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Afghanistan
Afghan police killed a Taliban district chief in Ghazni. Two tribal elders in Kunar were killed after being kidnapped days ago. The US State department warned that traveling in Afghanistan remains unsafe.
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Iraq
Security forces killed an al Qaeda fighter and detained three more in Hit; captured 15 members of a bombmaking cell in Baghdad; and arrested two al Qaeda leaders in Mosul. Border guards arrested seven “gunmen” who attempted to enter Iraq from Syria.
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Pakistan
‘Admitting you are a secularist can get you killed in Pakistan’
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Yemen
Eighteen soldiers and 48 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters are reported to have been killed during fighting in the Maneseeh area of Baydah. Peace talks with AQAP have been suspended. The military launched an operation against AQAP in the Mojan and Wadie areas of Abyan.
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Jury Finds Suspect in Oregon Bomb Plot Guilty of Terrorism
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Iran
Iran increasing Syrian regime aid, Clinton warns
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Iran
Iran has told the UN nuclear agency it plans to upgrade the equipment at its Natanz plant, accelerating the production of enriched uranium. Iran’s oil exports rose as it circumvented economic sanctions.
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Hamas terrorist in Qatar helps Hebron terror cell plan kidnappings
Israeli authorities announced the arrest of some 20 members of a terrorist cell affiliated with Hamas. Members of the cell, which was planning to carry out a kidnapping operation, were in contact with a Hamas member in Qatar who had been released in the Gilad Shalit exchange deal.
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Iran
Iran, Israel and Their Red Lines Over Syria
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Egypt
Egypt’s rival factions, the secular National Salvation Front and the Islamic Muslim Brotherhood, met and pledged to counter the political violence that has killed nearly 60 people in the last week. Eighteen suspects were arrested for belonging to the ‘Black Bloc’ group.
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Russia
Biden and Donilon preparing for new nuclear discussions with Russia
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Israel
What we know about the Israeli air strike in Syria
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Iran
Sanctioning Iran: Analyzing the Response from China, Japan and South Korea
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Syria
Syrian allies Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah denounced Israel’s attack on a Syrian convoy. Syria protested to the UN and threatened to retaliate. The US warned Syria against transferring weapons to Hezbollah.
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China
Chinese Hackers Targeted Wall Street Journal Computers
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Somalia
Shabaab claimed credit for the Jan. 29 suicide attack outside of the prime minister’s home in Mogadishu. Shabaab claimed that seven security officers, including three senior figures, were killed in the blast.
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WaPo: Al Qaeda affiliate ‘directing the fight’ in Mali
According to an article in the Washington Post earlier this week, AQIM is leading the jihadist coalition in Mali.
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Sidelined Pakistani Taliban commander back in good graces
The reconciliation between Faqir Mohammed and Abu Bakr, the new emir in Bajaur, shows that the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan is far from defeated and disorganized, as the Pakistani government has claimed. The Taliban’s leaders were able to convene the shura, send a delegation to Bajaur to mediate the dispute, and organize the reconciliation of the factions in the tribal agency.
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Afghanistan
NATO Secretary General’s Annual Report 2012
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Al Qaeda
Jyllands-Posten journalists honoured for reporting on former PET agent
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Afghanistan
Drone Strike Lawsuit Raises Concerns on Intelligence Sharing
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United States
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a naturalized US citizen from Somalia, was found guilty of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction at a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland, Ore. He had been arrested by undercover agents posing as al Qaeda operatives. The US Ambassador to Pakistan said the Taliban can be part of Afghanistan’s future if they end violence, break ties with al Qaeda, and accept the Afghan constitution.
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Al Qaeda
Algerian gas hostage crisis: Wired to a suicide bomber
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Mauritania
Dembra Ould Semane, the brother of Salafist prisoners Mohamed and El Khadim Ould Semane, was arrested on terrorism charges. Security forces have stepped up monitoring of Salafists who might be joining al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and affiliated groups. The popularity of Islamist parties and AQIM is rising in the country, where 59 percent of the population is under 25 and unemployment is rife.
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Mali
France said Islamist forces are “in disarray” as some had returned home and others had made a “tactical withdrawal” to a mountainous 96,000-square mile area east of Kidal. President Traore ruled out talks with Islamist groups but is willing to negotiate with the Tuareg MNLA if it gives up territorial demands and agrees to reintegrate into Mali. The UK plans to send up to 40 trainers for a possible 15-month deployment with the EU training force in Mali and another 200 to help train a West African force outside Mali.
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Libya
The UN envoy warned that the conflict in Mali may spill over to Libya, and said 200,000 fighters remain in “revolutionary brigades” in Libya. More than 20,000 former revolutionary fighters are training for the police force. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 personnel are needed to secure Benghazi. Two IEDs were thrown at an unused UN compound in Tripoli; no one was hurt.
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Hamas
IDF & ISA Uncover Hamas Terrorist Assets in Hebron
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Hezbollah
More security for Israeli diplomats in India
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Afghanistan
Iran fuel may be part of U.S.-funded Afghan supply deals: report
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Iran
Israeli PM says only U.S. military strike can halt Iran’s nuke program
