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Syria
Syrian rebels accuse jihadist groups of trying to hijack revolution
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Analysis: Al Qaeda central tightened control over hostage operations
Several months before his death in May 2011, Osama bin Laden ordered al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to stand down with respect to hostage negotiations. The terror master said he would negotiate with France concerning AQIM’s hostages. Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s spokesman recently confirmed that he still answers to al Qaeda central.
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Syria
More than 100 people were shot, stabbed or burned to death by government forces in a village outside the city of Homs. Jordan said it would not allow a surge of Syrian refugees into the country in the event of the collapse of the Assad government.
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Tunisia
Security forces arrested a “terrorist” group and seized a large arms cache. The arrests came as security forces went on alert after Islamist militants seized hostages in neighboring Algeria.
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Kenya
Suspected Shabaab militants opened fire at a restaurant in Garissa, killing at least five people, including a senior prison officer, and wounding four more. An informer had helped plan the attack, according to witnesses. Security in northeastern Kenya has been heightened amid reports that Shabaab militants have crossed the border.
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Mali
Islamist militants fighting French forces in the Diabaly area are said to be hiding among civilians. French troops in Mali now number about 1,400. Germany provided two transport planes to assist the intervention. The European Union agreed to send a military training mission to Mali; no combat role is planned.
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Algeria
Algerian troops launched an operation to free 41 hostages being held at a gas facility by an Islamist group called Battalion of Blood; 25 hostages are said to have escaped and six were killed along with eight militants. Other reports say that 34 of the captives and 15 militants have been killed in the rescue attempt. Some 600 Algerian workers fled the site. A report said some hostages are being forced to wear explosives. British and Spanish oil companies are evacuating workers from other Algerian facilities.
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Alleged insider attack on Italian troops in Farah denied by ISAF
Afghan media reports of a recent green-on-blue attack in the far western province have been dismissed by the International Security Assistance Force.
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Afghanistan
Only 3 percent Afghans have proper access to internet
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Al Qaeda
Pakistan – Tribesmen pile bodies outside Governor’s House in protest
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Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Sahara hostage siege turns Mali war global
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Afghanistan
A Taliban suicide assault team attacked the NDS headquarters in Kabul; six Taliban fighters and a security guard died during the attack. The Taliban killed three NDS officers in an IED attack in Uruzgan, and killed an ISAF soldier in the west. A British soldier died of wounds sustained during combat on Jan. 14.
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Iraq
Insurgents killed 32 Iraqis, including eight policemen, and wounded 181 more in a series of bombings and attacks in Kirkuk, Tuz, and Baghdad. Security forces captured a local al Qaeda leader in Baqubah.
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Yemen
“Gunmen” assassinated the deputy chief of police in a shooting from a motorcycle in Damar. Iran’s ambassador to Yemen denied the US ambassador’s accusation that Iran is supporting insurgent and terrorist groups.
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Somalia
Shabaab said it would execute French hostage and intelligence agent Denis Allex. Police officials claimed to have detained 1,700 suspected Shabaab members in Mogadishu. Puntland security forces launched an operation in Galgala against Shabaab.
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Al Qaeda-linked group claims credit for kidnappings in Algeria
A terrorist group headed by Mokhtar Belmokhtar has claimed credit for the raid on a natural gas field in Algeria. Belmokhtar is a longtime Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb commander, but split from the group last year. Belmokhtar’s spokesman has said that he still answers to al Qaeda central.
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan: My Enemy’s Enemy
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Somalia
Sea piracy falls to 5-year low as Somali gangs retreat
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Egypt
Three dissidents were charged in court with “insulting the president” and with a new charge, “tarnishing the president’s image.” The foreign ministry demanded that the United Arab Emirates disclose charges against the 11 Egyptians arrested last month.
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Syria
Three car bombs exploded near government facilities in Idlib, killing 24 people. Government forces stepped up attacks in Idlib, Hama, and Homs. Russia suspended its consular operations in Aleppo. Government forces may have used chemical weapons in Homs, but a US spokesman dismissed the report.
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Iran
Swede in court for violating Iran sanctions
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International Criminal Court
Sweden rules out taking Syria’s Assad to the ICC
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ECOWAS
The French Intervention in Mali Could Take Longer than First Thought
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Tunisia
Arsonists attacked the Sidi Bou Said mausoleum in Tunis; Salafists are suspected. Last month, five Salafists were arrested for a similar attack on a Sufi shrine that took place in October 2012.
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Afghanistan
French anti-terror judge says ‘no choice’ but war in Mali /a>
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Mali
Report: Malian villagers caught in the crossfire
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Taliban suicide assault team attacks Afghan intelligence headquarters in Kabul
National Directorate of Security personnel repelled the suicide assault team after it detonated a bomb at the main gate and entered the compound.
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Libya
A car bomb killed a member of the National Security Directorate in Benghazi. The day before, one policeman was killed and two were injured in a car bombing in Benghazi’s Kish district. Five Pakistani Ahmedis and a Libyan convert were arrested on suspicion of trying to convert Libyans to the Ahmedi sect.
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Mali
In the first stages of a ground offensive, French special forces engaged in combat with Islamist fighters in Diabaly. Jihadists cut telephone lines in Gao. Konna has not been recaptured. France estimates it is facing about 1,300 jihadist fighters based in the north. The MNLA said it was against al Qaeda and terrorism but would not fight alongside the French.
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Algeria
Algeria to redefine role of mosques
