Tuesday

October 6, 2015

Armed conflicts and attacks

October 2015 Aden missile attack

A hotel where Vice President of Yemen and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah was staying in Aden which was also being used as a de facto military base by Arab coalition forces is hit by multiple explosions killing at least 15 coalition soldiers. Although the Houthis were first suspected and accused of being behind the attack, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has since claimed responsibility, marking the first attack on Arab coalition forces in Yemen by the extremist group. (CNN) (Al-Arabiyah News)

In the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, Sanaa, at least seven people are killed following a suicide-bomb attack on the al-Nour mosque. (Reuters)

Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Russia's pair of violations of Turkish airspace over the weekend do not look like accidents. Russia, which said it's looking into claims of a second violation, reported the first violation lasted a few seconds and was due to poor weather. (BBC)

Russian warplanes bomb Islamic State positions in the central Syrian city of Palmyra and in the northern Aleppo province, releasing videos that show them destroying 20 vehicles and 3 weapons depots. (Reuters)

Turkey says its jets patrolling the Turkish-Syrian border were directly threatened by a Russian MiG-29 and later by an anti-aircraft missile system which locked-radar on the Turkish jets. (Independent)

Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)

Russia says it would consider extending its air-strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria to Iraq if it receives such a request from the Iraqi government. Iraqi President, Fuad Masum has recently said he would welcome this assistance. (Reuters)

Boko Haram insurgency

A Boko Haram attack near Lake Chad kills at least 11 Chadian troops while 17 Boko Haram militants are also reportedly killed in the fighting following the pre-dawn strike on Chadian army positions. (AFP via Yahoo)

Business and economy

The European Court of Justice decides an international agreement, generally known as a Safe Harbor rule, used by thousands of companies for moving people’s digital data between the European Union and the United States is invalid, effective immediately. The decision throws into doubt how global technology giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google can collect, manage, and analyze online information from their millions of users in the 28-member bloc. Decisions by this court, the highest legal authority in the EU, cannot be appealed. (The New York Times) (USA Today) (BBC) (Reuters)