President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today that most U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan would end this spring, signaling a quickening troop drawdown that will bring the decade-long war to a close at the end of 2014. “Our troops will continue to fight alongside Afghans when needed, but let me say it as […]
Two-thirds of Qaeda leaders ‘removed’ since ’09: US
The United States has eliminated more than 20 of al Qaeda’s top 30 leaders based in Afghanistan and Pakistan from the battlefield since Barack Obama became president, a top US government security official said on Tuesday. Daniel Benjamin, head of the State Department’s counterterrorism bureau, said
Senior Al Qaeda leader killed in US drone attack
Senior Al Qaeda leader and a formerly probable successor to Ayman al-Zawahiri, Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Rehman Al-Hussainan, died in a US drone attack in Pakistan on Friday, DawnNews reported on Saturday.
McCain: Obama has ’emboldened our enemies’
US Sen. John McCain blasted President Obama Wednesday at the Republican National Convention, saying his 2008 presidential rival was on the wrong side on history for everything from his Middle Eastern policy to leaking secrets to the press. “The president has discouraged our friends and emboldened our enemies,” said McCain
HSBC exec resigns at money laundering hearing
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA)’s head of group compliance, David Bagley, told a Senate hearing he will step down amid charges the bank gave terrorists, drug cartels and criminals access to the U.S. financial
Bashir: Sudan constitution to be “100 percent Islamic”
President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Saturday Sudan’s next constitution would be “100 percent Islamic” to set an example for neighbouring countries, some of which have seen religious parties gain power after popular uprisings.
Pakistan jails doctor who helped CIA find Bin Laden
A Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama Bin Laden has been sentenced to 33 years in jail, officials say. Shakil Afridi was charged with treason for running a fake vaccination programme to gather information. The US secretary of state Hillary Clinton had called for his release on the grounds that his work served […]
Activists mock Syria elections
Anti-regime activists were quick to spoof Syria’s parliamentary elections Monday with a flurry of amateur, online videos lampooning a vote they say aims to put a shiny gloss on the authoritarian rule of President Bashar Assad and cover up its fierce crackdown on protesters.
Hezbollah’s covert operative awaits release
The likely release by Baghdad of a veteran Hezbollah commander accused of plotting to kill U.S. soldiers while operating with Iranian forces in Iraq won’t do U.S.-Iraqi relations any good.
Treasure Hunter Says He Has Located Bin Laden’s Body
That smiling guy is Bill Warren, the Californian treasure hunter who claimed he was searching for Osama Bin Laden’s dead body back in June 2011. He didn’t find him then, but now he claims he has located the cadaver.