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

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

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

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

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

AL-SHABAAB EXPANDS OPERATIONAL ZONE WITH KAMPALA BOMBING – BUT TO WHAT END?After several years of threats and warnings, al-Shabaab’s Somali jihad has finally spilled across Somalia’s borders to its East African neighbors. On July 11, bombs ripped through the Ethiopian Village Restaurant and the Kyadondo... MORE

DEFIANT AQIM CHALLENGES NEW REGIONAL COUNTERTERRORIST COMMAND WITH DEADLY CROSS-BORDER RAIDAl-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) answered the formation of a multinational counterterrorism center in the southern Algerian town of Tamanrasset by ambushing a patrol of Algerian border gendarmes close to Tin Zaouatine, roughly 40... MORE