Briefs
An American-Educated Warlord in Equatoria: A Profile of South Sudan’s General Martin Terensio Kenyi
According to a confidential UN report, six million people, half the population of South Sudan, are in need of humanitarian assistance less than six years after the nation gained its independence as a result of militia warfare spinning out of control (AFP, February 15). Power... MORE
Vying for Power in the PKK: A Profile of Senior Commander Dr. Bahoz Erdal
Fahman Hussein— a Kurdish militant more widely known by his nom de guerre, Dr. Bahoz Erdal — was born in Syria in 1969. He studied to be a veterinarian at the School of Medicine of the University of Damascus, to which the title ”Dr.” in... MORE
A Threat From Prison? A Look at AQIM Mauritanian Operative Saleck Ould Cheikh Mohamedou
On December 21, 2016, the U.S. State Department identified the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) operative Saleck Ould Cheikh Mohamedou as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. That executive order, issued by the Bush Administration in the immediate aftermath... MORE
The New Face of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood? A Post-Mortem Analysis of Hassm Leader Mohamed Ashour Dashisha
A new strand of Islamist jihadism— one more in line with the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology than Salafism—has been taking shape in the context of Egypt’s ongoing Islamist insurgency. This developing strand is the byproduct of the violent aftermath of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s ouster from... MORE
The Bitcoin Jihadist: Bahrun Naim and Islamic State’s Brigade of Indonesians
One of Islamic State’s (IS) most entrepreneurial jihadists is Bahrun Naim, a Syria-based Indonesian who has been planning attacks on his native Indonesia through online contacts in the country. The most recent operation with Naim at the helm involved a female suicide bomber who was... MORE
The Abdullah Azzam of Syria: A Profile of Abdallah Muhammad Bin-Sulayman al-Muhaysini
Since 2012, the Syrian civil war has been platform facilitating the rise of dozens of jihadist ideologues, clerics and fighters associated with Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda’s affiliate Jabath Fatah al-Sham (previously known as Jabath al-Nusra) or the myriad Islamist groups fighting in the country. Few... MORE
Mazen al- Nahiri: Baathist Officer Turned Islamic State Commander
With the rise of Islamic State’s (IS) self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who made his first public appearance in July 2014, deviated from the norms of secrecy normally attached to any jihadist leadership (YouTube, July 5, 2014). With more militants from... MORE
Hafeez Pandrani: the Man Behind the Emerging Insurgency in Sindh
Pakistan’s southern province Sindh has been a hotbed of terrorist activities since the 1980s and Karachi, the capital of the province and financial capital of Pakistan, has been considered to be the most violent city in Pakistan. Islamist terrorist groups, ethno-political and national-separatist groups have... MORE
The Amir of Tatarstan’s Right-Hand Man: A Look at Marat Sabirov
On October 20, 2016, the Volga District Military court began the trial of nine members of Chistopol Jamaat (Чистопольский джамаат), an Islamist extremist organization charged with carrying out a string of terrorist attacks that took place in Tatarstan, Russia in 2013. Among those on trial... MORE
From Military Major to Militant Mastermind: A Look at Ansar al-Islam Bangladesh’s Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque
With a bounty of 20 lakh BDT (approximately $25,000) on his head, Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque is one of the most notorious militant fugitives in Bangladesh. Haque has masterminded subversive militant violence in the country, including the recent targeted killings of secular bloggers. A disgraced... MORE