TheRepublic.com - Al-Qaida News

Officials say Benghazi suspects under surveillance

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:20:28 -0400

WASHINGTON - Five men are under round-the-clock U.S. surveillance in Libya, wanted for questioning in the attack last year on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. The White House believes there is enough proof for a military force to seize them as terrorist suspects, officials say, but prefers to wait until investigators have enough evidence to try them in a U.S. civilian courtroom.

Deal on bin Laden evidence in WikiLeaks case

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:02:31 -0400

FORT MEADE, Maryland - Lawyers in the court-martial of an Army private who sent more than 700,000 classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks said Tuesday they have reached a deal that may eliminate the need for testimony from a member of the military team that killed Osama bin Laden. Prosecutors also agreed to accept Pfc. Bradley Manning's guilty plea to a lesser version of one of the 22 counts he faces.

Senate panel approves weapons for Syrian rebels

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:25:54 -0400

WASHINGTON - A Senate panel voted on Tuesday to provide weapons to rebels battling the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the first time lawmakers have endorsed the aggressive U.S. military step of arming the opposition in the 2-year-old civil war.

Correction: Tunisia-Salafi Crackdown story

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:56:33 -0400

TUNIS, Tunisia - In a May 15 story about the Tunisian government taking a harder line on preaching by ultraconservative Muslim groups ahead of this past weekend's conference by the group known as Ansar al-Shariah, The Associated Press reported erroneously that about 40,000 people attended the group's conference last year. About 4,000 people attended the conference in Kairouan in 2012.

Congress rethinks 9/11 law on military force

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:22:24 -0400

WASHINGTON - Congress is rethinking the broad authority it gave the president to wage a war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in light of how President Barack Obama has used the power to target suspected terrorists with lethal drone strikes.

US sanctions on 4 Syrian ministers, rebel leader

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:47:52 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has added four Syrian government ministers to a U.S. terror blacklist as well as the leader of an al-Qaida-linked organization fighting President Bashar Assad's (bah-SHAR' AH'-sahd) regime.

Pentagon: US still in armed conflict with al-Qaida

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:37:47 -0400

WASHINGTON - The United States remains in armed conflict with al-Qaida and its affiliates, a fight likely to last a decade or two, senior Pentagon officials told Congress on Thursday in arguing against changes to the 2001 military force law used in the war on terror.

Gitmo prisoner: Obama has 'abandoned' detainees

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:24:36 -0400

WASHINGTON - A Guantanamo Bay detainee says he feels abandoned by President Barack Obama and the world after more than 10 years at the U.S. prison.

Attacks on Sunni mosques fuel fears in Iraq

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:20:40 -0400

BAGHDAD - A sharp rise in attacks on Sunni holy sites in Iraq is feeding fears that the country could spiral into a new round of sectarian violence similar to the bloodletting that brought Iraq to its knees in 2006 and 2007.

Pakistan's next premier an Islamist comeback kid

Mon, 13 May 2013 03:32:53 -0400

ISLAMABAD - The man set to become Pakistan's next prime minister after historic elections over the weekend could be called the Islamist comeback kid.

Tunisian man denies NY terror cell plot claims

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:05:50 -0400

NEW YORK - A Tunisian man accused of radicalizing a Canadian resident charged in a plot to derail a train has been charged with trying to stay in the United States illegally to build a terrorism cell for international acts of terror such as poisoning a water system with bacteria, authorities said Thursday.

Jihadi peril makes its way to Tunisia

Thu, 09 May 2013 06:08:43 -0400

TUNIS, Tunisia - The hunt for al-Qaida-linked militants in a mountainous region near Tunisia's borders with Algeria in recent days has raised alarm that the birthplace of the Arab Spring has become the latest battleground for violent jihadis.

Malian military prepares for Kidal offensive

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:21:01 -0400

BAMAKO, Mali - The spokesman for the Malian military confirms that the army is preparing for an assault on Kidal, the last rebel-held town in northern Mali.

Al-Qaida offshoot threatens French interests

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:28:22 -0400

PARIS - An Algeria-based al-Qaida offshoot said in an online video on Tuesday that Muslims have an obligation to attack French interests around the world because of France's military intervention in Mali.

Car bomber kills 7 in Somali capital

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:46:40 -0400

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Seven people were killed Sunday morning when a suicide bomber attempted to ram a car laden with explosives into a military convoy escorting a four-member Qatari delegation.

Mali: 5 dead after suicide bomber attacks patrol

Sat, 04 May 2013 17:51:04 -0400

BAMAKO, Mali - A suicide bomber on a scooter attacked a Malian army patrol in the troubled northern city of Gao on Saturday as other militants in a car sprayed the troops with gunfire sparking a clash that left three suspected militants and two soldiers dead, an official said.

King: New strategy needed for lone-wolf terrorists

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:20:19 -0400

PORTLAND, Maine - The intelligence community may have to adopt new strategies to deal with so-called lone-wolf terrorists who aren't directly linked to governments or terror groups, Sen. Angus King said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press.

Judge reverses decision to free terror suspect

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:46:39 -0400

CHICAGO - A federal judge Friday quashed another judge's surprise order to release an Illinois teenager pending trial on charges he sought to join al-Qaida-linked militants in Syria.

Syrian president showing renewed confidence

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:12:21 -0400

BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies are showing renewed confidence that the momentum in the civil war is shifting in their favor, due in part to the rapid rise of al-Qaida-linked extremists among the rebels and the world's reluctance to take forceful action to intervene in the fighting.

French forces leaving Malian town of Timbuktu

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:45:08 -0400

BAMAKO, Mali - Dozens of French forces have left the northern Malian town of Timbuktu several months after their military operation largely ousted radical Islamic fighters from the area, a French military official said Sunday.

Obama and Bush, partisans who share common ground

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:20:45 -0400

WASHINGTON - Despite vast differences with President George W. Bush on ideology, style and temperament, President Barack Obama has stuck with Bush policies or aspirations on a number of fronts, from counterterrorism to immigration, from war strategy to the global fight against AIDS.

Suspect in Canada terror plot denies charges

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:16:49 -0400

TORONTO - A man accused of plotting with al-Qaida members in Iran to derail a train in Canada rejected the charges and said Tuesday that authorities were basing their conclusions on appearances. Law enforcement officials in the U.S. said the target was a train that runs between New York City and Canada.

Court to review overturned terror conviction

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:32:36 -0400

WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court Tuesday said it will take another look at a three-judge panel's decision to overturn the military commission conviction of an alleged al-Qaida propagandist.

Complex history between Iran and al-Qaida

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:25:45 -0400

Canadian authorities claim al-Qaida operatives in Iran directed a failed plot to attack a passenger train. Iran denies it has any links to the two suspects. What falls in between is Iran's complicated history with the terror group that has included outright hostility, alliances of convenience and even overtures by Tehran to assist Washington after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Spain: 2 suspected al-Qaida branch members held

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:07:29 -0400

MADRID - Police have arrested two suspected members of al-Qaida's North African branch in Spain, one of whom Spanish authorities alleged praised the Boston Marathon bombings, but neither of whom was known to possess any explosives nor be planning any attack.