Iran
Iran Fiscal 2013 Draft Budget Projects 40% Drop in Oil Revenue
Monthly Archives: February 2013
France
French officials said French troops would remain in Mali until at least July and possibly longer. France plans to start drawing down forces gradually in Mali in March as the AFISMA force steps up in the country.
Argentina
The Congress approved the establishment of a “truth commission” with Iran to supervise the ongoing judicial inquiry into the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Critics cited Iran’s strong commercial links with Argentina; the Iranian defense minister is one of the suspects in the inquiry.
United States
An FBI informant who once worked for imprisoned terrorist Omar Abdel Rahman (“the Blind Sheikh”) warned that the US should not yield to pressure from Egypt and others to release Rahman to serve the rest of his sentence elsewhere. One of Rahman’s sons threatened that the US will “pay a terrible price” if Rahman is […]
Al Qaeda
US military may take over part of CIA drone war
Afghanistan
Exclusive interview: A peek into the Afghan Taliban mind
Afghanistan
The Taliban killed 10 members of the Afghan Local Police and seven civilians in Ghazni after poisoning them, and killed a civilian in a bombing at a market in Nangarhar. A suicide bomber wounded seven soldiers in an attack in Kabul.
Jabhat al-Nusra
Islamists Gain Momentum in Syria
Al Nusrah Front
AP INTERVIEW: Iraq PM warns Syria war could spread
Iran
Pictures show construction on sensitive Iranian military site
Iran
U.S. official: Iraq continues to allow Iranian overflights to Syria
Iran
Iran’s Arak nuclear plant, capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, became fully operational. At nuclear talks in Almaty, Western nations offered to relax financial sanctions on Iran in exchange for a halt in the development of its Fordow uranium enrichment plant.
Iraq
Security forces killed two al Qaeda fighters in Abu Ghraib and detained an al Qaeda commander in Ninewa and two more fighters in Fallujah. US officials said Iraq is permitting Iranian aircraft to fly to Syria using Iraqi airspace.
Hezbollah
Elaborate surveillance operation raises concerns about broader Hezbollah attacks
Syria
Government aircraft bombarded rebel forces as they tried to overrun a key government position at a police academy near Aleppo. Fighters from the Al Nusrah Front cut off a supply road leading to Aleppo airport.
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda finds new stronghold in rugged mountains of Mali as it regroups in Africa
Syria
US ‘considers sending armour and vehicles to Syria rebels’
Afghanistan
Rockets fired at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Kunar Insecurity Hampers Polio Vaccination
Bangladesh
Increasing violence in Bangladesh after Islamist leader gets life sentence
ISAF: Oops, Afghan violence didn’t decrease in 2012
ISAF has corrected its earlier reporting on the level of violence in Afghanistan. ISAF had previously claimed that the number of enemy initiated attacks in Afghanistan had decreased by 7 percent in 2012, as compared to 2011. In reality, there was no change.
American Shabaab fighter urges Muslims to join the ‘fronts’ of jihad
Abu Ahmed al Amriki implores Muslims to leave their lives of comfort and wage jihad in Somalia, Mali, Afghanistan, Iraq, or the “Islamic Maghreb” — North Africa.
Palestinian Territories
An Islamic Jihad official said Palestinian fighters should prepare for the upcoming battle with Israel in the West Bank. A member of the Fatah Central Committee said “popular resistance” is more effective than “armed resistance.” Islamic Jihad warned on its website about the dangers of Twitter and Facebook, suggesting that Mossad uses social networking websites […]
Israel
Israeli authorities discovered an unexploded Syrian tank shell in the Golan Heights. Six Syrians who were being treated in Israeli hospitals for wounds sustained in the Syrian civil war were returned to Syria. According to a senior IDF officer, recent “newspaper headlines are more dramatic than the reality” with regard to the potential for a […]
Iran
US lawmakers seek to further isolate Iran with sanctions
Egypt
Authorities seized 60 anti-tank missiles south of Cairo that were being transported in two pickup trucks from Libya. The Muslim Brotherhood is considering changing its name to “The Comprehensive Islamic Authority.” Authorities said criminal activity was not the cause of the balloon crash that killed at least 19 tourists on Feb. 26.
Tunisia
The ruling Ennahda party agreed to allow independents to fill four key cabinet posts. Salafists in Tunis tried to stop “Harlem Shake” demonstrations. Police and army units were deployed in Sidi Bouzid to fend off Salafists who attacked a police station. Police arrested suspects linked to a Feb. 21 gunfight between Salafists and National Guard […]
France
Foreign Minister Le Drian said France will not negotiate with the group that kidnapped a French family from Cameroon. Police arrested two men suspected of providing logistical help to al Qaeda-linked Toulouse shooter Mohamed Merah; two other suspects were released in January. Merah’s older brother Abdelkader remains in custody.
Thailand
The government started peace talks with Muslim insurgent groups operating in the south of the country. The insurgency has killed more than 5,000 people since 2004.
Details emerge on Hezbollah member arrested in Cyprus
According to Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, a Hezbollah member arrested last July in Cyprus, Hezbollah is “collecting information about the Jews…everywhere in the world.”