Yearly Archives: 2014








Iraq

How a Syrian Boy, 14 and Sheathed in Explosives, Escaped ISIS’ Hold


Kosovo

Police arrested a Serbian man in Pristina last night who had over 26 pounds of explosives in his car as he was driving through an area of the city where diplomats live. Authorities believe he was planning a terrorist attack.


Egypt

The Egyptian military claims that Tawfiq Awwad “Abu Seiba,” a commander of Ansar Bayt al Maqdis, was killed in a firefight with security forces in Rafah. Egyptian forces killed one suspected militant and arrested 11 others during operations in Sinai; the first phase of the government’s expanded buffer zone with Gaza will cost $70 million. […]


Libya

At least 19 soldiers were killed in a Libya Dawn attack on pro-government forces near a power plant in Sirte. The Islamist group also attempted to seize some of Libya’s main oil terminals in al Sidra, firing rockets from speedboats, killing at least 22 soldiers, and setting an oil tank on fire before being driven […]


Tunisia

Outgoing president Moncef Marzouki has ceded the election and promised a smooth transfer of power. Tunisia’s interior minister decried the presence of training camps of Tunisians along the border with Libya affiliated with Ansar al Sharia, declaring them a threat to the country’s stability.


Nigeria

A 13-year-old would-be suicide bomber who was arrested before she could detonate explosives in the city of Kano claimed that her father gave her to Boko Haram terrorists. A court martial sentenced four soldiers to death for “mutiny and failure to obey lawful orders”; a Nigerian Army battalion commander was cleared on charges of authoring […]


Islamic State attacks the Al Walid border crossing

The attack was reported to have been repelled by Iraqi forces. The jihadist group has subsequently released photos claiming to show its fighters capturing the outpost, as well as a copious amount of weapons and ammunition.


Iraq

Baghdad Journal: Traditions of Christmas Found Only in Memory


United Kingdom

Muhammad Aftab Suleman, of Manchester, was charged with five terrorism offenses following his arrest on Dec. 20 as he tried to fly to Pakistan. On Dec. 19, counterterrorism police raided his home, confiscating computers and phones. Suleman had allegedly traveled to Syria, Pakistan, and Qatar over the past year, returning to the UK in November. Police have already seized […]


Syria

A Jordanian pilot was captured by the Islamic State after his plane went down in northeastern Syria. The US-led coalition conducted seven airstrikes in Syria on Dec. 23. “At least 1,171 people have been killed” by the airstrikes since the start of the campaign, according to SOHR; this tally incudes 1,046 members of the Islamic State, 72 members of Al Nusrah, […]


Iraq

Senior Kurdish rebel leader warns Iraq must stay united to defeat ‘savage’ ISIS



Iraq

Baghdad’s ‘blind eye’ leads to IS routs in Anbar






Syria

A Jordanian pilot was captured by the Islamic State after his plane went down in northeastern Syria. The US-led coalition conducted seven airstrikes in Syria on Dec. 23. “At least 1,171 people have been killed” by the airstrikes since the start of the campaign, according to SOHR; this tally incudes 1,046 members of the Islamic […]


United Kingdom

Muhammad Aftab Suleman, of Manchester, was charged with five terrorism offenses following his arrest on Dec. 20 as he tried to fly to Pakistan. On Dec. 19, counterterrorism police raided his home, confiscating computers and phones. Suleman had allegedly traveled to Syria, Pakistan, and Qatar over the past year, returning to the UK in November. […]


China

China to Send Its First Infantry Troops to UN Mission in South Sudan




Afghanistan

Karzai aide: Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar is in Karachi city of Pakistan