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Pakistan
Prime Minister Sharif said talks with the Pakistani Taliban have begun. Video filmed in August emerged of two young Czech women kidnapped by militants in Pakistan. Their captors have called for the release of “Lady al Qaeda” Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year sentence in the US. Police arrested 18 members of a Pakistani Taliban faction for the murder of 10 foreign climbers.
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Lebanon
Berri rejects dumping Syrian chemical arms in Lebanon
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IDF responds to Gaza border attack, kills 4 Hamas fighters
While operating near a recently uncovered terror tunnel, IDF forces were attacked by Palestinians who set off an explosive device. The IDF responded to the attack and killed at least four Hamas terrorists.
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Syria
Israeli warplanes reportedly struck Russian-made regime missiles in Latakia and a military base in Damascus; Lebanon claimed its airspace was violated. In Aleppo, regime forces took control of al Safira, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with a rebel battalion and stormed a school. Abu Hamza, the leader and founder of the al-Fatihoon min Ard al-Sham brigade, which is affiliated with the Al Nusrah Front, was killed in Deir Izzour; Hamza’s funeral was attended by his uncle, defected Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab. A rebel activist group said 120,000 people have been killed so far in…
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Iraq
Five car bombs north of Baghdad killed 19 people and wounded scores more; police blamed al Qaeda. The bodies of three women who had been blindfolded and shot in the head were found in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad. Car bombs in Baqouba killed five people. Gunmen targeting a patrol in Mosul killed a soldier and wounded two others. Over 730 people have been killed in attacks so far in October. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham released a video showing militants who had escaped from Abu Ghraib in July later capturing and executing Iraqi military officers and…
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Israel
An IDF official played down reports that an intifada was in the offing. Senior Israeli officials recently partook in discussions with officials from regional states about potential involvement in a conference advocating a nuclear-free Middle East. Authorities arrested three senior Hamas members in the West Bank. The Israeli Air Force struck targets near Damascus and Latakia.
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Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood supporters called for daily protests in the lead-up to the trial of former president Morsi. His detention was extended for 15 days due to a pending investigation related to espionage charges. Authorities arrested 36 “terrorist elements” during security sweeps in the Sinai.
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Yemen
The Minister of State resigned his position, citing dissatisfaction with the government’s efforts to maintain security. Authorities arrested seven government soldiers and officers in Al Baydah on suspicion of links to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. A recent video purportedly released by AQAP claimed partial control over the Al Baydah governorate. AQAP denied issuing a fatwa that called for the assassination of members of the media affiliated with the General National Congress.
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Syria
Exclusive: Syria Tries To Hold On To Its Chemical Weapons Factories
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US officials: Israel struck targets near Damascus and Latakia
US officials confirmed that the Israeli Air Force again struck targets inside Syria. The strikes are at least the fifth such incident since the start of the uprising against the regime of Bashar al Assad in Syria in 2011.
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Pakistan
Peshawar, terror capital of Pakistan
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Iran
Daughters Of Jailed Iranian Opposition Leader Say Guards Beat Them
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United States
The Truth–and Tragedy–of Drone Warfare
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Al Qaeda
Kurds in Iraq, Syria work as shield against al-Qaeda
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Somalia
The Kenyan Defense Forces claimed to have bombed a Shabaab training camp in Dinsoor that was allegedly used by the Westgate Mall attackers. A Shabaab spokesperson denied that any of its camps had been struck. Shabaab released a video yesterday showing an attack on military defenses in Afdamow. A top UN official called for a surge of some 4,400 African Union troops and substantial UN assistance in order to avoid losing the battle against Shabaab.
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Tunisia
Authorities arrested five members of Ansar al Sharia suspected of plotting the recent bombing at a hotel in Sousse and attempted bombing in Monastir. Military forces launched an offensive against terrorists in the Sidi Bouzid region.
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Nigeria
The military claimed to have destroyed terrorist camps in Borno state and seized several vehicles used by Boko Haram. A captured Boko Haram member said the group had doctors, mechanics, welders, carpenters, professional drivers, “butchers, security experts, gun instructors and so on,” in its ranks, and that members from Chad, Cameroon, and Niger participate in attacks.
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Sweden
Haytham Rahmeh, the Syrian-born former leader of a Stockholm mosque, is said to have smuggled large quantities of weapons to Syrian rebels for the past 18 months. Rahmeh reportedly purchased the weapons primarily in Libya, but also in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with the help of a group named the Commission for Civilian Protection transported them through Turkey to Syria. He is a member of the Syrian National Council and a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Weapons smuggling is a violation of Swedish law punishable by up to four years in prison.
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Al Qaeda
U.S. military commandos fought in Benghazi
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Libya
Tunisia responds to terror threat
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Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
Al-Qaeda recruits entering Syria from Turkey safehouses
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Mexico
Major smuggling tunnel found under US-Mexico border
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China
Q. & A.: Philip Potter on the Growing Risk of Terrorism in China
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Jordan
Hundreds of Syrian refugees ‘denied entry into Jordan’
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United States
Drones: A rare glimpse at sophisticated US spy plane
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Egypt
Attacks on Christians by Islamic militants rise in Egypt
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Iran
Ayatollah’s illness raises fear of power struggle
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Norway
The father of two Norwegian-Somali girls who had gone to Syria for jihad said they are being held in Syria against their will. He also said Free Syrian Army rebels have offered to help find them.
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US drone strike kills 3 ‘militants’ in North Waziristan
The strike is the first recorded in Pakistan in a month, and took place in an area administered by the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network.
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Afghanistan
Two Afghan soldiers and a Taliban fighter were killed during clashes in Sar-i-Pul. Security forces captured a suicide bomber in Kandahar. Members of the High Peace Council claimed they would meet with former Taliban deputy Mullah Baradar in Pakistan.
