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United Kingdom
Foreign Secretary Hague said Syria “has become the top destination for jihadists anywhere in the world.” The UK will give £13 million to the Syrian opposition, on top of the £9.4 million already committed. A new exemption to the EU arms embargo will allow the UK to provide Syrian rebels with “nonlethal” military equipment, including armored vehicles. The UK plans to channel the assistance to “moderate groups.” Hundreds of UK passport-holders, including some known extremists, have traveled to Syria to join the rebels.
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Al Qaeda
Administration debates stretching 9/11 law to go after new al-Qaeda offshoots
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Malaysia
Malaysian forces continued a ground and air assault against Filipino militants seeking to reclaim part of Borneo. At least 40 people have died so far in the fighting.
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Mideast Defies U.S. Efforts to ‘Pivot’
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Pakistan
A UN Human Rights Council report said a “sense of impunity” surrounds the hundreds, if not thousands, of forced disappearances in Pakistan which, according to the report, became widespread after 9/11. Although the cases typically involved a person’s arrest by law enforcement authorities working in conjunction with intelligence agencies, the UN Working Group “was unable to obtain information on any conviction of State agents in relation to acts of enforced disappearance.”
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Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Pakistan – PML-N urged to sever ties with terrorist groups
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US drones kill Saudi AQAP commander, fighter
Abu al Zubeir al Qassimi served as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s emir for Marib province, while Abdullah al Ali al Suweed worked for AQAP’s “media and administration” arms.
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Iran
US General Mattis said sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program were not working. US Secretary of State Kerry said Iran was getting closer to building a nuclear bomb. The US delegate to the UN’s nuclear agency accused Iran of “deception, defiance and delay”. In a joint statement, the EU said Iran was stonewalling the UN agency.
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Iraq
Al Qaeda fighters killed an Army lieutenant colonel, his pregnant wife, son, and brother in an attack south of Mosul. Security forces killed an al Qaeda emir in Khalis, and captured 11 al Qaeda fighters in Karma, and a financier and seven fighters in Rubaia,
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Surge in English-speaking militants worries U.S., European officials
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Michelle Obama and John Kerry to Honor Anti-Semite and 9/11 Fan
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Yemen
US drones killed an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander for Marib province and a fighter in recent strikes in Marib. “Militants” again bombed a major pipeline in Marib.
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Iran
Iran’s Khamenei seen tightening his grip in vote to replace Ahmadinejad
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Egypt
Anger courses through Nile Delta and Suez Canal, spelling trouble for Egypt’s Morsi
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Malaysia
Long-forgotten Filipino sultanate’s quest for old land sparks deadly crisis in Malaysia
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North Korea
A look at what North Korea’s vow to scrap armistice means
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Syria
US General Mattis said the US and regional allies are planning for potential stability operations in Syria in case the Assad regime collapsed. Some 20 UN peacekeepers on the Golan Heights were detained by 30 rebel fighters. The UK said it would provide armored vehicles, body armor, and rescue equipment to Syrian rebels but no weapons.
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Afghanistan
Mattis recommends post-2014 force of 20,000 in Afghanistan
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Confusion reigns in confirming deaths of senior AQIM leaders in Mali
Photos have surfaced from Chadian soldiers depicting what they claim is the corpse of Mokhtar Belmokhtar. French news services have said the images depict recently reported killed al Qaeda commander Abou Zeid. Jihadist sources deny the images depict either man.
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Israelis warned of terror in Sinai, Turkey and Tunisia
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Afghanistan
Foreigners Behind Afghanistan’s Instability: Karzai
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Anwar Awlaki recruits jihadists from beyond the grave
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Egypt
An Egyptian administrative court ordered the suspension of parliamentary elections that were scheduled to begin in late April. President Morsi’s office said Morsi did not plan to appeal the court’s decision. The head of security in Port Said was fired as protests in the city continued for the fourth consecutive day.
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Mali
Russia says it’s ready to discuss UN force for Mali
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Israel
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office denied that Israel is planning “goodwill gestures” toward the Palestinian Authority prior to President Obama’s visit. Authorities arrested a Palestinian youth at the Tapuach Junction who had a knife and a homemade bomb. The Military Police’s Erez Battalion apprehended a suspect or confiscated illegal materials 14,000 times in 2012.
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Palestinian Territories
Palestinian factions, including Hamas, mourned the death of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath said Chavez was a “loyal friend” who had worked “for freedom and glory…for all oppressed peoples.” Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority of detaining eight of its members in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority approved a plan to to register sites on UNESCO’s world heritage list.
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Jabhat al-Nusra
Kerry Says US Backs Mideast Efforts to Arm Syrian Rebels
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Iraq
Report Details Mistakes Made by U.S. in Improvement Projects for Iraq
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Mali
French and Chadian forces killed about 15 Islamist militants in the Ametetai valley area. A fourth French soldier has been killed in Mali, in fighting about 60 miles outside of Gao. The head of the EU training mission said the Malian army, which consists of about 6,000 soldiers, of whom 4,000 are support personnel, needs “considerable” training, equipment, and restructuring.
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Al Qaeda-linked groups increasing contact with Salafi groups in Nile Delta and Sinai
Egyptian officials are worried that they are seizing only a fraction of the weaponry entering the Sinai Peninsula from Libya. In addition, al Qaeda-linked groups are said to be increasing contact with Salafi groups in the Sinai and Nile Delta.
