Briefs
The Terrorist Next Door: Pakistan’s Hammad Adil
Early on August 30, 2013, a large contingent of the Anti-Terrorist Squad of Islamabad’s Capital Territory Police along with officials from intelligence agencies, the Special Branch and Criminal Investigations Departments, raided the house of Muhammad Adil, a property dealer, in a suburb of Islamabad. The... MORE
Boko Haram’s ‘Borno Kidnapping Duo’: Hafsat Bako and Babuji Yaari
Boko Haram militants dressed in Nigerian military fatigues kidnapped 276 girls, almost all of them Christians, from a secondary school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State on April 15, 2014. Boko Haram leader Abubakr Shekau claimed responsibility for the attack in a split-screen video... MORE
Prophet Under Arms: A Profile of the Niger Delta’s ‘Ex-General’ Reuben Wilson
Reuben Wilson, a former commander in the loosely organized and allegedly disbanded Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), is threatening to block oil production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria if the current president, Goodluck Jonathan, is prevented from running for... MORE
From Physician to Separatist Icon: Baloch Guerilla Leader Allah Nazar
A trained physician has emerged as the leading guerilla commander in the separatist insurgency in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan. Dr. Allah Nazar leads a group of secular nationalist militants who are fighting for independence for the Baloch minority. Their Balochistan Province homeland makes up... MORE
Mukhtar Robow “Abu Mansur”: Former Spokesman of al-Shabaab Caught in the Middle of Nowhere
When al-Shabaab grew to prominence during the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006, Shaykh Mukhtar Robow “Abu Mansur” led the group’s propaganda war aimed at ousting Ethiopian forces and the Somali Transitional government troops from southern Somalia. He was the spokesman for the al-Qaeda inspired... MORE
The Crimean Wolf in the Steppes of Syria
Analysts have suspected the involvement of Crimean Tatars in the Syrian civil war since 2012. These suspicions were confirmed in 2013. Early that year, the website of North Caucasian jihadists listed Crimean Tatars among the nationalities of those who fought in Syria alongside Chechens (KavkazCenter.com,... MORE
A Brief Sketch of Khalid Mahsud: Mastermind Behind the Attack on Pakistan’s Mehran Airbase
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told a session of the National Assembly on January 29 that his government would pursue peace negotiations with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in spite of a recent spate of attacks and named a four-member committee to facilitate these talks (Dawn... MORE
Another look at General Khalifa Haftar: His Enemies and Allies in the Struggle for Libya
Over the past few months, General Khalifa Haftar has been one of the most important figures in the Libyan political landscape. He has recently launched a “bid” of sorts to assume a role as a strongman for Libya, showing the ability to boost consensus and... MORE
Dead or Alive – Sinai’s Most Wanted: Shadi al-Manei
Egyptian security officials claimed that Shadi al-Manei, a leader of the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, was killed in an ambush set by tribesmen in Sinai on May 22 (al-Ahram, May 24). According to the police investigation, 15 men in vehicles and armed with... MORE
Legendary Kashmiri Militant Mast Gul Reemerges After Long Hibernation
Pakistani militant commander Haroon Khan, better known as Mast Gul in the Indian subcontinent, has reemerged after a hibernation, perpetrating a string of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this February. He is known for his long association with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and... MORE