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Syria
The head of the Al Nusrah Front called for a ceasefire between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and clashing rebel groups in Syria, the creation of an independent Islamic council to mediate disputes, and the exchange of prisoners. An opposition activist group said that 274 people have been killed in four days’ fighting between ISIS and rebel groups, including at least 99 ISIS fighters, of whom 34 were executed by rebels. The activist group also claimed that regime airstrikes in Aleppo have killed over 600 people in the last three weeks. Over 100 ISIS fighters are said…
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Al Qaeda in Iraq
The Iraqi government’s battle to control Fallujah
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Al Nusrah Front
Syria rebel infighting spreads to city in east
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Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and the newly formed Jaish al Mujahideen in al Tabqa in Raqqah. Islamist and non-Islamist rebels also fought against ISIS in other Raqqah cities, and released 50 captives from an ISIS prison in Raqqah city. ISIS clashed with rebels in Aleppo, and an ISIS suicide car bomber detonated near Sha’ar. Islamist and rebel battalions took over ISIS’ main base in Jarabalus in Aleppo. Al Nusrah battled Kurdish YPG forces in Hasakah. ISIS fighters withdrew from Kafarzeita in Hama after mediation by Al Nusrah. Regime bombardments continued…
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Al Qaeda in Iraq
Fuelled by Syria war, al Qaeda bursts back to life in Iraq
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Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with rebels and Islamist battalions in Raqqah. Kurdish YPG forces battled ISIS, Al Nusrah Front, and Islamist battalions in Hasakah. Regime forces clashed with Al Nusrah and Islamist battalions in Deir Izzour. Al Nusrah is reportedly mediating between ISIS and several rebel battalions in Aleppo: several ISIS bases were surrendered to Al Nusrah. Yesterday 10 captive regime soldiers were executed by Al Nusrah and an armed Islamist movement in Aleppo. Some 60 fighters were killed in clashes between Islamist and non-Islamist rebel groups in Aleppo, Idlib, Raqqah, and Hama. Syrian opposition…
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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
The Women of al Qaeda
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Abdullah Azzam Brigades
The continuing evolution of al Qaeda 3.0
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Syria
Is Turkey sending weapons to Syria under guise of aid?
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Iraq
Power Vacuum in Middle East Lifts Militants
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Al Nusrah Front
Al Qaeda group leader’s letters discovered with plans to kidnap UN workers in Syria
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Syria
The Al Nusrah Front released video of leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani’ conducting a battlefield tour in Aleppo. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham clashed with various rebel groups in Aleppo, and an ISIS commander is said to have been killed in Azaz. ISIS warned rebels that unless they stop attacking ISIS, release ISIS captives, and remove checkpoints, ISIS will withdraw from the liberated areas of Aleppo, leaving them to regime forces. ISIS executed a rebel captive in Idlib and reportedly killed other captives when its fighters were besieged by rebels. An Al Nusrah Front commander was killed in…
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Al Qaeda, tribal allies ‘control’ Fallujah
While the military and allied tribes organize to retake areas of Ramadi and launch operations in other cities and towns, Fallujah, a city that once represented the seat of power for al Qaeda in Iraq, has again fallen under control of the group.
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Syria
A mass demonstration against both the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and the Assad regime took place in Aleppo city. ISIS clashed with rebel groups in various locations in Aleppo province. The Islamic Front and the Syrian Revolutionaries Front called on ISIS to leave the town of Atareb in Aleppo. The Islamic Front denounced ISIS crimes, and the Mujahedeen Army declared ISIS an enemy. Islamist brigades sent reinforcements to the ISIS-controlled Bab al-Salama border crossing by Azaz city. In Idlib, ISIS forces fired on a demonstration and sieged several field clinics. An Arab member of the Al Nusrah…
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Report: Ex-Guantanamo detainee and member of Bahrain’s royal family joins Syrian jihad
An ex-Guantanamo detainee, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifah, has reportedly traveled from Bahrain to join the jihad in Syria. According to a leaked Joint Task Force Guantanamo threat assessment, Sheikh Salman had ties to senior al Qaeda and Taliban officials prior to his detention in Pakistan and transfer to Guantanamo.
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Free Syrian Army
Silence continues over abduction of Syrian human rights lawyer
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Hezbollah
Hezbollah Upgrades Missile Threat to Israel
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Hezbollah
Chatah’s assassination marks rise of extremism in Lebanon
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Syria
The Syrian National Coalition charged that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham is linked to the Assad regime and serves its interests. An opposition activist group said the body of a British doctor who had been allied with the Islamic Front’s Ahrar al Sham but executed by ISIS was recently handed over in a prisoner exchange. The Islamic Front demanded that the ISIS perpetrators be brought to justice by a sharia court for the doctor’s death. ISIS released a video clip on the creation of an Islamic state and Osama bin Laden blessing its predecessor group ISI, and…
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Hezbollah
Israeli study of foreign fighters in Syria suggests Shiites may outnumber Sunnis
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Al Qaeda seizes partial control of 2 cities in western Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham has taken control of sections of Ramadi and Fallujah. In Ramadi, a large convoy of ISIS fighters has been seen moving through the city.
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Syria
An opposition activist group that reports on the Syrian conflict said its network of sources is increasingly being threatened by Islamist extremists. The Syrian Electronic Army reportedly hacked Skype. The 11-nation Friends of Syria group plans to convene in the coming days in advance of the Geneva II talks.
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Abdullah Azzam Brigades
Al Qaeda-affiliated emir arrested in Lebanon
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Emir of Abdullah Azzam Brigades detained in Lebanon
Majid bin Muhammad al Majid, a Saudi jihadist who leads the al Qaeda-associated Abdullah Azzam Brigades, is thought to have been captured last month.
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Syria
An opposition activist group claimed to have documented the deaths of over 130,000 people in the Syrian conflict so far. A member of the Syrian National Coalition alleged that President Assad had told Russia he aimed to take control of 80 percent of Syria prior to the Geneva II talks. The Vatican plans to host a workshop on Jan. 13 aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Syria.
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Syria
Behind Assad’s Comeback, a Mismatch in Commitments
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Free Syrian Army
Syria – The Revolution Betrayed
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Syria
At least 19 rebels have been killed in three days of fighting with regime troops for control of the Deir Izzour military airbase. Foreign Minister Muallem said yesterday that Syria wants Iran to attend the Geneva II talks. The UN asked the regime and rebels to allow aid into the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. Meeting with Lebanese clerics, President Assad condemned Wahhabism as intolerant; the day before, Saudi King Abdullah accused Assad of “destroying his country” and attracting extremists to Syria.
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Israel
Wary of rockets, IDF beefs up security on Golan Heights
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Islamic Front
Obama’s Failed Outreach to Syria’s Islamic Front
