FDD's Long War Journal

Foreign support of the insurgency in Kandahar: sorting fact from xenophobia

Evaluating Afghan claims of foreign support for Afghanistan’s insurgency requires an understanding of the local context of history, nationalism, and xenophobia.

NSA

US Agencies Said to Swap Data With Thousands of Firms

Human rights and civic associations estimate that some 3,000 Tunisians have gone to Syria to fight with the Free Syrian Army or the Al Nusrah Front; the Interior Ministry says the number is over 500. Islamist rebels in the Jebel Chaambi area, including members of Ansar al Sharia and the Uqba Ibn Nafaa Battalion, are […]

Germany

The Foreign Ministry said Germany would stick to its position of not providing weapons to a country in a civil war, despite the US decision to step up arms to Syrian rebels in the wake of confirmation that the Assad regime had used chemical weapons. Germany has been providing bulletproof vests and first aid supplies […]

United Kingdom

Prime Minister Cameron said the UK has assessed that ” elements affiliated to al-Qaeda in the region have attempted to acquire chemical weapons for probable use in Syria.” He also said the UK agreed with the recent US assessment that the Assad regime had used chemical weapons in Syria.

NSA

Lawmakers: Terrorists change tactics after leaks

Syria

US Is Said to Plan to Send Weapons to Syrian Rebels

United States

The White House promised to step up military aid to Syrian rebels after confirming that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including sarin gas, in small-scale attacks. Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency, said the NSA’s broad electronic records gathering program has disrupted dozens of terrorist attacks, including an attempt to […]

Afghanistan

The interior ministry claimed that 50 Taliban fighters were killed in operations throughout Afghanistan. Six Afghan policemen were killed in a suspected insider attack in the Musa Qala district in Helmand.

US to arm Syrian rebels after chemical weapons ‘red line’ is crossed

President Obama’s deputy national security adviser said that the US will provide military and other aid to the Supreme Military Council and the Syrian Opposition Coalition, despite that fact that these groups have supported the Al Nusrah Front in the past.

Canada

Canada ramps up its Iranian experiment

Argentina

Exporting Terror in America’s Backyard

Syria

The UN reported that over 5,000 people have been killed in Syria every month since July 2012, and that the death toll has risen to at least 93,000; over 80% of those killed are men. More than 1,700 children under the age of 10 have died; some have been tortured. Both regime forces and rebels […]

Sweden

Sweden mulls sending troops to Golan Heights

Jordan

U.S. Proposes No-Fly Zone Inside Syria

Iraq

Security forces killed three al Qaeda in Iraq fighters in an operation in Abu Saida near Baqubah. Al Qaeda is suspected of executing a candidate for office in Ninewa; the gunmen used a silenced weapon.

Yemen

Tribesmen killed a Yemeni soldier and bombed an oil export pipeline in the Sarwah region near Sana’a. Security forces captured a Yemeni and a Saudi al Qaeda fighter in Sheikh Othman in Aden province.

China

U.S. Fears Edward Snowden May Defect to China: Sources

Syria

Starved for Arms, Syria Rebels Make Their Own

Hamas

Hamas-ruled Gaza suffers drop in aid from Iran, foreign charities because of Syrian civil war

Israel

Israeli authorities arrested a Palestinian affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad in possession of explosives. While in Poland, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel is prepared to do whatever is necessary to prevent a second Holocaust.

Egypt

A military spokesman denied reports that suggested authorities had discovered the identity of those behind the recent kidnapping of seven security personnel in the Sinai. An Israeli official recently met with Egyptian officials to discuss the security situation in the Sinai. A senior official said citizens are free to go to Syria to fight and […]

Palestinian Territories

Hamas said PA security forces arrested eight of its members in the West Bank. Palestinian Authority TV honored three terrorists serving a combination of 166 life sentences. Fatah official Nabil Shaath warned that the Palestinian leadership cannot guarantee that a new intifada will not break out.

Georgia closes 3 bases in Helmand after suicide attack kills 7 soldiers

Georgia’s defense minister said that bases are being closed in response to Taliban attacks, handing the Taliban a propaganda victory.

Iran

Iran election: Ayatollah Khamenei’s shadow looms larger than any candidate’s

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

Terrorist threat looms over Mauritania

Algeria

Foreign Minister Medelci said Algeria and Tunisia are coordinating to secure their shared border, under a security plan implemented three weeks ago. Some 20 key border crossings in the southern region have been identified among over 80 used by terrorists and weapons smugglers. Interior Minister Kabila said Tunisia is now confronting al Qaeda-linked militants near […]