Iraqi al-Qaida group widens influence in Syria

World | FOCUS Aug 13, 2013

Iraqi al-Qaida group widens influence in Syria

by Liz Sly

A rebranded version of Iraq's al-Qaida affiliate is surging onto the front lines of the war in neighboring Syria, expanding into territory seized by other rebel groups and carving out the kind of sanctuaries that the U.S. military spent more than a decade fighting ...

World Aug 7, 2013

Hasan admits to massacre at Fort Hood

Sitting in a wheelchair, his voice soft but unwavering, U.S. Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan took responsibility Tuesday for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. "Fellow members, good morning," Hasan began at the opening of his court-martial at the army post in central Texas. ...

Egypt insurgency takes root in Sinai

World | FOCUS Jul 29, 2013

Egypt insurgency takes root in Sinai

by Abigail Hauslohner

More than three weeks after the military coup that ousted Egypt's first democratically elected — and Islamist — president from power, the roots of a violent insurgency are burrowing fast into the sands of the Sinai Peninsula. The rapid thud of machine-gun fire and ...

Pentagon shifts drone army to new hot spots worldwide

World | FOCUS Jul 22, 2013

Pentagon shifts drone army to new hot spots worldwide

The steel-gray U.S. Air Force Predator drone plunged from the sky, shattering on mountainous terrain near the Iraq-Turkey border. For Kurdish guerrillas hiding nearby, it was an unexpected gift from the propaganda gods. Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) filmed the charred wreckage Sept. ...

U.S. Homeland Security chief resigns

World / Politics Jul 13, 2013

U.S. Homeland Security chief resigns

Janet Napolitano, who as President Barack Obama's homeland security secretary has one of the broadest and most challenging portfolios of any Cabinet member, announced Friday that she is stepping down to become president of the University of California system. Napolitano has been a central figure ...

World Jul 13, 2013

Al-Qaida-linked group kills Syrian rebel commander

Syrian rebels said Friday they would retaliate for what they described as the assassination of one of their senior commanders by an al-Qaida-affiliated group, threatening to widen a rift between moderate and jihadist opposition forces fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. The killing of Kamal ...