Latest Briefs
BRIEFS
Preparing for the Next Stage: Islamic Jihad’s Gaza War Andrew McGregor Days after the September 24 ceasefire that ended Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, thousands of members of Islamic Jihad (IJ), who had fought alongside Hamas in the 50-day conflict, gathered with their weapons... MORE
August 2014 Briefs
FSA AFFILIATE LED BY ABU THABIT WORKS WITH OTHER GROUPS TO FREE ALEPPO Nicholas A. Heras Free Syrian Army (FSA) affiliate Kata’ib Syuuf al-Shabaa (Swords of Aleppo Brigades), one of the strongest Aleppo-area militias, is actively combatting both the Assad regime’s campaign to encircle the... MORE
July 2014 Briefs
Hassan Aboud and Liwa Dawud Defect to Islamic State in Syria Nicholas A. Heras In early July, a powerful Syrian armed opposition group based in northwestern Syria’s Idlib governorate, Liwa Dawud (David Brigade), “defected” and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State under the leadership of... MORE
BRIEFS
EGYPT’S DOMESTIC SECURITY THREAT: AJNAD MISR AND THE “RETRIBUTION FOR LIFE” CAMPAIGN Andrew McGregor A Cairo-based extremist group using the name Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) has intensified its bombing campaign in the Egyptian capital with a surprising attack on the Ittihadiya Palace in Heliopolis,... MORE
BRIEFS
IRAQI COUNTER-INSURGENCY TACTICS UNDER FIRE Andrew McGregor Ineffective military tactics may have caused more damage to relations between the Iraqi National Army (INA) and the disaffected Sunni population of northwestern Iraq than to the targeted Islamist militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria... MORE
BRIEFS
CRISIS IN SOUTH SUDAN PART ONE: SHAKE-UP IN MILITARY LEADERSHIP REFLECTS TRIBAL CRISIS Andrew McGregor As the security situation in the Sudan continues to deteriorate, Government of South Sudan (GoSS) president Salva Kiir Mayardit has overhauled the nation’s military leadership with a pair of controversial... MORE