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Islamic State overruns Iraqi Army brigade headquarters north of Fallujah
The Thar Thar area, where the attack took place, is key terrain between Anbar and Salahaddin provinces. The assault on the base comes as fighting has escalated in Anbar’s provincial capital of Ramadi.
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US to keep more troops in Afghanistan than planned: officials
US to keep more troops in Afghanistan than planned: officials
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CIA funds found their way into Qaeda coffers
CIA funds found their way into Qaeda coffers
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US targets senior Shabaab intelligence official in airstrike
The airstrike is said to have targeted Adan Garaar, a senior official in the Amniyat, Shabaab’s intelligence and security service that also is responseble for external operations. Garaar’s fate is not known.
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Iran’s Qasem Soleimani is guiding Iraqi forces in fight against Islamic State
Iran's Qasem Soleimani is guiding Iraqi forces in fight against Islamic State
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Syria
Researchers estimate that 83% of access to electricity has been cut and average life expectancy has dropped by 20 years in Syria over the course of the war. More than 600 physicians have been killed and half of the country’s medical facilities have been badly damaged or destroyed, according the Lancet. SOHR claims that nearly 13,000 people have been “tortured to death” in regime prisons since 2011. The US-led coalition conducted five airstrikes near Kobani in the past day. Kurdish forces called for the coalition to use airstrikes to blunt an Islamic State offensive in northeastern Syria. Syria’s information minister…
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Somalia
A US drone strike on Mar. 12 reportedly killed Adan Garaar, a leader in Shabaab’s security service, the Amniyat. Suspected Islamists staged a complex attack on the government headquarters in Baidoa in southwest Somalia, “killing at least four government soldiers and two civilians.” Three of the attackers were also killed in the assault.
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Islamic State spokesman publicly accepts Boko Haram’s allegiance
In a new audio speech, the Islamic State’s spokesman, Abu Muhammad al Adnani, accepts the pledge of allegiance made by Boko Haram’s leader earlier this month.
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Foreign suicide bombers launch assault on Ramadi
At least 13 suicide bombers, including jihadists from Belgium, Australia, Uzbekistan, Chechnya, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia launched a coordinated assault on Anbar’s provincial capital.
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Pakistani jihadist groups, Lashkar-i-Islam merge into the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan
Omar Khalid Khorasani’s Jamaat ul Ahrar faction and Mullah Fazlullah’s group have put aside differences and reformed the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Islam also joined the group.
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Little Progress in Key Plank of Obama Anti-IS Strategy
Little progress in key plank of Obama anti-Islamic State strategy
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Analysis: Shiite Afghan casualties of the war in Syria
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps – Qods Force is backing the Fatemiyoun Brigade, a unit comprised of Shiite Afghans living in Iran. The leader of the Fatemiyoun Brigade has been pictured with Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
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Egypt
A Coptic church was bombed in Kafr el-Dawar on Mar. 9, injuring two police guards. An Egyptian Army officer was killed by gunmen in Rafah, North Sinai on Mar. 11; two additional attacks in Al-Arish on Mar. 10 killed a civilian, a security officer and injured 45 people. Military airstrikes killed 11 suspected jihadists on the Sinai on Mar. 11; the raid targeted a leader of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. Egyptian Interior Minister Magdi Abdel Ghaffer said his country is in an “existential war” with jihadist groups.
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Libya
The elected parliament asked for a one-week postponement of UN peace talks in a bid to form a unity government. Libya shut down two eastern oilfields due to security concerns over recent jihadist attacks on the facilities. Libya Dawn conducted three airstrikes on the city of Zintan in northwest Libya on Mar. 11. The Islamist group’s fighters and pro-government forces also fought about 80 km. west of Tripoli on Mar. 11. The Islamic State’s Tripoli branch destroyed Sufi shrines. Russia’s UN representative said that his country “would not rule … out” a naval blockade to prevent arms shipments to anti-government…
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Tunisia
Analysts warn of weapons smuggling to jihadist groups in Tunisia via the border with Libya. Ansar al Sharia has expanded its influence in post-revolutionary Tunisia.
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Mali
Hundreds of people protested in Kidal against a UN-brokered peace proposal between Tuareg separatists and the government. Recent attacks by jihadists are said to be aimed at undermining any accord. French counterterrorism investigators arrived in Bamako to aid in the search for militants who attacked a nightclub popular with expatriates.
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Nigeria
Nigerian troops cleared Boko Haram from the Lame/Burra forest in Bauchi state, according to an army spokesman. Soldiers also recaptured three towns and a village in Yobe state from the jihadist group on Mar. 10. A South African military contractor and five Nigerian troops were killed when their vehicle was attacked at a roadblock near Maiduguri on Mar. 9. The US has the potential to expand its campaign against the Islamic State to include Boko Haram, according to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.
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Officials say bombings across Afghanistan kill at least 13
Officials say bombings across Afghanistan kill at least 13
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Yemen’s Army pushes al Qaeda militants out of southern city
Yemen's Army pushes al Qaeda militants out of southern city
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Analysis: Iran is no partner in the fight against the Islamic State
The threat of the Islamic State not only makes Iraq more dependent on Tehran and legitimizes Iran’s military presence in Iraq, it also provides the regime in Tehran with another bargaining chip in nuclear negotiations.
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In pictures: Shiite militias operating near Tikrit
Several Shiite militias, which are supported by the Iranian Qods Force, and the Iraqi Security Forces have taken over several surrounding towns of Tikrit. These militias have published several photos and videos from these towns in recent days.
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Shiite militias, Iraqi forces surround Tikrit
Shiite militias closely linked to Iran and Qods Force commander Qassem Suleimani have taken control of key towns surrounding the central Iraqi city.
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Syria
About 95 prisoners escaped from an Islamic State prison in al Bab near the border with Turkey but many have been recaptured, according to SOHR. The jihadist group beheaded eight men from al Bab on Mar. 9. Kurdish fighters are training a civilian defense force. The US-led coalition conducted 12 airstrikes in Syria from Mar. 6-9, all of them on Islamic State targets near Kobani. According to a separate report, the US also hit an Al Nusrah headquarters near Aleppo on Mar. 8. Unidentified gunmen killed 12 Islamic State fighters in the town of al-Mayadin in eastern Syria.
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Osama bin Laden’s Files: The Pakistani government wanted to negotiate
Recently released letters recovered in Osama bin Laden’s compound reveal that key Pakistani leaders, including the brother of Pakistan’s current prime minister, sought out negotiations with al Qaeda. Pakistan intelligence also communicated with al Qaeda leaders through jihadist intermediaries to discuss a possible truce.
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Egypt
Egypt temporarily reopened the Rafah border crossing with Gaza for the first time in about two months. Several bombings killed one person and injured nine in Alexandria on March 8. A roadside bomb killed three Egyptian soldiers and seriously injured another in the Sinai. Egyptian airstrikes killed 25 suspected jihadists in the Sinai in the past two days, according to security sources.
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Libya
Jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State attacked an oil field in al-Ghani, beheading eight guards and kidnapping nine foreign workers. Pro-government forces conducted airstrikes on the airport in Tripoli, which remains controlled by rival Islamist forces. General Khalifa Haftar was sworn in as the chief of Libya’s army.
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Mali
Militants launched a barrage of rockets into the UN base in Kidal, killing three and wounding twelve. An assault team attacked a nightclub in the capital of Bamako with hand grenades and small arms, killing five people and wounding several others. Al Murabitoon has claimed responsibility for the latter attack.
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Foreigners seized by Islamic State in Libya: Austria
Foreigners seized by Islamic State in Libya: Austria
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US military: Operations against Islamic State may last years
US military: Operations against Islamic State may last years
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Chad, Niger launch joint offensive against Boko Haram in Nigeria
Chad, Niger launch joint offensive against Boko Haram in Nigeria
