KURDS IN NORTHERN SYRIA STRIKE MAJOR BLOW AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE James Brandon The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (Yekineyen Parastina Gel—YPG) militia struck an important blow against the Islamic State militant organization on June 15 by capturing the strategically important town of Tal Abyad, a key... MORE

AL-SHABAAB VIOLENCE IN SOMALIA AND KENYA UNDERSCORES GROUP’S RESILIENCE James Brandon A series of fresh low-level attacks by the al-Shabaab militant group in parts of southern Somalia and northern Kenya underline that the group, while under pressure from a range of counter-insurgency measures by local... MORE

TRANS-SAHARAN JIHADIST LEADER DECLARES ALLEGIANCE TO THE ISLAMIC STATE Nicholas A. Heras In an audio statement sent to the Mauritanian newspaper al-Akhbar, prominent trans-Sahara jihadist leader Lehbib Ould Ali Ould Said Ould Jumani (a.k.a. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi) declared allegiance to the Islamic State on... MORE

FRESH UK TERRORISM CONVICTIONS AND ARRESTS UNDERLINE GROWING THREAT James Brandon A spate of fresh incidents involving UK-based jihadists underlines the significant threat that the UK continues to face from homegrown extremists, as well as illustrating the UK government’s enhanced efforts to confront this increasing... MORE

GERMANY THWARTS TERRORIST ATTACK, BUT JIHADIST THREAT CONTINUES TO GROW James Brandon On April 30, German police in northeastern Hesse state reportedly thwarted a terrorist attack against a bicycle race that was planned in the region on the following day (Deutsche Welle, May 1). The... MORE

Fresh Saudi Arrests Illustrate Evolving Jihadist Threat James Brandon A Saudi interior ministry spokesman said on April 24 that a recently arrested 23-year-old Saudi man, Yazied Muhammad Abdul Rahman Abu Nayan, had confessed to taking part in the killing of two policemen on behalf of... MORE

ABU ABD ALLAH AL-SHAMI: A LEADING SALAFIST MILITANT COMMANDER IN SYRIA Nicholas A. Heras The Islamist rebel campaign Jaysh al-Fateh (Conquering Army) has begun an operation called Ma’arakat al-Nasr (Battle of Victory) in order to seize control of the strategic town of Jisr al-Shughur in... MORE

AQAP REBOUNDS IN YEMEN AMID AIRSTRIKES James Brandon Early on April 2, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters launched a surprise attack in al-Mukalla, eastern Yemen’s main port and the main city in Hadramawt province. The militants, armed with explosives and RPGs, freed over... MORE

GARISSA UNIVERSITY ATTACKS HIGHLIGHT AL-SHABAAB’S RESILIENCY Kathryn Basinsky The Garissa University attacks have demonstrated al-Shabaab’s resiliency despite growing evidence that international efforts against al-Shabaab have been paying off. In the past year, the group lost a significant amount of territory in Somalia, and a number... MORE

SHAYKH MUHAMMAD AL-FARIS: ASSAD’S MAN IN QAMISHLI Nicholas A. Heras The Syrian military has begun a military campaign to reduce the power of Kurdish militias and to seize key transit routes between Syria and Iraq from the Islamic State in the strategic, northeastern governorate of... MORE