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Algeria
Militants linked to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb attacked a bus carrying workers to the In Amenas refinery, killing a Frenchman and a British national and wounding several other people, then moved on to attack the refinery itself, where they took 41 people hostage. Algerian military forces are attempting to free the hostages; negotiations for their release are ongoing.
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Shabaab executes French hostage Denis Allex
“With the rescue attempt, France has voluntarily signed Allex’s death warrant,” the terror group said in an official statement. Shabaab later announced he was executed. The French intelligence agent has been held by Shabaab since July 2009.
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Afghanistan
Al Qaeda is back in business
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Afghanistan
The Taliban killed four members of a family in an IED attack in Kandahar. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban commanders and fighters during raids in Nangarhar, Logar, Wardak, and Kandahar.
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Iraq
A suicide bomber killed Sheikh Aifan Sadoun Aifan al-Issawi, a member of Parliament and prominent Awakening leader in Fallujah. Aifan formed the Awakening in Fallujah in 2006 and battled al Qaeda in Iraq.
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Saudi Arabia
The government is prosecuting 17 men for terrorism activities. The men are accused of sheltering al Qaeda operatives, plotting attacks against Aramco and oil tankers, fighting in Iraq, and financing terrorism.
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Yemen
A Yemeni official said that tribesmen sold a Finnish couple and an Austrian man who were kidnapped last month to al Qaeda in Baydah province. Security forces detained two AQAP fighters near Sana’a. Nine AQAP fighters are being tried for last year’s suicide attack in Sana’a that killed 86 troops.
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ECOWAS
African troops bound for Mali as France battles militants
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Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
How the French got to airstrikes in Mali: A briefing from Bamako
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United States
Agent: Car-bomb suspect sincere, spelled out plan
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Iran
Iran could reach key point for nuclear bomb by mid-2014: U.S. experts
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Syria
At least two large explosions hit the campus of Aleppo University, killing at least 80 students. The government said “terrorists” had launched rockets at the campus, but rebels blamed a government aircraft attack. Fighting inside Aleppo reached a stalemate.
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Tunisia
Ansar al Sharia in Tunisia released a video showing Ali Ani al Harzi, one of the key suspects in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. The Tunisian government freed al Harzi despite US interest in him. Ansar al Sharia in Libya carried out the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi.
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Ansar al Sharia Tunisia releases video of freed Benghazi suspect
This is the third time that Ansar al Sharia Tunisia has used social media to update Ali Ani al Harzi’s case. In December, the group prayed for his release and published photos of the FBI agents who interviewed him.
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Suicide bomber kills Iraqi lawmaker who was prominent Awakening leader, and 5 others
Sheikh Aifan Sadoun Aifan al-Issawi, an Iraqi parliamentarian and one of the leaders of the Sunni tribal “Awakening,” was assassinated while inspecting a road construction project near Fallujah.
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Pakistan
Central Government Takes Over Pakistan Province
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Indonesia
Indonesian City Wants to Ban Women From Straddling Motorbikes
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North Korea
UN Human Rights Chief Seeks Investigation of North Korea
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Egypt
Egypt’s Leader, Morsi, Made Anti-Jewish Slurs
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Mali
West African troops are expected to arrive in Mali “within days” to repel Islamist forces, which are said to have pulled out of Gao and Timbuktu after several days of French airstrikes. Ansar Dine said it made a “tactical withdrawal.”
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Kurdistan Workers’ Party
Turkey and the PKK: The Kurdish women who take up arms
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France
President Hollande said France’s goals in Mali were: “stop[ping] the terrorist aggression… making Bamako safe… and enabling Mali to recover its territorial integrity.” The French force in Mali is now about 800 troops and will be built up to 2,500. French troops will be used in the second phase of the operation, expelling Islamists from the main towns. Hollande said some rebels could be taken prisoner but the aim was to “destroy” them.
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Ansar Jerusalem: ‘The light of victory has begun to shine’
Ansar Jerusalem recently released a 52-minute video detailing the group’s attack from the Sinai into Israel on Sept. 21 that killed one Israeli soldier. The new video also sheds some light on the group’s formation.
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Report: Egyptian authorities fear increased attacks by militants in the Sinai
Egyptian authorities are worried that Islamists militants in the Sinai may soon resume attacks in response to the Egyptian army’s statements that it does not intend to stop its operations or negotiate with the militants.
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Iran
U.S. envoy says Iran working to destabilize Yemen: report
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Tunisia
Tunisia goes on the defensive, two years after overthrowing regime
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Syria
The government continued to mounted attacks in the Damascus suburb of Daraya, trying to push out rebel forces and increase the buffer zone around the nearby presidential palace. An air and artillery strikes killed 36 people including 14 children.
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Yemen
Counterterrorism forces raided an al Qaeda hideout in Jader, just north of Sanaa, capturing two al Qaeda operatives. Target lists and a quantity of IEDs, suicide vests, and bombmaking materials were seized. The cell, which used motorbikes, may be linked to the assassinations of 40 officers in Yemen in 2012 by attackers on motorbikes.
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Libya
Gunmen opened fire on the armored car of the Italian consul general in Benghazi, then escaped; no one was injured. Italy condemned the Jan. 12 attack as “a vile act of terrorism.” Libya is considering the establishment of a diplomatic protection force.
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Mali
In the fourth day of the French military intervention in Mali, Islamists counterattacked, seizing the town of Diabaly, 250 miles north of Bamako. The fighters had come from an area near the Mauritanian border. Abou Dardar, a leader of MUJAO, one of the Islamist groups in Mali, vowed to “strike at the heart of France …. Everywhere. In Bamako, in Africa and in Europe.” The Tuareg MNLA said it was ready to join the French-Malian offensive against the Islamists.
