Security was heightened in France after the French military began helping to repel the Islamist advance in Mali. The Islamist militants warned that France would pay a price for its intervention in Mali. President Hollande said France would not give in to “terrorist blackmail.” The Foreign Ministry stepped up security in Mauritania, Niger, and the […]
Britiain is sending two RAF C-17s to provide logistical support for the Malian Army in its attempt to stem the advance of Islamist fighters. No British soldiers will be deploying in a combat role to Mali. Prime Minister Cameron offered to support the French military effort in Mali after a French pilot was killed there.
Spiralling violence: Quetta residents plead for army control
America’s go-to man in Afghanistan’s Oruzgan province
Taliban Targets Tourists, but Some Still Visit Afghanistan
The emir of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan also said his forces would focus on fighting NATO in Afghanistan.
Insurgents killed two soccer players in an IED attack on the team bus in Kirkuk. Iraq closed all border crossings with Syria until further notice.
French commandos attempted to free Denis Allex, a French intelligence operative captured by Shabaab in 2009. A French soldier was killed and another was captured during the failed raid. Seventeen Shabaab fighters were killed.
Al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Niles has formed a students’ group at the University of Khartoum. The students said that the Sudanese government is not pursuing al Qaeda in Sudan.
The French military has intervened in Mali. French aircraft and attack helicopters beat back a jihadist advance on the town of Mopti, while soldiers are being deployed to Sevare. More than a hundred Islamists are said to have been killed.
French aircraft and attack helicopters beat back a jihadist advance on the town of Mopti.
Students at the university who formed the group also said that the Sudanese government is not pursuing al Qaeda.
French commandos from the General Directorate for External Security attempted to rescue Denis Allex, one of their operatives captured in 2009. The French said they believe Allex was killed in the raid; Shabaab denied the claim.
Myanmar denies using chemical weapons on rebels
After meeting with Afghan president Karzai, President Obama said the pace of the US withdrawal in Afghanistan would accelerate as the US mission shifted to training Afghan forces this the spring. The number of US troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014 remains undecided. Obama pledged that US troops would leave Afghan villages by spring […]
West Scrambles to Counter Islamist Offensive
France launches air strike on al-Qaeda in Mali
A jihadist alliance made up of the Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, and the Islamic Vanguard seized control of the Taftanaz air base in Idlib.
President Obama said US forces would switch to a support role this spring and that the goals in Afghanistan have largely been met. The Taliban killed four policemen in Badghis and an ISAF soldier in the west.
“Gunmen” killed a member of the Awakening and his seven-year-old son in Mosul. Security forces detained three insurgents with a car bomb in Mosul and three suspected assassins in Diyala.
Syria may hold uranium stash, Western and Israeli experts say
Pentagon weighs how to secure Syria’s chemical weapons
After months of fighting, rebels captured Taftanaz military airport, the largest in northern Syria. The attackers consisted mostly of jihadist fighters from the Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar Al-Sham, and Islamic Vanguard groups.
The Daily Beast reported that the brother of a key suspect in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi is an al Qaeda in Iraq facilitator.
Kuwait’s Prime Minister said more than 60 Islamists held by the UAE for plotting to overthrow the government were financed by Kuwaiti nationals. The plotters belong to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Several policemen were wounded in the attack. In what appears to be a separate incident, one policeman was killed by a sniper reportedly tied to extremist groups in the area.
The latest Taliban statement on a forthcoming Islamic conference in Kabul warns clerics not to participate, and makes clear once again that the Taliban have no intention of reconciling with the Afghan government.
International aid organizations began evacuating the central part of the country as Islamist forces advance south toward the strategic city of Mopti. France vowed to assist the Malian army repel the Islamists, within the framework of the UN resolution. Government forces backed by military assistance from European countries, including aircraft, launched a counterattack.
Taliban welcome complete withdrawal of US troops
Civil War threatens Afghanistan as NATO prepares to leave