US drones are reported to have accidentally killed 15 civilians in a strike on a wedding party in Rada’a in Baydah province. Al Qaeda fighters are said to have been traveling in the convoy. Yesterday the UN said it would shut down its offices today in Sana’a due to an unspecified security threat.
Thus far no group has claimed responsibility, but the Sinai-based Salafi jihadist group Ansar Jerusalem has previously carried out a car bombing in the area.
Hagel Lifts Veil on Major Military Center in Qatar
Afghan pullout could reverse gains against al Qaeda, US military chief warns
The UGTT union chief said Tunisia’s political parties have chosen a new prime minister, whose name will be announced tomorrow, to replace Prime Minister Lareyedh. The ruling Islamist Ennahda party has agreed to step aside after a cabinet is named, a constitution is drafted, and elections are slated.
Ali Zeidan on Libya’s Struggle
The answer is no, as the Islamic Front has far more in common with al Qaeda than many want to admit.
French military forces have killed 19 Islamist militants during an ongoing operation north of Timbuktu. The French operation, said to involve a large number of troops and about 100 military vehicles and helicopters, was launched last week against al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters in the area between the communes of Bouje-Baya and Arouane. […]
Bangladesh executed Abdul Kader Mullah, a senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader who was convicted of war crimes committed during the 1971 war for independence from Pakistan. Four other leading figures in the party have also been convicted, but Mullah is the first to have been executed. Jamaat-e-Islami has warned it will avenge his death, and called for […]
ISPR, religious parties stoke anti-drone sentiment in Pakistan: US ambassador
Samiullah Afridi flees to Dubai after receiving threats
65,000 clerics hired under pressure from MPs: Afghan education minister
Islamist fighters attacked regime forces in Reef Dimashq. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has kidnapped at least 62 Syrian Kurds, including women and children, in the cities of Menbej and Jarablus in Aleppo province; ISIS killed five men for taking food to besieged areas, and forcibly evicted 15 Kurdish families from their […]
The army’s spokesperson claimed security forces arrested a senior member of Ansar Jerusalem. Senior Muslim Brotherhood officials denounced the interim government during their latest court appearance. Authorities have reportedly destroyed Hamas arms caches in North Sinai in recent months. Eleven Qatari citizens were reportedly arrested at an al Jazeera office in Cairo.
Palestinians expressed concern that honor killings are on the rise. An EU audit found that the European body is paying thousands of civil servants in Gaza who are not actually working. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh spoke with Russia’s foreign minister. Secretary of State Kerry will present to Palestinian and Israeli officials a framework agreement in […]
At least nine people were killed in a suspected Boko Haram attack along the Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu highway. The military has claimed that Boko Haram is forcefully conscripting in Borno to replenish its numbers.
In addition to conducting operations with the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, Ahrar al Sham was involved in the recent takeover of a large cache of weapons and munitions owned by the Free Syrian Army.
The UK joined the US in suspending aid to rebels in northern Syria after the Islamic Front took over Free Syrian Army warehouses, arms depots, and the Bab al-Hawa border crossing into Turkey. In September, Foreign Minister Hague said the UK was providing £20 million in nonlethal support to the rebels, including 4×4 vehicles, body […]
Al Qaeda tightens grip on western Iraq in bid for Islamic state
Jordanian authorities reportedly arrested Raed Hijazi in November. According to the 9/11 Commission report, Hijazi was a key member of a terrorist cell that was broken up in late 1999. The cell was planning multiple attacks in Jordan at the time.
Defense Secretary Hagel responded to France’s request for “limited” US military assistance in the Central African Republic by offering to help transport Burundian soldiers to the CAR to participate in the UN peacekeeping force. Hagel told Pakistani officials that keeping supply lines open may be key to the continuance of military aid to Pakistan. Two […]
US Halts Aid Delivery To Syria’s North Following Islamist Gains
CIA papers show Panetta spoke on bin Laden raid
Security forces killed 15 Taliban fighters during operations throughout the country. The NDS detained 22 jihadists involved in a plot to attack the Ministry of Defense and the Presidential Palace. The Taliban killed six civilians in a rocket attack in Badghis.
The Islamic Front seized the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Turkish border from Free Syrian Army forces after having taken over their nearby warehouse and arms depots last week. The US suspended all shipments of nonlethal aid to the Free Syrian Army in the north as a result of Islamist gains. Suspected Islamist gunmen abducted […]
A suicide bomber killed 11 people in an attack at a funeral in Baqubah. Seventeen more Iraqis were killed in bombings and attacks in Abara and at a Shia shrine near Baqubah.
Security forces thwarted an attack on a checkpoint near el Arish, and arrested two Muslim Brotherhood members suspected of inciting violence and financing terrorist operations. The Interior Ministry denied reports that Interior Minister Ibrahim had received a two-year prison sentence. Security forces clashed with Muslim Brotherhood supporters at al Azhar University.
A Dutch journalist and her partner who were kidnapped in June have been freed. It is unclear if a ransom has been paid to secure their release. The group holding them had threatened to kill the hostages if its demands were not met.
Extremist cleric Abu Qatada pled not guilty to terrorism charges, and challenged the authority of the court. He was previously tried and sentenced in absentia by Jordan in 1999 and 2000, but has a right to retrial while present. After a brief hearing, the judge adjourned the trial until Dec. 24. Yesterday a court sentenced […]
A French warship has joined EU Naval Forces for counter-piracy operations. Witnesses say that numerous military aircraft were seen over Barawe, forcing Shabaab to flee.