On July 28, the European Union (EU) sanctioned Ahmad Mahmood Hassan (alias Abuwakas) for terrorist activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (europa.eu, July 28). The EU claimed Abuwakas, a Tanzanian national, was born around 1993 and is a “senior leader of the... MORE

The majority of Islamic State in West Africa Province’s (ISWAP) top leaders have remained unknown since Abu Musab al-Barnawi—the son of the group’s founder, Muhammed Yusuf—was deposed in 2019 (france24.com, March 15, 2019). Even after this, however, al-Barnawi remained in a leadership position, eventually commanding... MORE

Boko Haram’s largest and most prominent faction, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), has had no official leader since Abu Musab al-Barnawi was detained and overthrown in an internal coup in 2019 (france24.com, March 15, 2019). The rival “Shekau” faction, in contrast, has been... MORE

Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Umar Abu Ubaidah (alias Ahmed Diriye) is notorious for keeping out of the spotlight. He had, for example, never made a public appearance until a November 2019 video, in which he gave a motivational speech to al-Shabaab fighters before they raided the... MORE

On March 2, Abu Sayyaf courier Insani Joy Samla was arrested by Philippine security officers on the island of Basilan near Mindanao (akhbaralaan.net, March 2). His arrest disrupted the remaining linkages between Abu Sayyaf’s increasingly small and dispersed cells across Mindanao, which have been degraded... MORE

On January 30, 49-year old Belgian citizen Jean-Louis Denis was arrested in Tourou, Benin for speeding while driving his car. After additional investigation, however, the Beninese authorities ordered his “immediate” deportation due to his background in Belgium, where he had previously been convicted for recruiting... MORE

A 2017 UN report concerning Somalia and Eritrea found that an Islamic State (IS) fighter in Somalia who defected from the group named “Abd El-Rahman” as his immediate superior in IS in Somalia (ISS) (UN Security Council, November 2, 2017). However, according to that report,... MORE

The Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has many different leaders among its ranks, ranging from its head, the Tuareg Iyad ag Ghaly, to the commander of JNIM’s “Macina Brigade,” the Fulani Hamadou Kouffa; recently, however, the group's most visible persona has become Mahmoud Barry (alias... MORE

Despite the geographic distance between Indonesia and Yemen and their disparate languages and cultures, the two countries also share a unique historical bond which extends well into the present day. Many Indonesians, for example, trace their ancestry to Yemen and specifically the Hadramawt region (arabnews.com,... MORE

Abubakar Baasyir is an Indonesian Islamic preacher who became best known for his founding role in Jemaa Islamiyah (JI) in 1993 with, among others, Abdullahi Sungkar. Like other jihadist ideologues and founders of that era, the JI founders were inspired by the Afghan mujahidin’s victory... MORE