| Government targeted as anti-terror police arrest two in Australia Posted: 23 Dec 2014 03:38 PM PST  Two men have been seized in Sydney with one allegedly in possession of documents connected to a planned terrorist attack on government targets, police said Wednesday. The arrests by counter-terror police follow a series pre-dawn raids across Sydney and Brisbane in September as concern mounts about the flow of people to Iraq and Syria to fight with the Islamic State group and other jihadists. One of the men charged late Tuesday, a 20-year-old, was accused of being in "possession of documents designed to facilitate a terrorist attack" while a 21-year-old was accused of breaching a control order issued by a judge. "Certainly the documents talked a little bit about potential government targets," said Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner for National Security Michael Phelan.
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| Anti-terror police arrest two in Sydney week after siege Posted: 23 Dec 2014 03:27 PM PST SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian counter-terrorism police said on Wednesday they arrested two men in Sydney, eight days after a 16-hour siege in a central city cafe ended with the deaths of two hostages and a gunman with radical Islamist sympathies. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Tuesday that security officials had intercepted a heightened level of "terrorist chatter" in the aftermath of the Sydney cafe siege, but there were no specific threats of attacks. ... |
| More than 1,100 jihadists killed in US-led Syria strikes Posted: 23 Dec 2014 02:37 PM PST  US-led air strikes in Syria have killed more than 1,000 jihadists in the past three months, nearly all of them from the Islamic State group, a monitoring group said Tuesday. "At least 1,171 have been killed in the Arab and international air strikes (since September 23), including 1,119 jihadists of the Islamic State group and Al-Nusra Front," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists and medics across the war-ravaged country for its information. Among the dead were 1,046 members of IS, which has seized large chunks of Iraq and Syria and is the main target of the air campaign. Seventy-two of those killed were members of Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, the Al-Nusra Front, while another was a jihadist prisoner whose affiliation was unknown, an Observatory statement said.
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| France boosts security after spate of brutal attacks Posted: 23 Dec 2014 02:36 PM PST  The French government stepped up security nationwide Tuesday following three bloody attacks in as many days, which killed one man and injured 25. While the motives behind the incidents -- a knife attack on police and two cars driven into passers-by -- remain unclear, the violence has jarred nerves after repeated jihadist threats against France over its fight against Islamic extremism. Prime Minister Manuel Valls stressed that the three incidents were "distinct" and urged the French to keep calm, while assuring that security would be heightened. The violence began on Saturday when a man was shot dead after attempting to enter a police station in the central town of Joue-les-Tours while shouting "Allahu Akbar".
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| Worse than Islamic State? Concerns rise about Iraq's Shiite militias Posted: 23 Dec 2014 01:36 PM PST A former aide to General David Petraeus warns that as the Pentagon prepares to send another 1,500 US troops to Iraq to help "destroy" the Islamic State fighters, there may be an even greater danger that forces face: Iranian-backed Shiite militias. |
| From Iraqi mountaintop, a fierce battle to free IS-held town Posted: 23 Dec 2014 01:00 PM PST  MOUNT SINJAR, Iraq (AP) — The road to the battlefront plunges straight down the steep face of Mount Sinjar, whipped by a fierce wind. It is littered with trucks and cars that couldn't get up that incline, abandoned by their owners months ago as they fled the rampage of Islamic State group extremists.
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| Algeria kills jihadist chief behind Frenchman's murder Posted: 23 Dec 2014 12:46 PM PST  The Algerian army said on Tuesday it had killed the head of a militant group that beheaded a French tourist after it had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. The body of Abdelmalek Gouri, who claimed responsibility for the beheading of Frenchman Herve Gourdel in September, was identified after an operation in the town of Isser "that allowed us to eliminate three terrorists", the army said. An operation lasting three months had seen 3,000 Algerian troops mobilised to catch Gourdel's killers. The confirmation of Gouri's death came after the Nahar private television network said soldiers had killed him and two other militants late on Monday in Isser, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) east of Algiers.
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| Opinion: Why the US isn't behind the North Korean Internet outage Posted: 23 Dec 2014 11:45 AM PST It's unlikely the US government was behind the recent disruption of the North Korean Internet. |
| Egypt jihadists release video of 'executions' Posted: 23 Dec 2014 11:21 AM PST  An Egyptian jihadist group released video footage on Tuesday that it said showed the execution of two army informants in the insurgent flashpoint of the Sinai Peninsula. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the country's deadliest militant group which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group that has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria, has previously released videos of beheadings. The new video posted on YouTube shows the "confessions" of four men who admitted to being informants. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem) says it has killed at least 12 people since August last year, often by beheading, for allegedly working for Israel's Mossad spy agency.
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| Report: At least 60 journalists killed in 2014 Posted: 23 Dec 2014 11:07 AM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK — At least 60 journalists around the world were killed in 2014 while on the job or because of their work, and 44 percent of them were targeted for murder, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
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| Search is on for diplomatic solution to Syria war Posted: 23 Dec 2014 10:55 AM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The search for a negotiated settlement to the Syrian civil war is gaining steam, as President Bashar Assad's forces feel increasingly squeezed on the battlefield and Islamic extremist groups proliferate across the region.
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| 10 Stories That Really Grabbed Your Attention in 2014 Posted: 23 Dec 2014 10:39 AM PST  The Fiscal Times culled results from The Associated Press, Yahoo, Google, Bing and Twitter, all of which released their most popular topics of the year based on searches, reader interest and other data points. While the Malaysian Airlines plane crashes didn't top anyone's list, they were among the most cited events of 2014, which is why they topped our list. Some of the events that didn't make our list but attracted widespread attention included the umbrella revolution in Hong Kong, the immigration crisis in the U.S., Obamacare, same-sex marriage, and two stories that came too late in the year to be included: The Cuba-U.S. initiative and the assassination of two police officers in New York City. Two Malaysia Airlines planes mysteriously crashed within 131 days of each other.
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| War ravages Syria heritage sites Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:44 AM PST  Nearly 300 sites of incalculable value for Syria and human history have been destroyed, damaged or looted in almost four years of war, the UN said Tuesday, citing "alarming" satellite evidence. From prehistoric settlements and ancient markets to world-famous mosques and Crusader castles, Syria is home to countless treasures. After a major survey, the United Nations said that detailed analysis of satellite images from several hundred sites had unearthed the full scale of the damage. The UN said the report was "alarming testimony of the ongoing damage that is happening to Syria's vast cultural heritage", and called for efforts to scale up their protection.
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| France steps up patrols after spate of lone-wolf attacks Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:36 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - French security forces stepped up security in public places for the Christmas season on Tuesday after three acts of violence in three days left one dead and 30 wounded, reigniting fears of attacks by Islamist radicals. Late on Monday, a man rammed a van into a crowded Christmas market in the western city of Nantes, wounding 10 shoppers. One of the victims, a 25-year-old man, later died of his wounds. The assailant survived and is being questioned by police. ...
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| ISIS: Western Journalist Embedded With Group Says He Came Into Contact With Americans Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:32 AM PST  The first Western journalist to spend time with ISIS since the launch of U.S. airstrikes in August says he has spent time with upwards of 14 Americans -- including one from New Jersey -- during the 10 days he spent inside the group's self-styled "Caliphate."In an interview with ABC News, German journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer said the U.S. fighters were from different backgrounds -- both American born and Arab-Americans as well as white.ISIS: Trail of Terror"I have seen many wars. That's the strongest group I ever met. Very strong, very clever, very enthusiastic. They are extremely brutal. ...
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| IS militants return to outskirts of strategic Iraqi town Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:45 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi official says Islamic State militants have returned to the outskirts of a strategic oil refinery town after being driven out last month. |
| Defense Logistics Agency delivers Christmas cheer to America's warfighters Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:42 AM PST PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American service members deployed away from home will still enjoy a hearty Christmas meal, with all the trimmings, thanks to the efforts of Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Subsistence employees.More than 31,000 pounds of beef, 21,000 pounds of ham, 29,000 pounds of turkey, 840 gallons of eggnog and 6,000 pies are already on hand to feed American service members in Afghanistan Dec. 25, said Anthony Amendolia, customer operations chief for Europe and the Middle East region. ... |
| Terror sans terrorists? Lone-wolf attacks roil France Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:33 AM PST Across Europe, security officials have been raising the alarm over the return of European jihadis from Syria and Iraq. But a spate of seemingly random rampages in France has drawn attention to attacks that don't amount to organized terrorism, yet still sow terror. |
| Women excised from public life, abused by IS Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:18 AM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — The gunmen came to the all-girls' elementary school in the Iraqi city of Fallujah at midday with a special delivery: piles of long black robes with gloves and face veils, now required dress code for females in areas ruled by the Islamic State group.
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| Iraqi cabinet approves $102.5 bn budget for 2015 Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:13 AM PST  The Iraqi cabinet on Tuesday approved a $102.5 billion budget for 2015 based on a projected oil price of $60 a barrel, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's spokesman said. Rafid Jaboori also said that the projected deficit for the year is $19.1 billion.
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| FBI warns of Islamic State threat to Mississippi River bridge Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:12 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI has warned local authorities of a threat that Islamic State militants would blow up the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge spanning the Mississippi River, an agency spokesman said on Tuesday. The bridge is a major route connecting Tennessee and Arkansas. The Federal Bureau of Investigation passed the threat on to local police in a bulletin out of an "abundance of caution," spokesman Chris Allen said. "This is an unsubstantiated, anonymous threat," he said, adding that there was no useful intelligence arising from it. ...
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| Sixty journalists killed in 2014, Mideast deadliest area: watchdog Posted: 23 Dec 2014 06:19 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 60 journalists were killed globally this year in work-related violence, with the Middle East the deadliest region, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a year-end report on Tuesday. The 2014 death toll marks a drop from 2013, when 70 journalists were killed, the New York-based watchdog group said. The CPJ is investigating the deaths this year of at least 18 more journalists to see if they are work-related. Almost half of the journalists killed this year died in the Middle East. ...
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| Ten more strikes hit Islamic State in Syria, Iraq: U.S. military Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:56 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq launched 10 more strikes against the militants on Tuesday, destroying various fighting positions, the U.S. military said in a statement. The seven strikes in Syria and three in Iraq also struck a unit of Islamic State fighters as well as some of the militants' oil collection equipment, according to the Combined Joint Task Force for the operation. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Bill Trott)
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| Over 1,000 Islamist militants killed in U.S. strikes in Syria: monitor Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:28 AM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - Three months of U.S.-led strikes in Syria have so far killed at least 1,171 people, mostly Islamic State militants, a British-based Syrian monitoring group said on Tuesday. Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told Reuters only 52 were civilians. But his network of activists, who are based around Syria, said the death toll since the military campaign was launched in late September was probably higher among hardline Islamist insurgents. ...
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| Algerian soldiers kill militant leader behind Frenchman's murder Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:22 AM PST  By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian special forces killed the leader of the militant group responsible for kidnapping and beheading French tourist Herve Gourdel in September, Algeria's ministry of defence said on Tuesday. Abdelmalek Gouri, also known as Khalid Abu Suleiman, was killed in an ambush near Boumerdes, 50 km (30 miles) east of Algiers, it said in a statement. Gouri was a veteran of Algeria's 1990s Islamist conflict and leader of the Caliphate Soldiers group, which declared its allegiance to jihadist Islamic State fighters in September. ...
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| Iraqi Cabinet approves next year's budget Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:17 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's Cabinet on Tuesday agreed on a 2015 budget of some $105 billion and sent it to parliament for final approval, a government spokesman said. |
| China names 23-man squad for Asian Cup Posted: 23 Dec 2014 03:38 AM PST  Beijing (AFP) - China on Tuesday announced its 23-man squad for the 2015 Asian Cup to be held in Australia in January.
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| ISIS Closing in on Israel from the North and the South Posted: 23 Dec 2014 03:30 AM PST The terror organization has been keen to expand to southern Syria and the Syrian capital of Damascus. Now it says it has recruited three Syrian rebel groups operating in the south of the country in an area bordering the Israeli occupied Golan Heights — that have switched their loyalties to ISIS. This switch means that Israel, the U.S.'s closest ally in the Middle East, could be threatened from the southwest by the Egyptian ISIS group of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis in Sinai and by ISIS in southern Syria. The ISIS war is not going well at all for the US-led alliance in Syria. |
| The Endless $1.6 Trillion War on Terror Posted: 23 Dec 2014 03:00 AM PST  American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq total 6,845 men and women, according to the latest official tally, while more than a million troops were wounded in both wars. The Senate Intelligence Committee recently released a startling 528-page document that chronicled the CIA's often brutal and secretive tactics in interrogating terrorism suspects that for many ran counter to American values.
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| Algeria kills 'jihadist chief' behind Frenchman's beheading: TV Posted: 23 Dec 2014 02:37 AM PST An Algerian television network reported on Tuesday that the army has killed the leader of the Jund al-Khilafa jihadist group behind the beheading of a Frenchman in September. Abdelmalek Gouri, whose group has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) organisation that has overrun large parts of Iraq and Syria, was killed late on Monday in Isser, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) east of Algiers, Nahar TV said. The army killed two other members of Jund al-Khilafa in the same operation in the small town in the Kabylie region, the channel said. Earlier it had reported that the men were killed near Sidi Daoud -- 20 kilometres away -- before the defence ministry said the shooting took place in Isser, home to a police training facility. |
| Exclusive: Arab OPEC sources see oil back above $70 by end-2015 Posted: 23 Dec 2014 01:52 AM PST  By Rania El Gamal ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Arab OPEC producers expect global oil prices to rebound to between $70 and $80 a barrel by the end of next year as a global economic recovery revives demand, OPEC delegates said this week in the first indication of where the group expects oil markets to stabilize in the medium term. The delegates, some of which are from core Gulf OPEC producing countries, said they may not see - and some may not even welcome now - a return to $100 any time soon. ...
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| Australia fears fresh attacks as Sydney mourns siege victims Posted: 23 Dec 2014 01:32 AM PST  Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday warned of heightened "terrorist chatter" in the aftermath of the fatal Sydney cafe siege and said another attack was likely, as tearful mourners paid tribute to the victims. Iranian-born gunman Man Haron Monis, who had a history of extremism and violence, took 17 hostages in the city's financial heartland last week, unveiling an Islamic flag and demanding to talk to Abbott. Two hostages also died -- mother-of-three Katrina Dawson, 38, and 34-year-old Lindt cafe manager Tori Johnson -- while several were injured. "A briefing from the security agencies today indicated that there has been a heightened level of terrorist chatter in the aftermath of the Martin Place siege," Abbott said after a meeting of his National Security Committee.
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| Algeria troops kill chief militant behind Frenchman's murder - TV Posted: 23 Dec 2014 12:53 AM PST ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's army has killed the leader of the militant group responsible for kidnapping and beheading French tourist Herve Gourdel in September, a local television station close to the government said on Tuesday. Ennahar TV, citing an unnamed security source, said troops had killed Gouri Abdelmalek, leader of the Caliphate Soldiers group, which declared its allegiance to jihadist Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria. It said Abdelmalek and two other militants were killed east of the capital Algiers in a clash with special forces. ... |
| Late at night, Christie doing 2016 foreign policy homework Posted: 22 Dec 2014 11:19 PM PST  NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — It's after 9 p.m. on a Sunday night in late November and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is deep into a conference call talking about nuclear weapons and Iran.
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| International journalist deaths soar in 2014: press watchdog Posted: 22 Dec 2014 10:49 PM PST  The gruesome murders of foreign journalists by the Islamic State group contributed to 2014 being a particularly deadly year for international correspondents, an annual review by the Committee to Protect Journalists reported Tuesday. The CPJ study found that an "unusually high proportion" of the 60 journalists who died reporting from the world's trouble-spots in 2014 were international journalists. Six international journalists were among five reporters and two media workers killed in Ukraine this year, the first journalism-related killings CPJ has confirmed in the country since 2001. In total, around a quarter of journalist fatalities in 2014 involved international correspondents -- roughly double the usual mortality rate, the CPJ reported.
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| In Kobane, Islamic State takes a pounding, but holds on Posted: 22 Dec 2014 06:21 PM PST US-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq have allowed the Iraqi Army, Kurdish peshmerga fighters, and their allies to reclaim territory lost to an Islamic State (IS) spring and summer offensive. |
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