Latest Briefs
Hassan Hamza Saloumi Secures Tribal Support for al-Assad in Northeastern Syria
As the al-Assad government and its allies continue to make gains against the Islamic State (IS) organization in eastern Syria, the regime in Damascus is seeking to expand its influence throughout the northern and eastern regions of the country, areas currently under the control of... MORE
Islamic State Reorganizes in Libya
In August 2017, months after the group was pushed out of its former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, the Islamic State (IS) made a comeback in Libya. Reorganizing in a number of areas in southern Libya and around Sirte, IS has shown that its presence in... MORE
Ata Ullah Leads Rohingya Insurgents in Myanmar
On August 25, in what has been described as a “Tet Offensive” styled attack, Ata Ullah, the Emir of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), led an estimated 1,000 militants in a simultaneous attack on 24 police posts and army bases in Myanmar’s Rakhine state (The... MORE
Pakistan: Should New U.S. Afghanistan Strategy Concern Militant Leaders?
On August 21, the United States announced its new strategy for the next phase of the War in Afghanistan (Dawn, August 23; Dawn, August 22). Laid out in a speech delivered by U.S. President Donald Trump, the strategy ushers in a new era in operations... MORE
The Yazidi Commander in Sinjar: Haydar Shasho’s Push for Independence
This August marked the third anniversary of the atrocities committed by Islamic State (IS) against the sectarian minority Yazidi community, who are ethnically Kurds, in the strategic and disputed region of Sinjar in northwestern Iraq’s Ninewah governorate near the Syrian-Iraqi border (al-Jazeera [Doha], August 3;... MORE
Bangladesh: Abu Shofiq al Bengali Pledges Allegiance to Islamic State
As Bangladesh’s security forces unleashed a fresh anti-terror operation, operation “Tepid Punch,” targeting militant safe havens in the country in early July, new signs of Islamic State’s (IS) shadowy presence in the country emerged. On July 5, an Islamic State (IS) supporter identifying himself as... MORE
Al-Assad’s Man in Suwayda: A Look at Rashid Salloum
Over the past month, Russia, Jordan and the United States began to implement a de-escalation zone in the southwestern Syrian governorates of Dara'a and al-Quneitra. The de-escalation zone agreement, which is between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) loyal to the al-Assad government and the armed... MORE
Libya: Gulf Crisis Sparks Posturing Among Militant Leadership
On June 5, a number of the Gulf States — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain — announced that they were severing diplomatic ties with Qatar due to controversial accusations of Qatar’s support for terrorism. The emergence of this unprecedented rift... MORE
Shaykh Abd al-Wahab: Saudi Arabia’s Frontline Partner in Yemen
The Saudi- and Emirati-led coalition in Yemen continues to be stalemated in its effort to capture areas controlled by the Houthi movement and allied forces loyal to Yemen’s former president Ali Abd Allah Saleh around the country’s capital of Sana’a in central-northern Yemen. One closely... MORE
Jihadist Leader Killed in Hassi El-Ferid Reminds of Growing Tensions in Tunisia
In a statement issued on May 29, the Tunisian Ministry of the Interior announced that the Special Unit of the National Guard (USGN), in cooperation with the Laouina National Crime Research Unit, carried out an anti-terrorism operation in Hassi El-Ferid, in the area of Kasserine.... MORE