Afghanistan
US General Predicts More Violence in Afghanistan
Monthly Archives: January 2014
Afghanistan
US Cuts Afghan Development Aid By Half
Iran
Foreign Minister Zarif urged all foreign fighters to leave Syria and called on foreign forces to stop “stop funneling funds, money and arms” into Syria. The UN’s nuclear watchdog agency asked for funds so it can nearly double the number of personnel working to verify Iran’s compliance with the recent agreement on its nuclear program.
Caucasus Emirate
Olympic ‘Black Widow’ Warning Caught US Off-Guard
Israel
A senior Israeli official said there are currently 30,000 al Qaeda-linked fighters in Syria. The official also said there are approximately 1,200 al Qaeda-linked fighters in the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian man in Gaza was killed during a cross-border confrontation with Israeli forces.
Lebanon
Regional wave of Sunni extremism reaches Lebanon
Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has taken over Darkoush in Idlib after clashes with an Islamic battalion and rebels. Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal said the US should get a resolution from the UN Security Council authorizing a force to stop the fighting in Syria, and that foreign Shiite fighters […]
Ansar Jerusalem claims responsibility for Cairo attacks that killed 6
The attacks came just hours after one of the group’s members issued an audio warning threatening attacks. The group also reiterated that its official material is released only through the jihadist forums of Al Fajr Media Center, al Qaeda’s exclusive media distribution outlet.
Yemen
US drones killed four suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a strike in Marib province. The interior ministry said it foiled an AQAP attempt to take control of government building in Baydah province.
Lebanon
The Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon, which claimed a suicide bombing in Beirut on Jan. 21, warned Sunnis in Lebanon to avoid areas where Hezbollah operates as the group’s bases will be targeted for attacks. Both the Army and Hezbollah set up checkpoints in Beirut after rumors surfaced that two suicide bombers were planning attacks […]
Qatar
State Dept. Learned in November of Photos Said to Show Torture in Syria
Iraq
UN Sounds Alarm as Iraqis Flee Violence
Bombings in Cairo kill at least 6, injure dozens more
The largest attack, which targeted the Cairo Security Directorate, came only a few hours after an Ansar Jerusalem official urged Egyptian security personnel to repent and save themselves.
State Department deputy spokesperson mischaracterizes al Qaeda
Marie Harf wrongly claims Zawahiri is the only senior al Qaeda leader left standing and that he exercises zero operational control over the jihad in Syria.
Egypt
A series of bombings in Cairo, including a suicide car bombing at the Security Directorate, left at least six people dead and scores wounded. Ansar Jerusalem claimed responsibility for the attacks. The army said 27 terrorist elements were arrested in operations in North Sinai. In separate shooting attacks in North Sinai, a civilian and member […]
Somalia
The Sufi militia Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa (ASWJ) has given its support to Ethiopian integration into AMISOM. Shabaab militants shelled Mogadishu last night, wounding four people. Shabaab has arrested more than 100 people in Bardere town in Gedo for crimes ranging from trading khat to arson.
South Sudan
A ceasefire has been agreed between the government and rebels meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. However, reports have emerged alleging that the government is still attacking rebel-held territory in Jonglei and Unity states.
Libya
An armed group attacked the Sarir oil field with heavy weapons and cut the main power line that provides electricity from the Sarir power plant to Benghazi and other towns, including Kufra and Jalo. In Benghazi, two civilians were murdered and a businessman who had been kidnapped was found dead with marks of torture on […]
Mali
In an operation north of Timbuktu that involved aircraft and over 100 troops, French forces killed 11 suspected Islamist militants and seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition, as well as equipment, including mobile phones. The commander of Malian military forces in the region said al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Movement for […]
US drone strike targets AQAP in central Yemen
Four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters were killed in a town that is known to serve as a base for the Yemen Soldiers Brigade.
Afghanistan
In lieu of Afghan security pact, NATO must remain flexible, defense chiefs say
United States
A three-year Pentagon study has found that US intelligence agencies are not sufficiently able to detect the development or proliferation of nuclear weapons by foreign powers. Defense Secretary Hagel ordered thorough reviews of the US nuclear force. The US is seeking to expand by 50% its 500-Marine Africa crisis response team based in Morón, Spain.
Al Qaeda
US Embassy plot reveals Israel’s growing Al Qaeda problem
Syria
Syria talks to proceed, but with limited agenda
CIA
The hidden history of the CIA’s prison in Poland
Pakistan
Six people, possibly jihadists, were killed in what is thought to have been the premature detonation of a car bomb in a garage in Peshawar. The government denied that it enlisted Sami ul Haq, “the father of the Taliban,” to negotiate a peace agreement with the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. The Foreign Office […]
Jordan
Arms smuggling attempt foiled on Jordanian-Syrian border
Bosnia
Turkish Flotilla Charity Tied to Terrorism Again
Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham killed four civilians in a bombing in Babil, an Awakening leader near Kirkuk, two policemen and a civilian south of Mosul, a policeman in Hit, a soldier in Abu Ghraib, and a civilian in Badush. Security forces killed two ISIS fighters in Khaladiyah, two more near the […]
Social Media Jihad: Ayman al Zawahiri addresses infighting in Syria
Ayman al Zawahiri’s message concerning the infighting in Syria has been picked up by various jihadist websites, including a Facebook page operated by Ansar al Sharia Tunisia.