Briefs
Why are Indian Security Officials Talking to Taliban Leader Khairullah Khairkhwa?
With the exit of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban seizing ever greater amounts of territory, Indian officials have reportedly begun talking to Taliban leaders (Times of India, June 23). Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Shaikh Dilawar are among the... MORE
Will This Chechen Warlord be Forced out of Idlib? A Profile of Muslim Abu Walid al-Shishani
In June, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, or HTS) demanded that the Chechen warlord Muslim Shishani join their organization or leave Idlib, Syria. Reports of the demand emerged on June 27. A local news agency in its reporting referred to... MORE
Mufti Amir Hamza Fuels Bangladeshi Extremism Through ‘Wa’z Mehfils’
Introduction On May 5, Bangladeshi police arrested Mohammad Shakib and Ali Hasan Osama, two members of the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Islam terrorist group. They were arrested for “planning and instigating” an attack on the National Parliament (also called the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban) in the capital Dhaka.... MORE
From “Jihad of Open Fronts” to Lone Wolf Attacks—The Enduring Legacy of al-Qaeda’s Abu Musab al-Suri
The latest issue of al-Qaeda’s Inspire Magazine prominently featured a call for ‘lone wolf’ style attacks on Americans. This is the first time that al-Qaeda made a call for lone wolf-style jihadists to conduct attacks in the United States since 2017. The article praised attackers... MORE
Arrested and Released: A Profile of Iranian-Backed Militia Commander Qassim Musleh
On May 26, Iraqi security forces arrested Qassim Musleh, a prominent Shia militia leader. He is the commander of the strategically important western Iraq sector within the Iranian-backed militia umbrella organization, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). Authorities were not quick to provide media sources with... MORE
Polisario Leader Continues 48-Year Struggle for Western Saharan Independence: Brahim Ghali
Brahim Ghali, the 73-year-old leader of the Polisario Front in Western Sahara, was flown to Spain in April in order to receive medical treatment. Amid speculation that Ghali could be suffering from cancer, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) confirmed in a statement on April... MORE
Nigeria’s Gombe State Paradox: The Rise and Fall of Three Boko Haram Militant Leaders
Since 2015, only three terrorist attacks have been carried out in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Gombe by the major insurgent groups in the country, which are Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), the al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru, and the Boko Haram faction led by the now... MORE
The Long Arm of Turkish Drones: A Post-Mortem Analysis of the Life and Times of Syrian Born PKK Leader Sofi Nureddin
Contemporary Turkish counterterrorism campaigns rest on sophisticated, close cooperation between the Turkish military and national intelligence with a pronounced use of drones. This was reflected in a recent operation, which targeted one of the top Syrian-Kurdish figures of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), Halef al-Muhammad,... MORE
Terrorist-Turned-Pilot: A Profile of al-Shabab’s Rashid Mwalimu
In March, Kenyan security agencies issued an alert for the arrest of Rashid Mwalimu, an allegedly armed and dangerous pilot linked to al-Shabaab, the Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa. According to the police, Mwalimu was planning terrorist strikes in Kenya as revenge for the... MORE
‘Creating Anarchy in the Country’: The TLP’s New Challenges Under Saad Hussain Rizvi
Saad Hussain Rizvi is the emir, or chairman, of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a right-wing politico-religious party, which Pakistani authorities banned in April under the country's anti-terrorism laws. In November 2020, Saad Rizvi succeeded his father Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi in the post. Khadim Rizvi was... MORE