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Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham
US secretly backs rebels to fight al Qaeda in Syria
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Syria
Three Islamist fighting groups, including the large Islamic Front coalition as well as the Islamic Union of the Soldiers of al-Sham and the Army of the Mujahideen, issued a statement yesterday rejecting the Geneva II talks and vowing to fight on; they also thanked Turkey and Qatar for their support. In an effort to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, the US, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have reportedly been funneling cash and weapons to rebel groups, including the Syrian Revolutionary Front and the Army of Islam. Five ISIS fighters were killed in clashes with regime forces in…
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Turkish authorities arrest ex-Gitmo detainee in raids against al Qaeda cells
An ex-Guantanamo detainee, Ibrahim Sen, was arrested in Turkey on Jan. 14. Sen is accused of being an important al Qaeda facilitator and leader.
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Al Nusrah Front again targets Hezbollah in Lebanon
The Al Nusrah Front, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, all al Qaeda affiliates, have carried out four suicide attacks in Lebanon since November 2013.
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Al Qaeda
Syria’s Assad accused of boosting Al-Qaeda with secret oil deals
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Syria
Turkish intelligence service trucks reveal secrets
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Ahrar al Sham
Islamic Front no answer for Syria conflict
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Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has imposed a harsh version of Islam throughout Raqqah city and destroyed shrines in a mosque; the ISIS issued four decrees for Syrians in areas under its control in Raqqah province. ISIS took over the al Jarah military airport in Aleppo from an Islamic movement, and clashed with Islamic and rebel battalions outside Menbej city. Regime forces battled the Al Nusrah Front and an Islamic battalion in Deir Izzour. Regime forces killed at least 15 Islamic battalion fighters in Reef Dimashq yesterday. Three car bombs detonated in Aleppo and Idlib. State media…
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Syria
Gruesome Syria photos may prove torture by Assad regime
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Syria
The head of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham released an audio message threatening that the US would soon have to confront ISIS directly; he also urged Syrians not to believe enemy propaganda about ISIS, criticized rebel attacks on ISIS as a “betrayal,” and called on rebels to stop fighting ISIS and focus on fighting the Assad regime. ISIS clashed with Islamist and rebel fighters near an ISIS checkpoint in Aleppo. The Islamic Front rejected the upcoming Geneva II talks as “hollow conferences.” The Syrian National Coalition threatened to withdraw from the talks unless the UN retracts its…
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Al Nusrah Front
Jihadists construct the Atomium bomb: YouTube video threat to Belgium tourist attraction
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Egypt
Region Boiling, Israel Takes Up Castle Strategy
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Syria
The Syrian National Coalition said it would attend the Geneva II talks, and that three rebel groups, Soldiers of the Levant, the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, and the Mujahideen Army, want to be represented in the delegation. An SNC official said the coalition would accept the regime’s offer of a ceasefire in Aleppo if the regime stops using barrel bombs; he also said the ceasefire could possibly be extended to Idlib. Regime barrel bombs in Aleppo killed five Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham fighters and another man. ISIS clashed with Islamist and rebel fighters near Hayyan and in Menbej…
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Statement from Zawahiri’s representative shows Syrian rebel group tied to al Qaeda
A statement posted by Abu Khalid al Suri, Ayman al Zawahiri’s main representative in Syria, criticizes the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). The statement was posted on Twitter. Al Suri is a senior leader in Ahrar al Sham, a Syrian rebel group that is directly linked to al Qaeda.
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OPCW
New analysis of rocket in Syria chemical attack undercuts US claims
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Iraq
Iraqi FM warns against ‘poisonous’ extremism in Syria
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Syria
Free Syrian Army chief Gen. Salim Idris called attempts to unify Syrian rebels into a Free National Army a “pipe dream,” warned that the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham will be long, and said the FSA and the Islamic Front resolved their differences almost a month ago. In Aleppo, a car bomb killed nine Islamist militants in Jazer, an ISIS suicide bomber and clashes killed nine rebels and a civilian in Ajel, ISIS clashed with Islamists and rebels in Menbej, and the Al Nusrah Front and Islamist battalions fought regime forces in Neqareen. In Reef…
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Alleged message from Zawahiri’s Syrian representative posted online
A message allegedly written by Abu Khalid al Suri has been posted online. The message cannot be authenticated. It is directed at the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), which has been fighting with other jihadist groups inside Syria.
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Analysis: Shifting dynamics of rebel infighting in Syria
Recent infighting between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and other Islamist groups, including the Al Nusrah Front, has not yet risen to an all-out confrontation.
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Al Nusrah Front
Australian man killed in Syria had links to Al Qaeda, court documents allege
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Syria
The Al Nusrah Front has demanded that the Raqqah division of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham hand over to sharia court all those responsible for the killing of Abu Sa’ad al-Hadhrami, Al Nusrah’s leader for Raqqah. ISIS attacked regime forces in the 17th division in Raqqah. ISIS and Islamic battalion fighters clashed in Deir Izzour and in Aleppo. Rebels downed a regime helicopter in Reef Dimashq, killing four officers. A car bomb exploded in Saraqeb in Idlib, near an Islamic battalion. An opposition activist group reported that at least 1,070 people have been killed in fighting between…
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Al Qaeda
From Falluja to Maghreb, a new, diffuse al Qaeda
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Hezbollah
Hezbollah at War in Syria: Forces, Operations, Effects and Implications
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Al Nusrah Front suicide bomber kills 5 in attack on Hezbollah
AL Qaeda-affiliated groups are stepping up attacks on Hezbollah and Iranian interests in Lebanon as the Syrian civil war rages.
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Hezbollah
Prosecutors build Hariri bomb plot case on cellphone logs
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France
Flow of Westerners to Syria Prompts Security Concerns
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Syria
The Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, and Islamic battalion fighters clashed with regime forces in eastern Ghouta in Reef Dimashq, and Al Nusrah and rebels clashed with regime forces near Maaloula. The Kurdish YPG accused the Syrian National Coalition of supporting ISIS against YPG forces in Hasakah. Residents of Hasakah mourned the deaths of 39 YPG fighters killed over the past month by ISIS, Al Nusrah, and Islamist rebels; ISIS and allies have taken over the Qamishli countryside. An ISIS suicide bomb killed at least 26 people in Jarabalus city in Aleppo; ISIS also…
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Hezbollah
Justice or Peace? Hariri Trial Could Spark Further Unrest in Lebanon
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France
West has discussed co-operation with Syria, Damascus claims
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Syria
The Syrian National Coalition has not decided whether to attend the Geneva II peace talks, but stated its position that neither President Assad nor his family can have a role in Syria’s future; the Coalition recently lost 42 of its 112 members, and a number of Free Syrian Army groups have recently withdrawn. Regime forces have retaken a number of towns on the outskirts of Aleppo. An Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham suicide car bombing in Idlib killed at least 13 Islamic movement fighters. ISIS clashed with regime forces near the 17th division base in Raqqah, after the…
