FDD's Long War Journal

Afghanistan

Pakistan ends blockage for 3,700 Afghan containers

Al Qaeda

The remote mountains of northern Mali – perfect for guerrillas

Police arrested at least four men in Paris who are suspected of planning to travel to the Sahel for jihad. The men, three Franco-Congolese and a Malian, are linked to a Franco-Congolese social worker detained in Niger while traveling to join al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Timbuktu. Security officials have increased monitoring of […]

United Kingdom

Muslim patrols could become more prevalent and more violent, warns anti-extremist

Officials: SSRC facility was not primary target of Israeli strikes in Syria

US officials increasingly believe that Israel’s primary target in last week’s raid was a convoy of antiaircraft weapons and not the SSRC facility in Jamraya.

Egypt

Iran’s Ahmadinejad in Egypt on historic visit

France

Four Suspects Detained in French Counterterrorism Raid

Africa

US counterterrorism efforts in Africa defined by a decade of missteps

Denmark

Lars Hedegaard, president of the Danish Free Press Society and a critic of Islam, survived an assassination attempt outside his home. The assailant fired and missed, then fled when his gun jammed. Shortly thereafter, two men in ski masks were seen jumping into the hippopotamus enclosure at the nearby Copenhagen Zoo. In 2011 Hedegaard was […]

Bangladesh

Abdul Kader Mullah, the leader of the country’s main Islamist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, was sentenced to life in prison for war crimes. He was called the “butcher of Mirpur” for his role in massacres during Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence from Pakistan. Nine other top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders have also been accused of war crimes. In […]

United Kingdom

British police named seven additional suspects in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. All of them were said to be members of the Jamahiriya Security Organisation; two died in the Libyan revolution. The sole person convicted for the bombing, Abdil-Basit Al-Maghrahi, died in 2012 in Libya.

Philippines

Clashes in Sulu province between Abu Sayyaf and the MNLF have resulted in the deaths of 20 MNLF fighters and 17 Abu Sayyaf militants. The fighting began in the village of Patikul when the MNLF tried to rescue a captive Jordanian hostage from Abu Sayyaf; the hostage, along with several others, including a Japanese, a […]

Bulgaria to blame Hezbollah and Iran for Burgas attack

Bulgaria is prepared to release an investigative report that will blame Hezbollah and Iran for the Burgas terror attack that killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian national.

Germany

Suicide Attack: German Prosecutors Were Probing Ankara Bomber

Russia

With Internet gaining wide influence in Russia, authorities seek to step up control over it

Afghanistan

UK deploys toy-sized spy drones in Afghanistan

Iran

Israeli ex-military intelligence chief says Iran could have nuclear bomb in 4-6 months

United States

Defense Secretary Panetta and top Pentagon officer General Dempsey said the US expects to keep some troops in Afghanistan after the NATO mission ends in December 2014. The US is developing new rules for its cyberwarfare program to address growing security concerns. Over the past year, a number of US banks and major news outlets […]

Iraq

A suicide bomber killed 19 Awakening fighters and three soldiers in an attack in Taji. A senior counterterrorism official was killed in a car bombing in Abu Ghraib. The head of the Awakening warned that al Qaeda is returning to Anbar province.

Iran

The Foreign Minister said Iran could consider a new round of talks between Iran and six world powers over its nuclear program. The talks would start on Feb. 25 in Kazakhstan. He also said Iran would support talks with Syria’s rebel leaders.

Lebanon

A judge issued arrest warrants for two top Syrian intelligence officials. They were accused of being involved with a former Lebanese minister who was plotting a wave of attacks at the behest of Syria.

Israel

Shin Bet nabs Islamic Jihad cell plotting to kidnap Israelis

Syria

Two Russians and an Italian were released in a prisoner exchange with rebels. The leader of the rebel Syrian National Coalition called on President Assad to respond to his offer for a dialogue. Nearly 5,000 Syrians were killed in January.

Afghanistan

Top Afghan commander: If UK leaves Afghanistan, Taliban will return to launch global jihad

Palestinian Territories

Israeli forces in the West Bank arrested 25 members of Hamas, including three members of the Palestinian parliament. Sources said Israel planned to step up arrests to prevent a low-intensity conflict from turning into an uprising. Israeli intelligence said that three Islamic Jihad members arrested on Jan. 1 were planning to kidnap an Israeli soldier […]