Middle East

Middle East 09/16/21, 05:15

French President Emmanuel Macron, on Wednesday, Sept. 15, announced that it had neutralized Adnan Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi, leader of Islamic State in Greater Sahara. “It’s another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel,” the president Tweeted, given that the French military had been able to terminate the ...

Middle East 09/16/21, 04:43

Two Afghan journalists were beaten in police custody last week after reporting a women's demonstration in Kabul where they were detained by the Taliban, their editor said.On social media, Zaki Daryabi, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Etilaat Roz daily, posted photos of two male reporters, one with massive red ...

Middle East 09/15/21, 19:23

The Taliban killed a UK-trained Afghan sniper in front of his family on Monday, a former British army colonel on operations alongside the slain man told The Times of London.   The victim, who belonged to an elite UK-trained unit, was 28 years old and hiding in Kabul, hoping not to be found by ...

Middle East 09/15/21, 04:38

Since seizing power in a lightning offensive, the hardline Islamist group has tried to reassure Afghans by promising "no revenge." However, there is growing concern that there will be a gap between what they say and do.According to Rep. Michael McCaul, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, ...

Middle East 09/14/21, 21:36

Taliban fighters have been appointed to run the same prison complex that once held them on Sept. 13. Pul-e Charkhi is under new management, and will be run by ex-convicts who once inhabited the very cell blocks they now administrate about 20 kilometers (13 miles) east of downtown Kabul. BL understands this ...

Middle East 09/14/21, 16:04

Following the contradictory results of Israel's intensive vaccination campaign, authorities are further tightening measures against the COVID-19 or CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus by genetically scanning travelers arriving at its international airport, Ben Gurion, located in Tel Aviv.  "We are working on a scanning system for everyone who comes into Israel," ...

Middle East 09/14/21, 04:16

Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations human rights chief, on Monday, Sept. 13, criticized Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. She said they had broken their promises on human rights by ordering women to stay at home, prohibiting teenage females from attending school, and conducting house-to-house searches for former foes.Afghanistan was in a "new ...

D.C. 09/13/21, 22:46

Joe Biden's top foreign policy adviser will testify about the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Antony Blinken is widely expected to be strongly criticized when he appears before the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on Sept. 14 and 15. Republicans will seize on their opportunity to grill the secretary of state ...

Middle East 09/13/21, 19:59

A militant Sunni Islamist chief, who many thought was dead, made a video appearance on Sept. 11. Ayman al-Zawahri's video message on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 caught some observers off-guard. The al-Qaeda leader, who was previously rumored to have died several month ago, praised the terrorist group's January attacks on Russian ...

Middle East 09/13/21, 05:40

The exciting stories of three spies who infiltrated Al-Qaeda for Western intelligence are worth revisiting as the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches. Why was the information they could have offered not used more effectively? The popular belief, repeated many times since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is that recruiting informers and deploying ...

Middle East 09/13/21, 03:20

Afghanistan women can continue to study at universities, even at post-graduate levels. Still, classrooms will be gender-segregated and Islamic dress will be required, the new Taliban government's higher education minister said Sunday.The minister, Abdul Baqi Haqqani, said the new Taliban government would "start building the country on what exists today," ...

Middle East 09/12/21, 22:47

More than two thousand people opposed new COVID-19 protocols on Sept. 11. The dramatic protest came after the Turkish government demanded all residents to either show proof of full vaccination, or a recent negative COVID-19 test result, before using public transport and attending major events. Masks and social distancing are mandatory in ...

Middle East 09/12/21, 20:48

A pair of arm drones heading for Erbil International Airport of Iraq was shot down, the U.S. military said on Sept. 11. A U.S. official confirmed a counter-rocket known as the artillery and mortar system (C-RAM) struck down two explosive laden, and Iranian made, drones. One drone exploded inside the airport ...

Middle East 09/12/21, 18:24

Thousands of unaccompanied children who crossed into the United States will now stay in a Texan refugee camp that also temporarily houses about 10,000 Afghan asylum seekers. The Biden administration held a media tour of Fort Bliss in El Paso, on Sept. 10. Afghans who were successfully evacuated are now being ...

Middle East 09/11/21, 19:45

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicated that more than 40 Afghans evacuated were deemed potential threats to the United States during the past two weeks of enhanced screening.  Among the tens of thousands of people being screened for resettlement in the United States, 44 Afghan refugees were identified by ...

Middle East 09/11/21, 19:22

The Taliban killed one of the prominent leaders of the sole resistance force in Afghanistan on Friday, Sept. 11.  The leader, Rohullah Azizi, and his driver were shot to death in their car at a checkpoint north of Panjshir valley, the Associated Press reported. It was unclear where he was heading ...