Latest Briefs

Political Repercussions of Somali Conflict Spread to Kenya

Renewed fighting between Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian forces in Somalia is displacing hundreds in the capital city Mogadishu. More violence is feared after the October 29 resignation of Prime Minister of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) Ali Mohammed Gedi. The move, which came less than... MORE

Iraqi Terror Trial Exposes Belgium’s Muslim Dilemma

The recent start of the Belgian Iraq terror trial of six men accused of recruiting Europe's first female suicide bomber has once again put the country’s Muslim minority in the spotlight, arousing significant levels of discomfort, concern and fear among Belgium’s Muslims (Le Soir, October... MORE

BRIEFS

A “MODERATE” TALIBAN EMERGES IN AFGHANISTAN’S HELMAND PROVINCE Reports are emerging from the Taliban-held Musa Qala District of Afghanistan’s Helmand Province of changes in the style of Taliban rule there. While the provincial governor continues to refer to Musa Qala as a “nest of terrorists,”... MORE

Somali Conflict Spreads Across Horn Of Africa

The conflict in Somalia is spreading, drawing in fighters and displacing increasing numbers of civilians. Violence has erupted in the previously calmer north of Somalia, with border clashes between the forces of semi-autonomous Puntland and the self-declared republic of Somaliland. Ten people were killed when... MORE

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PKK THREATENS TO DESTROY IRAQI OIL PIPELINES AND TANKER TRUCKS In the face of Turkish threats of a cross-border operation into northern Iraq, a leader of the PKK, Abdul al-Rahman Chadarchi, threatened to attack Iraqi oil pipelines that pass through Kurdistan to the Turkish port... MORE

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U.S. WARSHIPS PATROLLING SOUTHERN SOMALIA COAST Somali website AllPuntland.com published a report on October 15 claiming that U.S. warships have increased their presence along the Somali coast, searching for foreign fighters involved with the ongoing Islamist-led insurgency there. The website claims that U.S. warships have... MORE

Investigation into Backgrounds of Bosnians Involved in Vienna Plot

Austrian authorities have found no evidence that two Bosnian men arrested earlier this month in connection with an attempted attack on the U.S. Embassy in Vienna had connections with radical Muslims from the former Yugoslavia. Certain circumstances, however, lead a trail that analysts say could... MORE

Splits Developing in Somali Insurgency

Violence in Somalia is escalating as insurgents increase the fight against the feeble Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and their Ethiopian military backers. Rifts, however, are growing between more moderate opposition and harder extremist elements of the former Islamic Courts Union (ICU), raising fears that it... MORE

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UPCOMING E-BOOK TO BE RELEASED ON AL-QAEDA'S TOP LEADERS On September 5, the so-called al-Buraq Media Establishment announced the creation of a new book called "The Great Triple Chronicle," which is basically a collection of statements and speeches from Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and... MORE