Latest Briefs
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
Aden’s Governor in Opposition: A look at Southern Yemeni Secessionist Leader Aidaroos al-Zubaydi
The Saudi- and Emirati-led coalition in Yemen is being challenged by a stalemate, the disunity of its local Yemeni partner forces and back-channel disagreements between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (al-Araby al-Jadid, May 16; see also Terrorism Monitor, May 19). The coalition-backed,... MORE
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 Hadramawt province the week prior (Twitter, April 29). The statement was a response to local... MORE
Shia Popular Mobilization Units in a Post-Islamic State Iraq: A Look at Peace Brigade Commander Shaykh Kazim al-Issawi
The military campaign to conquer the northwestern Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) is advancing toward completion. At present, approximately 80 percent of the city — Mosul is Iraq’s second largest city and the Islamic State’s Iraqi capital — has been captured... MORE