan’s Helmand province to the Afghan government. The US military continued its campaign against the Islamic State yesterday, carrying out five airstrikes against the group in Syria, and 12 airstrikes in Iraq in coordination with partner nations.
Iraq
The Peshmerga claimed it killed 15 Islamic State fighters in Zumar. The Iraqi military claimed it killed 19 Islamic State fighters in Jurf al Sakhar. The US launched 12 airstrikes against the Islamic State near the Mosul Dam and Fallujah. The Islamic State kidnapped the former police commander for Baiji. The government canceled an order […]
Yemen
Houthi fighters advanced into the Manasseh area in Baydah province, an al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula stronghold. The US launched a drone strike in Manasseh on Oct. 24; Abdulrauf Dhahab, AQAP’s local commander in Rada’a, is reported to have been killed in the strike. Houthis have been given the ministries of justice, oil and […]