Islamic State
US backed talks between jihadi clerics and ISIS in effort to save hostage’s life
US backed talks between jihadi clerics and ISIS in effort to save hostage’s life
ISIS to launch battle for Lebanese town of Ersal
Security plan in south Lebanon
Islamic State Militant Seeks Chechen Wife For 15-Year-Old Child Fighter
UN: More reports of children crucified, beheaded and stoned to death by Islamic State
The State Department today added Ajnad Misr, an Egyptian jihadist group, and Ibrahim Rubaish, a senior al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) official, to the US government’s list of specially designated global terrorists.
Iraqi Kurdish troops open corridor to Sinjar
Botched cyberattack on Syria group blamed on IS
Pakistan Grants Bail to Key Suspect in 2008 Mumbai Attacks
Iraqi forces withdrew from the city yesterday just one month after retaking it from the Islamic State with the help of Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
Army Lt. Gen. James Terry, commander of US forces in the battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, said it is likely to take “a minimum of three years” to reach a turning point against the group. The Pentagon said that coalition airstrikes in Iraq since mid-November have killed “multiple senior and mid-level” […]
The Tunisian Uqba Ibn Nafi Battalion, which is linked to Ansar al Sharia Tunisia and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, released pictures on Twitter showing weapons taken after clashes with the Tunisian military. The group also claimed two recent attacks in the North African country.
A mass grave holding 230 bodies was uncovered in Deir Ezzor province. Those killed, including many civilians, were members of the Shaitat tribe, which had resisted the Islamic State. The US conducted six airstrikes in Syria since Dec. 15; five near Kobane and one near Abu Kamal. Only about three percent of all airstrikes in […]
A mass grave of approximately 230 Sheitaat tribesmen has been reportedly found in eastern Syria. The tribe has been battling the Islamic State since earlier this year.
In the ongoing investigation into incidents in January when Turkish intelligence trucks headed into Syria were stopped and searched, 19 new suspects have been charged with spying and obtaining state secrets. The trucks reportedly carried weapons destined for Syrian rebels. Terrorism charges were filed against the editor and general manager of a major Turkish newspaper. […]
The Parliament authorized the deployment of up to 850 German soldiers in 2015 to Afghanistan to participate in NATO’s “Resolute Support” training mission. The government is also planning to send some 100 Bundeswehr soldiers to northern Iraq to train Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
Yemen’s Houthis consolidate control over state institutions
One ISIS thug suspected of killing 150 girls, women
Since Dec. 15, the US and partner nations have conducted 61 airstrikes in Iraq and six in Syria against the Islamic State; 45 of the airstrikes in Iraq were in support of Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the region. President Obama announced the resumption of diplomatic ties with Cuba and Havana’s release of US citizen […]
EU court takes Hamas off terrorist list
Taliban mount assault on Kunar border district, Afghan officials say
How foreign imams radicalized Syria’s war
UN Security Council renews cross-border Syria aid authorization
A ministry of national security spokesman stated that military intelligence arrested at least seven suspected Shabaab fighters in Kahda district and Shabelle province; 228 were arrested during a security operation in Mogadishu. The jihadist group claimed that it has collected $9 million in zakat (alms) in areas under its control.
The army stated that it has killed 17 militants, arrested 11 others and destroyed 64 “militant sites” in north Sinai in the past three days. The Interior Ministry has expelled 40 Cairo police cadets for ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The British Embassy in Cairo has reopened after unspecific security issues were “resolved.”
Pro-government and Islamist forces are fighting over two of the country’s largest oil ports in eastern Libya, shutting both down. The Islamist Libya Dawn carried out its first airstrikes of the conflict, hitting security forces in the port cities of Sidra and Ras Lanuf. Pro-government allied Zintanis claim to have captured “a senior Libya Dawn […]
The Tunisian government has declared security forces “ready to cope” as fighting rages at the Ras Jedir border crossing in Libya and as the country’s presidential run-off election looms. Tunisians go to the polls on Dec. 21.
“Scores” of suspected Boko Haram fighters were arrested near the capital of Borno state after fleeing the town of Bama disguised as refugees. The UN estimates that the number of refugees displaced by the jihadist group in northern Nigeria has reached 1.5 million.
The strike is the fifth that has targeted Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan fighters and leaders operating inside Afghanistan since the last week of November.
Prime Minister Abbott ordered an investigation into the Dec. 16 siege at a Sydney cafe by Man Haron Monis, an Iranian Sunni extremist who had been accused of violent crimes and was out on bail, that left three people dead and several others wounded. Iran claimed that it had asked Australia to extradite Monis 12 […]