In The News

Al-Qaeda Plotting Attack On European Trains

Al-Qaeda is preparing to carry out a significant attack on Europe’s high-speed rail network, according to a report Monday in the popular German tabloid Bild.

According to the report, which cited unnamed sources in the US National Security Agency, top-ranking members of the Islamic terror group recently participated in a conference call in which various methods of attacking railways in Europe were extensively discussed, including planting bombs in tunnels or on the trains themselves and sabotaging train tracks and electrical systems.

Reportedly, in response, German authorities have stepped up security and surveillance on the country’s national rail system.

The report comes after the temporary closure this month of US and Western embassies throughout the Middle East, in response to a secret message between al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri and his deputy in Yemen, Nasser al-Wahishi, about plans for a major terror attack, which was intercepted by US intelligence.

Syrian Islamist Fighters Reach Border With Israel

Islamist rebels participated in fighting against Assad forces Saturday on the Syrian border with Israel, according to a new video released by the opposition.

Fighting in the town of Breiqa, situated on the 1974 ceasefire line between Syria and Israel, and just 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the Israeli agricultural village of Alonei Habashan, began in the early hours of Saturday.

During the fighting in Breiqa Saturday, six mortars fired from Syria landed inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Israel retaliated by firing a Tamuz missile at the Syrian military post from which the fire emanated.

It was the second time Israel retaliated with the advanced camera-guided missile to fire coming from Syria. In May, Israel hit a Syrian army post that shot at an IDF patrol jeep along the border.

A video published on YouTube by the al-Furqan Brigades, a Free Syrian Army unit fighting on the Golan Heights, displayed footage of a gun battle raging between regime fighters and an opposition force including the Jihad Battalions and the Salafist Ahrar al-Sham movement, in addition to the Furqan Brigades, who reported the death of five fighters and the injury of others in battles with regime forces.

...members of the al-Furqan group were filmed close to Israel’s border watching and studying IDF patrols along the border.

Earlier that month, Syrian rebel forces captured a military intelligence facility close to the border with the Golan Heights, in the town of Shajara some eight kilometers (five miles) from the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria.

The attitude of rebel fighters on the Golan Heights toward Israel remains largely unknown. Few indications have so far emerged of overtly Islamist forces combating the regime so close to Israel.

Egypt Army On High Alert In Sinai, Gaza Border Said Shut Following Deadly Ambush

Egyptian authorities on Monday were on high alert after suspected Islamist militants killed at least 24 Egyptian policemen in the Sinai peninsula, where attacks on security forces have multiplied since the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

Egyptian daily Al-Ahram quoted security officials as saying that military and police have declared a state of emergency in northern Sinai, deploying roadblocks in the area in an effort to combat terrorists.

The official was quoted as saying it is thus far unclear how many militants took part in the ambush. Three policemen were also wounded in the grenade and machine-gun attack near the north Sinai town of Rafah on the border with Israel. AFP reported that Egypt had resealed the border crossing into nearby Gaza in the wake of the ambush.

Mounting insecurity in Sinai also worries the United States because the area lies next to Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, as well as the Suez Canal.

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