Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Al Qaida has been on the defensive amid the rebel campaign in northern Syria. Al Qaida’s Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has been driven out of numerous positions in northern Syria by rebels financed by Saudi Arabia. Opposition sources said the Saudi-sponsored Islamic Front has captured ISIL headquarters […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Lebanon has reported the death of a captured Al Qaida commander. The Lebanese Army said Majid Al Majid, a Saudi national, died on Jan. 4 during interrogation in Beirut. The Army said the health of Al Majid, identified as the commander of the Al Qaida-aligned Abdullah Azzam Brigades, declined in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Two years after the withdrawal of the U.S. military, Iraq stands on the verge of civil war. The Iraq Army has been ordered to battle Sunni fighters in areas that resisted central government control. Officials said the Army focus has been Anbar, the largest province and along the border with […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Saudi-backed rebels have launched an offensive against Al Qaida in Syria. Rebel militias began a campaign against Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant throughout Syria. The militias were said to have attacked ISIL strongholds in the northern provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, particularly along the 900-kilometer border […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — The foreign fighters presence in the Sunni revolt in Syria has reached as many as 11,000, a report said. The International Center for the Study of Radicalization estimated that between 3,300 and 11,000 foreigners have joined the Sunni revolt against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. In a report, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — An Islamist movement is said to have been recruiting fighters for the Sunni revolt in Syria. Western diplomats said European intelligence agencies have identified Hizb Al Tahrir as a leading recruiter of fighters for the Sunni revolt in Syria. They said Hizb, which for years eschewed politics, was indoctrinating and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Al Qaida, frustrated by setbacks in northern Syria, has resumed the abduction of Kurds. The opposition said Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was kidnapping scores of Kurds in the battle to capture Kurdish enclaves near the Syrian border with Turkey. So far, more than 50 Kurds […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Al Qaida has been abducting journalists in Syria. The Committee to Protect Journalists asserted that Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and Levant was kidnapping journalists in Syria. The New York-based group cited two ISIL raids of a radio station in October 2013. “The number of journalists currently missing in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Iran’s proxies have taken over most of the fighting against Sunni rebels in Syria. Western diplomatic sources said Hizbullah and other Iranian proxies were assigned virtually all of the infantry operations against Sunni rebel strongholds. The sources said the Syrian military has been restricted to air and artillery strikes to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The Syrian Army was said to have killed a leading Al Qaida-aligned rebel chief. Officials said the Army led operations against rebel militias in the provinces of Aleppo and Dera. They said at least two senior commanders were killed, including one from Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. […]