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Libya
A local council office and the car of a local leader were both bombed in Derna on Dec. 16, and a helicopter reportedly used by the military crashed into the sea off the coast of Derna, killing all aboard. The head of the Tripoli Local Council said the removal of militias is going so slowly that it has almost stopped, and that the presence of heavy weapons remains a problem. Gunmen shot a policeman in Tripoli yesterday.
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State Department designates head of Al Nusrah Front branch in Lebanon
The State Department added Usamah Amin al Shihabi to the list of specially designated global terrorists. Al Shihabi is the head of the Al Nusrah Front’s “Palestinian wing in Lebanon.” Leaked State Department cables reveal that the Jordanians previously accused him of training a terror cell that targeted Americans.
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US adds Belmokhtar’s brigades to terrorist lists
Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s al-Mulathameen Brigade is behind terror attacks in Niger, Algeria, and Mali. Its “aliases,” the al-Murabitoon Brigade and al Mua’qi’oon Biddam, have also been added to the US’s lists of terror groups.
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Egypt
Israel benefits from Hamas’ decline
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United Kingdom
Family members said that well-known British jihadist Ifthekar Jaman a.k.a. Abu Aburahman died in Syria while fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Michael Adebowale and Michael Adebolajo, who are accused of murdering a British soldier in Woolwich and have denied murdering him and attempting to murder a police officer, told the court that they had sought to “achieve martyrdom.”
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The Islamic Front ‘will not fight the al Qaeda organization’
As the US courts the Islamic Front to be part of the “moderate opposition” to the Assad regime in Syria, the newly formed group said that because it was “founded to form a link for jihadists,” it would not fight al Qaeda.
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Ansar al Sharia
Tunisia marks revolution amid security threats
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Afghanistan
In remote Afghan areas, cease-fires catching on
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United States
Secretary of State Kerry said the US will provide $40 million over a three-year period to the Philippines, to be split between the Philippines Coast Guard for maritime security and the Philippines National Police for counterterrorism efforts. He reiterated that the US does not recognize China’s recently claimed air defense zone over the East China Sea. Kerry also denied that the US had met with the Islamic Front in Syria but said it could happen. The Senate voted to confirm Jeh Johnson as head of the Department of Homeland Security, to replace Janet Napolitano, who resigned in August. A new…
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Iran
US Fingers Iranian Commandos for Kidnapping Raid Inside Iraq
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Afghanistan
Six ISAF soldiers were killed in an aircraft crash in Zabul; the Taliban claimed they shot down a helicopter. The Taliban killed two Afghan Border Police officers in an IED attack in Kandahar. Security forces killed eight Taliban fighters, including Pakistanis, in Ghazni.
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Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed 10 Shia pilgrims in attacks in Mahmudiyah and Baghdad. In Mahmudiyah, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt in the midst of a crowd of worshippers. Security forces detained five ISIS fighters in Abu Ghraib.
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Syrian rebel leader was bin Laden’s courier, now Zawahiri’s representative
Abu Khalid al Suri, Ayman al Zawahiri’s representative in the Levant, also serves as a senior leader in Ahrar al Sham, a Syrian rebel group that often fights alongside al Qaeda’s two official branches. According to the Spanish government, al Suri was one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted couriers and may have delivered surveillance tapes of the World Trade Center to al Qaeda senior leadership in Afghanistan prior to 9/11.
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Syria
A Syrian National Coalition source said Western nations are now signaling that they may prefer the Assad regime to remain for a transitional period in order to avoid possible chaos and an Islamist takeover. The Islamic Front denied reports it was meeting with the US ambassador; an Islamic Front official claimed that the group will not fight against al Qaeda. The Al Nusrah Front and rebels are besieging the Aleppo Central Prison area. Gunmen assassinated a leader of the al Tawhid brigade near Anadan in Aleppo. The OPCW said it was possible that the Dec. 31 deadline for moving all…
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Egyptian army says 5 jihadists killed in recent Sinai operations
Thus far, no jihadist group has confirmed or denied Egyptian army claims that key jihadists have been killed in recent weeks.
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Lebanon
An explosives-laden jeep detonated close to a Hezbollah military camp in Shouba near the Syrian border, killing the driver and injuring two Hezbollah fighters. The head of the Christian political party Lebanese Forces blamed Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria for bringing suicide bombings to Lebanon. French Ambassador Patrice Paoli warned that Lebanon’s ongoing political stalemate coupled with security challenges risked “total chaos.” Lebanese and UN officials tried to defuse tensions with Israel over the fatal shooting of an Israeli soldier by a Lebanese soldier near the border.
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Taliban claim credit for ISAF helo crash in Afghan south
Six ISAF soldiers were killed in a crash in Zabul province. The Taliban were quick to claim credit for downing the aircraft.
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Hezbollah
Dragged off the bus in Tripoli and shot: the latest spillover from Syria’s brutal civil war
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Egypt
The army spokesman said forces killed a member of Ansar Bayt al Maqdis during operations in North Sinai. Defense Minister el Sisi said operations “to eradicate terrorism and cleanse the Sinai” will continue. An explosive device went off in a residential area of eastern Cairo. A policeman was shot and killed during clashes with Islamist militants near Ismailia. A court reduced the sentence of a Muslim cleric from 11 to 5 years for burning a Bible. Unidentified gunmen killed four members of the Sawarka tribe in a shooting attack in North Sinai.
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Palestinian Territories
Hamas is allowing Salafi jihadists in Gaza to conduct non-military activities in Gaza. According to a Salafi jihadist source, a reconciliation agreement with Hamas is not finalized, but “taking shape.” Hamas has purportedly expressed interest in joining a unity government with Fatah to prepare for currently unscheduled elections.
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Israel
Israel opts for restraint in face of Lebanese provocation
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South Sudan
While the government claims that it has contained violence in Juba, 73 soldiers have been killed and the US has ordered the evacuation of all non-essential personnel. Presidential guards raided the home of former vice-president Riek Machar, whose current whereabouts are unknown. Three members of the Dinka Bor ethnic group were killed in Bor.
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Somalia
Fighting between two clan-based militias within the Somali Armed Forces has entered its fifth day, leaving at least 35 people dead, including 20 soldiers. At least two people have been killed in clashes between Shabaab and Somali forces in Wanlaweyn. Somalia’s defense minister promised that Shabaab will be eradicated in 2014.
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Nigeria
The Independent National Electoral Commission said it would refuse to hold elections in 2015 in states under emergency rule. The governor of Borno state objected, saying that suspending elections during emergency rule because of Boko Haram would be a setback in the fight against terror.
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Saudi Arabia
Syria’s Saudi Jihadist Problem
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Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
Extremist Syrian faction touts training camp for boys
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Free Syrian Army
Syrian Kurds jockey for seat at Geneva talks
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Egypt
Egyptian Christians Bridle at Prison Terms for Copts Only in Fatal Clash
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Ennahda
A Political Deal in a Deeply Divided Tunisia as Islamists Agree to Yield Power
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Afghanistan
The Taliban killed four soldiers and wounded six more in IED attacks in Khost, Wardak, and Kapisa. The Taliban also killed four children in a bombing in Uruzgan. Security forces killed 10 Taliban fighters during an operation Ghazni.
