FDD's Long War Journal

Afghanistan

Do not overlook troops still in Afghanistan, warn UK military figures

Two men were sentenced to life in prison for a car bomb attack near a Sunni mosque in July; two other defendants were sentenced to 15 years in prison. The government said the defendants, who were also convicted of setting up a terrorist organization, had tried to inflame sectarian tensions.

United States

Obama’s Portable Zone of Secrecy (Some Assembly Required)

Israel

Terrorist’s Facebook Profile Exposes Recent Stabbing Attempt as Suicide Attack

Mauritania

The Tuareg MNLA and the HCUA, along with the Arab MAA, three rebel movements in northern Mali, are said to have reaffirmed their commitment in Ouagdougou to the accord reached this summer with the Malian government. The three groups reportedly offered to leave Kidal by Nov. 14 and asked for a renewed focus on security […]

Greece

Authorities seized a vessel two days ago near the island of Symi that carried large quantities of undeclared arms apparently destined for Libya. The ship, laden with some 20,000 Kalashnikovs along with ammunition and high explosives, sailed from Ukraine to Istanbul in late October but also had other stops on its intinerary, including the southern […]

Iraq

Iraq’s Kurdish region pursues ties with Turkey — for oil and independence

Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham

Syrians on Both Sides of the War Increasingly See Assad as Likely to Stay

US continues to claim al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan is minimal

Although Obama administration officials and the military have stated for the past four years that al Qaeda has a minimal presence in Afghanistan, the group and its allies continue to sustain operations in the country.

United States

The Pentagon’s semiannual report on Afghan operations noted that during the April-September period, US and Coalition deaths dropped by almost 60% compared to the same period last year, but that Afghan troop deaths went up by 80%. It said Afghan forces are now conducting 95% of conventional operations and 98% of special operations. The report […]

Ansar Jerusalem

Egypt’s Sinai Has Become the Latest Battleground for Global Jihadists

European Union

Iranian nuclear talks end without a deal

Pakistani Taliban threaten US for killing leader in drone strike

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan also praised former emir Hakeemullah Mehsud for “the consolidation of the idea of global Jihad and the Caliphate,” and claimed “sorcery” was responsible for a lingering illness.

Syria

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, the Al Nusrah Front, and allied rebels retook the 80th Brigade army base near Aleppo airport from regime forces, who had captured it earlier this week. ISIS reportedly released the assistant to the Al Nusrah Front’s emir for Raqqah but kept the emir, who has been detained […]

United States

US Navy moles aided huge fraud, officials say

Syria

Journalists in Syria face growing risk of kidnap

European Union

The Dollar Value of the Proposed Sanctions Relief at Geneva

Libya

Bloody militia clashes rock Tripoli

Egypt

Security forces claimed to have killed eight gunmen during operations in the Sinai. Unidentified gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in el Arish. Smugglers shot and killed a police conscript near Gaza. Border guards thwarted a weapons smuggling operation along the border with Libya.

Palestinian Territories

Palestinian security forces entered Israeli territory to conduct operations against those involved in “organized crime.” Hamas accused PA security forces of arresting a number of its members in the West Bank. The Palestinian delegation had its status raised by the government of Belgium. Hamas held a demonstration in Gaza to commemorate the one-year anniversary of […]

Afghanistan

US Admonishes Afghanistan on Prisoner Releases

Afghanistan

Nationwide Poppy Production Rises in Afghanistan in 2013

Somalia

A suspected Shabaab suicide bombing outside a Mogadishu hotel killed at least six people, including a top Somali diplomat, and injured 15 more yesterday. Authorities claimed to have repelled a raid by 30 to 40 armed Shabaab militants on Bossaso Central prison in Puntland.

Kenya

Kenya has closed several security posts along the Somalia border after recent Shabaab attacks in which six officers were killed and weapons and communications equipment were stolen. Police in Nairobi arrested over 300 suspected illegal aliens last night, mainly in the Eastleigh neighborhood; the area was targeted, police said, because it is where terrorists usually […]

Tunisia

Security along the Libyan border has been beefed up after a report that Ansar al Sharia was planning to stage simultaneous terror attacks across the country using suicide bombers trained in Syria and Libya. One rumor said 15,000 terrorists were planning to attack Tunisia from Libya. The Hizb Ettahrir party, a hardline Salafist group that […]

Libya

Italy’s foreign minister said Libya is “absolutely out of control” and noted that ENI, Libya’s biggest foreign oil partner, has threatened to close wells. “Protesters” have closed all of eastern Libya’s export terminals. Only hours after a Libyan military “show of force” in Benghazi, an officer in the municipal guard was shot and killed. A […]