Counterterrorism
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 06:46
The Obama administration is “on the verge of taking action” against the Islamic State in Libya, where the terrorist network has flourished in recent months, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told Politico on Tuesday.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 06:32
In a nod to the growing threat Islamist militant groups pose in Africa, the Pentagon is planning to spend about $200 million on operations targeting the Islamic State in North Africa — thousands of miles from the group’s strongholds in Iraq and Syria — while also making a new push against al Qaeda-linked forces elsewhere on the continent.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016 - 06:37
African forces began a U.S.-led counter-terrorism training programme in Senegal on Monday amid what a U.S. commander said were rising signs of collaboration between Islamist militant groups across north Africa and the Sahel.
Monday, February 8, 2016 - 07:22
Tunisia's defence minister has visited an anti-jihadi fence that's being built on the country's border with Libya to stop Islamist militants from entering Tunisian territory. Defence Minister Horchani said the project came about with financial assistance from Germany and the U.S.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016 - 06:36
The Islamic State offers a false choice between dictatorship and extremism. Tunisia proves there’s a better way.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016 - 06:15
How should the United States respond to these increasing Islamist attacks in Africa? The U.S. command there has figured out a clever way to make a significant difference without overstepping its orders. But as the problem of Islamist insurgencies continues, the United States will have to watch out for mission creep.
Friday, January 22, 2016 - 06:49
In Paris, French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian and I co-hosted our counterparts from Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Britain. Those countries have been the biggest contributors to the counter-ISIL campaign. The military actions that the United States and our partners have taken in recent months have applied unprecedented pressure on ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - 07:20
A Pakistani military spokesman said army sharpshooters and commandos had killed four militants in the gun battle. Security officials have estimated that as many as six assailants participated in the attack, which began with men scaling the rear walls of the campus and firing into the air.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - 06:42
The attacks in Burkina Faso that left 28 people dead and 55 injured point to an increasing security challenge in West Africa, where, analysts say, militant groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State are taking advantage of fragile and weak states to hit western targets. This is the second time in a couple of months that militants launched an assaulted directed at an establishment popular with foreigners. In neighboring Mali last November, in a similar fashion to what happened at the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou, gunmen stormed the Radisson Hotel in Bamako and took 170 people hostage and ultimately killing 21 people many of whom westerners.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - 06:36
Burkina Faso and Mali have agreed to work together to counter the growing threat of Islamic militants in West Africa by sharing intelligence and conducting joint security patrols following two deadly and well-coordinated attacks in the region. Their prime ministers met on Sunday, two days after al Qaeda militants seized the Splendid Hotel in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou, opened fire on a restaurant and attacked another hotel nearby, killing at least 28 people from at least seven countries, and wounding 50 other people.