SENIOR LIBYAN AL-QAEDA LEADER CALLS FOR ISLAMIC STATE AFTER QADDAFIAn al-Qaeda media front has released a statement from a senior member of the core command regarding the goals of the Libyan revolt. Shaykh Jamal Ibrahim Ishtawi al-Misrata (a.k.a. Atiyyatullah) delivered a sharp critique of Mu’ammar... MORE

SYRIAN REGIME DEPLOYS MILITARY IN NAVAL PORT OF LATAKIAFor the first time in his 11 years as ruler of Syria, President Bashar al-Assad has deployed elements of the Syrian military against a domestic target – the protesters that had taken to the streets of the... MORE

COUSIN OF SYRIAN PRESIDENT WARNS WINDOW FOR REFORM IS CLOSING AS REGIME LOSES GRIP Ribal al-Assad, the cousin of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, calls for significant change in Syria from his self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom. Al-Assad is the director of a group calling... MORE

PENINSULA SHIELD FORCE INTERVENES IN BAHRAIN Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has announced a “foreign plot” against his country was thwarted by the military intervention of forces under the command of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (Global Arab Network, March 21; VOA, March 21).... MORE

LIBYAN AL-QAEDA LEADER SAYS JIHAD IS THE ONLY SOLUTION FOR LIBYAA Libyan al-Qaeda spokesman has released a 31-minute video claiming al-Qaeda created the conditions that allowed for revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and inspired the ongoing rebellion in Libya (Ansar1.info, March 12). Produced by al-Sahab... MORE

LIBYAN LOYALISTS AND DISSIDENTS VIE FOR TUAREG FIGHTERSWith the fate of Libya in the balance, both sides in the struggle to determine its future are appealing to North Africa’s indigenous Tuareg warriors for military help. Libya’s own Tuareg population of roughly 50,000 has been simultaneously... MORE

TALIBAN SPOKESMAN SEES “PRESCRIPTION OF DEMOCRACY” AS PART OF U.S. MILITARY STRATEGYTaliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid gave an interview to the media service of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” on February 23 concerning the “current political and military situation” in Afghanistan. The interview was carried by... MORE

UFLA LEADERS MEET WITH INDIAN GOVERNMENT FOR PEACE TALKS The political leadership of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) [1] is engaging in unconditional peace talks on behalf of the decades-old Assamese insurgency with India’s central government. Assam is considered vital to the Indian... MORE

HAVE DARFUR REBELS JOINED QADDAFI’S MERCENARY DEFENDERS?A handful of unconfirmed reports from Libya have cited the presence of Darfur rebels in the ranks of the African mercenaries defending the regime of President Mu’ammar Qaddafi (al-Intibaha [Khartoum], February 21; Reuters, February 22). A spokesman for the... MORE

GAMA’A AL-ISLAMIYA LEADER SAYS EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION BELONGS “ONLY TO THOSE WHO IGNITED IT”An ideological leader of former Egyptian militant group al-Gama’a al-Islamiya (GI - The Islamic Group) recently told a pan-Arab daily that the revolution in Egypt belonged not to the Islamists, but to the... MORE