Briefs
May 2014 Briefs
SKETCHES OF SHAYKH SHA'BAN MAD'OUD KHALIFA HADIA AND UTHMAN MLIQTA, RIVAL LIBYAN MILITIA COMMANDERS Nicholas A. Heras Militias operating under the name of the Libyan National Army, and loyal to the Libyan General Khalifa Haftar, moved into Tripoli on May 18. These militias are trying... MORE
The ‘Pir’ of Terror: A Brief Sketch of Syed Salahuddin of Kashmir Jihad
Syed Salahuddin (a.k.a. Muhammad Yusuf Saha), heads the most dreaded Kashmir-centric militant organization, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM – Party of Holy Warriors). He has led a proxy war against India since the early 1990s. The organization has worked hand in glove with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the... MORE
The New People’s Army of the Philippines’ Husband and Wife Duo: A Profile of Wilma and Benito Tiamzon
On March 22 a joint operation between the Philippine military, federal and local police in Barangay Aloguinsan, Carcar City, resulted in the arrest of seven members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Central Committee two days before the Party’s 45th anniversary. An informant... MORE
Juan Ibrahim: Head of the Kurdish Security Forces in Northeastern Syria
The Asayish is the largest and most sophisticated armed group in the Kurdish-controlled areas of north and northeastern Syria. The group is under the direct command of the Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat (PYD – Democratic Union Party), which is affiliated with the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK... MORE
Umar Qasmi: The Amir of a new Pakistani Taliban Splinter Group, Ahrar ul-Hind
In a rare strike at the heart of the heavily guarded Pakistani capital of Islamabad, three armed men stormed a district court on March 3, killing 11 people and injuring over 30 others. The next day, a man introducing himself as the spokesperson for Ahrar... MORE
Where Trafficking and Terrorism Intersect: A Profile of Mauritanian Militant Hamada Ould Muhammad Kheirou
The dramatic occupation of northern Mali by Islamist extremists in 2012 brought a number of otherwise poorly known jihadists to international attention, including 44-year-old Mauritanian Hamada Ould Muhammad Kheirou (a.k.a. Abu Qum Qum). As leader of the Harakat al-Tawhid wa’l-Jihad fi Gharb Afriqiya (Movement for... MORE
The ‘Martyrdom’ of Doku Umarov: A Post Mortem Analysis of the Amir of the Caucasian Emirate
There has been considerable speculation that the failure of the Caucasian Emirate to disrupt President Vladimir Putin’s pet project, the Sochi Winter Olympics in February, was due to the fact that the leader of this pan-Caucasian terrorist group was dead. The pro-Russian “puppet” president of... MORE
Abd al-Krim al-Tergui: A Primer on the Epitome of AQIM’s Militants
One of the defining features of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is that its leadership has remained largely dominated by Algerians, despite the organization’s increased focus on the Sahel and ongoing shift away from Algeria. The increasing ethnic pluralization of its lower ranks, as... MORE
Ahmed Abdiqadir Abdullahi “Isku-dhuq”: al-Shabaab’s Second Most Powerful Leader
Nine years ago, no one in the leadership of Somalia’s now-defunct Islamic Court Union (ICU) thought that Ahmed Abdiqadir Abdullahi (a.k.a. Amo, a short form of Camey, a Somali nickname given to the people who have problem or lost their cheekbone, or Sahal) “Isku-dhuq” (a.k.a.... MORE
