Finally, God granted me al-samaha [allowance to enter the caliphate land], Oh, my comrade, I’ve shook hands with arms I’ve lived [in] the caliphate and its excellencies (al-Quds al-Arabi, October 14, 2014) With these lines, Syrian revolutionary poetess turned Islamic State propagandist Ahlam al-Nasr announced... MORE

Abu Ridha al-Turkistani was the leader of the “Syria Branch” of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP)—the first TIP leader ever to hold that position. He died under as murky circumstances and with as little fanfare as he arrived. There is very little information on where... MORE

In Pakistan’s dangerously diverse universe of Islamic extremism, the name Jundullah (also Jundallah) and this militant group’s notorious commander-spokesperson Ahmed Marwat (a.k.a. Ahmedullah or Fahad Marwat) are synonymous with violence against minorities, indiscriminate attacks on foreigners and social workers and targeted assaults against Pakistan’s powerful... MORE

In a further indication of how al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is increasingly managing to exploit and take advantage from the current Yemeni political crisis and security vacuum, on April 2, the group’s militants launched a concerted assault on the city of al-Mukalla in... MORE

BEATING ON ASSAD’S DOOR: SYRIAN MILITIA FIGHTER ABD AL-NASR SHMEIR Nicholas A. Heras Damascus’ suburban region of eastern Ghouta is a site of ongoing and vicious conflict between the Syrian military and several rebel factions. Inter-rebel fighting is common there, particularly between the Islamic State... MORE

Though far from a household name, Abu Humam al-Suri (birth name: Samir Hijazi) is a critical Syrian jihadist leader, important to both Jabhat al-Nusra and the broader al-Qaeda organization. Abu Humam is an al-Qaeda veteran and also Jabhat al-Nusra’s masul al-askari al-amm (general military official).... MORE

On September 24, 2014, the U.S. Department of State listed Harakat Sham al-Islam (HSI) as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” (U.S. Department of State, September 24, 2014). The listing described HSI, which was formed in August 2013, as a “Moroccan-led terrorist organization operating in Syria principally... MORE

In an Arabic-language statement issued over Twitter on April 23, the Iranian hardline Sunni Baloch militant organization Ansar al-Furqan announced the death of its leader, Abu Hafs al-Balochi (Twitter, April 23). The statement said al-Balochi had been killed the previous day after “a long confrontation”... MORE

Abdul Malik al-Houthi is the most wanted man in Yemen. He is also the most powerful man in Yemen, at least for now. The reclusive and enigmatic leader of Yemen’s Houthis, a predominately Zaydi Shi’a movement, was thrust onto the world stage when Saudi Arabia,... MORE

In June 2011, Militant Leadership Monitor profiled the Malaysian-born and U.S. educated veteran of the 1990s civil war in Afghanistan, Zulkifli bin Hir (a.k.a. Marwan). In 2011, he was considered to be the highest-ranking of the estimated 20-30 Jemaah Islamiya (JI) fighters in the Philippines.... MORE