While kidnapping has long been the signature tactic of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the tactic’s introduction into northern Nigeria since 2011 is a new phenomenon. Historically, kidnappings in Nigeria were common only in the Niger Delta where insurgents sought ransoms in order to... MORE

Inspired by the Arab Spring, the Salafi-Jihadists of Jordan have been holding demonstrations in several cities. As citizens take to the street to demand political reform, jihadists have shown that they are large in number and defiant, though they do not operate as an organization.... MORE

Muhammad Merah, a 23-year-old Frenchman of Muslim faith, killed seven innocent victims and severely wounded another one in March 2012. The murder spree shocked France.  The perpetrator left them bewildered. Those who knew him could not reconcile his cold-blooded violence with the mild manners he... MORE

Muhammad al-Zawahiri was released from prison in March 2012. He has since become a spokesman for the Salafi-Jihadist trend in Egypt. He is a revered leader due to his past experiences in the jihadi underground and been a key promoter of global jihad through a... MORE

While Ismail Haniyah is the prime minister of Hamas, many have speculated that the chief of the organization’s political bureau, Khalid Meshaal, has been the true leader of the group. Meshaal is a charismatic statesman who has maintained top leadership positions while in exile. Meshaal... MORE

Hussam Abdullah Sabbagh (a.k.a. “Abu Hassan”) is an important anti-Assad Lebanese Salafist commander in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. A popular commander of Salafist fighters in Tripoli’s northern, impoverished and restive Sunni neighborhoods, Sabbagh is reported to have been named the amir of the majority... MORE

Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez, three female members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Parti Karkerani Kurdistan – PKK) were murdered in Paris on the night of January 9 (The Kurdistan Tribune, January 10). The three victims held varying levels of seniority. Sakine Cansiz... MORE

A CIA Predator or Reaper drone killed the powerful South Waziristani Taliban leader Mullah Nazir and five to seven of his top deputies on the night of January 2 near Angor Adda, South Waziristan. The incident is a contentious start to the 2013 drone campaign... MORE

Inspired by the Arab Spring, the Salafi-Jihadists of Jordan have taken to the streets for the first time and have been holding demonstrations in several cities, including Amman, Ma’an, Salt, Irbid and Zarqa, to demand the release of their imprisoned colleagues and the implementation of... MORE

In a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood action movie, Syrian Major General Abdulaziz al-Shalal snuck across the Syrian border into neighboring Turkey on the night of December 21, 2012, trekking across the dangerous Cilvegozu border and the town of Reyhanli in Turkey’s southern Hatay province... MORE