Top Story
American President Barack Obama acknowledged on Wednesday that an American drone strike on an al Qaeda compound along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in January killed two hostages, an American and an Italian. Mr. Obama claimed that the mistake was due to faulty intelligence, and that American officials had no reason to believe the hostages were at the compound. However, he nonetheless defended the work of the intelligence community. The same strike that killed the hostages also killed Ahmed Farouq, an American citizen and deputy emir of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. In a separate operation in the same region, an American drone strike killed another American al Qaeda operative, Adam Gadahn, who faced treason charges. Mr. Gadahn was a director of al Qaeda’s media campaign, and his death could be a significant blow to the terrorist organization. American officials said neither Mr. Gadahn nor Mr. Farouq was specifically targeted. The New York Times editorial board suggests that these revelations raise doubts regarding the policy guidance governing American drone strikes.
Africa
As Libya struggles through a crippling civil war, its Constitution Drafting Assembly continues to function. Elected last February, the CDA is working on a new permanent constitution for the country. Though the situation in Libya undoubtedly dire, an article in Foreign Policy argues that the CDA gives the country a reason to hope.
Anti-immigrant violence continued in South Africa this week. The government deployed military troops to neighborhoods in Johannesburg and Durban on Tuesday, after two nights of relative quiet. Some residents were supportive, but opposition groups claimed that the deployment indicates that the governing African National Congress is losing control of the country. CNN explains the reasons behind the violence, which was sparked by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini’s comment that that foreigners were taking South Africans’ jobs.
A car bomb was detonated outside a restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia on Tuesday, killing 11.
Asia
Malaysians are outraged by a recently released Islamic State (IS) video that appears to show young Malay boys attending IS training camps. Indeed, Malaysians seem to be joining IS at a higher rate than Indonesians, even though Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak holds his country out as a paradigm of ethnic an religious harmony. The Brookings Institution explains the phenomenon.
Europe
As many as 900 migrants were killed on Monday when a ship carrying them from Libya to Europe sank in the Mediterranean Sea. European leaders met in Luxembourg to discuss how Europe should respond. On Tuesday, an Italian prosecutor announced that the captain and a crew member would be charged with manslaughter. The captain apparently mistakenly crashed the ship against a merchant rescue ship. Reuters discusses the migrant crisis, which it anticipates will only get worse as a changing climate makes it more difficult for African farmers to survive. CNN explains why Africans want to move to Europe.
Italian authorities began a massive counter-terrorism investigation on Friday, targeting people linked to al Qaeda who allegedly discussed executing terrorist attacks against a number of targets, including the Vatican. The officials referenced evidence that people who had had direct contact with Osama bin Laden planned several attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Italy. Police made ten arrests and were searching for eight additional suspects as of Friday afternoon.
The European Union agreed on Tuesday to loan an additional $270 million to the Ukraine to support economic reforms. The EU hopes to help stabilize and rebuild Ukraine’s economy, which has been badly damaged in ferocious fighting against Russian-supported separatist rebels.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev said Tuesday that sanctions levied against his country as a result of Russia’s annexation of Crimea had done “meaningful” harm to the economy. However, Mr. Medvedev said that the annexation was nonetheless worth the cost.
Middle East
A loose coalition of insurgent groups in Syria, including the al Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front, Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, and the national Free Syrian Army, captured Jisr al-Shoughour on Saturday. Jisr al-Shoughour is the second-largest city in northern province of Idlib. The New York Times reports that the Free Syrian Army used guided antitank missiles, relatively advanced military technology for the insurgents. The attack demonstrates that the Syrian government’s attempts to retake Idlib have been mostly unsuccessful. If the insurgents continue their push, they could bring the civil war to Syria’s coastal region, one of the few peaceful areas left in the country.
The Levant Front, a coalition of militant organizations active in Syria, has dissolved. Formed in December of 2014, the Levant Front combined a number of radical Sunni groups opposed to the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad. The group struggled with internal disagreements from its inception, as its members found little to unite them after they successfully countered the government’s effort to capture Aleppo.
A Kurdish official reported that the Islamic State (IS) is preparing to attack a city in Hasaka, a province in northeastern Syria near Iraq. The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia has had successes against IS this year, but its spokesman warned that IS remains dangerous and still controls parts of the area.
The United States and Iran both deployed warships off the coast of Yemen this week. America sent an aircraft carrier and guided missile cruiser, possibly out of concern that Iran will resupply the Houthi rebels through Yemeni ports. However, America’s Department of Defense denied that the American ships in the area (of which there are now nine) had orders to intercept Iranian vessels. Saudi Arabian airstrikes continued into Tuesday, and civilians continued to suffer a high death toll. However, Iran’s deputy foreign minister announced later that day that a ceasefire would be announced within hours. The Saudi-led coalition did, in fact, announce the end of its military operation in Yemen later that day, though a Saudi spokesman said that Saudi Arabia’s military would still target the Houthi rebels to prevent them “from moving or undertaking any operations inside Yemen.” Saudi Arabia also emphasized its support for a political solution to the conflict in Yemen.
After watching Islamic State (IS) militants capture Yarmouk, a large Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Palestinians in Lebanese camps are taking action to prevent similar incursions. They are forming security forces to maintain control of the camps and keep militants out. Relatively few Palestinians have joined the militant groups fighting in Syria and Iraq.
A court in Egypt sentenced former President Mohamed Mursi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, to 20 years in prison without parole for his involvement in the killing of protesters. Mr. Mursi was Egypt’s first freely elected president. Amnesty International said the ruling was a “travesty of justice” and called for Mr. Mursi to be retried in a civilian court. The court convicted Mr. Mursi and other Muslim Brotherhood members of torturing and kidnapping, among other charges, but did not convict him of murder charges, which carry the death penalty.
Iraqi security forces managed to retake some areas around the city of Ramadi the the Islamic State (IS) recently seized. Government troops and their allied militias were still engaged with IS fighters in the city on Tuesday, though government officials reported that the battle had turned in their favor since the arrival of reinforcement and supplies from Baghdad.