Monthly Archives: January 2014

Lebanon

Abu Sayyaf al-Ansari, a Lebanon-based Sunni militant, has reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Security measures are being enhanced due to recent threats by Islamist groups, including the Al Nusrah Front, that they will attack targets in Lebanon, particularly those linked to Hezbollah.


Egypt

Ansar Jerusalem released video of its SAM attack on an Egyptian military helicopter in North Sinai. Unidentified gunmen ambushed a bus transporting soldiers in North Sinai and killed at least three. An American citizen recently detained by Egyptian authorities was released.


Syria

At the Geneva talks, the Assad regime offered to provide “every access,” including humanitarian aid, to women and children of the besieged city of Homs so long as the rebels give them safe passage out of the city center. A UN agency complained that regime forces are not facilitating the provision of aid to the […]


Tunisia

The National Constituent Assembly approved the new constitution by an overwhelming majority vote. Prime Minister-designate Mehdi Jomaa announced the names for his caretaker cabinet, which will include Lotfi Ben Jeddou, an Ennahda party member who will continue as Interior Minister.


Libya

Five kidnapped Egyptian diplomats, as well as Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room head Shaban Hadia Al-Zway, who was arrested two days ago in Alexandria on suspicion of links to al Qaeda, were reportedly freed after kidnappers holding the five diplomats gave Egypt 24 hours to release him. As a precaution, Egypt had evacuated staff from its […]


United Kingdom

The head of the Police Officers’ Association said British nationals who travel to Syria to fight with the rebels could be arrested upon their return, and noted that already this year UK authorities have arrested 16 people on suspicion of terrorism offenses in Syria, compared to 24 arrests total in 2013. Former prime minister Tony […]


Afghanistan

False claims in Afghan accusations on US raid add to doubts on Karzai





China

Police blamed “terrorist attacks” for the deaths of 12 people in Xinjiang. Six of them were killed by explosions at a hair salon and a vegetable stand, and the other six were shot dead by police. Among the slain terrorists was the alleged leader of an extremist bomb-making cell.



United States

Congress cut the US military and development aid budget for Afghanistan for this year to $1.1 billion, down from last year’s $2.1 billion, in the wake of President Karzai’s refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement and reports of waste and fraud in Afghanistan. The Karzai government has released an inflammatory report making false claims […]



Cuba

The government enacted a law that allows authorities to freeze bank accounts of persons or entities linked to al Qaeda or the Taliban. The US considers Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism. In 2011, Spanish authorities arrested, but later released, Cuban national Jose Ernesto Feliu Mora a.k.a. Khalid Siyf Allahu Almaslul for suspected links to […]


Iraq

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed two policemen and two soldiers in Mosul, two policemen in Tikrit, and seven civilians in Tuz. Security forces killed two ISIS fighters in Ninewa near the Syrian border and another in Tikrit, and arrested an al Qaeda emir in Mosul. The military also killed six civilians […]


Afghanistan

President Hamid Karzai said he would not sign a security deal with the US unless the US can start meaningful negotiations with the Taliban. “If the US is not willing to accept our conditions, they can leave anytime,” Karzai said. Security forces killed seven Taliban fighters in Farah. The Taliban gunned down a member of […]


Lebanon

The Marwan Hadid Brigades, an affiliate of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, and the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon fired several rockets from Syria into Hermel. Al Nusrah and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades issued a joint statement crediting the Marwan Hadid Brigades for the rocket attacks, and warned of further attacks in both Syria and Lebanon […]


Syria

The Assad regime and the Syrian opposition failed to reach any agreements in their first face-to-face meeting. Rebels and regime forces clashed south of Damascus, and the Al Nusrah Front and Islamic battalions battled regime forces in Deir Izzour. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham reportedly arrested a man in Raqqah city because […]


Libya

Five Egyptian diplomats were kidnapped in Tripoli, reportedly in retaliation for the arrest of Libyan Revolutionaries Operation Room head Shaaban Masoud Khalifa a.k.a. Abu Obaida Al-Zawy, who was detained last night in Alexandria, Egypt, on suspicion of links to al Qaeda. During a Benghazi special forces raid on a militant Islamist cell, four militants were […]


Egypt

At least 25 people were killed in clashes on the third anniversary of the uprising against the Mubarak regime. An explosion was heard near a police building in the city of Suez; some reports suggested a car bomb was the cause. The army said a helicopter operating in North Sinai had crashed, while local residents […]


IAEA

UN nuclear chief: Long way to go on Iran nuclear deal


Russia

Vilayat Dagestan, a North Caucasus militant Islamist group that has claimed two recent bombings in Volgograd, issued a statement calling on Russians to “decapitate [the] hydra” of the Kremlin or face further attacks. Magomed Magomedov, a deputy in the Daghestani parliament, was arrested on charges of organizing a criminal group; his brother, Ruslan Magomedov, was […]


Philippines

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed the final part of the Annex on Normalization, a 2012 peace plan, setting the stage for an agreement that allows the rebels to establish an autonomous state of Bangsamoro on the island of Mindanao in exchange for decommissioning their weapons. Jun Jalal Akilan, a.k.a. Temeng, an […]


Afghanistan

The Taliban killed six policemen while seizing an outpost in Faryab. Yesterday, the Taliban killed five young men in a shooting at a volleyball match in Laghman province. A suicide bomber killed only himself while targeting a candidate for vice president.


Iraq

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed two soldiers south of Fallujah. Security forces killed two ISIS fighters near Mosul. The military accidentally killed four civilians in artillery strikes in Fallujah. The UN said that more than 140,000 civilians have fled the fighting in Anbar.



India

India – Dead, jailed terrorists still CBI’s most wanted


Iran

Pakistan security concerns: Pilgrimage route suspended