Briefs
Bringing Jihad to Kenya: A Profile of al-Shabaab’s Ikrima al-Muhajir
When a U.S. Navy SEAL team raided a compound in the Somali port town of Barawe on October 5, there was initial confusion over the target of the raid, with one Somali intelligence official even offering the absurd suggestion that the target of the SEALs... MORE
Jihadi Warlord of Pakistan: A Look at the Pakistani Taliban’s Newly Crowned Leader Maulana Fazlullah
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mahsud was killed by a predator strike on November 1 in Pakistan's North Waziristan region. After a brief tug of war for leadership, the Pakistani Taliban central shura (consultative council) elected Maulana Fazlullah as the new amir of the TTP... MORE
In His Own Words: The Untold Story of Boko Haram Founder Muhammad Yusuf
The designation of Boko Haram and its splinter faction Ansaru as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) in November 2013 came just over 50 months after Boko Haram’s transformation into a jihadist group. At the time of its founding in 2002 under Muhammad Yusuf, Boko Haram was... MORE
The “Scandinavian Fighter” in al-Shabaab: Fu’ad Muhammad Khalaf
Somali-Swedish militant Fu’ad Muhammad Khalaf (a.k.a. Shongole, the “Scandinavian fighter”) is one of the leaders of al-Shabaab. Apart from being a key figure of the movement, Khalaf is known for openly challenging the authority of Ahmad Abdi Godane. Background Khalaf was reportedly born in 1965... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Influential Online Strategist: Abu Sa’d al-Amili
Though the writings of online jihadist strategists are readily available, analysts have struggled with what use to make of them due to the secrecy that surrounds these writers. Are jihadists in the field likely to heed their advice? Or are these men keyboard warriors blowing... MORE
New Details on the Life of Iraq’s Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
An anonymous user posted a short biography of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) Amir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on the jihadi forum Ansar al-Mujahideen on July 21, 2013. [1] An extended version of the biography appeared on another jihadi website one month later, this... MORE
A Sketch of Lebanon’s Shaykh Bilal al-Masri: An Important Leader in Tripoli’s Salafist Community
Shaykh Bilal al-Masri is an increasingly important leader within Tripoli’s Salafist community. Born and raised on Syria Street, the thoroughfare that is the front-line between the impoverished and restive northern Tripoli neighborhoods of Sunni-majority Bab al-Tabbaneh and Alawite-majority Jebel Mohsen, Shaykh Bilal has emerged as... MORE
A Profile of Former Syrian Defense Minister: Ali Habib – The SNC’s Alawite Defector
Former Syrian Defense Minister General Ali Habib defected from the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on September 4 and turned himself over to the rebel backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC) along the Turkish-Syrian border (al-Sharq al-Awsat [London], September 5). General Habib (a.k.a. Ali Habib... MORE
Snapshots of Abd al-Hamid Hajj Darwish and Abdulhakim Bashar: The KDP and PUK’s Kurdish Proxy Leaders in Syria
The Syrian government has routinely harassed, repressed and discriminated against the Syrian Kurds for decades. Since the Arab Spring arrived in Syria, the country’s government forces have abandoned many Kurdish populated areas, allowing the Syrian Kurds to fill the power vacuum in those areas. Most... MORE
A Sketch of Michel Djotodia: In Power at Long Last in the Central African Republic
The president of the Central African Republic (CAR), Michel Djotodia, announced on Friday, September 13 that he had ordered the dissolution of the Séléka Coalition. In a presidential statement broadcast on the state-owned Radio Centrafrique, Djotodia, formerly the leader of the Séléka Coalition, warned that "Any individual or... MORE