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

BRIEFS

THE HEZBOLLAH WILD CARD IN THE CONFLICT IN GAZA Andrew McGregor The ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza have benefitted from the knowledge that Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is not being threatened by the Shi’a Hezbollah movement of Lebanon, the senior partner in 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

HOUTHIS BATTLE ARMY AND TRIBAL MILITIAS FOR CONTROL OF YEMEN’S AMRAN GOVERNORATE Andrew McGregor At the conclusion of a three-day battle, experienced Houthist fighters stormed the ancient Yemeni walled city of Amran on July 8, killing some 200 people in the process and displacing at... 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

WILL ISIS SPUR NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS FOR SAUDI ARABIA? Andrew McGregor In some ways, the recent triumphs of the radical Sunni Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) inside Iraq have alarmed Riyadh as much as Tehran. While the Saudis are still willing to support... 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

ATTACK ON CHINESE COMPANY IN CAMEROON DRAGS YAOUNDÉ INTO CAMPAIGN AGAINST BOKO HARAM Andrew McGregor An assault on a Chinese road-building camp in northern Cameroon is the latest in a series of regional attacks on Chinese workers and facilities. The camp with 52 staff was... 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