Warlord behind Kenya attack has global ambitions
The alleged Somali mastermind of the assault on a posh mall that killed scores and jolted Kenya is a man of contradictions. Ahmed Godane is bookish, eloquent in both Arabic and Somali, recites poetry and is known to quote from obscure academic journals, analysts say. ...
Syrian rebel groups ally to create Islamic state, reject West
U.S. hopes of winning more influence over Syria's fractious rebel movement faded Wednesday after 11 of the biggest armed factions repudiated the Western-backed opposition coalition and announced the formation of a new alliance dedicated to creating an Islamic state. The al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, designated a ...
Al-Shabab nimbler under new leader
The attack that killed 69 people in a Kenyan shopping mall over the weekend was the first regional operation undertaken by the new leadership of Somalia's al-Shabab militants following a bloody power struggle. After months of pressure from African troops against the al-Qaida-linked group inside ...
Kenya's foreign minister says "two or three Americans" and "one Brit" were among the al-Qaida-linked militants who took part in the deadly terrorist attack on an upscale Nairobi shopping mall.
Syria's Islamist extremists are getting a fresh torrent of cash from Arab donors hoping for an uprising to erupt across the region.
Al-Qaida hopes to sabotage, destroy drones
Cells of engineers are working to exploit vulnerabilities of the weapons system, so far but they have not succeeded, a classified report finds.
Extremist rebel groups and Syrian army hide assets to dodge strikes
Al-Qaida-affiliated groups are redeploying their resources in rebel-held parts of Syria amid widespread fears that any strikes carried out by the U.S. would target not only the Syrian government but also Islamists in the opposition, according to rebels. In many parts of the northern and ...
Nukes, terrorists, intel gaps: U.S. 'black budget' shows extent of distrust toward Pakistan
The $52.6 billion U.S. intelligence arsenal is aimed mainly at unambiguous adversaries, including al-Qaida, North Korea and Iran. But top-secret budget documents reveal an equally intense focus on one purported ally: Pakistan, which appears at the top of charts listing critical U.S. intelligence gaps.
Few winners in Afghan village flattened by U.S.
It took 22,500 kg of American explosives to level Niaz Mohammad's village. It had become a Taliban stronghold, a virtual factory for bombs that killed and maimed American soldiers. At the height of the U.S. offensive in late 2010, commanders chose what they considered ...
Efforts to close 'Second Guantanamo' in Afghanistan prove problematic
Of all the challenges the U.S. faces as it winds down the Afghanistan war, the most difficult might be closing the prison nicknamed "The Second Guantanamo." The United States holds 67 non-Afghan prisoners there, including some described as hardened al-Qaida operatives seized from around the ...
The world's a stage, but you don't have to play along
On the night of April 18, three days after the Boston Marathon bombing, a side-drama to that story unfolded between three men as they criss-crossed the city, a performance staged partly in the theater of culture. Just before 11 p.m., Danny, a young Chinese man ...
Violence in Egypt bolsters jihadist message about democracy's dangers
Jihadists in the Middle East and beyond are moving to capitalize on the political crisis in Egypt, arguing that the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood vindicates their long-espoused view that democracy is a dangerous proposition. As blood has poured down Egyptian streets and civilians have ...
