
Briefs

Mohammad Bazzi, Talal Chahine, and Nazem Ahmad: Hezbollah’s Three Global Financiers in Focus
Executive Summary: Investigations of Hezbollah’s financing network over the last several years have identified three major funders of the terror group: Mohammad Bazzi, Talal Chahine, and Nazem Ahmad. The arrest of the former two and the destruction of the third’s network is expected to significantly... MORE

Shamin Mahfuz: A Retrospective of Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya Incarcerated Founder in Bangladesh
Executive Summary: Md Shamin Mahfuz, the founder of Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya (JAFHS), a prominent jihadist group in Bangladesh loyal to al-Qaeda, was arrested in June 2023. Despite the successful arrest of many JAFHS leaders and militants, the group remains a threat, especially given... MORE

Hafiz Gul Bahadur: Pashtun Militant Fostering Jihadist Factional Unity Along Pakistan’s Durand Line
Executive Summary: Hafiz Gul Bahadur is a Pakistani militant who has been active in the region since 9/11. Bahadur has a network of affiliates, called the “Hafiz Gul Bahadur group,” which has been involved in a series of attacks on Pakistani forces over the past... MORE

General Tariq Saleh: A Thorn in the Side of the Houthis
Executive Summary: In Yemen, the internationally recognized government-aligned National Resistance Forces (NRF) are led by General Tariq Saleh, the nephew of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh’s faction holds a critical chokepoint, which prevents the Houthis from seizing the rest of the country’s Red Sea... MORE

Twan Mrat Naing: Ruler of Rakhine and Leader of the Arakan Army
Executive Summary: Twan Mrat Naing is the leader of one of the major anti-junta ethnic factions in Myanmar, the Arakan Army (AA). Twan has pushed fairly successfully for a separate Rakhine State under his leadership, either independent or in confederation with a new national government... MORE

Commander Muneeb: The Mind Behind the TTP’s Media Transformation
Executive Summary: Chaudhry Muneeb Ur Rehman Jatt, better known as Commander Muneeb, is a former al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) leader who revolutionized the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) recruitment and propaganda efforts. The close coordination between al-Qaeda and its former leaders and the TTP, reflects... MORE

Abu Bakar Kogoya: A Post-Mortem of TPNPB–OPM Guerilla
Executive Summary: Mobinus Abu Bakar Kogoya, a guerilla fighter with the West Papua National Liberation Army–Free Papua Movement (TPNPB–OPM), was killed in an operation by the Indonesian military in April. Abu's death will likely impede TPNPB–OPM operations in the remote areas where he operated. The... MORE

Raed al-Karmi: Twenty Years Dead, Second Intifada Leader’s Legacy at Core of New ‘Rapid Response Battalion’ in Tulkarem
Executive Summary: The legacy of Raed al-Karmi, a Palestinian militant who fought in the Second Intifada and was killed in 2002, continues to have an impact on the minds of West Bank militants, especially in the city of Tulkarem. Since October 7, 2023, a broad... MORE

Mir Bangulzai: Commander ‘Returned From the Dead’ to Boost Baloch Insurgency in Pakistan
Executive Summary: Mir Abdul Nabi Bangulzai is a well-known and well-liked Baloch guerrilla commander who gained renown for having been mistakenly declared dead in 2016 following a raid by the Pakistani military. Since then, Bangulzai has become a key figure in reconciling disparate Baloch militant... MORE

Rawa Majid and Ismael Abdo: Swedish Gangsters Revealed as Iranian Proxies
Executive Summary: In late May, Mossad attributed two attacks against the Israeli embassy in Stockholm to Iranian-backed criminal networks active in the country. The individuals at the core of these networks are Rawa “The Kurdish Fox” Majid and Ismael “The Strawberry” Abdo. The decision by... MORE