Latest Briefs

Lebanon Another Waypoint for North Africans Headed to Iraq

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

Briefs

- Stepashin and Kadyrov Comment on Chechen Reconstruction Sergei Stepashin, head of the Audit Chamber, the federal budgetary watchdog agency, said during a visit to Grozny that the absence of financing and a lack of proper coordination in the restoration of buildings and property in... MORE

BRIEFS

ROJ TV CLAIMS TURKEY BUILDING UP MILITARY PRESENCE ON IRAQI BORDER A May 18 broadcast on Roj TV, a Denmark-based satellite channel supportive of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), claimed that the Turkish military has increased its operations in southeast Turkey and on the border... MORE

Is Al-Qaeda in Yemen Regrouping?

In November 2002, the United States dealt a devastating blow to Al-Qaeda in Yemen when it assassinated Abu Ali al-Harithi with a missile from a Predator drone. One year later, in November 2003, Yemeni forces arrested al-Harithi's replacement, Muhammad al-Ahdal, on a tip from an... MORE

BRIEFS

BOMBS CREATE PANIC IN THAILAND'S SONGKHLA PROVINCE Thai General Phanlop Pinmani has warned that the insurgency in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani has now broken down into a full scale guerrilla war (Thai Rat, May 17). According to the general, the... MORE

Ankara Bombing Poses Economic Risks to Turkey

The May 22 suicide bomb attack in Ankara contains elements that are potentially worrisome for the Turkish government, its people and tourists visiting Turkey. If bombings of the same modus operandi continue, a strong, dependable U.S. local ally in the Iraq theater of operations as... MORE

Briefs

- Servicemen Wounded, Rebels Killed in Chechnya Fighting Kavkazky Uzel reported on May 24 that a contract serviceman was injured in a shootout with rebel fighters on the outskirts of the Gudermes district village of Koshkeldy. Another Russian army serviceman was injured in a shootout... MORE

Briefs

- Two Militants Killed in Chechnya Interfax on May 17 reported that two militants were killed on the outskirts of the village of Selmentauzen in Chechnya’s Vedeno district. “Four militants were blocked in a wooded area outside Selmentauzen on Wednesday [May 16] evening after they... MORE

BRIEFS

ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ CREATES NEW BRIGADE On May 14, a statement by the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) was posted on https://w-n-n.com, an Arabic-language web forum that hosts many jihadi texts and declarations. The statement announced the creation of a special brigade to storm... MORE