FDD's Long War Journal

Afghanistan

Afghan Insurgent Is Killed on US-Led Military Base

Afghanistan

Army may have to extend Afghanistan deployments due to budget cuts

Bangladesh

Protests against Islamists convicted of war crimes continued for the 11th day in Dhaka. Three Jamaat-e-Islami activists were killed in gunbattles with police.

A security official escaped an assassination attempt in Benghazi. Thousands protested in Benghazi demanding better security; neither government officials nor Ansar al Sharia and other Islamist groups attended the protest. Four foreigners were arrested in Benghazi on suspicion of distributing Christian books and proselytizing. The military deployed 25 armored vehicles to the east.

Mali

Islamist militants who fled the French advance in Gao are said to have found refuge in neighboring towns. The interim government slated nationwide presidential elections for July 7.

Senegal

Military forces arrested Mohamed Ahmed Aidara, 34, a Mauritanian, in Pakour near the border with Guinea Bissau. He is charged with recruiting fighters for al Qaeda in Mali.

Afghanistan

Uprising against Taliban gains momentum

Afghanistan

US Military Faces Fire as It Pulls Out of Afghanistan

Afghanistan

NATO air strikes for Afghan security forces must end: Karzai

Turkey

The President of the European Federation of Journalists said terror charges against 46 Turkish journalists for “normal journalistic activity” are “shocking.” A French-Turkish university student who had protested for free education and attended a concert by a left-wing band was sentenced to five years in jail on terrorism charges.

Senior IRGC official killed in Syria ‘was no less than Mughniyah’

Hassan Shateri, who was recently killed in Syria, served as a senior official in the IRGC. He also had close ties with Hezbollah, a group he greatly aided during his time in Lebanon.

US adds senior AQIM commander to terrorist list

Yahya Abu Hammam is al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s emir for the Sahel. He fought with GSPC, conducted several deadly attacks in Mauritania, and served as AQIM’s emir for Timbuktu.

Afghanistan

Afghan Withdrawal’s Main Hurdle – Getting Gear Out

North Korea

North Korea is preparing one or two more nuclear weapon tests this year, which could include another ballistic missile launch, to force the US into diplomatic talks. The US urged North Korea to refrain from provocations.

Pakistan

Pakistani jets killed eight “militants” in Arakzai. The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dodged a suicide bombing in Mardan. The fate of the Taliban commander Tariq Afridi is still unknown. The Taliban rejected peace talks.

Afghanistan

The military said 23 Taliban fighters were killed in operations in Helmand, Uruzgan, Kunar, Nuristan, Kunduz, Nangarhar, Wardak, and Khost provinces. Two people, including a former NDS district chief, were killed in a bombing in Kunar.

Iran

Assassination Will Not Weaken Iran’s Support for Assad

Al Nusrah Front

Syrian citizens: Al Nusrah Front trying to ‘control everything’

Bangladesh

Massive protest movement emerges against Islamists in Bangladesh

Syria

Syrian Rebels Claim Near Control of a Key Province

Syria

Syrian business exodus gains pace

Al Nusrah Front claims suicide attacks in Damascus, al-Shadadi

Nine suicide attacks have now been reported in Syria so far this year; the al Qaeda affiliate has claimed credit for eight of them.

Syria

Heavy fighting around Aleppo airport has killed 150 rebel and government troops in the last three days. The opposition said it would not negotiate with anyone in the government who had participated in the military crackdown. The foreign ministry accused Turkey of harboring al Qaeda terrorists.

Israel

Israel is conducting indirect negotiations with Hamas via Egyptian mediation; they may involve the possibility of Israel easing its blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Reports suggest the talks are tied to the recent visit by an Israeli security delegation to Egypt.

Bahrain

Violent protests continued into a second day and killed a policeman. Thousands of protesters blocked off a major road.

Egypt

Egyptian authorities announced the seizure of two tons of explosives headed to the Sinai from Cairo. The announcement comes a day after an Israeli delegation arrived in Egypt for discussions on security issues.

Somalia

Sheikh Abdulkadir Nur Farah, the mufti of Puntland, was gunned down in a mosque in Garowe. Two suspects were captured; Shabaab is believed to be behind the assassination. The general in charge of the EU training mission said Mogadishu is not yet safe enough to serve as a base.

Russia

Authorities in Tatarstan conducted raids in Naberezhnye Chelny, arresting two leaders of the banned Islamic group Nurcular. Security forces in Dagestan killed six militants suspected of involvement in a suicide bombing near Khasavyurt that killed four policemen and wounded six more; a special forces officer died in the raid.