Latest Briefs

BRIEFS

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

BRIEFS

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

BRIEFS

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

August 2010 Briefs

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

BRIEFS

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

BRIEFS

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

BRIEFS

AFGHAN MUJAHIDEEN DETERMINED TO CLOSE KABUL TO KANDAHAR CORRIDORShaykh Nur ul-Haqq Mujahid bin Mohamed, the Taliban military commander in the Maydan Shahr district of Wardak province, stated in a recent interview that Taliban forces are trying to block a major supply corridor south of Kabul... MORE

July 2010 Briefs

PKK GUERILLA LEADER MURAT KARAYLIAN OFFERS ANKARA DEAL Murat Karayilan, the military guerrilla commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan-PKK) and leader of the Kurdish rebel umbrella grouping, the Kurdish Democratic Confederation (Koma Civaken Kurdistan-KCK), has indicated that he aims for a bilateral... MORE

BRIEFS

PROMINENT EGYPTIAN PREACHER DISSECTS AL-QAEDA STRATEGYIn a recent interview with well-known Egyptian television preacher Dr. Umar Abd al-Kafy, the cleric criticized the strategy and theological underpinnings of al-Qaeda’s ideology. The interview was carried by Dubai’s al-Arabiya TV on July 16. Al-Kafy suggests there are three... MORE

BRIEFS

RESURRECTED BOKO HARAM CHIEF THREATENS UNITED STATES As the first anniversary of a bloody five day Islamist rebellion in northern Nigeria approaches, Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State, is awash in heavily armed riot police and intelligence officials. Their presence is in reaction to... MORE