Terrorist threats were made against targets in Brussels and Antwerp, including Antwerp’s Central Station and the Atomium monument in Brussels, warning Muslims to avoid revelers on New Year’s Eve. The threats were reportedly issued on the Facebook account of a Vilvoorde member of the banned Sharia4Belgium organization who is thought to have died in Syria.
Michael Adebowale, an Islamist convicted of murdering British soldier in Woolwich, said he was inspired to convert to Islam by US-born hate preacher Sheikh Khalid Yasin, who resides in the UK. Yasin has advocated the killing of homosexuals and is linked to jihadist circles in the country.
Three Uighur men, Yusef Abbas, Saidullah Khalik, and Hajiakbar Abdul Ghuper, were transferred from Guantanamo to Slovakia; they are the last of the Uighur detainees. Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 24, of Garden Grove, Calif., pled guilty on Dec. 27 to attempting to provide weapons training to al Qaeda forces while he was in Syria.
The government added both the Caucasus Emirate and Boko Haram to its list of terrorist organizations. Other groups added to Canada’s list this year include the Al Nusrah Front and Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s al-Muwaqi’un Bil Dima, as well as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network.
Authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle arms and weapons into the country by boat, including anti-personnel and armor-piercing explosives, “50 Iranian-made hand bombs,” and 295 apparently Syrian-made commercial detonators. They also arrested 13 people trying to flee by boat, and dismantled a car bomb in Al-Houra. Five men were sentenced to 15 years in prison […]
Lebanon – In neglected Tripoli, street fighters quietly take control
In its first action against Syrian aircraft since the start of the Syrian war, the Lebanese army fired antiaircraft missiles at two Syrian helicopters that bombed Khirbet Dawud near Arsal. President Sleiman said yesterday that Saudi Arabia has given Lebanon $3 billion to buy military equipment from France for the army; a March 14 official […]
Syria – The Revolution Betrayed
At least 19 rebels have been killed in three days of fighting with regime troops for control of the Deir Izzour military airbase. Foreign Minister Muallem said yesterday that Syria wants Iran to attend the Geneva II talks. The UN asked the regime and rebels to allow aid into the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. […]
In Wake Of Repeated Bombings, A Question: Why Volgograd?
A suicide bomber detonated on a crowded trolley in Volgograd, killing at least 14 people, the second such attack in two days in the city. Yesterday a Caucasus Emirate-linked “Black Widow” suicide bomber from Dagestan detonated inside the Volgograd central train station, killing at least 17 people. Islam Atiev, a Caucasus Emirate member, was killed […]
“Gunmen” thought to be from the Southern Separatist Movement killed 10 soldiers and overran a military outpost in Lahj. Officials are reportedly questioning senior generals over possible involvement in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s suicide assault on the Ministry of Defense in Sana’a in early December.
A high-level security official said 70 policemen have been killed in North Sinai since June 30. The army spokesman announced the seizure of a weapons cache in North Sinai. A court banned protests at universities without a permit, while 139 pro-Morsi protesters received two-year prison sentences. Authorities arrested three reporters affiliated with al Jazeera.
The next batch of Palestinian prisoners was released by Israel. Defense Minister Ya’alon said Sunni jihadists may have been responsible for recent rocket fire from Lebanon into northern Israel. A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel.
Wary of rockets, IDF beefs up security on Golan Heights
Obama’s Failed Outreach to Syria’s Islamic Front
Will Iran, Hamas resume relations?
A 20,000-strong militia loyal to former vice president Riek Machar has been persuaded to retreat from Bor. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited South Sudan in an attempt to find a political solution to the unrest.
Mogadishu’s mayor has criticized the clan-based ‘4.5 system‘ that favors the four major tribes of Somalia, and he said that some elements within the security forces are “worse than Shabaab.” The Somali military will soon undertake more operations in and around the town of Beledweyne. Djibouti will contribute an additional battalion of troops to AMISOM. […]
Four police officers escaped unhurt after their car set off a landmine in Dadaab refugee camp near the border with Somalia. Regional leaders are in Nairobi to discuss the crisis in South Sudan.
The military killed 56 Boko Haram fighters in Alafa forest in Borno state, during a raid aimed at ensuring a peaceful holiday period. Two government soldiers were also wounded in the battle, while Boko Haram militants were seen fleeing toward Chad and Niger. In a major reshuffle, the army chiefs of logistics and armored corps, […]
Somali and Ethiopian troops have successfully captured key areas near the town of Bardale in Bay region.
Press reports from North Africa indicated that Seifallah ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi) was captured by US and Libyan forces, but the Tunisian terror group and the US have denied the rumors.
A trolley was demolished in a blast that is thought to have been carried out by a male suicide bomber. The attack is the second suicide bombing in Volgograd in two days.
The UN said French and Chadian troops have destroyed almost six tonnes of explosives and weapons that they found recently in two caches located about 95 miles southwest of Tessalit. In September nearly a tonne of explosives was found near Anefis.
Media reports claimed that Ansar al Sharia Tunisia leader Saifallah Benhassine, a.k.a. Abu Iyadh, was captured today in Misrata along with several other people. The terrorist group and the US military both dismissed the reports. In Benghazi, gunmen fired on a passport official, and a Free Libya Martyrs Battalion commander lost his hand when a […]
Both Ansar al Sharia Tunisia and the US Embassy in Tunisia denied reports that Seifallah Hassine, the leader of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, was captured by US forces in Libya. Police arrested seven Salafists in Kasserine yesterday who distributed leaflets banning New Year’s celebrations and threatening bakeries.
Syria Has Yet to Move Arms as Deadline Draws Near
Police in the restive Xinjiang region fatally shot eight people during an alleged terrorist attack near the southern city of Kashgar. Police recently shot and killed 16 members of an extended Uighur family, including six women, in Saybagh near Kashgar; two policemen also were killed in the clash.
State TV quoted Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi as claiming that Iran has decided to not put 1,000 second generation centrifuges into operation at one of its nuclear fuel enrichment sites. Salehi also said Iran currently has 19,000 operating centrifuges, and is now developing third and fourth generation-type centrifuges, and that Tehran is in […]