UK counterterrorism under the spotlight
The failure of a British jury to reach a verdict on the two remaining 21 July bombing suspects has revealed serious blunders and errors in the efforts of UK counterterrorist forces in the build-up to the 7/7 bombings and the botched attacks two weeks later.To receive our daily security briefings, click here.
Former British Hizb-ut-Tahrir member Ed Husain writes an op-ed in Newsweek, claiming that the "rank-and-file of Islamist organisations, the precursors to terrorism, are filled with activists with a technical education". All the suspects connected to the recent failed bomb attacks in Glasgow and London are linked to the medical profession.
Security forces found plans of the Sizewell B nuclear plant in the possession of the 21 July bombers. Analysts fear that the UK's nuclear facilities may not be adequately prepared to ward of terrorist threats.
Indian al-Qaida link investigation grows
Indian investigators believe Mohammed Haneef, an Indian doctor linked to the failed Glasgow and London bombings, was radicalised by an Algerian national who he met while studying in Ireland.
Indian authorities have also chastised Australian officials for "casually" and "informally" attempting to solicit information from Indian police. Haneef has been detained in Brisbane for questioning without charge. Any approach from Canberra must go through "proper channels", with a letter from an Australian court.
Turkish Kurds head into elections
By exploiting a loophole in the Turkish electoral system, Kurdish candidates from the historically marginalised southeast of Turkey hope to make a splash in upcoming national elections.
Two people were injured when a percussion bomb exploded in an Istanbul parking lot this morning.
Bomb strikes Algerian military post
Eight people were killed in a blast near an Algerian military base in the eastern province of Kabylie, as security forces continue to grapple with the militant group "Al-Qaida in the Maghreb".
Internal violence and external pressures are squeezing out democratic spaces in Algerian political life, says Kanishk Tharoor on terrorism.openDemocracy.net.
James McDougall writes about the resurgence of Sufi mystical belief and practice in a terrorised country on openDemocracy.net.
George and Mahmoud
With the Iranian economy deteriorating fast and the majority of Iranians disgruntled, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad finds one of few remaining pillars of support in George W Bush, according to Foreign Policy.
After the siege
Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the iconic leader of the intransigent radicals at Islamabad's Lal Masjid, was killed when Pakistani special forces stormed the mosque compound, ending the controversial week-long siege. Ghazi claimed that his "martyrdom" would trigger an Islamist revolution in the country, but only a scattering of localised unrest took place in the wake of his death.
A report released by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace lays the blame for terrorist activity across South Asia squarely at Islamabad's feet, and urges the White House to consider imposing forms of sanctions on Pakistan should it continue to fail to meet its commitments.
Ending the siege in north Lebanon
The Lebanese army is preparing to storm the Palestinian refugee camp still occupied by al-Qaida-linked militants, thereby ending the standoff that has left hundreds dead.
Grizzly fate for Philippine marines
Muslim separatists in the south of the Philippines killed fourteen marines, beheading some of them, in intensifying clashes as the army steps up its search for a kidnapped Italian priest.
Mexico to safeguard vulnerable pipelines
With the waking of a long-dormant rebel group, the Popular Revolutionary Army, Mexican authorities have scrambled to protect the country's miles of pipelines after the PRA planted eight bombs along pipelines in the state of Guanajuato.
FARC mea culpa
The main Colombian rebel group FARC have apologised for the deaths of 11 kidnapped lawmakers killed in their custody. "We failed in our mission to care for them and bring them to a hostage exchange," FARC said in a statement.
Nato airstrikes kill more civilians
Last week's Nato air-strikes in Kunar province left 27 civilians dead after bombs hit a funeral gathering and a house. Human rights advocates are growing frustrated by the heavy toll on civilian life exacted by air-strikes.
Marcus Skinner argues on terrorism.openDemocracy that Nato and US military tactics in Afghanistan are in dire need of an anthropology lesson.
