Naamen Meziche, a French national of Algerian origin suspected of links to al Qaeda plots against the US and Europe, was arrested on arrival in France after being extradited from Pakistan. Meziche had been arrested in Pakistan in May 2012 with three other French jihadists, who were extradited to France in April.
Foreign Minister Hague said the UK is now “more open to direct contact” with Iran; talks have begun on reopening their respective embassies. Hague also said that unless Iran takes concrete steps to address its breach of UN resolutions on its nuclear program, the UK will continue to maintain strong sanctions against Iran.
North Korea said it had stepped up attack readiness and warned of “disastrous consequences” after the US moved a group of ships into a South Korean port in a routine exercise. South Korean intelligence confirmed that North Korea has restarted its Yongbyon nuclear reactor to produce both plutonium and enriched uranium.
The US Navy SEALs raid that targeted a Shabaab leader known as Ikrima was justified under the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force. President Obama has called for the repeal of the AUMF, and support to do so is gaining in Congress.
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The Taliban killed two people, including a policeman, in an IED attack that targeted a polio vaccination team. The spokesman for the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan said the Afghan branch supports TTP operations. Arfan Bhatti, a Norwegian extremist who disappeared on a trip to Pakistan in January, has been found by a Norwegian […]
President Obama claimed that the US would continue to support Afghanistan even if no security agreement was signed between the two countries. Afghan officials said that 11 Taliban fighters, including a commander, were killed and eight more were captured during operations in Logar and Badakhshan.
Number of Syrian refugees rises above 2 million, UN agency says
The opposition Syrian National Coalition said it would not participate in Geneva II peace talks unless Hezbollah leaves Syria and the talks are not mediated by Iran; the SNC also said it would not talk with the Assad regime. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant clashed with a tribal group in Raqqah. The […]
‘Norway should accept prestige Syria role’
Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, a.ka. Ikrima, was associated with al Qaeda leaders Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, and communicates with al Qaeda’s general command in Pakistan. Ikrima was not killed in the SEAL assault.
Somali pirate suspects stand trial in Madrid
At least 38 Iraqis were killed in a series of 10 bombings throughout the capital of Baghdad. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (al Qaeda in Iraq) claimed credit for last month’s suicide assault in Irbil as well as attacks on police and military bases in Anbar.
“Gunmen” killed a German embassy guard and kidnapped a UNICEF worker in separate incidents in the capital of Sana’a. The United Nations warned its staff in Sana’a to remain home after the attacks in Sana’a.
The target of the Oct. 5 raid in Barawe by US Navy SEALs was Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, a.k.a Ikrima, who served as Shabaab’s external operations chief. He was plotting to conduct attacks in Kenya against the parliament, defense forces, and the UN. A Swedish and a Sudanese jihadist are said to have been killed in […]
U.S. target in Somalia: An inside story on an Al-Shabaab commander
The Taliban also said the US is “openly declaring that they are quitting Afghanistan and want to bring the conflict in Afghanistan to an end through talks.”
Colombia’s No. 2 oil pipeline shut after bomb attacks: Ecopetrol
The State Department designated Muhammad Jamal and the Muhammad Jamal Network (MJN) as terrorists. Jamal established connections to al Qaeda’s senior leadership, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Al Qaeda ‘terror blueprint’ for North Mali revealed
At least two people were killed and over 40 injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted a security building in the Sinai. Six security personnel were killed in an attack near the Suez Canal. RPGs struck communication satellite dishes in Cairo. The airport in Cairo was put into a state of emergency as a result […]
Police arrested two Pakistani nationals, Abutaha Hamza and Mohammed Alnems, at the Julius Nyerere International Airport as they were about to board a Nairobi-bound flight. The two men had forced their way onto the plane, and were later interrogated by Kenyan antiterrorism officials. President Jakaya Kikwete has expressed concern over the increasing terrorism in the […]
Rouhani, on Iranian TV in May, detailed how he broke nuclear pledge
Police released photos of two suspects in the Westgate Mall attack, Abdikadir Haret Mohamed a.k.a. Mohamed Hussein, a Kenyan; and Adan Dheq a.k.a. Hussein Abdi Ali a.k.a. Abdulahi Dugon Subow, a Somali national. Rewards of Sh500,000 each were offered for information leading to the capture of the two men, who owned a car used by […]
Key al Qaeda operative Abu Anas al-Liby is being interrogated on a US naval vessel in the Mediterranean after his capture in Tripoli on Oct. 5. A Pakistani warship visited Tripoli to boost military ties and cooperation between the two countries. A new order of Humvees will arrive soon; militants stole 14 Humvees this summer. […]
Islamist shelling from Bourem wounded at least one Malian soldier and six other people in Gao, in the first such attack in the city in months. French and Malian troops headed out to look for the source of the attack. The Tuareg MNLA and two other groups that had pulled out of a peace deal […]
Shahidullah Shahid, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan’s senior spokesman, also said that Mullah Fazlullah is operating from the northeastern Afghan province of Kunar.
US commando raids suggest future shape of counterterror bids