FDD's Long War Journal

Afghanistan

Haqqani Leader Lived, Died In The Open In Pakistan

Ansar al Sharia released photos of its members patrolling in Benghazi, and complained that its Facebook account was shut down for the 10th time. An imam who was a former top security official was killed by a car bomb in Benghazi. A number of embassies in Tripoli are said to be “extremely upset” by last […]

Qatar

Qatar loses clout amid fading Arab Spring

Israel

The simple, logical answer to the Iran nuclear conundrum

Hamas

Up close and personal with Hamas’ Mourabitoun unit

Mali

French and Malian authorities are searching for Baye Ag Bakabo, a Tuareg rebel and drug trafficker linked to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, who is suspected in the murders of two French journalists in Kidal. No arrests have been made so far. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said militants from the Nigerian jihadist group […]

Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham

Al-Qaeda-linked rebels apologize after cutting off head of wrong person

Al Qaeda

Zubaydah diaries shed new light on Twin Towers and links to bin Laden

France

Insight: Revival of Islamists in Mali tests French, UN nerve

Haqqani Network emir eulogizes son killed in Pakistan

Jalaluddin Haqqani praises the “martyrdom” of his son, Nasiruddin, and reinforces his group’s ties to Mullah Omar and the Afghan Taliban.

Algeria

Five terrorists were killed in a clash with security forces near Debdeb on Nov. 12, and two terrorists from a Malian cell of Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s group were arrested in Borj Baji Mokhtar on Nov. 1 on their way to northern Mali. Algeria reaffirmed its commitment to a border security plan made in March 2012 in […]

Cameroon

A French priest was kidnapped by gunmen in Koza, near the Nigerian border. The suspected Boko Haram militants burst into the church, then marched the priest through the village and took him away with them on motorbikes in the direction of Nigeria.

United States

Drone combat missions may be scaled back eventually, Air Force chief says

Egypt

Egypt’s secular parties hampered by disorganization, infighting

Afghanistan

Mullah Fazlullah’s Rise to Chief of the Pakistani Taliban Complicates Islamabad’s Ties With Afghanistan

United States

The State Department designated the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram and its splinter group Ansaru as global terrorist organizations. The White House is trying to thwart Congress’ plans to impose new Iran sanctions, in the hopes of securing a deal on the Iranian nuclear program. An appellate court upheld the terrorism convictions of Tarek Mehanna, […]

Afghanistan

The Taliban killed three students in a bombing in Farah and an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in the south. The US transferred FOB Salerno in Khost to Afghan forces. The UN said the poppy harvest has increased by 36% since last year.

Syria

The head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party claimed that Kurdish militias have killed some 3,000 Salafists. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham issued a call for all Muslims and factions to come to the front as the group lost many fighters in recent clashes in Aleppo, and threatened to disarm or take […]

Hamas

A year after war, Gaza-Israel front is calm

Iran

Iran signed a pact yesterday with the IAEA giving it “managed access” to some of the country’s nuclear facilities, but not to its most sensitive sites, including the Parchin complex. President Rouhani transferred the work of the “modesty project,” which attempts to enforce Islamic dress codes on women, from the police to the Ministry of […]

Lebanon

In a rare public appearance, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned in Beirut that the failure to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program would result in “war in the region.” A prosecutor denied defendant Ali Eid’s request to drop charges of aiding a car bombing suspect. Recent sectarian tensions in Tripoli have led to […]

Iraq

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant killed 19 people in attacks near Tikrit and in Baqubah. In one attack, in Al Alam near Tikrit, a suicide bomber killed 10 people, including two policemen, at a checkpoint.

Yemen

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula vowed to back Salafists in the north who are battling Shia Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran. A government-brokered cease fire between the Houthis and Salafists collapsed just one day after it was signed.

Gaza-based Jaish al Ummah praises Hakeemullah Mehsud

Like AQAP’s statement on Mehsud’s death, Jaish al Ummah praised Hakeemullah and “the tribes of Waziristan” for fighting the “crusader enemy” in Afghanistan.

Shabaab

Somalia sees rise in militant defectors who can aid spy service, but some carry out attacks

Egypt

The army arrested 11 extremists wanted in connection with recent attacks in the Sinai. The army announced the destruction and discovery of more smuggling tunnels near Rafah. Shootings by unidentified gunmen were reported in el Arish and Sheikh Zuweid. The Commander of the Second Field Army ordered the release of 120 people detained on suspicion […]

Israel

An IDF soldier was stabbed to death by a Palestinian on a bus in the northern Israeli city of Afula. An Israeli minister warned that proposed sanctions relief for Iran could be worth up to $40 billion. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that a bad deal over Iran’s nuclear program could lead to war.

Palestinian Territories

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the PA has evidence of Hamas involvement in the Sinai’s ongoing security situation. With regard to peace talks with Israel, Abbas announced that his negotiating team had resigned. An NGO accused Hamas of arresting and torturing Palestinians on political grounds in recent weeks. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad conducted […]