PHILIPPINES ADOPTS MORE MOBILE SEA-BASED STRATEGY AGAINST ABU SAYYAFThe Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are restructuring their campaign against Abu Sayyaf Islamist militants in Western Mindanao by adopting the fleet marine concept as a replacement for the Sulu Archipelago-based Joint Task Force Comet (Sun... MORE

RENEGADE OPPOSITION LEADER PREDICTS OIL WAR IN SUDANIn a recent interview with a pan-Arab daily, a leading Sudanese politician claimed a vote for secession by the oil-rich South Sudan in the upcoming January referendum will not be accepted by the Khartoum government, leading to a... MORE

TRIBAL DISPUTE MAKES OIL-RICH ABYEI REGION POTENTIAL FLASHPOINT FOR RENEWED SUDANESE CONFLICTThe future of the Sudan may lay in Abyei, a relatively small district on the border between Sudan’s North and South. Its status as part of either North or South Sudan will be determined... MORE

JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH’S MAS SELEMAT KASTARI EXTRADITED BACK TO SINGAPORE On September 24, Mas Selamat Kastari, the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in Singapore, was extradited back to the city-state after his puzzling February 27, 2008, jailbreak there (AP, September 24). Selamat escaped the detention center... MORE

EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC GROUP IDEOLOGIST DR. NAJIH IBRAHIM SAYS TIME IS NOT RIGHT FOR ISLAMISTS TO SEIZE POWERDr. Najih Ibrahim, the principal theorist of Egypt’s al-Gama’a al-Islamiya (GI - Islamic Group), has outlined a new future for the GI, Egypt’s most notorious terrorist group in the... MORE

NIGERIAN SECURITY COMMANDERS DISMISSED AFTER BOKO HARAM MILITANTS BLAST THEIR WAY OUT OF PRISONThreats made in July by the new chief of northern Nigeria’s Boko Haram sect were fulfilled in recent days with a mass prison breakout of incarcerated sect members and what appears to... MORE

SAHARAN MERCENARY EMPLOYED BY AL-QAEDA FREED IN HOSTAGE EXCHANGEWhile mercenaries have played an important role in the war on terrorism from the beginning, the use of private forces has until recently been associated with counterterrorism efforts. However, since al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) began... MORE

Adnan el-Shukrijumah’s Rise to Prominence Within al-Qaeda One of al-Qaeda’s men is reportedly moving up the ladder in Pakistan’s FATA due to the efficacy of the CIA’s drone program that seeks to devastate the group’s leadership. Adnan el-Shukrijumah, who maintains a five million dollar bounty... MORE

HAS AL-QAEDA STARTED A FEUD WITH THE TUAREG?Fallout continues in North Africa from the July 22 raid on elements of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The joint operation by French and Mauritanian security forces on Malian territory was intended to free 78-year-old hostage Michel Germaneau.... MORE

SAUDI SHAYKH SALMAN AL-AWDAH WARNS TERRORISM WILL FOLLOW MILITARY STRIKE ON IRANIn an interview with the pan-Arab Quds Press news agency, Shaykh Salman bin Fahd al-Awdah warned that a wave of terrorism will follow any military attacks on Iran while also calling on Tehran to... MORE