After the Al Nusrah Front called for a truce between clashing rebel and Islamist groups, Abu Muhammad al-‘Adnani, the spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, issued a statement denouncing the Syrian National Coalition and the Supreme Military Council as apostates and enemies unless they stop fighting the mujahideen. Al-‘Adnani also warned […]
Authorities arrested a Palestinian near Abu Dis after numerous weapons were found in his home. Defense Minister Ya’alon praised the IDF and Shin Bet for thwarting numerous terror attacks. Ya’alon also denied reports suggesting Hezbollah had obtained Yakhont anti-ship missiles. The Defense Minister also denounced recent “price-tag” attacks by Israeli settlers as “terror.”
The army spokesman announced the arrest of a 12-year-old suspected of aiding terrorists in North Sinai. The spokesman said children are being used to monitor army movements in the area. The trial of former president Mohammed Morsi was postponed due to bad weather. A fighter jet crashed in the Dakahlia governorate during a training exercise.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed three policemen in Salahuddin, three security personnel and a police officer in Baqubah, and two policemen and a soldier in Mosul. A helicopter crew died in a crash in Anbar. Security forces killed the ISIS’s military commander for Ramadi and four fighters, an ISIS commander and […]
US drones killed two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a strike in Hadramout. The US is investigating the Dec. 12, 2013 strike that reportedly killed 15 civilians. The government brokered a ceasefire between Houthis and Salafists in Amran.
Moroccans mobilize against takfirists
Prime Minister Zeidan warned that Libyan forces would target any tankers trying to take oil from the blockaded eastern terminals without first coordinating with the national oil corporation. About 100 protesters besieged the Congress building yesterday, demanding that lawmakers vote the prime minister out of office; they left after negotiations. Former National Transitional Council head […]
A key official said Libyan border areas are lawless, and that the terrorist group led by Mohamed Lamine Bencheneb, who was killed last year, is still active in the Libyan border town of Ghad and is suspected of planning a revenge attack. Algerian authorities recently gave their Libyan counterparts a map showing the presence of […]
In a massive security crackdown ahead of the Olympics in Sochi, Russia has deployed 50,000 police, intelligence officers, and soldiers, along with submarines and drones to monitor the region from the sea and the air, and S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems. Cell phone and email traffic will also be monitored. The Interior Ministry believes that some […]
Securing Sochi: Nostalgic for Stalin
More than one year after the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, a former Guantanamo detainee remains a key suspect.
Al-Qaeda hasn’t gone away, and is gaining
The strike is the first in Yemen this year. Four of the past five strikes in Yemen have occurred in Hadramout province, an AQAP stronghold and the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden.
Saudis Back Syrian Rebels Despite Risks
US officials said the State Department is expected to designate Ansar al Sharia branches in Tunisia and in Derna and Benghazi in Libya as foreign terrorist organizations; Derna branch leader Abu Sufian bin Qumu is expected to be designated as a global terrorist, along with militia leaders Ahmed Abu Khattala and Seif Allah bin Hassine. […]
Robert Gates, former defense secretary, offers harsh critique of Obama’s leadership in ‘Duty’
Turkey declares vanishing truck to Syria ‘state secret’
The head of the Al Nusrah Front called for a ceasefire between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and clashing rebel groups in Syria, the creation of an independent Islamic council to mediate disputes, and the exchange of prisoners. An opposition activist group said that 274 people have been killed in four days’ […]
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed seven policemen and a soldier near Tikrit, and two policemen near Baqubah. Security forces killed an ISIS leader in Jisr al-Ruood, two ISIS fighters in Ramadi, a suicide bomber in Babil, and two “gunmen” in Baghdad.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula assassinated an officer and a soldier in Aden. Tribes in Hadramout again bombed a oil pipeline. Yemeni officials denied an airstrike took place in Rada’a, and instead claimed three AQAP fighters died in a premature detonation.
The Iraqi government’s battle to control Fallujah
In his new memoir, Robert M. Gates, the former Defense Secretary, offers a critique of the president
Security forces arrested two Palestinians illegally entering Egypt through tunnels from Gaza. Explosive devices targeted armored vehicles near el Arish and Rafah. Influential Qatar-based cleric Yusuf al Qaradawi issued a fatwa banning participation in Egypt’s upcoming constitutional referendum. Army Chief Abdel Fattah el Sisi is said to be planning to run for president. A police […]
Hamas’ fortunes slide with change in Middle East neighbors
The tortured body of a female lawyer who was kidnapped in August was found dumped by the roadside in Tripoli. The Libyan navy intercepted a Maltese-flagged oil tanker trying to enter Libyan waters near the Sidra export terminal, which is officially closed. In the northeastern oasis town of Jalu, the local council is digging a […]
Al Murabitoon, the group formed in August 2013 by the merger of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s al-Mulathameen Brigade, reportedly issued a statement on Jan. 4 detailing its attacks in Mali, Algeria, and Niger in 2013. It also threatened France, warning that it would continue to attack […]
The Tunisian military bombed Islamist militant hideouts in Mount Chaambi on Jan. 5; the defense minister said between 25 and 30 militants are operating in the area near the Algerian border. The International Crisis Group recently warned that Tunisia is losing control over its border areas near Algeria and Libya, which have become hotbeds for […]
In Kaduna state, suspected Boko Haram militants killed four policemen. In a central Nigerian village, 30 people were killed as a result of ethnic and religious hostility.
Qari Saifullah, whom the State Department described as a “Taliban shadow deputy governor and an operational commander in Zabul Province,” also supports al Qaeda in southern Afghanistan.
Iraq a bloody lesson for Zero Option in Afghanistan