Iraq
New Qaeda affiliate claims Damascus attack
A new Qaeda affiliate in Syria has claimed responsibility for a double bomb attack targeting Shi'ite pilgrims near a shrine in Damascus that killed at least 40 Iraqis.
Tag: al-Qaeda
North Africa
Mali: Tuareg rebel militias again seize Timbuktu
Installation of an interim authority in Timbuktu under a peace deal with Tuareg rebels in Mali's desert north was blocked as hardline factions erected street barricades.
Greater Middle East
Yemen: US warplanes strike Qaeda targets
US warplanes and drones struck supposed al-Qaeda targets across three provinces in Yemen, killing at least 12 suspected militants and wounding multiple civilians.
Syria
US bombs post-Nusra militants fighting Assad
A US drone strike killed a supposed al-Qaeda leader in Syria fighting in an ex-Nusra Front cell that had just carried out a deadly suicide attack on a regime intelligence complex.
Syria
Syria: Idlib between jihadis and imperial air-raids
Idlib governorate, where evacuees from Aleppo were forced to flee, is dominated by jihadist factions that both threaten secularists and draw air-strikes from the US and Russia alike.
Greater Middle East
Yemen: child killed in Trump’s first commando raid
President Trump's first commando raid left dead the US-born 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, the late leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Africa
Kenya’s Shabaab amnesty: ‘loaded gun’?
Shabaab militants are disappearing after turning themselves in under Kenya's amnesty program. Are the security forces responsible or jihadist hit squads?
North Africa
Jihadists wooing Tuareg movement again?
With the Tuareg movement divided on whether to accept an autonomy offer from Mali's government, jihadist insurgents seek to rebuild an alliance with the intransigent factions.
Watching the Shadows
Conviction of bin Laden assistant upheld
A US appeals court upheld the conviction of Ali Hamza Bahlul, former personal assistant to Osama bin Laden, finding that conspiracy cases can be tried by military tribunals.
North Africa
US builds regional drone base in Niger
The US is investing at least $50 million in a military air base in Niger that will be capable of deploying drones to police the greater Sahara and Sahel regions.
New York City
NYC: Chelsea bombing suspect charged
The suspect in the Chelsea bombings apparently expressed admiration for al-Qaeda and ISIS in his personal journal—which will be exploited by the media and ISIS alike.
Greater Middle East
Syria: genocidal regime troops’ lives matter
With over a quarter million dead in Syria, the UN Security Council finally called an emergency meeting after the US for the first time bombed Assad regime forces—by accident.