Briefs
Tahawwur Hussain Rana: Nearer to Extradition to India and a Revival of the Mumbai Attacks Investigation
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian businessman originally from Pakistan, was convicted in a US court in 2011. Rana was charged with providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Pakistan and for conspiring to attack the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten’s offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus. This followed... MORE
Abu Abaydah al-Qassam and His Peers: A Look at Palestinian Armed Groups’ Military Spokesmen
On October 7, Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, launched the “Al-Aqsa Flood” military operation. They did this in coordination with other Palestinian armed factions based in the Gaza Strip, which together belong to the “Palestinian Joint Operations Room (JOR).” [1] It was... MORE
Saddam Haftar: The Marshal’s Heir Apparent in Libya
At the end of August, forces from the so-called “Libyan National Army” conducted a combined air-raid and airborne assault on Umm al-Araneb, Murzug District in Libya’s southern region of Fezzan. The operation targeted rebels from the Chadian Front for Change and Concord (Front pour l’alternance... MORE
Abdul Kabir: A Profile of the Taliban’s Former Acting Prime Minister Pro Tempore
From May to July, Maulvi Abdul Kabir served as acting prime minister pro tempore of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan for Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund, who had been suffering from health problems (Etemaad, May 18; EFE, July 17). Abdul Kabir has served in key positions in the previous and... MORE
Shafiq Mengal: Pakistan’s Most Lethal Mercenary Leader in Balochistan
On July 21, clashes between Shafiq Mengal’s “death squad” and fighters loyal to Baloch nationalist leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal left four people dead in Wadh, Khuzdar District in Balochistan. Sardar Akhtar Mengal claimed that state-sponsored militias in Balochistan, namely Shafiq Mengal’s death squad, were formed... MORE
‘Lina E.’: Prosecution of the Woman Leading Germany’s Militant Left-Wing Underground
On May 31, the Oberlandesgericht (state-level higher court) in Dresden, Germany sentenced the 28-year old university student “Lina E.” to five years and three months in prison for her leadership position in a “criminal entity.” Among other offenses, she caused “severe bodily harm” to others... MORE
Hilal Ghazi: Jihadist Behind Pakistani Taliban’s Expansion into Punjab
On June 15, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or “Pakistani Taliban,” announced the establishment of two new “shadow provinces” in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populated province: “North Punjab” and “South Punjab.” This brought the total number of the group’s parallel proto-administrative units in Pakistan to twelve (Twitter/TheKhorasanDiary,... MORE
Jewel Molla: From Bakery Worker to Captured Founder and Leader of TUJ
Between September 13 and 16, Bangladesh’s Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) uncovered a newly formed jihadist group, Tawhidul Uluhiah al-Jihadi (TUJ), which was recruiting members for attacks planned for 2024 (The Daily Star, September 27). Jewel Molla, TUJ's founder, emerged on the jihadist scene rapidly at just... MORE
Abdallah Ag Albakaye: JNIM’s Tuareg Emir in Mali’s Gao Region
Abdallah Ag Albakaye holds a prominent position within Mali-based Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) as its emir in Talataye. The village of Talataye is in Gao, but is strategically located between the Menaka and Kidal regions. Ag Albakaye originally belonged to the JNIM sub-group,... MORE
Abu al-Hussein: A Post-Mortem of Islamic State’s Previous Caliph
Islamic State (IS) caliph Abu al-Hussein al-Qurashi was killed in northwestern Syria, IS’s third leader overall to be killed in the last 18 months. The role of the caliph is by definition central in the historic system of Islamic rule, the caliphate, which IS claimed... MORE