Latest Terrorism Focus Articles
Abu Sayyaf Group’s Notorious Chieftain: A Profile of Khadaffy Janjalani
In the first week of August, intense fighting broke out against a faction of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants on the southern Philippine Island of Jolo (Sun Star, August 15). While the Armed Forces of the Philippines claimed to have killed five militants, their real... MORE
Hardline Islamist Militia Group Shabbab Emerges in Somalia
Recent information emerging from Somalia indicates that a hard-line faction within the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) may have evolved into a new organization called Shabbab (Arabic for "youth"), where youthful die-hard elements of the Islamists are being trained for specialized assignments. An official from Kenya's... MORE
Saad bin Laden: The Key to Iranian-al-Qaeda Detente?
On July 28, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard reportedly released Osama bin Laden's 27 year-old son, Saad bin Laden, according to the German newspaper Die Welt. Saad had been held under house arrest in Iran, along with other al-Qaeda figures who were arrested in round-ups by... MORE
South Waziristan’s Veteran Jihadi Leader: A Profile of Haji Omar
The recent insurgency in some portions of Pakistan's tribal belt has produced a chain of new leaders who govern their respective areas. A common trait of these new leaders is that they receive inspiration from the Afghan Taliban and openly call themselves the "local Taliban."... MORE
Zawahiri: Internationalizing Jihad, Uniting Muslims and Trumping Saudi Clerics
Ayman al-Zawahiri's July 27 statement on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict deftly advanced al-Qaeda's own interests, as well as al-Qaeda's goal of putting the world's multiple ongoing Islamic insurgencies into the context of a single, Shiite-and-Sunni struggle against "the Zionist-Crusader aggression." The struggles in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq... MORE
Authorities Break-up GSPC Terrorist Cells in Italy
On July 21, Italian officials announced that they had arrested four Algerian GSPC members because of their involvement in a variety of terrorist planning operations and terrorist support activities. The counterterrorist operation, code-named "Numidia," took place in the regions of Veneto and Lombardy, specifically in... MORE
Hezbollah’s Tactics and Capabilities in Southern Lebanon
With its attack on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Israel is fighting on terrain that has been prepared by the Shiite movement for six years since the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers have described finding a network of concrete bunkers... MORE
Killing of Shiite Cleric Threatens New Round of Sectarian Violence in Pakistan
On July 14, Allama Hassan Turabi was assassinated by a suicide bomber in front of his home in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal section of Karachi. Turabi was a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric who headed the banned Tehrik-e-Jafaria (TJP), served as the vice president of the opposition Muttahida... MORE
JI’s Moneyman and Top Recruiter: A Profile of Noordin Mohammad Top
Of all the known leaders of Jemaah Islamiya (JI) at large, no one strikes more fear than Noordin Mohammad Top. A Malaysian national, he along with his compatriot, the late Dr. Azahari bin Husin, were the masterminds behind seven past suicide attacks to hit Indonesia.... MORE
Trail from Mumbai Blasts Leads to Multiple Terrorist Groups
As the Mumbai police continue to hunt down the suspects of the July 11 train blasts, a lesser-known militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Qahar (LeQ), has claimed responsibility for the coordinated terrorist attacks on India's suburban trains that left nearly 200 people dead and more than 700 injured.... MORE