FDD's Long War Journal

Shabaab

Arms ship seized by Yemen may have been Somalia-bound: UN

Fugitive NSA leader Edward Snowden threatened more leaks and asked a number of countries, including Russia, for asylum; President Putin said Snowden could stay as long as he “cease[d] his work aimed at inflicting damage to our American partners.” Secretary of State Kerry has been visiting the Middle East, trying to restart peace talks between […]

Afghanistan

The Ministry of the Interior said that more than 300 Afghan policemen were killed during the month of June. The Taliban killed a district police chief in an IED attack in Baghlan. The NDS killed a suicide bomber in Kabul and captured a Pakistani suicide bomber in Nangarhar.

Afghanistan

Karzai Choices for Afghan Human Rights Panel Raise Questions

Ansar Dine

Who’s Who in Northern Mali?

Iraq

A suicide bomber killed 22 Iraqis in an attack inside a Shia mosque in Muqdadiyah. Eight Awakening members in Tarmiyah were kidnapped and then executed. Iraqi troops destroyed an al Qaeda “base” near the Syrian border.

Syria

A Tunisian commander in the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham was killed in fighting with a military motorcade near Ein Issa in Raqqah. Regime forces assisted by Hezbollah fighters attempted to retake rebel-held areas in Homs, but despite fierce regime shelling did not advance. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council asked the UN to intervene […]

Suicide bomber detonates inside Iraqi Shia mosque

In the past 16 days, al Qaeda in Iraq has executed 14 suicide attacks; several have targeted Shia mosques.

Lebanon

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns condemned Hezbollah’s actions in Syria “in the strongest terms” and said they jeopardized Lebanon as well. He also promised increased US support for the Lebanese Army. Sources say fugitive Sunni leader Sheikh Ahmad Assir was on Hezbollah’s hit list before his followers clashed with the Lebanese Army; the […]

Jordan

Ahmad Atallah Shbeib al-Majali, a Jordanian air force captain from Karak, deserted the military and joined the Al Nusrah Front in Syria over the weekend. A Salafist leader alleged that eight people from the Karak area are fighting with Al Nusrah; Jordanian Salafists claim that over 500 Jordanian jihadists have gone to Syria.

Egypt

The military said it was giving the nation’s political forces 48 hours to solve their issues or the military will create a new roadmap. A senior Muslim Brotherhood official said no government institution would wage a coup against the Morsi government. The Tamarod movement threatened to launch a campaign of civil disobedience if President Morsi […]

Israel

Authorities detained a Palestinian woman armed with knives in Hebron who was preparing to conduct a terror attack. Defense Minister Ya’alon pledged “total war and zero tolerance” on “price-tag” perpetrators. The IAF conducted a drill in Bulgaria, which focused on operating against advance defense systems.

Palestinian Territories

Military Training Of The Resistance Factions In Gaza

Taliban militants bungle coordinated multi-province terrorist attacks

Afghan security forces disrupted terrorist plots in Kabul City and Jalalabad, but a massive explosion near the Parwan provincial governor’s compound caused significant damage. An additional suicide attack failed after the bomber prematurely detonated in Kunduz.

China

Snowden’s Leaks Cloud U.S. Plan to Curb Chinese Hacking

Afghanistan

As U.S. Pulls Out, Feuds Split Afghanistan’s Ruling Family

Iran

The FBI Renews The Search For One Of Its Own

NSA

Misinformation on classified NSA programs includes statements by senior U.S. officials

ISAF ends its daily ‘operational update’ reports

Over the past several years, the daily operational updates have revealed that al Qaeda and its allies remain entrenched in Afghanistan and continue to cooperate closely with the Taliban.

Syrian jihadists behead Catholic priest, 2 others

The Vatican reported last week that the priest was captured by fighters “linked” to the Al Nusrah Front for the People in the Levant, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. A graphic video of his beheading has been published on the Internet.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

AQIM stepped up propaganda efforts, airing its monthly bulletin and highlighting its blog and Twitter account. Algerian AQIM leader Sheikh Abu Abdulillah Ahmed al-Jijeli stressed that the group would follow the directive of al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri to cooperate with governments in Arab Spring countries and help them implement sharia law, and would […]

Mali

Some 6,300 West African troops were “re-hatted” as the new United Nations peacekeeping force in Mali, called MINUSMA; the force will grow to its full strength of 12,640 by December. France has slowed its withdrawal and will have between 3,000 and 3,500 troops in the country at the time of the nationwide election in late […]

Pakistan

A Lashkar-i-Jhangvi suicide bomber killed at least 28 Shia Hazara, including a number of women, near a Shia congregation hall in Quetta. A car bomb attack on a Frontier Corps convoy on the outskirts of Peshawar killed at least 18 civilians, and injured nine FC members and 46 civilians. A roadside bomb in North Waziristan […]

Iran

Iran confirmed the arrest of several Slovak paragliders suspected of espionage. The seven Slovaks were arrested for allegedly photographing Iranian military sites sometime in the past few weeks.

Iraq

Twelve soccer players and fans were killed in a bombing at a match in Nahrawan. Al Qaeda kidnapped and executed an Awakening leader, and then stuffed his corpse with explosives. Security forces captured an al Qaeda leader in Mosul and seven members of a cell in Nukhaib.

Israel

Authorities announced that in recent weeks a number of terror attacks emanating from the West Bank have been thwarted. The Air Force is preparing to form its first squadron of Super Hercules C-130J transport aircraft, which it will receive from the United States.

Egypt

Millions took to the streets to protest against President Morsi. Numerous clashes between supporters of Morsi and the opposition were reported throughout the country. The ongoing demonstrations in Egypt have played in a role in decreasing smuggling between Egypt and Gaza. A gunman was killed in the Sinai during a clash with authorities.