Greater Middle East
Saudi court hands down death for 2004 bombing
A Saudi Arabian court sentenced to death a member of a militant cell in connection with a 2004 suicide attack on a western company operating in Yanbu port.
Tag: al-Qaeda
Iraq
Qaedists lose ground in Syria; gain in Iraq
Syrian rebels launched an offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—just as the Qaeda-inspired army has seized the Iraqi towns of Fallujah and Ramadi.
North Africa
Benghazi bad guys: Is You Is or Is You Ain’t al-Qaeda?
Republicans are scrambling after a New York Times story dismissed a Qaeda link in the 2012 Benghazi attack—but the question of what constitutes "al-Qaeda" is inherently political.
Africa
Cameroon takes steps against Boko Haram
Authorities in Cameroon have beefed up border controls in the Far North region to guard against infiltration by Boko Haram as civilians flee the growing war in Nigeria.
Watching the Shadows
US transfers two Gitmo detainees to Saudi Arabia
Two Guantánamo Bay detainees were transferred to Saudi Arabia—with “humane treatment assurances.” The total number of detainees at the facility now stands at 160.
Greater Middle East
Syria: imperialists keep flipping script
Ex-CIA director Michael Hayden says Bashar Assad is the best option for stability in Syria—while the White House now considers arming jihadist rebels.
Greater Middle East
Yemen: war comes to capital
A suicide attack on the defense ministry thrust Yemen briefly into the news—as an invisible sectarian war rages across much of the countryside.
Watching the Shadows
Gitmo detainees accuse Poland in CIA rendition
Lawyers for two Guantánamo detainees, arguing before the European Court of Human Rights, accused Poland of providing a secret torture site for the CIA's "rendition" program.
Watching the Shadows
Gitmo lawyer: declassify interrogation techniques
The lawyer for five Gitmo prisoners charged in the 9-11 attacks has asked President Obama to declassify the CIA interrogation program that allegedly subjected prisoners to torture.
Watching the Shadows
US court upholds conviction of ex-Gitmo detainee
The US Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of ex-Guantánamo detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani in the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa.
North Africa
Qaeda commander claimed captured in Libya
Al-Qaeda operative Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Ruqai AKA Abu Anas al-Libi, wanted for his role in the 1998 African embassy bombings, was reportedly captured by US forces in Tripoli.
Africa
US sea raid on Somali rebel stronghold
US forces launched a night raid on a rebel-held town in Somalia’s southern Lower Shabelle region from the sea—apparently an effort to kill the leader of the Shabaab.