Raffaello Pantucci
Raffaello Pantucci is a Senior Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and the author of the forthcoming We Love Death as You Love Life: Britain’s Suburban Mujahedeen (Hurst/Columbia University Press).
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Articles by Raffaello Pantucci
New Europol Report Warns of Lone Actors and Analyzes Decrease in Terrorism in 2020
In late June, Abdirahman Jibril A, a 24-year-old Somali migrant legally residing in Germany, walked barefoot into a Woolworth shop in the center of Würzburg, Bavaria asking for the kitchenware
Terrorist Campaign Strikes Mombasa as Somali Conflict Spreads South
Kenyan authorities in the coastal city of Mombasa arrested two individuals on March 17 as they drove a vehicle laden with explosives into the city. Authorities believed that the two
Tiananmen Attack: Islamist Terror or Chinese Protest?
2013 was a violent year for China and Xinjiang. On December 30, at 6:30 in the morning, a group of individuals believed to be Uighur attacked a police station in
Foreign Fighters in Somalia and al-Shabaab’s Internal Purge
The role of foreign fighters in al-Shabaab was brought to public attention once again in October with the release by al-Kata’ib (Shabaab’s media wing) of a video entitled: “It’s an
Xinjiang’s April 23 Clash the Worst in Province since July 2009
On April 24, reports emerged from Xinjiang that 21 people had been killed in what was reported as a “terrorist clash” in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture (Xinhua, April 24). The
China and Central Asia in 2013
In the last two years, China has emerged as the most consequential outside actor in Central Asia. As we have described in other writings, China’s ascension to this role has
China Claims Uyghur Militants Are Seeking a Syrian Battlefield
Chinese security officials informed reporters in late October that members of the East Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM, a name used frequently by Chinese officials to refer to the Turkistan Islamic
Shifts in Beijing’s Afghan Policy: A View From the Ground
In a clear but still gradual shift over the past year, Chinese policymakers have changed their stance on Afghanistan from cultivated disinterest to growing engagement. As the potential security vacuum
Jamestown’s Alexandros Petersen and Raffaello Pantucci featured in the November/December hardcopy of The National Interest
An article written by Jamestown's Alexandros Petersen and Raffaello Pantucci was published in the November/December hardcopy of The National Interest China's Inadvertent <wbr></wbr>Empire. It is part of their joint project on China in Central Asia.
A Post-Mortem Analysis of Turkistani Amir Emeti Yakuf: A Death that Sparked More Questions than Answers
In late August, a series of drone strikes in Northern Waziristan were reported to have killed a number of jihadist leaders. Most media attention focused on the possible demise of
Uzbekistan’s Balancing Act With China: A View From the Ground
The exact reasons for Uzbekistan’s decision to withdraw from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at the end of June remain unclear (Xinhua, June, 29; Russia Today, June 28, 2012).
Beijing Lays the Groundwork in Tajikistan: A View from the Ground
Meeting on the fringes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Beijing on May 11, Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrohon Zarifi and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi made
German Trials Highlight the Role of the IMU as a Feeder for al-Qaeda Operations in Europe
Two separate trials are currently underway in Germany that have highlighted the particular role of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) as a feeder group for German jihadists who end
Bringing London’s “Christmas Bombers” to Trial
Almost a year after their arrests just before Christmas 2010, a group of young British Muslims denied charges of “conspiring to cause explosions likely to endanger life or damage property”
Muslims Against Crusades Banned in Latest Episode of the UK Jihad
In a move aimed at preempting planned protests to disrupt annual Remembrance Day celebrations on November 11, British Home Secretary Theresa May proscribed the British organization Muslims Against Crusades (MAC)
China’s Slow Surge in Kyrgyzstan: A View from the Ground
Kyrgyzstan’s recent peaceful presidential elections did not feature China as a campaign issue. For the most part, they focused on domestic issues and where foreign policy seeped in, it was
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s Expanding Western Connections
As the United States breathed a sigh of relief that the 10th anniversary of 9/11 had passed without any major incident, the U.S. Justice Department announced that three men had
Uyghur Unrest in Xinjiang Shakes Sino-Pakistani Relations
It has been a difficult summer for China’s restive western province Xinjiang. A series of incidents characterized as terrorism have struck two of the province’s cities, causing death, destruction and
Turkistan Islamic Party Video Attempts to Explain Uyghur Militancy to Chinese
Almost completely overshadowed by the death of Osama bin Laden, jihadi publishing house Sawt al-Islam released a bilingual video from the Turkistan Islamic Party in mid-May. [1] The video recounted
Europol Identifies Security Threat to Europe from North Africa’s “Arab Spring”
Without food, employment or security, thousands of sub-Saharan Africans are taking to the sea in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats in desperate attempts to escape the violence in Libya. They are
Picking Up Where the Red Army Faction Left Off: Tales from the German Jihad
The shooting deaths in early March of two American servicemen at Frankfurt airport as they awaited a plane taking them to Afghanistan was an event that seemed to hearken back
Al-Awlaki Recruits Bangladeshi Militants for Strike on the United States
Rajib Karim, a 31-year-old Bangladeshi national resident in the United Kingdom, pled guilty on January 31 to charges of assisting Bangladeshi terrorist group Jamaat ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Confessing to helping
Operation Neath: Is Somalia’s al-Shabaab Movement Active in Australia?
“Islam is the true religion. Thank you very much.” So declared Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, a 34-year-old Lebanese Australian former kick-boxer after he was convicted of participating in a plot to
Trial of Would-Be Assassin Illustrates al-Awlaki’s Influence on the British Jihad
The conclusion in early November of the trial against 21-year-old Roshonara Choudhry, convicted of attempting to murder British member of Parliament Stephen Timms, marked the end of a case that
Strange Case of Suspected Lithuanian Suicide Bomber Complicated by Alleged Role of Security Services
Buried in this year’s Europol report on terrorism trends was a reference to “a 20 year-old Lithuanian woman” who was “arrested before she traveled to Russia to commit a suicide
Uyghurs Convicted in East Turkestan Islamic Movement Plot in Dubai
On June 29, a court in Dubai found two ethnic Uyghurs guilty of plotting to attack a massive shopping mall made up of 400 shops selling Chinese-made goods (The National
Europol Report Suggests Separatism Rather than Islamism Constitutes Biggest Terrorist Threat to Europe
Europol, a European Union law enforcement agency dedicated to improving the effectiveness and cooperation of member states’ security agencies, released its annual report on terrorism in Europe on April 28.
Rashid Rauf and the New York City Subway Bombing Plot
As security agencies pursue ethnic Pakistani suspects in the attempted Times Square bombing, another New York City bomb plot with connections to Pakistan and the U.K. is working its way
Al-Shabaab Proscribed in Canada and the United Kingdom
In the first week of March, the British and Canadian governments both added the Somali al-Shabaab group to their respective list of proscribed terror groups. [1] The decisions mean that
U.K. Prosecutors Lose a Legal Option in Preventing Terrorism
On January 29, 2010 an appellate court in Scotland declared it was quashing a terrorism charge against 24-year old Mohammed Atif Siddique, the first person to be convicted on charges
Bekkay Harrach: The Face of German Terror
Germany’s federal elections passed without incident on September 27, 2009, though they took place against a backdrop of intense concern in the German security services about a growing number of
Ban on U.K. Radical Islamist Group al-Muhajiroun Raises Free Speech Questions
The British Home Office finally proscribed the radical Islamist organization al-Muhajiroun (The Emigrants) and a number of its successor organizations on January 14. The ban included the best-known offshoot of
East African Terrorism Comes to Scandinavia
In a scene right out of the cinema, a young Somali man armed with an axe and a knife came crashing through the door of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard’s Aarhus
American Jihad: New Details Emerge About al-Shabaab Recruitment in North America
On November 23, federal prosecutors in the United States unsealed indictments against members of a group of Minneapolis natives accused of being at the heart of a cell sending men
Al Qaeda’s Nuclear Scientist? The Case of Adlene Hicheur
Amidst much furor, French anti-terrorism judge Christophe Tessier announced that year-old Algerian-French scientist Dr. Adlene Hicheur had been brought up on charges of “association with terrorists” on October 12. Allegedly
Bekkay Harrach: The Face of German Terror
Germany’s federal elections passed without incident on September 27, though they took place against a backdrop of intense concern in the German security services about a growing number of increasingly
Did Somalia’s al-Shabaab Plan to Attack the Australian Military?
Operation Neath, one of the largest counterterrorism operations in Australian history, culminated in a series of early morning raids in Melbourne on August 4. The four men arrested were all
Britain Jails “Lone Wolf” Terrorist Isa Ibrahim
A jury at Winchester Crown Court in the U.K. returned a guilty verdict on July 17 in the case against “lone wolf” terrorist Andrew “Isa” Ibrahim, a 20 year-old British
British Hostage Threatened with Death Unless Abu Qatada is Released from British Prison
Warnings continue to come from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) that time is running out for the British government if it wants to obtain the release of a kidnapped
British Government Debates Engagement with Radical Islam in New Counterterrorism Strategy
Britain’s much vaunted “Contest” counterterrorism strategy underwent what has been described as a “refresh” in March 2009. Building on the British government’s experiences on the front-line of terrorism both at
Polish-Born Muslim Convert Sentenced for Leading Role in Tunisian Synagogue Bombing
A French court has sentenced Christian Ganczarski, a Polish-born German national and convert to Islam, to 18 years in prison for his role in the 2002 bombing of a synagogue
Afghanistan Deployment puts Germany in al-Qaeda’s Crosshairs
Speaking in accented but fluent German, Abu Talha al-Alamani made al-Qaeda’s most direct threat to the German nation yet in a recent video, saying that Germans were “naive and gullible”
UK Trial Exposes al-Qaeda Terrorist Network with Connections to Pakistan
In a trial that passed with remarkably little fanfare last December, a jury in Manchester, England, convicted Rangzieb Ahmed and Habib Ahmed (no relation) on charges of being members of
U.S. Missiles Target Suspect in Transatlantic Airliner Plot
Late in the evening of November 21, a U.S. operated Predator drone struck a house in North Waziristan owned by local warlord Khaliq Noor. Among those allegedly killed were British-Pakistani
“Doctor’s Plot” Trial Examines Unexpected Source for UK Terrorist Attacks
Londoners were awakened once again to the very real terrorist threat they faced late on the evening of June 29, 2007. In a callous move aimed at targeting revellers in
Transatlantic Airline Bombing Case Collapses in the United Kingdom
The stunning collapse of the case against a group of British citizens charged with plotting to blow up a number of passenger planes out of the sky has sent shock
Abu Qatada’s Comfortable British Jihad
On June 17, amidst much furor, a British Special Immigration Appeals Committee (SIAC) allowed the release on bail of Abu Qatada al-Filistini, a radical preacher described by Spanish counter-terror judge
London’s 7/7 Conspiracy Trial Offers Inside View of Terrorists’ Lives
Like any major terrorist event, the July 7, 2005 (7/7) bombings of London’s public transportation system that killed 52 commuters and four suicide bombers had the immediate result of generating
Britain’s Prison Dilemma: Issues and Concerns in Islamic Radicalization
The increasingly rapid tempo of arrests and convictions of terrorist plotters by the British security services has had the concurrent effect of increasing the number of terrorist prisoners now incarcerated