A Mauritanian branch of Ansar al Sharia, the political face of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has emerged openly since its founding in Dar Naim central prison. One of its Salafist leaders recently invited all Mauritanians to join; the latest Ansar al Sharia event was held on June 21 in Nouakchott. Some extremist imams […]
The UN Security Council unanimously approved the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in Mali, called MINUSMA, for July 1. The force will take over from and incorporate much of the existing UN-backed African force currently in Mali. The new UN force is expected to reach full capacity by Dec. 31, but presently faces critical […]
The military is reviving plans to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay that would allow greater US access and use. US forces helping the Philippines counter al Qaeda-linked insurgents in the south have shared several Philippine bases since 2002, and US naval ship visits to Subic have increased over the past few […]
Secretary of State Kerry told India that after 2014 the US will support the Afghan government and military and will also maintain an antiterrorism force in Afghanistan. Kerry plans to meet with Russia’s Foreign Minister next week to discuss Syria.
Jordan, Israel Weigh Gas Deal
Syria’s oilfields create surreal battle lines amid chaos and tribal loyalties
The Taliban killed six policemen and 11 civilians in IED attacks in Kandahar and Uruzgan. A Taliban suicide assault team penetrated security at the presidential palace and CIA station in Kabul before being killed.
A pair of al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bombers killed 16 people in an attack that targeted Turkmen in Tuz Khurmatu. Another suicide bomber killed 10 Iraqis in Mosul. Six more Iraqis were killed in attacks in Karbala. Security forces captured the head of an al Qaeda assassination cell in Mosul.
The Al Nusrah Front claimed a seven-man suicide assault in Damascus and another bombing in Damascus. An Al Nusrah Front fighter was killed in a clash at a checkpoint in Reef Damashq. Pro-regime popular committees executed a man in Hama. The commander of the Ahfad Muhammad battalion from Reef Deir Izzor was killed in an […]
President Putin said that wanted NSA leader Edward Snowden “is a free man,” and added that Russia has no extradition agreement with the US. Putin also stated that Russian special security services “are not engaged with him and will not be engaged.” Snowden is at Moscow airport, Putin confirmed.
Tweeting for the Caliphate: Twitter as the New Frontier for Jihadist Propaganda
Libya a key terrorism transit hub, warns African Union
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said he could make a surprise visit to the Gaza Strip at “any time.” Palestinian Islamic Jihad called for the removal of Hamas’ Interior Minister Fathi Hammad. Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk met with Hezbollah and Iranian officials during a recent visit to Lebanon.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is considering releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners and possibly starting a construction freeze in the West Bank to help restart talks with the Palestinians. Issam Hashem Mashahara, an Israeli-Arab, was convicted of conspiring with Hezbollah.
Greenwald: Snowden’s Files Are Out There if ‘Anything Happens’ to Him
Iranian Terrorism Under ‘Moderate’ Presidents
Protections For Women Under Threat In Afghanistan
Spokesman Says Iran’s President ‘Will Return With Hidden Imam’
Pakistani security forces seized 3,000 sticks of dynamite and other lethal cargo at a checkpoint near Peshawar yesterday. This is the third largest seizure of explosives with a connection to Peshawar this month.
Did NSA leaks help al Qaeda?
A grenade attack at a camp for displaced people in Mandera county killed at least 15 people and wounded 20 more. No group has claimed the attack, but the attackers are said to have come from Ethiopia. The Police Inspector General said intelligence reports suggested that local politicians were funding inter clan militias involved in […]
The US embassy will be closed on June 30 “in anticipation of demonstrations that may turn violent.” At least five people were arrested in connection with the recent lynching of four Shiites in Giza. Some have suggested that the lynching was the result of a “rise in hate speech” in Egypt. A rocket reportedly exploded […]
Obama’s hands-off approach to extraditing Snowden draws criticism
Officials: Obama’s policy team trying to ‘rein in’ Kerry over pledges to allies, rivals
IDF’s lessons from last Gaza conflict: Buy new tank carriers, train troops away from front lines
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), an al Qaeda splinter group, offered to swap a kidnapped Algerian diplomat for three Islamist fighters being held in Algeria. Presidential advisor Kamal Rezzag Bara refused the offer, saying that Algeria does not negotiate with or make concessions to terrorists. MUJAO kidnapped seven Algerian consular […]
Fears false Iranian refugees with ‘sinister motives’ may enter Canada as 19 are rejected on security grounds
Police are investigating two Tunisian men suspected of plotting to carry out terrorist attacks via model airplanes; raids were carried out in Belgium and in the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Wurttemberg, and Saxony. Police also searched the apartments of four suspected accomplices in Munich and Stuttgart who are believed to have “provided financing for the […]
Police arrested six members of a suspected Islamist terror cell in raids across Paris. Four of the suspects are French nationals, one is from Benin, and the other is from the Comoros; all were previously known to the police for “serious delinquency.”
The suicide assault team penetrated the perimeter at one of the most secured areas in Kabul and clashed with Afghan and US forces for nearly two hours before being defeated.