Briefs
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s Next Generation Commander: Yousaf Mansoor Khurasani
Few Islamist terrorist organizations in Pakistan are as resilient as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). The violent sectarian outfit surfaced in 1990, after the assassination of Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, an anti-Shia, ultra-orthodox Deobandi cleric and founder of sectarian political party Sipah-e-Sahaba (Army of the Companions). And since the... MORE
Iraq’s Powerful PMU Commander: Hadi al-‘Ameri
On July 29, Iraqi Prime Minister Hadier al-‘Abadi revealed that the predominately Shia volunteer force known collectively as al-Hashed al-Sha’abi (PMU, Popular Mobilization Units) will take part in the imminent military operations to push out Islamic State (IS) from its stronghold in the city of... MORE
Bringing the Battle to Turkey: A Profile of Islamic State Recruiter Mustafa Dokumacı
In 2015, three terror attacks carried out by Islamic State (IS) took place in Turkey, in the cities of Diyarbakır, Suruç, Ankara, on June 5, July 20 and October 10, respectively. All three attacks were primarily directed at Halkların Demokratik Partisi (HDP, Peoples’ Democratic Party)-affiliated... MORE
The Maute Brothers’ Path to Militancy in the Islamic State Inspired Fighting in Mindanao
On May 23, 2017, Islamic State (IS) forces invaded the town of Marawi in Mindanao, Philippines. At first, it was unclear whether reports of the invasion were an exaggeration. However, after the fighting persisted for more than one month, with over 200 Maute militants and... MORE
The Carousel of Rebellion and Reintegration: A Profile of Northern Mali’s Colonel Hassan ag Fagaga
From the moment of its independence in 1960, Mali was almost doomed to failure as a post-colonial state created from the territories of French West Africa. With its odd, bow-tie shape incorporating a larger but sparsely populated Muslim Sahel-Saharan region in the northeast and a... MORE
Breaking With Kashmiri Militant Tradition: A Profile of Mujahideen Taliban-e-Kashmir Commander Zakir Musa
Zakir Rashid Bhat (a.k.a. Zakir Musa), a former Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HuM, Party of Holy Warriors) commander, has been in the news lately for virtually redefining the long-standing Kashmir militant movement. With his incendiary messages, often interwoven with violent Islamist preaching, he is now calling for... MORE
In the Shadow of Moqtada al-Sadr: The Rise of Iraq’s Ahmed al-Sadr
Speaking to thousands of his followers in a rally in central Baghdad on March 24, the Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shocked the crowed by announcing that he thought that his life was under threat. He ordered them to not abandon the movement he launched... MORE
Islamic State’s Man in Sinai: A Post-Mortem Profile of Abu Anas al-Ansari al-Saynawi
On April 2, 2017, the Egyptian military announced that 19 senior militants of the Islamic State (IS) wilayat (province) of Sinai had been killed in a series of airstrikes that took place on March 18 in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula. [1] Among the militants... MORE
Somalia’s Militant Spin-Doctor: A Look at al-Shabaab Military Operations Spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis abu Musab
Despite losing major ground — or maybe in response to recent losses — Somalia’s Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, better known as al-Shabaab, has increasingly used propaganda to inspire fighters and gain support for its insurgency in southern Somalia. Senior leaders of al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in East... MORE
Life After Death: The Dangerous Rhetoric of Pakistani Televangelist Tariq Jameel
Since the start of the Global War on Terror, Pakistan has experienced widespread suicide bombings perpetrated by Islamist terrorist organizations ranging from global groups like al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) to local groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. [1] As the death toll... MORE