The US is accelerating sales and delivery of military equipment, including Hellfire missiles and drones, to Iraq to help in the fight against al Qaeda. A US gunmaker turned down a deal to sell precision rifles to Pakistan, out of concern they could be used against US troops. Iran rejected Secretary of State Kerry’s suggestion […]
Syria rebel infighting spreads to city in east
A suicide bomber killed a student in an attack outside a school in Hangu. Nine people, including three children, were killed in a bombing at the home of a tribal leader in Khyber.
A Taliban suicide bomber killed three Afghan Local Police officers in Ghazni. The Taliban killed four people in a rocket attack in Helmand. Security forces captured a young female suicide bomber in Helmand. The government will free 88 prisoners at Bagram despite US objections that they are members of the Taliban.
Security forces killed seven Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham fighters in Ramadi, two in Abu Ghraib, and two more in Mosul, an ISIS “prince” in Fallujah, and eight “gunmen” in Hillah. The ISIS killed five soldiers in Abu Ghraib and one more in Balad, and a policeman and a civilian in Samarra.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and the newly formed Jaish al Mujahideen in al Tabqa in Raqqah. Islamist and non-Islamist rebels also fought against ISIS in other Raqqah cities, and released 50 captives from an ISIS prison in Raqqah city. ISIS clashed with rebels in Aleppo, […]
Fuelled by Syria war, al Qaeda bursts back to life in Iraq
Security forces in el Arish thwarted attempts to detonate four explosive devices targeting security personnel. Authorities also reportedly arrested an Ansar Jerusalem member linked to the group’s October South Sinai attack. The US State Department urged US citizens to avoid travel to North Sinai. Security was increased at churches around the country. An Islamist alliance […]
According to Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, Somali troops will soon begin a large-scale assault on Shabaab bases in central and southern Somalia. Military supplies for Djiboutian AMISOM soldiers have arrived in Beledweyne.
Fighting has continued in Juba and Bor as ceasefire talks in Ethiopia have been delayed. In Bor, a general and others senior military officers loyal to the government have been killed. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is in Juba to help peace efforts.
President Goodluck Jonathan said that Boko Haram is a temporary threat that will soon be overcome. One person has died after suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked the village of Buratai in Borno state. Unknown perpetrators bombed the High Court in Ahoada, in southern Rivers state.
The head of the Zawia Security Directorate was kidnapped outside the Prime Minister’s office and held for several hours in Tripoli, then was released after intervention by the first deputy prime minister and the acting interior minister. A 77-year-old man and the young son of a newspaper editor were kidnapped in separate incidents in Benghazi. […]
The French air force has performed its first operational flight using an A400M tactical transport, delivering 22 tonnes of supplies for Operation Serval in northern Mali. On the same flight was French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who warned that although Mali was almost secure, continued vigilance was needed. He said France would continue to […]
The Muslim Brotherhood, Back in a Fight to Survive
Afghan officials claimed that five Pakistanis were among 15 Taliban fighters killed in Ghazni; the Taliban claimed two Taliban fighters and six policemen were killed. The Taliban killed five civilians in a rocket attack in Helmand.
Military officials said that 22 soldiers, 12 civilians, and an unknown number of Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham fighters were killed during clashes in the contested city of Ramadi. The ISIS killed nine people in Baghdad, six truck drivers at a fake checkpoint in Baqubah, and two soldiers in Hillah. Security forces captured […]
President Hadi said that the Yemeni government refuses to extradite `Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad `Abd al-Rahman al Humayqani to the US. In December, al Humayqani was added to the US’ list of global terrorists for serving as a leader, facilitator, and fundraiser for AQAP. Tribesmen in Hadramout bombed an oil pipeline.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with rebels and Islamist battalions in Raqqah. Kurdish YPG forces battled ISIS, Al Nusrah Front, and Islamist battalions in Hasakah. Regime forces clashed with Al Nusrah and Islamist battalions in Deir Izzour. Al Nusrah is reportedly mediating between ISIS and several rebel battalions in Aleppo: several […]
The Women of al Qaeda
The continuing evolution of al Qaeda 3.0
Is Turkey sending weapons to Syria under guise of aid?
Record number of UN peacekeepers fails to stop African wars
Debate on the draft constitution was suspended when a deputy from the leftwing Popular Front said he had received death threats after a hardline Ennahda MP publicly denounced him as “an enemy of Islam.” Tunisian MPs adopted language yesterday that said Islam was the state religion but promised freedom of conscience and rejected the idea […]
The public prosecutor referred to 45 recently arrested members of the terrorist group Sham al-Islam, which was formed by Brahim Benchekroune and Mohamed Maz to recruit and train Moroccan jihadists for combat in Syria and attacks in Morocco. Other Moroccan Salafists, including former bin Laden bodyguard Abdellah Tabark, are also thought to have gone to […]
The New Zealander woman killed in Sabratha has been identified, and four arrests have reportedly been made. Protesters blockading the Foreign Ministry have departed. The blockade of three eastern oil terminals continued due to the presence of armed groups.
Secretary of State Kerry said the US is not contemplating sending troops to Iraq to fight al Qaeda, and added that although the US could help Iraq, the fight was Iraq’s. Kerry also suggested that Iran might play a role in the Geneva II peace talks on Syria.
Power Vacuum in Middle East Lifts Militants
Al Qaeda group leader’s letters discovered with plans to kidnap UN workers in Syria
Al Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and allied tribes took control of the city of Fallujah. The military claimed that 25 ISIS fighters were killed during fighting in Ramadi, and 30 more were killed in Karma. Iraqi tribes are allying with the military to fight against the ISIS in Ramadi, Rawa, Anah, […]
The Al Nusrah Front released video of leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani’ conducting a battlefield tour in Aleppo. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with various rebel groups in Aleppo, and an ISIS commander is said to have been killed in Azaz. ISIS warned rebels that unless they stop attacking ISIS, release ISIS […]