Ludovico Carlino
Ludovico Carlino is a Middle East and North Africa analyst at IHS Country Risk specializing in jihadist movements across the region. His articles have been published in The Jamestown Foundation’s Terrorism Monitor, Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst, Jane’s Intelligence Review and Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Monitor.
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Articles by Ludovico Carlino
Al-Qaeda’s Man in Syria—A Post-Mortem Profile of Hurras al-Din Leader Abu al-Qassam al-Urduni
On June 14, two senior al-Qaeda leaders were reportedly killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike in Syria’s Idlib province while traveling in their car (Alaraby.com, June 15). According to
AQAP’s New Emir: Who is Khalid Batarfi?
On February 23, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a video message from its prominent scholar Hamid al-Tamimi confirming the death of the group’s leader, Qasim al-Raymi, from a
Sahelian Jihadists with the Islamic State in Libya: A Post-Mortem Profile of Abu Asim al-Sudani
On July 11, 2019, Islamic State’s (IS) weekly publication al-Naba released a tribute to a “martyred” Sudanese fighter who had initially fought for IS’s West Africa wilaya (province) (ISWAP) and
The Man Behind the Houthi Missile Program—Commander Ibrahim Ali al-Shami
On January 17, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced that an intelligence operation conducted in Sanaa resulted in the killing of a former Yemen Air Force commander who had defected
The Master of Pragmatic Jihadist Rebranding: A Profile of HTS’ Emir Abu Muhammad al-Julani
The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has continued through 2018 to reverse the direction of the Syrian civil war in its favor. Al-Assad’s forces are now in control of
Heading al-Qaeda’s Syrian Resurgence: An Updated Profile of Abu Humam al-Shami
On February 27, 2018, a new jihadist entity calling itself Hurras al-Din (Guardians of the Religion) released a statement through social media channels announcing its establishment in Syria (al-Modon, March
Detained Senior Commander Reveals Islamic State Plans to Revive Yemen Campaign
On March 25, the Aden Security Department announced the arrest of three militants suspected of being part of an Islamic State (IS) media and reconnaissance team active in the Yemeni
AQAP Update: A New Look at Khalid Saeed Batarfi’s Rise to the Top
On January 23, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) top commander Khalid Saeed Batarfi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. [1] Batarfi is just
The IS Economy: Will Losing Territory Cripple Islamic State?
Two recent offensives against Islamic State (IS) in Syria have forced the group further south, squeezing its so-called caliphate into a small pocket of territory between the Syrian and the
Islamic State in Libya Emir Abdel Qader al-Najdi Returns From the Dead
On September 28, Sadiq al-Sour, head of investigations for the Libyan attorney general’s office in Tripoli, held a press conference in the Libyan capital providing fresh information regarding the recent
Islamic State’s Man in Sinai: A Post-Mortem Profile of Abu Anas al-Ansari al-Saynawi
On April 2, 2017, the Egyptian military announced that 19 senior militants of the Islamic State (IS) wilayat (province) of Sinai had been killed in a series of airstrikes that
AQAP Denies Arrest of Its Hadramawt Leaders
On April 26, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a statement on its Telegram channel denying that Yemeni counter-terrorism forces had arrested any of its leaders or militants in
The Abdullah Azzam of Syria: A Profile of Abdallah Muhammad Bin-Sulayman al-Muhaysini
Since 2012, the Syrian civil war has been platform facilitating the rise of dozens of jihadist ideologues, clerics and fighters associated with Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda’s affiliate Jabath Fatah al-Sham
From Hip-Hop to Jihad: A Profile of Italian Foreign Fighter Anas el-Abboubi
On September 28, 2016, the U.S. Department of State designated Islamic State (IS) member Anas el-Abboubi as a Special Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13244, which imposes sanctions
The Islamic State ‘Gatekeeper’: Who is Tarad Muhammad al-Jarba?
On November 18, 2015, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program offered a $5 million reward for information on senior Islamic State (IS) member Tarad Muhammad al-Jarba. A
The Scholar Behind the Islamic State’s Ideology: A Profile of Bahraini Cleric Turki al-Bin’ali
Ludovico Carlino The June 2014 proclamation of a Caliphate covering a large area spanning from eastern Syria to western Iraq has provided the Islamic State with a powerful tool to
AQAP’s Newest Voice: The Sudden Ascendency of Senior Leader Khalid Saeed Batarfi
In a further indication of how al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is increasingly managing to exploit and take advantage from the current Yemeni political crisis and security vacuum, on
A Look Back at the Life and Times of AQAP’s Mufti Shaykh Ibrahim bin Suleiman al-Rubaish
While al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) continues to make inroads in south Yemen in the midst of a worsening civil war and the Saudi-led military campaign in support of
A Post-Mortem Profile of AQAP Shari’a Official Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari
On January 31, a U.S. drone strike in Shabwah, a province in south Yemen, killed Shaykh Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari, a high-ranking jihadist scholar and one of the most prominent
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Prepares for Confrontation with North Yemen’s Houthi Movement
The high profile operations that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has carried out in the last five months in Yemen have demonstrated that the group’s battle against Yemen’s central
Yemen’s Southern Insurgency is Undermining the Political Transition
Yemen’s political transition reached a new turning point on February 10, when President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi formally approved the transformation of the country into a six region federal union
From Guantanamo to Darna: A Profile of Ansar al-Shari’a in Darna Leader Sufyan bin Qumu
The U.S. State Department designated three Ansar al-Shari’a groups—in Tunisia, Darna and Benghazi—as Foreign Terrorist Organizations on January 10 for their involvement in attacks against civilians, successful and attempted assassinations
Ansar al-Shari’a: Transforming Libya into a Land of Jihad
In the first attack of its kind in Libya, a suicide car bomber drove an explosive-laden truck into a military checkpoint in Bersis (east of Benghazi) on December 22, 2013
AQAP Resilience Exposes the Weakness of Yemen’s Security Apparatus
Using an explosives-laden vehicle, a suicide bomber targeted the gate of Yemen’s 111th Army Brigade base in Ahwar, Abyan province, on October 18, while a commando of a dozen militants
New Details on the Life of Iraq’s Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
An anonymous user posted a short biography of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) Amir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on the jihadi forum Ansar al-Mujahideen on July 21, 2013. [1]
From Husayn to Abd al-Malik: Profiling the Past and Current Leadership of Yemen’s Houthis
Thousands of Yemeni Shi’a Muslims attended the funeral of Husayn Badr al-Din Houthi on June 5 in the northern Yemeni city of Sada’a. Husayn was the founder and ideologue of
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Makes Inroads in Southern Yemen but Reveals Limits to Its Operational Capabilities
The recent operations carried out by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and allied Ansar al-Shari’a militants seem to confirm that South Yemen has finally become the battleground on which
Yemen’s Military Reforms May Not Hold the Answer to Internal Stability Questions
Yemen’s president, Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi, has hastened the pace of political change in Yemen with a series of decrees intended to restructure the national armed forces (Yemen Post, April
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Looks to Benefit from a Resumption of North-South Hostilities in Yemen
The recent offensive launched by the Yemeni Army in the Rada’a district of al-Baydha governorate marked the second phase of a broad military campaign started last summer to drive al-Qaeda
Jihadists Exploit Syrian Turmoil as the Islamic State of Iraq Makes a Comeback
Iraq’s armed Islamist front is beginning to see favorable results from a new phase in the movement’s struggle that began in the summer. The plan, entitled “Demolishing the Walls,” was
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Sets Assassins Loose in Strategic Shift
The experiment in governance by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the allied Ansar al-Shari’a movement that attempted to establish seven Islamic Emirates in southern Yemen ended in July
Are Yemen’s Ansar al-Shari’a and AQAP One and the Same?
Since its emergence in March 2011, analysts and experts have tried to pin down the real shape of Ansar al-Shari’a, the militant Islamist group that established seven Islamic Emirates in