Latest Briefs
Hussein Ali Fiidow’s Challenge to al-Shabaab Leadership
At the center of an alleged power struggle in the top leadership of al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa, is a deputy emir who is in charge of governorates and finance. Reports suggest that Hussein Ali Fiidow, an influential leader within the militant... MORE
Securing Southern Yemen for the UAE: Abu al-Abbas and the Battle for Taiz
Over the course of May, the Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-led coalition, working with local Yemeni partner forces commanded by Tariq Saleh, have advanced close to the strategic, Ansar Allah- (Partisans of God-Houthi) controlled port city of al-Hudaydah on Yemen's Red Sea coast... MORE
The Lessons of Abu Zinnira: A Spokesman in Boko Haram’s Kidnappings and Factional Feuds
In February 2018, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) carried out a brazen kidnapping of 111 girls in Dapchi, Yobe State, Nigeria. After capturing them, the militants reportedly took the girls hundreds of kilometers away, to the base of the ISWAP leader, Abu... MORE
From PMU to Political Mobilization: A Look at Mahdi Ali Jabar al-Musawi and the IRGC’s Reach Into Iraqi Politics
Iraq's upcoming parliamentary elections—scheduled to be held on May 12—are being highly and tightly contested, particularly from within the Iraqi Shia community. One of the most influential factions vying for control over the Iraqi parliament is Etilaf al-Fateh (Conquest Coalition), which is mainly comprised of... MORE
Detained Senior Commander Reveals Islamic State Plans to Revive Yemen Campaign
On March 25, the Aden Security Department announced the arrest of three militants suspected of being part of an Islamic State (IS) media and reconnaissance team active in the Yemeni interim capital (el-Nashra, March 25). Yemeni security officials stated that the operation, carried out in... MORE
A Profile of Emirati Proxy and South Yemen Separatist Abu al-Yamama al-Yaefi
The strategic port city of Aden in southern Yemen has experienced significant instability since the start of 2018. In late January, Aden was the site of increasingly bitter infighting between forces loyal to the government of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and forces loyal to... MORE
Leadership Decapitation Unlikely to Undermine AQIM in the Long Run
On January 20, Tunisian security forces killed Bilel al-Kobi, an Algerian terrorist affiliated with the Tunisian offshoot of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Oqba bin Nafaa (OBN). Al-Kobi was considered to be one of the closest aides of Abdelmalek Drukdel, the emir of AQIM.... MORE
Gaza’s Most Wanted: A Look at HISN General Secretary Hashim Ashour Salem
On January 31, the U.S. Department of State designated the Gaza-based Palestinian organization Harakat al-Sabireen Nasiran li-Filasteen (HISN-Movement of the Patient Ones for Palestinian Victory) as a terrorist organization (U.S. Department of State, January 31). HISN is a controversial organization that is believed to be... MORE
Attacks in Kabul Highlight Taliban-Islamic State Tensions
Over the last two months, a spate of terrorist attacks has struck the Afghan capital of Kabul. Islamist insurgents carried out at least five strikes in Kabul in January and, in December 2017, a suicide bomb attack at a cultural center in the Afghan capital... MORE
33rd Brigade Secretary General Sayyid Maytham al-‘Alaq: The PMU’s Rising Star in Basra
The Hashd Sha'abi (PMU-Popular Mobilization Units) continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq's southwestern desert border areas with Syria (al-Hurra [Baghdad], January 30). One of the PMU organizations participating in these operations against the remnants of the IS is Liwa 33... MORE