PHILIPPINE MILITARY OPERATIONS TARGET ABU SAYYAF GROUP LEADERS  Nicholas A. Heras  Philippine security forces recently engaged in a series of operations against the militant Salafist organization Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), in the Zamboanga Peninsula on the island of Mindanao and on Basilan Island in the... MORE

CHAD WITHDRAWS FROM NORTHERN MALI AS PLANNING FOR UN FORCE BEGINS Andrew McGregor Chad has begun the withdrawal of its expeditionary force of roughly 2,250 troops from northern Mali as the conflict enters a new stage. According to Chadian president Idriss Déby, the “man-to-man fighting”... MORE

SOUTH AFRICAN MILITARY DISASTER IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: PART ONE – THE REBEL OFFENSIVE Andrew McGregor While international attention focused on efforts to deal with the fallout from Mali’s military collapse and subsequent coup, a rebellion and coup in the Central African Republic (CAR)... MORE

SHOCK WAVES CONTINUE FROM MYSTERIOUS SUICIDE BLAST AT U.S. EMBASSY IN ANKARA Andrew McGregor In terms of scale alone, the February 1 suicide bombing that killed a Turkish security guard and injured a Turkish journalist outside the U.S. Embassy in Ankara was a relatively minor... MORE

DEAD OR ALIVE? THE FATE OF MOKHTAR BELMOKHTAR Andrew McGregor Despite claims that “terrorist kingpins” have been eliminated in the secret war being fought in the Adrar des Ifoghas Mountains of northern Mali, evidence of such results remains in short supply. Most notable among those... MORE

IRAQI AL-QAEDA AFFILIATE ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ INCREASES ATTACKS ACROSS IRAQ Nicholas A. Heras  The Iraqi al-Qaeda affiliate Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) has maintained a steady rate of attacks over the last few months. On January 3, ISI executed attacks against Shi’a Muslim pilgrims... MORE

ASSASSINATION SPARKS POLITICAL CRISIS IN TUNISIA  Andrew McGregor  Tunisia’s political crisis deepened this week with the emergence of a split in the ruling Islamist Ennahda Party and the subsequent resignation of Ennahda Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali on February 20. The split was the consequence of... MORE

SALAFISTS AND SECULARISTS CHALLENGE THE AUTHORITY OF TUNISIA’S ISLAMIST RULERS Growing tensions in Tunisia between that nation’s Islamist government, secular political forces and radical Salafists exploded on February 6 following the assassination of a leading Tunisian secularist politician, Chokri Belaid. Within hours, the Tunis headquarters... MORE

CAPTURED SHINING PATH LEADER REFUSES TO REMAIN SILENT AT TRIAL  The leader of the Shining Path faction in the Upper Huallaga Valley, Comrade Artemio, was captured in February 2012 after one of his comrades betrayed him and gave his location to the Peruvian security forces... MORE