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North Korea
Following the UN’s condemnation of its ballistic missile launch, North Korea vowed to conduct more nuclear weapons tests and missile launches. North Korea said it was targeting the US as its “sworn enemy” and would retaliate against the US with “force, not with words, as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival.”
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2 Islamic Caucasus Emirate leaders reported killed in Chechnya
Khuseyn Gakayev, one of the two commanders reported killed, split with Doku Umarov in the summer of 2010, but reconciled in July 2011 and was named commander of the terror group’s eastern front.
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Syria
Government jets bombed rebel positions in Daraya, a strategic suburb close to a key air base southwest of Damascus. France said it saw no signs that the Assad regime was about to fall.
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Pakistan
Desecrations alarm Pakistan’s Ahmadi sect
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AQAP deputy emir Said al Shihri is dead: Yemeni government
Said al Shihri died “after succumbing to wounds received in a counter terrorism operation” late last year, the Yemeni government said. The Saudi press and a prominent jihadist have also claimed that al Shihri is dead.
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Libya
Western embassies warned their citizens to leave Benghazi over a “specific and imminent threat” in the city. Prime Minister Zeidan said his government “is serious in protecting our petroleum installations.” Air Malta canceled flights between Benghazi and Tripoli over security concerns. Although the UK, Netherlands, and Germany have issued alerts, the Libyan interior ministry denied there was an increased threat to Westerners.
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Denmark
American Mumbai plotter to be sentenced in Chicago
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US adds wanted Saudi al Qaeda leader to terrorism list
Ahmed Abdullah Saleh al Khazmari al Zahrani, who is better known as Abu Maryam al Zahrani, is thought to be based in Pakistan and has been spotted in Iran.
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Mali
A group calling itself the Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA) has split from Ansar Dine and offered to negotiate. Islamists hold Gao, Timbuktu, and Kidal as more African forces join the French military intervention. Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UAE are providing air transport for African and French soldiers in the country. The Islamist group Ansaruddin issued a statement on the “Islamic project” in Azawad, claiming success in battles in Jamil and Konna.
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Algeria
An Algiers court postponed the trial of former al Qaeda emir Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who claimed the recent assault on the Id Amenas gas field. He and nine other defendants, including Abu Zeid, whose forces seized the Malian town of Diabaly, will be tried in absentia in March. The African Union is considering training extra forces to combat Islamist terror threats, expanding counterterrorism laws, and improving information-sharing between governments.
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Tunisia
A Tunis court sentenced 16 Salafists to one month in prison for their roles in a violent protest in June 2012 against an art exhibition. The defendants were acquitted of more serious charges. Others who had incited the violence, included imams who advocated the killing of the artists, were not charged.
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Pakistan
Pakistan’s first anti-blasphemy telefilm premiered
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Pakistan
The Taliban executed a “US spy” who they claimed is responsible for the drone strike that killed mullah Nazir in South Waziristan. The Taliban’s spokesman vowed that his group would attack a Hindu group in Kashmir.
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Afghanistan
The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in the east, a policeman in Herat, and a doctor in Helmand. Five policemen were arrested after beating shopkeepers in Parwan.
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Iraq
An al Qaeda suicide bomber killed 42 Iraqis in an attack at a funeral in a mosque in Tuz Khurmatu. “Gunmen” killed an Awakening leader at his home in Samarra.
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US drones strike again in Yemen, killing 6 AQAP fighters near capital
The latest strike took place outside of Sana’a. Over the past year, the US has expanded the drone campaign throughout all of Yemen.
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Yemen
A US drone strike in northern Yemen killed at least six al Qaeda operatives after targeting a vehicle as it traveled in a rural area near Sana’a. It is the fourth strike in five days in Yemen. A Baydah province police chief escaped an assassination attempt that killed a soldier and injured the chief’s son and two other people.
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United States
Defense Secretary Panetta decided to overturn a 1994 Pentagon rule barring women from serving in combat. Secretary of State Clinton said the US faces “a spreading jihadist threat” from “a global movement.” She could not confirm whether there was a link between the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi and the recent siege of the Algerian gas field.
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North Korea
Following yesterday’s UN Security Council vote condemning North Korea for launching a ballistic missile, North Korea said it would no longer participate in nuclear talks and would boost its military and nuclear capabilities.
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Syria
Russia’s foreign minister said there could be no peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria as long as rebels refused to negotiate with the Assad regime. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the scale of violence used by Syria’s government meant a negotiated settlement was unthinkable.
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Israel
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s party won a narrow victory in Parliamentary elections while the centrist Yesh Atid made strong gains. With almost all the votes counted, Israel’s two political blocs each held 60 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
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Somalia
Shabaab released a video of two captured Kenyans. The al Qaeda affiliate said it would execute the Kenyans in three weeks if Kenya doesn’t release all prisoners.
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Mali
The Islamic Supreme Council of Mali said the French military intervention in Mali is “Islamic” and permissible. The African Union chair said all of the African heads of state “are happy about the speed with which France acted and with France’s political courage.” Some 1,600 AFISMA troops from Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, and Niger have arrived in Mali; the force will grow to more than 5,000. The EU’s military training mission will be launched in mid-February.
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Nigeria
Boko Haram fighters murdered and then beheaded five people in Maiduguri. The military said it killed two Boko Haram fighters in the city and detained three more. President Goodluck Jonathan said the military is in Mali to protect Nigerian citizens.
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Tunisia
President Marzouki said Tunisia is “turning into a corridor for the passage of Libyan weapons to northern Mali.” Tunisian jihadists are now estimated to number in the thousands, and are fighting in Syria and Mali.
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Afghanistan
Civil Society Activists Fear Afghan Exodus
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Suicide bomber kills 42 Iraqis at Shia mosque
The suicide bomber targeted the funeral of a policeman in Tuz Khurmatu. The attack is the fourth suicide bombing in the country in nine days.
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Africa
Map: The countries most at risk for a coup in 2013
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Afghanistan
New Threat Seen in Afghan Pullout
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Turkey
NATO expects to have initial operating capability for its Patriot missile batteries along the Syrian border by this weekend. A Turkish man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the 2010 murder of a Catholic bishop.
