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Iraq
An al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bomber killed 27 Shia pilgrims in an attack at a bus station in Mussayab. Security forces detained six al Qaeda members during a raid in Karbala.
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Yemen
US drones killed Mukbel Abbad, a local al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander, and two fighters in a strike in Rada’a in Al Baydah province. Two soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack in Shabwa province.
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Ethiopia
The National Security and Intelligence Agency claimed it arrested 15 al Qaeda operatives who were trained by Shabaab to carry out attacks in Ethiopia. Security forces also found weapons, jihadist propaganda, and training manuals during the raid.
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Algeria
Algerian security forces killed seven more al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb fighters during a raid in the Oued Bahara area of Boumerdes. The AQIM fighters were members of the El-Feth brigade.
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Syria
Heavy fighting raged around Taftanaz military airport in northwest Syria. Hundreds of rebels attempted to storm the base but were repelled. Aleppo’s international airport remained under siege. Government forces attacked the rebel stronghold of Daraya in Damascus.
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan Faces Uncertain Future
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US drone strike kills local AQAP commander, 2 fighters in central Yemen
A local al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader and two fighters were killed in the third strike in Rada’a in Al Baydah province since Dec. 24, 2012.
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More on Ansar al Sharia in Morocco
Morocco’s interior minister said that an Ansar al Sharia cell in Morocco “was seeking to obtain financial and military support” from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
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Nigeria
Suspected Boko Haram militants killed a soldier, a policeman, an old woman, and her grandchild at the police and municipal headquarters in Song in Adamawa state; they also burned the buildings. Similar attacks took place last week in Maiha, Hong, and Fufore, also in Adamawa state, which borders Cameroon.
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Libya
Gunmen from a militant Islamist group kidnapped Abdulsalam al Mihdawi, the acting head of criminal investigation in Benghazi. The militants attacked al Mihdawi and two colleagues in his car as it waited at a stoplight in the city. Over a dozen security officials have been assassinated in Benghazi in recent months.
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‘Good Taliban’ leader Mullah Nazir killed in US drone strike
Nazir, who has professed his alligiance to al Qaeda, was killed along with several deputies in one of three strikes in North and South Waziristan over the past 24 hours. A separate strike killed Faisal Khan, a Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan commander, and two Uzbeks.
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United Kingdom
Abid Naseer, 26, who is wanted by the US on terror charges relating to an al Qaeda plot to bomb New York subways, was extradited to the US. Naseer, a Pakistani, was arrested in 2009 along with 11 other mostly Pakistani members of an al Qaeda cell that also planned attacks in Manchester and Norway. Terrorism suspect Ibrahim Magag, a Somali, has absconded.
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Qatar
Al Jazeera buys US channel Current TV
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Pakistan
Pakistan – New doctrine: Army identifies ‘homegrown militancy’ as biggest threat
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Pakistan
US drones killed five “militants” in South Waziristan. “Gunmen” kidnapped seven soldiers in Jand as they were returning from leave in Rawalpindi. Security forces killed two “terrorists” during an operation in Miramshah in North Waziristan.
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Egypt
Egypt – Shura Council’s new legislative powers are worrying for many
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Egypt
Head of Libya’s Copts speaks out on Misrata killing
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Afghanistan
Obama’s pivot to Asia? Middle East will still demand attention in 2013
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan Sets Preconditions for Accepting Taliban’s Qatar Office
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Afghanistan
Taliban and al Qaeda ally Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said that Britain’s Prince Harry is in Afghanistan “to kill innocent Afghans while he is drunk,” and said he hid when the Taliban assaulted Camp Bastion last summer. ISAF captured several Taliban commanders and fighters.
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US drone strike kills 5 ‘militants’ in South Waziristan
The remotely piloted Predators or Reapers fired four missiles at a compound in Mullah Nazir’s territory. The strike is the first in 2013.
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Egypt
The Muslim Brotherhood claimed that the recent arrest of some of its members in the United Arab Emirates was unwarranted. Egypt’s opposition liberal and secular groups prepared to create a new political party to contest upcoming parliamentary elections. A senior Muslim Brotherhood official said that Israel would cease to exist within a decade.
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Al Qaeda
Pakistani Government Offers To Insure Foreign Businessmen
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United Kingdom
Wealthy London residents clash with millionaire Arab boy racers
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Central African Republic
Exclusive report from a Central African Republic city conquered by rebels
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Syria
The UN reported that 60,000 people have been killed in the 22-month-long conflict, a sharp increase from previous reports; the UN also said more than 500,000 have fled the country including 84,000 in December alone. The Philippine-based operator for the port of Tartus pulled its workers out of Syria.
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US begins downsizing the Afghan National Security Forces
The US announced that it would scrap a fleet of 16 planes provided to the Afghan National Air Force. This is just the beginning.
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Nigeria
President Goodluck Jonathan claimed that most of the Boko Haram members involved in major attacks throughout the country in 2011 “have been arrested.” The attacks he mentioned included the suicide attack in the UN building and police headquarters in Abuja.
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Djibouti
Renditions continue under Obama, despite due-process concerns
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Iraq
Moktada al-Sadr Encourages Demonstrations in Iraq
