Opposition groups called for anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations for Jan. 25. Protesters clashed with police outside a courthouse in Alexandria where policemen are being tried for allegedly killing protesters. Police seized a truck carrying a ton of explosives that was on its way to Sinai.
“We in al Qaeda announce that we carried out the blessed commando operation,” Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the emir of the Those who sign with Blood Brigade, said in a video.
The Islamist group Ansaru claimed an attack on a convoy of Nigerian troops in Kogi state, saying it was to stop African countries from joining the intervention against Islamists in Mali. Suspected Islamist gunmen killed four people in Kano state in an attack on the convoy of a senior Muslim leader.
One of the Saudi AQAP fighters was identified as Ismail bin Jamil. The US has launched two strikes so far this year.
Authorities broke up an al Qaeda recruitment cell with members in Fnideq, Tangier, Al Hoceima, and Meknes. The cell had recruited over 40 Moroccans for jihad with al Qaeda-linked groups; recruits were given military and suicide bomber training. It is the fifth jihadist group dismantled in Morocco over the past several months.
ECOWAS appealed urgently to the UN for financial backing and logistical support in assembling the planned African-led intervention force in Mali; so far only 100 troops have arrived. French troops advanced north to Nionno and Sevare. Canada and Russia offered to help transport French and African troops.
On Sunday, Egyptian authorities seized one ton of explosives in transit to the Sinai. Egyptian officials are increasingly worried that militants from Algeria and Libya are now operating in the Sinai Peninsula.
Terror Threat Prompts US Rethink on Africa
In London, US Defense Secretary Panetta and UK Defence Secretary Hammond refused to criticize the Algerian government’s handling of the hostage crisis at In Amenas gas field. Panetta and Hammond said their governments do not intend to send ground troops into Mali but would work with regional partners to defeat Islamist militants. Panetta said the […]
Jihadists’ Surge in North Africa Reveals Grim Side of Arab Spring
CIA drone strikes will get pass in counterterrorism ‘playbook,’ officials say
China and the US have agreed to a UN resolution condemning North Korea for its launch of a ballistic missile in December. The resolution is likely to be adopted by the UN Security Council next week.
Two suicide bombers in Herat killed only themselves in a premature detonation. Special operations forces killed or captured several Taliban commanders and fighters in Kandahar, Helmand, Khost, and Nangarhar. Afghan troops suffered a 124% increase in casualties due to IEDs, while the number of Coalition casualties has dropped by half.
Insurgents killed three policemen and a civilian in separate attacks in Mosul, Kirkuk, and Baghdad. Four more policemen were wounded in the attacks.
Is the Tunisian Revolution Sinking?
A defecting air force pilot bombed government army positions. A French journalist was killed by sniper fire.
Iran courts restart of nuke talks, but snubs UN
US, Iran Running Low On Options Over Nuclear Program
Brotherhood Struggles to Exert Political Power in Egypt
Conservative Islamic political groups formed a coalition to contest upcoming parliamentary elections. The coalition plans to run independently from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. An Egyptian court dismissed cases against 379 people accused of taking part in deadly clashes with police.
“Gunmen” bombed an oil pipeline in the village of Rudum in Shabwa province; the pipeline moved more than 8,000 barrels of oil per day. Nine al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were transferred from Aden to Sana’a to face trial.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that Boko Haram emir Abubakar Shekau was wounded in a gunbattle with the Joint Task Force and escaped to Mali. Two soldiers who were preparing to deploy to Mali were killed in an IED attack in Kogi.
Algerian forces stormed the In Amenas gas facility after jihadists from the ‘Those who Sign with Blood Brigade’ executed seven hostages. The facility is said to be under Algerian control. An estimated 30 hostages are said to be unaccounted for.
Jihadists are reported to have fled Diabaly, a town in central Mali near the Mauritanian border that was seized last Monday. French aircraft struck the jihadists in the town. The Malian military claims to have taken Diabaly, but the report is unconfirmed. Togolese and Nigerian troops have arrived in Bamako.
The ‘Those who Sign with Blood Brigade’ executed hostages but failed to destroy the facility.
The French foreign minister stressed that the French military intervention in Mali is no substitute for the planned African force, which should be deployed “as quickly as possible.” Two Turkish men were detained in Paris in the investigation into the murder of three female Kurdistan Workers’ Party activists, including its co-founder, Sakine Cansiz.
Outgoing Defense Secretary Panetta urged NATO to keep “relentless” pressure on al Qaeda and to become more innovative and flexible. Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen residing in Chicago, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his roles in the 2008 Mumbai attack and a planned attack in Denmark. Terrorism charges against a young […]
Insight: Algerians suspect inside help in hostage raid
The Taliban denied that they participated in peace talks with the Afghan government in Dubai. Pakistan said it would free all Afghan Taliban prisoners, including Mullah Baradar, who attempted to negotiate with the government in 2010.
Insurgents killed two policemen in separate attacks in Abu Ghraib. Police and Awakening fighters killed a suicide bomber as he approached their checkpoint on a motorcycle; one policeman was wounded.