Iraq
Fearing uprising, Islamic State militants hunt former Iraqi police
Monthly Archives: October 2014
United States
The State Department warned to US citizens in the Middle East to be vigilant, following an online jihadist threat against American and international schools. In its latest report on the Afghan war, the Pentagon said violence in Afghanistan fell by 30 percent between April and August, but warned that insurgent sanctuaries in Pakistan and Afghan […]
Ahrar al Sham
Syria rebels deploy peacekeepers in Idlib
Iraq
Iraqi weapons trade thrives
IAEA
UN Says Iran Is Silent on Efforts for a Bomb
Jordan
Security forces arrested influential al Qaeda-linked cleric Abu Mohammad al Maqdisi on Oct. 27, on charges of using the Internet to incite terrorism. Former Prime Minister Marouf al Bakhit recently estimated that up to 4,000 Jordanians are active in the Islamic State. Some 20 Jordanian clerics are said to have taken leadership positions in the […]
Afghanistan
Afghan ‘Blasphemy’ Case An Early Test For New Government
Islamic State
The Child Soldiers Of Islamic State
Boko Haram
Boko Haram ‘forcing girls to take part in operations’
United Kingdom
An appellate court upheld the extended sentences for convicted terrorists Richard Dart a.k.a. Salahuddin al-Britani, Zahid Iqbal, and Mohammed Sharfaraz Ahmed, on the grounds that the three men posed a continuing threat to society. The Government Prosecution Service reported that the number of persons arrested in the UK under European Arrest Warrants has risen significantly, […]
Explosions at Nigerian bus station kill 23, wound scores more
Boko Haram is suspected of bombing a crowded bus station in Gombe in northeastern Nigeria.
Iraq
Sunni Tribesmen Say ISIS Exacts Brutal Revenge
1 French commando and 20 militants killed in Mali, 9 Nigerien troops killed in Niger
The firefights in both Mali and Niger represent a sharp increase in violence since the beginning of this year.
Pakistan condemns drone strike that targeted ‘good Taliban’
If the “good Taliban” is targeted, you can be sure the Pakistani government will denounce the US.
United States
Gen. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said US advisers should be deployed to Iraq’s Anbar province, where Iraqi troops are battling the advance of the Islamic State. US officials said that the rate of foreign fighters flowing into Syria, about 1,000 per month, is remaining constant; this appears to be the case […]
Syria
Iraqi Peshmerga forces have begun to arrive in Kobane to reinforce Syrian Kurds; about 50 free Syrian Fighters have also joined the fight against the Islamic State. Ten of 12 US airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday were dropped near Kobane. Twenty to 30 former Guantanamo Bay detainees are suspected to have joined jihadist groups in […]
Egypt
The Egyptian Army began demolishing homes to create a buffer zone against militants in the Sinai; the Army is also preparing for an operation to target “Sinai extremists.” The Egyptian government banned a pro-Morsi political group. The US embassy has warned Americans in Egypt of potential attacks by al Qaeda-affiliated groups after a recent threat […]
Libya
Ten people were killed when rockets struck a residential neighborhood in Benghazi as fighting continued between Islamist militias and the pro-government forces. Amnesty International states that rival factions have committed war crimes via indiscriminate shelling. A car bomb exploded in front of the security headquarters in Tobruk on Tuesday, killing one person.
Syria
UN envoy proposes ‘freeze zones’ to ease Syria fighting
Israel
Israel reopens Al-Aqsa mosque compound: police
Islamic Jihad
Jerusalem holy site closure ‘declaration of war’ – Abbas
China
UK government can be sued over rendition claims, judges rule
Arab, Haqqani Network commanders reported killed in latest drone strike in South Waziristan
Reports surfaced that an al Qaeda commander known as “Adil” was killed in the eighth recorded drone strike in Pakistan this year.
AQAP eulogizes fighter killed in attack on Saudi border crossing
Mousa al Shihri, who came from a family with close links to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was recently eulogized by a Twitter account affiliated with the terrorist group.
Islamic State releases photos showing fighting in Amiriyat al Fallujah
Pictures released by the Islamic State show fierce fighting with the Iraqi Army in a key town just south of Fallujah in Anbar Province.
Al Nusrah Front
Islamic State controls half of Kobane, says rebel leader
Ennahda
Tunisia’s Islamists down but not out after election defeat
Somalia
Somali government forces killed four members of Shabaab in the Hiran region in south-central Somalia. A Shabaab leader killed in a US airstrike on Sept. 1 reportedly “had established new ties with” the Islamic State. The first wave of 2,700 additional Ugandan troops deployed to the country has arrived at Mogadishu International Airport.
Tunisia
The final tally in Tunisia’s election shows a total of 85 (of 217) seats for the secular Nidaa Tunis party vs. 69 for the Islamist Ennhahda party.
Mali
French forces and an AQIM-affiliated group clashed in the Tigharghar valley near the Algerian border. One French paratrooper and about 20 of an estimated 30 militants were killed, according to the French defense minister.