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Algeria
Security forces found a massive arms cache in the southern province of Illizi near the Libyan border. Authorities suspect that militants created the cache, said to contain 100 antiaircraft missiles along with hundreds of anti-helicopter rockets, RPGs, and landmines.
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Analysis: UN adds Benghazi suspect to al Qaeda sanctions list
The UN added Muhammad Jamal al Kashef to its al Qaeda sanctions list on Oct. 18. The US government previously designated Jamal on Oct. 7. The UN noted Jamal’s ties to the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, whereas the US government’s announcement did not. Jamal’s network continues to plan attacks.
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Saudi Arabia
The US-Saudi crackup reaches a dramatic tipping point
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United States
Recently disclosed secret US and Pakistani documents on drone strikes in Pakistan indicate substantial information-sharing by the US and some direct cooperation by Pakistan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called President Obama for a clarification on reports that the US may have monitored her mobile phone. A federal prosecutor said al Qaeda operative and terror suspect Abu Anas al Libi, a.k.a. Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, implicated himself while aboard a Navy ship after being advised of his Miranda rights.
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Syria
A rebel attack on a gas pipeline south of Damascus airport left much of Syria, including the city itself, in the dark. A large blast targeted a regime checkpoint in Damascus. Syrian authorities released 14 female detainees in a hostage swap. The Al Nusrah Front, aided by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, the al-Khadra’ battalion (“the battalion of martyrs”), Maghawir Baba Amr battalion, and allied rebels battled regime forces in Homs over the towns of Mahin and Sadad, which is mainly Christian. Residents fled Sadad; the Islamists seek to take over its hospital, and have seized a…
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Pakistan
Secret memos reveal explicit nature of US, Pakistan agreement on drones
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Al Qaeda
The Effectiveness Of Drone Strikes In Counterinsurgency And Counterterrorism Campaigns
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Iran
Amos Yadlin on Iran Strike: Why Israel Needs to Act Soon
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Iraq
Al Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed 14 people in bombings that targeted civilians in Baghdad and Madain. Members of a human rights organization in Fallujah known as Herak launched a campaign called “We are against al Qaeda.”
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Yemen
More than 300 members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula attempted to break out of a prison in Sana’a. Guards at the outer perimeter opened fired on the prisoners before they could escape.
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Israel
The Air Force reportedly struck a shipment of advanced weapons destined for Hezbollah; the IDF refused to comment on the report. Defense Minister Ya’alon said Israel is adhering to its red lines when it comes to the transfer of weapons from Syria, and that Hezbollah has not received any chemical weapons from Syria.
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Egypt
Authorities reportedly discovered a major smuggling tunnel from Gaza that was subsequently destroyed. An Egyptian soldier was killed in a shooting attack by unidentified gunmen in central Sinai. Military officers are said to be encouraging army chief Abdel Fattah al Sisi to run for president.
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Palestinian Territories
Turkey announced plans to provide the Hamas-run Gaza Strip $850,000 to deal with energy needs. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he is prepared to meet with Israel’s prime minister at any time to push forward the peace process. Thousands attended the funeral of Palestinian terrorist Mohammed Asi in the West Bank. Hamas’ Saleh Arouri, based in Turkey, said “resistance in all its forms is the only option to liberate” Palestine.
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Wanted Taliban commander in Kunar reported killed in US drone strike
Qari Dawat has been targeted by the US for years. He has expressed his support for al Qaeda and kidnapped a Western journalist. His death has not been confirmed.
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Al Qaeda
Obama’s Uncertain Path Amid Syria Bloodshed
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Israel
U.S., Israel differ over how to resolve Iran nuclear issue
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Norway
Why dozens of ethnic Somalis in Scandinavia are embracing jihad
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Russia
FBI Probing Whether Russia Used Cultural Junkets to Recruit American Intelligence Assets
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Egypt
Violent Islamism in Egypt from 1997 to 2012
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan – Kajran in danger of falling into Taliban’s hands
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s ‘Sandhurst in the Sand’ opens its doors
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Russia
Obama’s Uncertain Path Amid Syria Bloodshed
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Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
Fearing retribution, Syrian minorities keep low profile in exile
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Tunisia
The Interior Ministry claimed to have killed nine terrorists and captured four last week in Beja; one of those killed was said to be Ansar al Sharia operative Lotfi Ezzine, a suspect in the assassinations of moderate political leaders Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi. Ezzine was reportedly detained during a raid in Sousse in August. Ongoing military operations against terrorists in the Jebel Chaambi area have produced few arrests. An expert on Islamic groups disputed Prime Minister Lareyedh’s recent claim to have “dismantled” Ansar al Sharia, and also said extremists control over 100 mosques in Tunisia.
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Algeria
Foreign Minister Lamamra said “considerable means” are being used to seal Algeria’s eastern and southern borders against terrorist infiltration; over 12,000 troops have been deployed, in the biggest mobilization yet along the border. He also said Algeria is beefing up security at its diplomatic missions in unstable countries. Terrorists in an SUV recently tried to attack police headquarters in the southern city of Adrar. Military forces in Tamanrasset arrested Bousad Hammadi, a.k.a. Hanafi, a prominent member of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, on Oct. 16.
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Mali
Suspected Islamist militants conducted a suicide car bombing in Tessalit against a military checkpoint, killing two Chadian UN peacekeeping troops and injuring six other people. A local official said that four people had been killed by the blast, including a child. French forces wrested control of Tessalit, in northern Mali near the Algerian border, from Islamist militants in February.
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Nigeria
Trial began for two Nigerians, Abdullahi Mustapha Berende and Saidi Adewumi, who are accused of recruiting for an Iran-based terrorist organization; the judge ordered a determination as to whether their confessions had been coerced. Islamic police in Kano publicly paraded 150 people accused of violating sharia law, as part of a new campaign to enforce the Islamic code, which is governing law in nine of Nigeria’s 37 states. This week’s arrests were the first to include men; previously only women were targeted for enforcement.
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Norway
The head of the PST said the agency tried over three years ago to dissuade Westgate Mall terror suspect Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow from becoming a jihadist. The PST estimates that 30-40 people have traveled from Norway to fight in Syria but says the actual number may be higher. The father of two teenage Norwegian girls who recently left for Syria said the elder girl called from the Turkish border town of Hatay and said she is willing to die as a jihadist in Syria.
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United States
The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee warned that al Qaeda is developing a safe haven in Syria along the Iraqi border, where it is planning attacks against the West, much as al Qaeda did in Afghanistan. He said there are now over 10,000 “committed” al Qaeda members in eastern Syria, more than the number of foreign fighters in Iraq during the US occupation. A Turkish news report claimed that a US official said the distribution of nonlethal aid to the Syrian rebels has been suspended as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham now controls the Turkish border…
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Saudi Arabia
Saudis Said to Disregard US on Aid to Syria Islamists
