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Syria
Turkey’s Syria policy needs to be recalibrated
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Ahrar al Sham leader criticizes head of Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
Hassan Abboud, a top official in Ahrar al Sham and the Islamic Front, has issued a stinging rebuke of ISIS emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Earlier this week, ISIS rejected a reconciliation effort that would have put an end to the infighting between jihadist groups in Syria.
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Al Nusrah Front
Rebels in Syria Claim Control of Resources
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Al Qaeda
UN Security Council urges end to ransom payments to extremists
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Jordan
Jordan’s balancing act on Syria
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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 “terrorists.” The governor of Homs said the UN is negotiating with rebels to allow the evacuation of civilians from Homs; he also said the International Red Cross has been asked to help with the evacuation of a Dutch priest from the city. At least two…
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Al Qaeda
Syrian Jihad: Bringing the War Back Home?
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Syria
The US is providing light arms, including antitank rockets, to “moderate” rebels in southern Syria. The US has also resumed the shipment of nonlethal aid, including vehicles and communications equipment, to Syrian rebels in the north, a month after shipments were suspended following the seizure of Free Syrian Army warehouses by Islamist rebels. A recent effort to unify jihadist ranks split by infighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has temporarily stalled. ISIS raised its flag in Tal Abyad city in Raqqah. The Syrian opposition called the regime’s offer to allow women and children to leave Homs…
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Al Qaeda
Tough road for Sahel security
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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 Yarmouk refugee camp, despite assurances. In Deir Izzour, tribal gunmen agreed with the Al Nusrah Front and the sharia committee to exchange prisoners, including an Islamic battalion commander captured by Al Nusrah. In Damascus, regime forces battled Al Nusrah and Islamic battalions in al Qadam.…
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The Long War Journal’s reply to Marie Harf
The Long War Journal’s assessment of Ms. Harf’s press briefing was entirely accurate and her response actually validates our key points.
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State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf responds to LWJ
State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf emailed this response to the Long War Journal after we criticized her characterization of al Qaeda.
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Afghanistan
As Afghan War closes, allies see broader American pullback
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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 his wife was not wearing a veil.
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Lebanon
Regional wave of Sunni extremism reaches Lebanon
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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 in Syria should be driven out. Turkey’s foreign minister said all non-Syrians should leave Syria, whether Hezbollah or not. Representatives from the Assad regime and the opposition will meet face-to-face tomorrow at the Geneva II talks. The movement of Syria’s chemical weapons out of the…
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Qatar
State Dept. Learned in November of Photos Said to Show Torture in Syria
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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.
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Al Qaeda
US Embassy plot reveals Israel’s growing Al Qaeda problem
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Syria
Syria talks to proceed, but with limited agenda
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Jordan
Arms smuggling attempt foiled on Jordanian-Syrian border
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Bosnia
Turkish Flotilla Charity Tied to Terrorism Again
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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.
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Syria
Al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri issued an audio statement urging jihadist groups in Syria to avoid “partisan fanaticism” and focus on their common enemies, to submit themselves to a shared sharia court with enforcement powers, and to feel free to name a leader for themselves. An opposition activist group claimed that 1,400 people have been killed in clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and rebel forces over the past month. US Secretary of State Kerry called President Assad “the single biggest magnet for terrorists” and said Hezbollah is the “principal difference” in the current fighting…
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Al Qaeda head addresses infighting in Syria
Ayman al Zawahiri has released an audio message addressing the infighting between various jihadist factions inside Syria. Although Zawahiri does not address any group or individual by name, his message was clearly aimed at the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), one of al Qaeda’s two official branches fighting inside Syria.
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Al Nusrah Front
Syria: Al-Qaeda’s New Home
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Syria
In Reef Dimashq near the town of Sahem, regime forces, including Hezbollah, battled the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, the Al Nusrah Front, Islamic battalion fighters, and rebels. In Aleppo province, the ISIS took over much of Menbej city and clashed with rebel and Islamic battalions in Azaz city and al Bab, and Al Nusrah fought against regime forces in southern Aleppo. ISIS fighters in Idlib vowed to avenge the death of a Saudi preacher who had been killed and dragged through the streets of Saraqeb by rebels. Assad regime and opposition figures traded accusations on the opening…
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Syria
Syria Talks Open with Acrimony and Testy Exchanges
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Syria
Special Report: Amid Syria’s violence, Kurds carve out autonomy
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Iraq
Former NATO commander warns of wider war in Middle East
