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Chadian forces claim raid killed top Algerian jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar
Chadian military forces operating in Mali claimed to have launched a successful counterterrorism raid against a jihadist base camp that killed top Algerian jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar. The death of Belmokhtar has not yet been confirmed by other sources.
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Israel
A series of Syrian mortar shells landed in the Golan Heights. Prime Minister Netanyahu was given 14 more days to form a coalition government. Defense Minister Barak is preparing to visit the US, where he will meet with Defense Secretary Hagel and speak before AIPAC.
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Palestinian Territories
Hamas denied that it was behind the theft of an ID-card printing machine from Egypt’s North Sinai police headquarters. Sources revealed that two Hamas delegations recently visited Egypt to discuss Egypt’s targeting of smuggling tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Palestinian Finance Minister Qassis submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Fayyad.
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Syria
Fighting seesawed across the country. Rebels and government troops traded fire along a critical front line in the Damascus suburb of Jawbar. Government troops captured a village near Homs, reopening a supply route to Aleppo. The al Qaeda-linked Al Nusrah Front battled for control of the important northern city of Raqa.
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Algeria
Algerian experts seek to curb extremism in prisons
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United States
Spending cuts create challenges for Army
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Bosnia-Herzegovina
A radical Islamist group held a meeting attended by 500 people in Tuzla that promoted sharia in place of democracy. The International Crisis Group issued a report calling Islamism and nationalism in Bosnia a “dangerous tango.”
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Pakistani clerics endorse suicide bombings, reject proposed peace conference
The chairman of Pakistan’s Ulema Council said suicide bombings should continue in “occupied” Muslim areas that do not have the atomic bomb. His rhetoric is identical to that of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan.
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Afghanistan
Wardak Provincial Council Fears Ban on US Forces
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Pakistani Taliban threaten mobile phone sellers in Peshawar
Pakistani authorities display apparent ignorance over the rash of attacks targeting mobile phone shops in northwestern Pakistan, even as Pakistani militants state their intention to rid Pakistan of “un-Islamic” ring tones and other mobile phone accessories.
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Algeria
Government forces discovered weapons and explosives and killed two terrorists in the province of Tizi Ouzou; one died after an ambush near Tadmait and Drâa Ben Khedda, and the other was killed in Tleta Hidoussen. Six terrorists have been killed in the province this year.
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Mali
Chadian forces claimed to have killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar. The MNLA said captured al Qaeda fighters told them that AQIM commander Abu Zeid is dead. A French military spokesman said as many as 130 Islamist militants were killed in air and ground operations over the past week. French and Chadian forces are focusing on a 15-mile area in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains near the Algerian border, where hundreds of militants are thought to remain. The militants have dug in with plenty of weapons, and are proving “surprisingly resilient.”
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Algeria
Anxious Whispers in Tripoli
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Jabhat al-Nusra
How to Start a Battalion (in Five Easy Lessons)
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Thailand
Six people were injured in a bomb explosion in southern Thailand. The bombing came one day after the government agreed to hold talks with Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), a Muslim insurgent group.
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Syria
Syrian Civilians Take Reins in Test of Self-Government
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Syria
Can aid without weapons help resolve Syrian conflict?
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Syria
Syrian Rebels, Secular And Islamist, Both Claim The Future
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Syria
Fighting continued near a police academy in Aleppo; rebels with captured tanks tried to overrun the key government position. Rebels dug in around Damascus as government forces pulled back to defensive positions. A rebel leader said nonlethal aid from the US would not help, while Russia said the aid would fuel more violence. The UN Secretary General said Syria was breaking apart.
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Lebanon
Lebanon began building a line of watchtowers along its Syrian border. The towers are to help the Lebanese Army control the border region that has been increasingly drawn into the Syrian conflict.
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Croatia
After reports that Saudi Arabia purchased arms from Croatia and funneled them to rebel forces in Syria, Croatia decided to withdraw its troops from the UN force along Syria’s Golan Heights frontier. Croatia denied selling weapons to Saudi Arabia or Syrian rebels and said the withdrawal was to protect Croatian troops.
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AQAP releases 10th copy of Inspire; features Adam Gadahn
The American traitor calls for the continuation of attacks against the West, while a cleric known as Ibrahim Yayha says the death of Osama bin Laden has invigorated al Qaeda.
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Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released a new edition of Inspire magazine. The English-language magazine features an article by Adam Gadahn, the American traitor who works with al Qaeda’s core leadership cadre.
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Turkey
Prime Minister Erdogan stated that “[j]ust like Zionism … Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity.” A senior US official said Erdogan’s statement calling Zionism a crime against humanity has “a corrosive effect” on relations between the US and Turkey.
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Al Qaeda
Fears that collapse of Assad regime could arm al-Qaeda
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Egypt
Leaders of the National Salvation Front, including Mohamed El Baradei, said they will not meet with Secretary of State Kerry when he visits Egypt. Authorities prevented the smuggling of 1,500 liters of diesel fuel into Gaza, and discovered missiles stored by smugglers near el Arish. An unofficial “morality police” announced its launch in Cairo.
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Israel
Prime Minister Netanyahu requested additional time to form his coalition government. President Peres prepared to lobby European governments to designate Hezbollah as a terror organization. IDF Chief Gantz played down the prospect of a third Intifada arising in the near future. Regarding Syria, Gantz warned that when Israel sees “things that can alter the security balance we try to act accordingly.”
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Iran
Glencore supplying metals to Iran nuclear program
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Somalia
A suicide bomber struck at a beachside cafe in Mogadishu; casualties are unknown. Shabaab claimed it killed nine “kuffars” in an attack in Janaale.
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Cameroon
Security authorities remain on high alert after the kidnapping of a French family in northern Cameroon last month. A local police chief near the site of the kidnapping said the Nigerian state of Borno, just across the river, “is dominated 100% by Boko Haram.”
