Latest Briefs
Al-Qaeda Suspects on Trial in Yemen
Yemen is preparing to try a number of prisoners who are accused of being associated with al-Qaeda terrorist activities in Yemen and abroad. The most notable prosecution involves Muhammad Hamdi al-Ahdal (also known as Abu Asim al-Makki) and his associate Ghalib al-Zaidi, who have been... MORE
A Jihadi Course in Military Mapping Symbols
The Mawsu'at al-I'dad ("Encyclopedia of Preparation") stands out as a prime example of an illustration of the "data mining" capability that the internet provides. As earlier indicated in Terrorism Focus, this work is unique in its form since it constitutes an ever-expanding e-compendium made up... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Weapons Specialist Killed in Pakistani Airstrike
Abu Khabab al-Masri, the unconventional weapons specialist of al-Qaeda, was killed in the January 13 airstrike at Damadola in Pakistan. His death, reported by the Pakistani daily Dawn (www.dawn.com) quoting security sources, is especially important given Osama bin Laden's January 19 audiotape in which he... MORE
Al-Zawahiri Addresses Reform in Muslim World
Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Egyptian national Ayman al-Zawahiri, appeared in a video-recording broadcast by al-Jazeera news network on January 6. What is striking in this statement is his discussion of reform and freedom in the Arab and Islamic worlds. In his latest statement, al-Zawahiri discusses reform and... MORE
Bajaur: Tribe and Custom Continue to Protect al-Qaeda
Early in the morning on January 12, suspected U.S. aircraft fired missiles at houses in the village of Damadola in the Bajaur Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), killing 18 people. This was the first attack of its kind in this area (Frontierpost.com.pk,... MORE
Al-Zarqawi’s Group Under Pressure and Seeking Allies
On January 15 al-Qaeda in Iraq announced that it had set up an umbrella body with five other militant groups in Iraq, called the Mujahideen Shura Council, to coordinate the fight against the U.S.-led forces and confront the "Crusaders and their Rafidi (Shi'ite) and secularist... MORE
Al-Qaeda Manhunt in Kenya
Kenya is widely remembered as the site of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing that killed over 200 people and cast al-Qaeda into international prominence. The attack was followed by a 2002 suicide car bombing that targeted a hotel popular with Israelis near Mombassa and the... MORE
Declining in Algeria, GSPC Enters International Theater
Government authorities achieved a recent success in the battle against jihadists in Algeria, but the development comes at a time when the threat posed by the group may be more significant outside the country's borders. The Algerian daily Le Jeune Independant (www.jeune-independant.com) reported on January... MORE
Al-Qaeda Networks Uncovered in Morocco
Investigations into Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad bil-Maghrib (the Monotheism and Jihad group in Morocco) cells broken up by Moroccan security have revealed the inroads al-Qaeda has made into the region (see Terrorism Focus, Volume II, Issue 22). From the testimony of the arrested Belgian national Mohamed... MORE
An Online “University” for Jihad
In an interesting new development, the al-Qaeda network is making strides to present itself as a permanent cultural--as well as military--phenomenon. An October 7 posting on the al-Farouq jihadi forum (www.al-farouq.com) by Ahmad al-Wathiq bi-Llah, the "deputy general emir" of the Global Islamic Media Front,... MORE