The Islamist news site Mufakkirat al-Islam reported on January 14 how there has been a sharp increase in distribution of leaflets in Baghdad, al-Ramadi, al-Samawah specifically targeting the Japanese forces there and demanding their withdrawal from Iraq. The leaflets noted that instead of heeding an... MORE

Information from a recent court case in Jordan illustrates the vulnerability of U.S. personnel in the country, irrespective of any connections with military or diplomatic functions. On January 9 a total of 16 Jordanians were charged with plotting attacks against the U.S. and Israeli embassies... MORE

Evidence of the contentious issue of al-Qaeda presence in Lebanon may have come to light with the warning on a jihadist forum spotted by Focus on January 13. Posted on the al-Ma'sada forum (www.alm2sda.net) by the "Auxiliaries of the Organization of al-Qaeda in Lebanon," the... MORE

Afghan Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostam survived an assassination attempt on January 20 in a mosque while at Eid al-Adha prayers in Shibirghan, Northern Afghanistan. Posing as a beggar, the suicide bomber, who had strapped explosives to his body, blew himself up as he was... MORE

A car bomb and an arson attack in the Tajik capital Dushanbe have placed the administration on edge in the run-up to the parliamentary elections due at the end of February. On January 31, a Volga sedan parked outside the Emergencies Ministry blew up, killing... MORE

On January 26 came official confirmation from Malaysia that Thailand's most-wanted Islamist terror suspect, Abdul Rahman Ahmad, known in Thailand both as Doramae Kuteh and Chae Kumae Kuteh, had been arrested. He is considered to be the leader of the New Pulo separatist group and... MORE

Another surge of violence in Thailand's south since Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won his second term on February 6 augurs ill for the region's future. On February 10 a bomb attempt on Governor Pracha Tehrat and senior army and police officers attending a military parade... MORE

Kazakhstan Today reported on February 11 that police in the Manghistau region arrested a militant from a Wahhabi organization Taza Islam (Pure Islam). They also confiscated audiotapes, extremist literature, leaflets calling to perpetrate terrorist acts, some explosives — a sack of carbide and toluene cartridges... MORE

On February 8 the court in Jakarta reconvened, as scheduled, in the case against Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, for his alleged engagement in terrorism related acts. This is the second time the 66-year old Baasyir has been put on trial, having been cleared in... MORE

The Pakistan government has begun to compile a central registry of militants and extremists along with the details of the groups with which they are affiliated. According to a February 9 report in the Pakistani Daily Times, the lists will include those working in the... MORE