NIGERIAN MILITANTS PLAN REPRISAL ATTACK AGAINST AGIP Ijaw militants in the Niger Delta have threatened a new attack against Eni subsidiary Agip in response to a recent deadly confrontation at the Ogbainbiri flow station in Bayelsa state. The confrontation began on June 17, when armed... MORE

The covert understanding between the Pakistani government and NATO/ISAF in Afghanistan regarding direct U.S. military action in Pakistan's tribal areas is hardly a secret anymore. Officially, the Pakistani government forbids foreign troops from conducting military operations on its soil, whereas in reality many U.S. missile... MORE

KURDS RESTRUCTURE PESHMERGA INTO "REGULAR ARMY" A June 13 article in the Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported how Kurdish border guards have withdrawn five kilometers from the Turkish-Iraqi border in response to Turkey's military build-up. The Kurdish troops have withdrawn to six new military outposts in... MORE

In the ever changing dynamic of contemporary Somalia, the recently established Mujahideen Youth Movement (MYM) has emerged as the most potent militant group. Although there is little substantive information available about the group, its founding or its core leadership, much can be ascertained about its... MORE

FORUM PARTICIPANT ENCOURAGES ELECTRONIC WAR AGAINST UNITED STATES A May 20 statement in the alfirdaws.org forum called on Islamists to conduct an electronic war against the "enemy." The forum participant prodded the online community with the question: "For how long are we going to be... MORE

In response to an article posted in an Islamist internet forum entitled "Bin Laden...The Puzzling Disappearance," forum users spent a week discussing the possible reasons behind the disappearance of Osama bin Laden from the international spotlight (https://www.tajdeed.org, May 20). The article was authored by the... MORE

TURKEY-IRAQ BORDER TENSION ESCALATES On Friday, June 1, the Turkish military announced that plainclothes troops operating inside of northern Iraq were harassed by Kurdish forces in the city of Sulaymaniyah and that, as a result, the acts would receive a response "at the highest level"... MORE

There is evidence that al-Qaeda is being squeezed out of Baghdad by the troop surge and has already been driven out of its traditional stronghold in Anbar province. In response, Al-Qaeda in Iraq has attempted to make Diyala province their new headquarters. Diyala has always... MORE

During the past year, reports have revealed the routes through which foreign fighters from North Africa make their way into and out of the Iraq theater of conflict. Previously, the route through Syria has been identified as the preferred avenue, although Turkey has also been... MORE