-
United Kingdom
Prime Minister Cameron said Britain intends to double its nonlethal aid to the Syrian opposition over the next year. The Defence Ministry announced plans to lengthen tours of duty for British troops in Afghanistan to facilitate the security handover to Afghan forces in 2014.
-
United Kingdom
Counsel for extremist cleric Abu Qatada said his client would voluntarily return to Jordan if it signs a recent treaty with the UK guaranteeing Qatada a fair trial. Qatada is currently in a UK jail for violation of bail conditions; a search of his home on March 7 found suspected extremist literature and 17 mobile phones, three USB sticks, an SD card, five digital media devices, and 55 recordable CDs or DVDs. Raids were conducted in London following the arrest.
-
Al Qaeda
Maghreb fights narco-terrorism
-
United Kingdom
Police search for men who left suspect van at Gatwick
-
Afghanistan
Afghanistan: UK’s best armoured vehicle overcome by Taliban for first time
-
United Kingdom
Muslim free school plans on hold over ‘extremism’ claims
-
United Kingdom
The government is said to be planning a reversal of the 1968 “East of Suez” policy that resulted in the closing of a number of its military bases in the Gulf; the military is considering the establishment of a strong shadow presence in the area following the drawdown from Afghanistan. The UK’s Chief of Defence Staff had said in December that “[a]fter Afghanistan, the Gulf will become our main military effort.”
-
United Kingdom
The Royal Air Force stated that it has begun supporting ISAF and Afghan ground troops with “armed intelligence and surveillance missions” using drones remotely piloted from Britain. A former chief of defense intelligence said terrorists operate in “a condition of sanctuary” in parts of Afghanistan.
-
Syria
Possible Syria chemical arms ’embarrassing’ for US
-
United Kingdom
Three al Qaeda-linked British Islamists who planned mass-casualty suicide attacks, Irfan Naseer, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali, were given prison sentences ranging from 18 to 23 years; Rahin Ahmed, an associate, received a 17-year term. Several other members of the Birmingham-based cell were also sentenced. Radical Islamists Imran Mahmood, Jahangir Alom, and Richard Dart received jail terms of less than 10 years each for planning acts of terror. Mahmood had traveled to Pakistan for terrorist training, and the other two men had tried to do so. Alom’s efforts to acquire the training are tied to a Briton living in Pakistan.
-
European Union
Hundreds of Europeans fighting in Syria, says EU expert
-
United Kingdom
An appellate court refused the government’s bid to overturn a ruling that prohibits the deportation of extremist cleric Abu Qatada. He remains in prison following his arrest in March for violating bail conditions, and authorities are sifting through a large quantity of alleged extremist material seized from his home at the time.
-
Afghanistan
Afghanistan – Reduced security blamed for Taliban attack
-
United Kingdom
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Haroon Aswat, a lieutenant of extremist cleric Abu Hamza, cannot be deported to the US because he suffers from schizophrenia and might deteriorate in a US prison. Aswat is accused of conspiring with Hamza to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon.
-
United Kingdom
The Foreign and Commonwealth office expressed concern over reports that chemical weapons have been used by the Assad regime in urban locations in tactical military engagements in Syria. Four al Qaeda-inspired British jihadists plotted in 2011 to attack a Luton military base, according to trial testimony.
-
Syria
Move to Widen Help for Syrian Rebels Gains Speed in West
-
Syria
US Reviews Military Options for Syria
-
United Kingdom
United Kingdom – Are Sharia councils failing vulnerable women?
-
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian paralysis sentence ‘grotesque’, says Foreign Office
-
France
French trip to Iraq to investigate British deaths ‘too dangerous’
-
Al Nusrah Front
What the Iraq war taught me about Syria
-
United Kingdom
Lieutenant-General Nick Carter, the UK’s senior commander in Afghanistan, warned against British troops cuts that could endanger the progress made in the last three years. The massive airlift of military equipment back to the UK from Afghanistan has begun.
-
United Kingdom
The UK has begun sending military trainers to Mali as part of an EU mission. The Home Office lost its appeal against a ruling preventing the deportation of radical Islamist Abu Qatada; the court said the fact he was regarded as a “very dangerous person” was not relevant. Qatada was arrested earlier this month but has never faced UK charges.
-
Afghanistan
Stalemate to continue: Taliban rule out talks with Karzai during Qatar visit
-
Afghanistan
Chinook pilot awarded medal for Helmand rescue
-
Libya
Libya – Why I resigned – interview with Hassan Al-Amin
-
United Kingdom
The senior national counterterrorism coordinator said the government has foiled a terror plot the size of the 7/7 London tube bombings every year since 2005; he also said al Qaeda remains the biggest terror threat to the UK. British jails currently hold 134 prisoners classified as terrorists or domestic extremists, of whom 107 are linked to al Qaeda. Counterterrorism police are investigating “an awful lot of media” found at the home of extremist cleric Abu Qatada suggesting his extensive involvement in global terrorism.
-
United Kingdom
A British official said more British jihadists are going to Syria than all the other areas of conflict combined, and warned that Syria could become “the crucible of trans-national terrorism.” Three men pled guilty to terrorism charges, including traveling to Pakistan for training. Complaints were made about an event sponsored by an Islamic group at University College London in which the audience was segregated.
-
United Kingdom
The Labour Party suspended Pakistan-born Muslim peer Nazir Ahmed for stating that his recent prison sentence for dangerous driving was due to pressure by Jews “who own newspapers and TV channels.” As many as 10 of the UK’s most dangerous terror suspects will be “free of all constraints” early next year when the time limits of restrictive court orders expire.
-
Al Qaeda
Insight: Islamist inroads in Mali may undo French war on al Qaeda
