Shaykh Abukar Ali Adan—a hardliner within al-Shabaab, the Somali-based Islamist militant group—is believed to have risen to the organization’s top leadership position, after the current emir transferred power to the organization’s former military leader. In August this year, reports emerged that Shaykh Ahmed Diriye a.k.a.... MORE

In late September, a special Indian National Investigating Agency (NIA) counter-terrorism court in Ernakulam, Kerala, sentenced Islamic State (IS) terrorist Subahani Haja Mohideen (a.k.a. Abu Jasmine al-Hindi) to life imprisonment (NIA, September 28; The Hindu, September 28). He was one of the early Indian-origin extremists... MORE

Introduction On August 3, Tajikistan’s Minister of Internal Affairs Rahimzoda Ramazon announced that Gulmurod Khalimov was killed in an airstrike in Syria. This was later confirmed by Tajikistani nationals returning from Syria (Sputniknews.ru, August 3). Later, however, Rakhimzoda stated that he would not believe the... MORE

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has historically been an Algeria-based and Algerian-led jihadist group. Nevertheless, AQIM has empowered, in particular, Malians by allowing them to lead AQIM’s Mali-based sub-affiliate, Group of Supporters of Islam and Muslims (Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin—JNIM). In addition, although... MORE

Abu al-Yaqzan al-Masri is one of the most active jihadist scholars in Syria. Until last year, he was a senior member of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the leader of al-Nusra Front. Al-Masri became the Shara’e (religious guide) of the military... MORE

On June 14, two senior al-Qaeda leaders were reportedly killed in a suspected U.S. drone strike in Syria’s Idlib province while traveling in their car (Alaraby.com, June 15). According to video circulated on social media, the vehicle was struck with a R9X, a version of... MORE

Introduction Negotiations between Russia and Turkey in Ankara on September 16 over the present situation in Syria’s Idlib governorate yielded no tangible results. The failure of the talks opens the door for the Bashir al-Assad regime and its Russian allies to attempt a seizure of... MORE

Islamic State has selected a new emir for its branch in Afghanistan, Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K). In a surprising move, the Syrian-based central leadership of IS has chosen al-Shahab al-Mohajir—a foreign fighter, from Iraq—whose credentials are not widely known within the jihadist circles of South Asia... MORE

Husam Abd al-Rauf is among the few remaining al-Qaeda figures with a public profile. A prolific contributor to al-Qaeda’s jihadist productions and publications, al-Rauf has repeatedly threatened to target Western countries. He is credited with reviving and modernizing al-Qaeda’s media operations, in particular the group’s... MORE

On February 21, leaders of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU)—the official umbrella group of Iraq’s Shia-dominated militias—announced that they had agreed to appoint Abdul Aziz al-Muhammadawi as the chief of staff of their organization (al-Mayadeen, February 20). Al-Muhammadawi (a.k.a. Abu Fadak) has been a shadowy... MORE