FDD's Long War Journal

Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham

Extremist Syrian faction touts training camp for boys

Free Syrian Army

Syrian Kurds jockey for seat at Geneva talks

Egypt

Egyptian Christians Bridle at Prison Terms for Copts Only in Fatal Clash

Ennahda

A Political Deal in a Deeply Divided Tunisia as Islamists Agree to Yield Power

The Taliban killed four soldiers and wounded six more in IED attacks in Khost, Wardak, and Kapisa. The Taliban also killed four children in a bombing in Uruzgan. Security forces killed 10 Taliban fighters during an operation Ghazni.

Iraq

More than 70 people were killed in a series of bombings and attacks in Baghdad, Bayji, Mosul, Tikrit, and Jisr Diyala. In Bayji, a suicide assault team killed eight policemen in an attack on a police station. In Tikrit, another suicide assault team killed two civilians in an attempt to storm the city council building.

Syria

US Ambassador Robert Ford is said to be meeting with the Islamic Front tomorrow. The Assad regime complained to the UN that the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front killed over 100 Syrians in the Damascus suburb of Adra last week. Rebel fighters are seeking to lift the siege of Eastern Ghouta. Recent regime […]

Turkey

A Turkish news outlet reported that Turkey has shipped 47 tonnes of weapons to Syrian rebels since June, including 29 tonnes in September. Last month the Interior Ministry said hundreds of Turkish jihadists were fighting alongside al Qaeda forces in Syria. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu denied the weapons claims; another official said only shotguns and ammunition […]

ISIS launches 2 more suicide assaults in Iraq

Al Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has conducted eight suicide attacks, including six suicide assaults, inside Iraq so far this month.

Saudi Arabia

Saad Muhammad Husayn Qahtani and Hamood Abdulla Hamood, two ex-Guantanamo detainees who were suspected of membership in al Qaeda, were transferred to Saudi Arabia. Former intelligence chief Prince Turki al Faisal accused the US of being indecisive in the Middle East and failing to adequately support the Syrian rebels. A Saudi court sentenced Omar al […]

Egypt

Egyptian forces reportedly intensified their campaign to find Ansar Bayt al Maqdis and al Furqan Brigades members in the Ismailia area. Army operations in North Sinai also continued. Defense Minister el Sisi reiterated his call for tribes in Sinai and Upper Egypt to hand over their weaponry. Supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi said they […]

Somalia

Somali forces arrested 600 suspects in door-to-door sweeps in Baidoa following a Shabaab attack. At least seven people were killed in a Shabaab attack on a military base in Mogadishu. Shabaab briefly returned to Twitter nearly three months after the Westgate Mall assault.

South Sudan

Heavy gunfire was reported last night in Juba. President Salva Kiir has accused troops loyal to rival Riek Machar of unsuccessfully attempting a coup.

Nigeria

Reports suggest a Boko Haram attack on Arboko village in Borno left four dead. According to the UN, more than 1,200 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks since May.

Shabaab

Inside a Shabaab training camp

CIA

Iran nabbed CIA asset Levinson, says witness

2 Guantanamo detainees transferred to Saudi Arabia

Both detainees were approved for transfer “subject to appropriate security measures” by President Obama’s Guantanamo Review Task Force. Previously, Joint Task Force Guantanamo deemed both detainees “high” risks to the US and its allies and recommended that they be retained in US custody.

Ahfad al Rasoul

Syrian fighter defects to Qaeda-linked group

Tunisia

Mehdi Jomaa, the industry minister, was named the new prime minister of Tunisia’s caretaker government, replacing Prime Minister Lareyedh. Ansar al Sharia called for its male supporters to join in protests tomorrow in Tunis on the third anniversary of the self-immolation of a street vendor that marked the beginning of the Tunisian revolution.

Shabaab returns to Twitter nearly 3 months after Westgate

The account said it will seek “to create awareness of the Mujahideen’s struggle, further the cause of Jihad and promote the goals & visions of global Jihad.”

Pakistan

Frustrated with government, Pakistani man turns to Taliban for help

Al Qaeda

Political administration not prepared to replace army in Pakistan’s tribal agencies

Russia

Authorities claimed to have killed four members of an Islamist militant cell, including leader Arsen Khandokhov, during a raid near Mount Elberus in Kabardino-Balkaria. Four security force members were killed in a shootout with militants in Dagestan. Apti Alaudinov, Chechnya’s First Deputy Interior Minister, told municipal authorities that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has given him […]

United Kingdom

Prime Minister Cameron said the UK’s military mission in Afghanistan has been accomplished; the British troop level there has dropped from 9,000 to about 5,200, and there are no plans to have British combat troops in the country after 2014. British military officials said they expect insurgent activity to pick up in Afghanistan as UK […]