Monthly Archives: January 2014

Libya

Gunmen in Tripoli attacked the armored car of Deputy Prime Minister and acting Interior Minister Sadiq Abdulkarim Abdulrahman, but he escaped the attempted assassination. Gunmen in Benghazi kidnapped an engineer and tried to murder a pilot on Jan. 27. A cameraman was wounded by gunfire during clashes in Kufra yesterday. The UN Mission in Libya […]



Algeria

Algeria has adopted legislation to try to retake control of the thousands of extremist mosques in the country, forbidding their use for illicit personal or collective goals or to “harm people or groups.” Last week Algeria offered new gas and oil concessions in the southwest and the north to international bidders, but foreign investment may […]


Denmark

Justice Minister Hækkerup said that since Denmark cannot prosecute Danes for having traveled to fight in Syria, Denmark plans to work with other European Union countries to prevent would-be jihadists from leaving their home countries. Danish intelligence reported that since 2012, at least 90 people have left Denmark to fight in Syria and 11 have […]





United States

In his State of the Union address, President Obama said that while “core al Qaeda” is “on a path to defeat,” threats are posed by al Qaeda affiliates and other extremists in Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Mali, and elsewhere. He vowed that in Syria, his administration will “support the opposition that rejects the agenda of terrorist […]


Hamas

Abbas proposes three-year Israeli pullout from West Bank






Afghanistan

Security forces killed 17 Taliban fighters during raids throughout the country. The Taliban killed two soldiers in IED attacks in Helmand and Farah. Three civilians were wounded in two failed suicide attacks in Helmand.



Iraq

The Islamic State of of Iraq and the Sham killed five soldiers and an Awakening leader in Arab Jabour, a soldier west of Mosul, a soldier in Anbar, and two civilians in Baqubah. Security forces killed three ISIS fighters in Mosul and two more in Al Qaim. The US will sell 24 Apache attack helicopters […]


Syria

An Al Nusrah Front suicide bomber killed 13 soldiers in an attack Rahjan, Hama, the ancestral home of Defense Minister al Freij. An Islamic judge for Al Nusrah, Turki al-Ashaari, was reportedly killed in Hama. A UN aid convoy to Homs stalled as the Syrian government demanded assurances that the aid did not go to […]


Lebanon

Sheikh Omar Atrash, a Sunni preacher who was arrested last week on suspicion of facilitating the movement of bombers and rigged cars into Lebanon for use in targeting Hezbollah, has reportedly confessed to the charges, including involvement in a double suicide bombing at a Sidon checkpoint. The Muslim Scholars Committee said the confession was likely […]


Egypt

Former president Mohammed Morsi went to court for his trial related to a January 2011 jail break. An Egyptian general in the Interior Ministry was shot dead outside his home in Cairo. In a separate attack in Cairo, at least one policeman was killed and two others wounded when gunmen opened fire on a church. […]



Somalia

Shabaab has confirmed that intelligence operative Sahal Iskudhuq was killed by a US strike over the weekend. US security officials speaking off the record said the drone strike was targeting Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane. AMISOM has launched a 35-day training program for over 1,000 soldiers from the Interim Jubba Administration.


France

French police launch raids on controversial comic Dieudonné


Nigeria

The death toll from Boko Haram’s weekend attacks has reached 85. Alleged Boko Haram leader Muhammad Nazeef will be arraigned on Feb. 3 in Abuja.


Tunisia

The appellate trial of 20 Salafists accused of participating in the Sept. 14, 2012 attack on the US Embassy in Tunis was postponed until March 25, after only three of the accused showed up for trial. Their defense lawyer alleged that embassy staff might have been responsible for the deaths of four attackers.


Algeria

Algerian authorities denied Moroccan allegations that western border guards had expelled Syrians back to Morocco; they said the Syrians had not yet entered Algerian territory. The authorities also said between 250 and 300 Syrian refugees in Tlemcen currently receive aid from Algerian charities and citizens. Last week the Foreign Ministry denied reports that Syrians had […]


Russia

Chechen leader Ramazan Kadyrov said that Caucasus Emirate leader Doku Umarov had died of wounds received during security operations two months ago in Chechnya. Kadryov also claimed to have years ago personally killed four brothers of Aslambek Vadalov, a possible contender to replace Umarov. The head of the Russian Orthodox church called for religious literacy […]


France

Defense Minister Le Drian said France plans to expand its military presence in Africa, with the permanent deployment of 3,000 troops to bases in Niger, Mali and Chad, and to a logistics base in Ivory Coast and a special forces base in Burkina Faso. He said the work of cracking down on extremists in Libya […]


United States

In the first partially public hearing for Guantanamo detainees, Abd Malak Abd Wahab Rahbi, a brother-in-law and former bodyguard to Osama bin Laden, will appear before a military review board today that will consider his eligibility for release. Congress approved the sale of up to 24 Apache attack helicopters to Iraq and the lease of […]