On July 9, as the Taliban made rapid gains in the western Afghan province of Herat, Ismael Khan vowed to raise a civilian militia and push back the insurgent organization. In the 24 hours before Khan’s remarks, the Taliban had captured eight districts in Herat... MORE

On June 21, the Afghan warlord Atta Mohammad Noor pledged to mobilize the public of his native Balkh province to fight the Taliban (TOLO News, June 22; Twitter.com/Atamohammadnoor, June 21). The announcement came as the Taliban has made dramatic territorial gains in the country, having... MORE

On May 12, the U.S. Department of State released its annual report on International Religious Freedom. Though the report drew media attention for calling out abuses of religious freedom from geopolitical rivals to the United States, including Russia and China, what received less attention was... MORE

On April 19, two members of Islamic State (IS) riding on motorcycles fired upon a vehicle traveling in the area of Haji Camp, near Peshawar, in Pakistan. The shooting resulted in the death of Maulvi Naik Muhammad Rahbar, the Taliban’s shadow governor of Nangarhar province.... MORE

On March 18, Russia hosted negotiations between the Taliban, the Afghan government, and representatives from the United States, China and Pakistan. The meeting was the first in a series of three international conferences intended to find a consensus for an interim Afghan government composed of... MORE

On December 10, the Indonesian National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism force arrested Aris Sumarsono, better known as Zulkarnaen, in Purbolinggo, in the East Lampung province of southern Sumatra. Zulkarnaen is the military commander of Jemaah Islamiyah, and has been on the run for 18 years... MORE

On December 13, forces associated with the Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) raided the headquarters of Saraya al-Khorasani, a militia that until recently was affiliated with the PMU. Several of the group’s leaders were arrested, including its deputy secretary-general and military commander,... MORE

On December 15, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), appeared in a video released by Umar Media, the official media arm of TTP (Umar Media, December 15). This video demonstrated a continuation of the series of mergers of Pakistani jihadist groups... MORE

On November 22, four members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) surrendered to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Patikul, Sulu province. One of the four was revealed to be the grandson of Radullan Sahiron, a leader of ASG and a multi-decade veteran... MORE

On October 28, Akram al-Kaabi, a Shia cleric and secretary-general of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN), threatened to launch “lethal attacks” against the United States, unless the country completely withdraws from Iraq. At a press conference in Tehran, Al-Kaabi stated: “Not only the various groups of... MORE