Latest Briefs
Arrest of American Islamist Highlights Homegrown Terrorist Threat
On June 6, British authorities arrested Syed "Fahad" Hashmi, a 26 year-old American citizen of Pakistani descent, in London's Heathrow Airport for his suspected role in aiding an al-Qaeda plot to attack targets in London and delivering military equipment and funds to radical Islamists in... MORE
BRIEFS
INDONESIA RELEASES RADICAL CLERIC ABU BAKAR BA'ASYIR On June 14, the alleged spiritual leader of Indonesian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiya (JI), Abu Bakar Ba'asyir (or Abu Bakar Bashir), was released from prison. Ba'asyir was arrested a week after the 2002 bombings in Bali that killed... MORE
Crackdown Against Islamist Opposition in Morocco Intensifies
Moroccan security forces intensified operations last week against al-Adl wa al-Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality Association—JSA), the country's largest opposition group, arresting scores more of its members in the towns of Bouarfa, Oujda and Nador in northeast Morocco. Mohammed al-Abadi, the JSA's second-in-command, was among the... MORE
Who’s Who in Ramadi Among the Insurgent Groups
U.S. forces have amassed an additional 1,500 troops for another security crackdown in Iraq's predominantly Sunni Arab center in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. The Ramadi operation, as yet unconfirmed by the U.S. military, is part of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's security offensive... MORE
BRIEFS
IN NEW VIDEO, AL-ZAWAHIRI DISCUSSES PALESTINE AND SUDAN Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri appeared in a new videotape broadcast on al-Jazeera June 9. The al-Qaeda leader called on "Muslims to reject any referendum on Palestine because Palestine is part of the Islamic world and not subject... MORE
Jihadists Remain Strong After Death of al-Zarqawi
Immediately after the death of al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, various jihadists in Iraq and elsewhere began trumpeting the theme of unity that "they are all al-Zarqawi," and jihadists worldwide have expressed their determination to fight a global jihad, even without their spiritual... MORE
Violence in Syria Points to Growing Radical Islamist Unrest
According to reports in early June, Syrian authorities claim to have disrupted an attack by radical Syrian Islamists near Ummayad Square in Damascus, possibly targeting government buildings. A team of 10 armed militants allegedly opened fire against a Syrian police patrol around dawn after being... MORE
BRIEFS
AL-ZARQAWI RELEASES NEW AUDIOTAPE CRITICIZING SHIITES Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, released a new four-hour long audiotape on June 1, in which he launches an aggressive verbal attack against Shiites. Al-Zarqawi labels Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as the "leader of infidelity and... MORE
Malaysia Announces the Arrest of 12 Darul Islam Members
The Malaysian government recently announced that between March 16 and April 3 they had arrested 12 individuals who were part of the Darul Islam (DI) organization; authorities allege that they were planning a string of bombings (The Star, May 31). The Malaysian authorities went to... MORE
Toronto’s Terrorist Conspiracy
During the afternoon of June 2, Toronto residents were shocked to learn of the arrest of 17 would-be Islamist terrorists accused of planning an attack on the downtown headquarters of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS), as well as other targets such as the... MORE