| Iraqi Sheiks Prepare to Strike Back Posted: 04 Jan 2014 03:42 PM PST  The tribal sheiks who aligned with the U.S. military and defeated al Qaeda have been abandoned by their allies as terrorists retake the country. Now they're getting ready to fight back.
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| Syrian rebels launch fierce offensive against al Qaeda fighters Posted: 04 Jan 2014 02:45 PM PST  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebel factions battled fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) across north-west Syria on Saturday in the heaviest clashes between President Bashar al-Assad's opponents in nearly three years of conflict, activists said. Activists said dozens of fighters were killed in the clashes between rival rebel groups which have raged since Friday in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, close to the border with Turkey. The president, backed by Shi'ite fighters from Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, has pushed back rebels around Damascus and in central Syria, and faces little pressure to make concessions. One group of fighters battling ISIL was the newly formed Mujahideen Army, an alliance of eight brigades who accused the al Qaeda affiliate of hijacking their struggle to topple Assad.
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| Iraqi army shells Falluja to try to dislodge Qaeda, tribes Posted: 04 Jan 2014 02:30 PM PST  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi troops trying to retake Anbar province from a mixture of Islamist and tribal foes battled al Qaeda fighters in Ramadi on Saturday after shelling the western region's other main city, Falluja, overnight, tribal leaders and officials said. At least eight people were killed and 30 were wounded in Falluja, and residents of both cities said the fighting had limited their access to food, and that they were running low on generator fuel. Falluja has been held since Monday by Sunni Muslim militants linked to al Qaeda and tribal fighters united in their opposition to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, in a serious challenge to the authority of his Shi'ite-led government in Anbar province.
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| Iraq city falls fully into hands of al-Qaida group Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:52 PM PST  BAGHDAD (AP) — The city center of Iraq's Fallujah has fallen completely into the hands of fighters from the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, police said Saturday, yet another victory for the hardline group that has made waves across the region in recent days.
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| Al-Qaida group says responsible for Beirut bombing Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:39 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — An al-Qaida linked group claimed responsibility on Saturday for a suicide car bombing last week in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in Lebanon, as its fighters fought other rebels in neighboring Syria in the most serious infighting since the uprising began.
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| Syria rebels unite and launch new revolt, against jihadists Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:38 PM PST  Syrian rebels have united to kill and capture dozens of jihadists in a new "revolution" against an Al-Qaeda affiliate they accuse of worse abuses than the hated President Bashar al-Assad, activists said Saturday. Three powerful rebel alliances have taken on fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during two days of fierce combat in Aleppo and Idlib provinces that Syria's main opposition National Coalition said it "fully supports." And in new signs the nearly three-year conflict is spreading, ISIL seized the city of Fallujah in neighbouring Iraq, and claimed a suicide bomb attack in a Beirut stronghold of Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite movement fighting alongside Assad's forces. "At least 36 members and supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have been killed since Friday in Idlib and more than 100 have been captured by rebels" in Idlib and Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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| Iraq's Fallujah falls to Qaeda militants as 65 killed Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:24 PM PST  Fallujah (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraq has lost Fallujah to Al-Qaeda-linked fighters, a senior security official said Saturday, putting militants back in control of the city in Anbar province where American forces repeatedly battled insurgents. And fighting in Anbar killed 65 people -- eight soldiers, two government-allied tribesmen and 55 militants from the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), security officials said.
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| US condemns 'barbarism' by Qaeda fighters in Iraq Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:13 PM PST  The United States on Saturday said it was closely watching developments in Iraq's Anbar province, where militants have taken control of Fallujah, condemning Al-Qaeda-linked fighters for committing "barbarism." Iraq has been fiercely battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since Monday, when security forces broke up an anti-government protest camp near Ramadi set up after demonstrations erupted in late 2012 against what Sunni Arabs say is the marginalisation and targeting of their community. The violence then spread to Fallujah, and a subsequent withdrawal of security forces from areas of both cities cleared the way for militants to move in. The fighting has been brutal, with more than 100 people killed on Friday alone, Iraq's deadliest single day in years.
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| Belgian, Dane, Peruvian, Swede and Swiss MSF staff taken in Syria Posted: 04 Jan 2014 12:00 PM PST  The five Doctors Without Borders (MSF) staffers seized by an unknown group in northern Syria this week are Belgian, Danish, Peruvian, Swedish and Swiss nationals, the humanitarian organisation said Saturday. The organisation has been extremely spare in information provided on the employees, who were taken Thursday night from a house they were using in war-ravaged Syria. "In difficult moments, discretion is crucial for the security of our colleagues," the spokeswoman said. Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders however told broadcaster RTL-TV that the Belgian national was a nurse in his 30s.
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| Iraq forces kill 55 'Qaeda' fighters in Anbar: general Posted: 04 Jan 2014 08:47 AM PST  Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi security forces killed 55 Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in two areas in Anbar province on Saturday, the commander of the country's ground forces told AFP. "Dozens of armed men were killed tonight in two security operations," Staff General Ali Ghaidan Majeed said. Near the city of Ramadi, "the first targeted groups from ISIL in Albufaraj, leading to the killing of 25," he said, referring to the Al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. And "a large gathering of ISIL members was targeted near Garma, killing 30," Majeed added, referring to an area near the city of Fallujah.
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| Rapid fall for Army general accused of sex crimes Posted: 04 Jan 2014 08:05 AM PST  FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — With a single star studded on each shoulder of his immaculate dress blues, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair waited his turn to go through the metal detectors at the federal courthouse at Fort Bragg, just like everyone else.
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| Many residents of Fallujah flee, fearing major battle Posted: 04 Jan 2014 07:50 AM PST  Fallujah (Iraq) (AFP) - Many residents have fled the Iraqi city of Fallujah after it was seized by jihadists, while others are preparing to stay through what all fear will be a major battle as security forces push to retake it. Fallujah's streets are all but empty except for cars navigating alleys in an attempt to escape clashes and shelling on the outskirts. Among those seeking a way out is Salam al-Kritawi, a 27-year-old taxi driver who has his wife, two young children and bags of clothes with him in his car. "We will leave Fallujah now, because the battles will begin, and we do not want to be killed in a battle between Al-Qaeda and security forces," says Kritawi, who abandoned his city-centre house.
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| Bahrain names Bahraini living in Iran as suspect in foiled attacks Posted: 04 Jan 2014 07:21 AM PST Bahrain has named a Bahraini citizen who lives in Iran as a main suspect in what it called planned "terrorist acts" and said he and his collaborators had received training and other help from Tehran. Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, said last Monday it had foiled an attempt to smuggle arms and explosives, some made in Iran and Syria, into the country by boat. The Gulf Arab kingdom has been rattled by bouts of unrest since February 2011, when protests led by members of its Shi'ite majority population demanded that the Sunni ruling family give up ultimate power to an elected parliament. Bahrain's chief prosecutor Osama al-Oufi, cited by the state BNA news agency, said the suspect behind the smuggling operation, Ali Mafoudh al-Moussawi, was accused of "planning to commit terrorist acts and planting explosives targeting vital installations and sovereign and security locations". |
| Islamic State group claims Beirut bombing: statement Posted: 04 Jan 2014 07:17 AM PST  A statement in the name of the al Qaeda-linked militant group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility on Saturday for a suicide bombing in the Hezbollah stronghold of southern Beirut that killed at least five people two days ago. The purported ISIL claim, which also warned of further attacks, came in a statement responding to an offensive against the group by rival forces in northern Syria over the last two days in which dozens of people have been killed. The statement said the fighting in Syria had been launched at a time when the Islamic State had "breached the borders and penetrated the security system of the Party of Satan in Lebanon" - an ironic reference to Hezbollah, whose name means Party of God in Arabic. ISIL said it had "struck its stronghold in the so-called security zone in southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday ... in the first small installment of a heavy account that awaits these shameless criminals".
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| Syria rebels kill, capture dozens of Qaeda affiliates Posted: 04 Jan 2014 07:16 AM PST  Rebels killed and captured dozens of jihadists loyal to an Al-Qaeda affiliate in two days of unprecedented fighting in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, a monitor said Saturday. Three powerful rebel alliances joined forces in the fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a move the main opposition National Coalition said it "fully supports". And in a new sign of the war spreading, ISIL claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing targeting the southern Beirut stronghold of Shiite Hezbollah, which has sent fighters into Syria to back forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. "At least 36 members and supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have been killed since Friday in Idlib and more than 100 have been captured by rebels" in Aleppo and Idlib, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
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| ISIL claims bombing in Hezbollah's Beirut stronghold Posted: 04 Jan 2014 06:56 AM PST  The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Saturday claimed credit for a deadly bombing in the Beirut stronghold of the "criminal" Shiite militant group Hezbollah. ISIL said in a statement posted online that it had penetrated the "security system of the Party of Satan (Hezbollah)... and crush its strongholds... in a first small payment from the heavy account that is awaiting those wicked criminals".
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| Turkish court orders release of Kurdish lawmakers accused of militant links Posted: 04 Jan 2014 06:19 AM PST By Seyhmus Cakan DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A Turkish court ordered the release from jail on Saturday of three Kurdish lawmakers, in addition to two freed on Friday, who are being tried for links to militants in a potential fillip to a fragile peace process. The court rulings go some way to addressing criticism from the European Union and rights groups over Turkey's lengthy detentions for defendants on trial. A judge in the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir ruled in favor of freeing Selma Irmakand and Faysal Sariyildiz, Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) MPs, and independent Kemal Aktas after the constitutional court said their imprisonment violated their rights as elected officials. On Friday a Diyarbakir court ordered the release of Gulser Yildirim and Ibrahim Ayhan who won seats for the BDP in a 2011 election but have been held on remand for several years accused of supporting Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) armed rebels. |
| Syrian rebels give al-Qaida rivals ultimatum Posted: 04 Jan 2014 05:07 AM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Activists say Islamic rebels fighting in Syria have given their rivals from an al-Qaida-linked group 24 hours to surrender.
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| Beirut’s Dead Qaeda Mastermind Posted: 04 Jan 2014 02:45 AM PST  A day after DNA testing reportedly confirmed the identity of the jihadist behind the attack on Iran's embassy, authorities announced he died in custody.
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