Since the end of 2009, reports coming from the republic of Dagestan in Russia’s North Caucasus region have mentioned the name of the Gubden-based rebels’ leader, Magomedali Vagabov, more often than ever before. Background  Known among the North Caucasus rebels as Amir Sayfullah of Gubden... MORE

“Jihad is in my blood. It runs through my arteries and veins. If you take jihad out of me, I will become as soulless as anybody. I inherited jihad from my father. My father led [tribal] mujahideen into Kashmir on the call of the Kashmiri... MORE

Background Police in Hamburg shut down the notorious al-Quds mosque, renamed the Taiba mosque in 2008, led by German-Syrian national and voluntary imam Mamoun Darkazanli. Darkazanli (a.k.a. Abu Ilyas al-Suri) has been a suspected al-Qaeda operative, primarily as a financier and logistician, in the European... MORE

Background Fahd al-Quso’, from the al-Daha clan of the al-Awaliq tribe, was born in Aden, the former capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, on November 12, 1974. He is an Arab-Afghan veteran of the anti-Soviet jihad. During his stay in Afghanistan, al-Quso’ was... MORE

When Chad became independent in 1960, the government came under the control of the tribes of the fertile southern region, who formed the majority of the population. However, it was only a few years before the Muslim tribes of the arid north launched a civil... MORE

Over the course of the past three years, Bosnia-Herzegovina has seen the organizational rise of the radical Wahhabi movement, which is now at its strongest point since the war. Strings are being pulled and recruitment is being initiated by prominent Wahhabi clerics in Western European... MORE

Arturo Cubillas Fontán adds a new dimension to the Basque terrorist organization Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA—Basque Homeland and Liberty). The ETA has historically been known as a grouping of militants fighting for the independence of the Basque Country from the Spanish crown and the perceived... MORE

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi posted a eulogy on June 13, 2010, announcing the passing of his 24-year old son, Omar Izz al-Din, who was killed fighting in Mosul. In the tribute, al-Maqdisi confirmed that his son’s goal was to go to Afghanistan for violent jihad but... MORE

Figured at number three in Forbes’s most wanted fugitive list in 2010—and ranked at number 50 in Forbes’ list of “The World's Most Powerful People” in 2009—Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar remains the most notorious underworld leader who has spread a robust crime network across the Middle... MORE

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, an anathema to the world’s security strategists, is the perfect embodiment of Pakistan’s infamous “Strategic Depth Doctrine.” Running one of the most feared jihadi organizations in the world, and perhaps the largest in terms of firm infrastructure and known membership, Saeed is... MORE