Latest Terrorism Focus Articles
The Salafization of the Iraq Conflict
An interesting note posted on a jihadi web forum complements a recent analysis by U.S. Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner on the course of the insurgency in Iraq. In an interview published by The Washington Post on September 28, leading military intelligence officer Gen. Zahner neatly... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Next Generation: Less Visible and More Lethal
Experts speculate widely about the composition and tactics of the next generation of mujahideen. This speculation stems from the fact that transnational groups are harder collection targets than nation-states. Such ambiguity and imprecision is likely to endure indefinitely, and is particularly worrisome concerning "next-generation" terrorism... MORE
The Second Algerian Amnesty
As widely predicted, the September 29 referendum on the proposed amnesty (the second since 1999) was a resounding ‘yes,' although the monolithic media campaign made any other result unlikely. The issue is a thorny question for human rights activists, since—unlike the Truth and Reconciliation committees... MORE
Al-Qaeda TV, Via the Web
The first editions of the weekly al-Qaeda TV news broadcasts, under the heading Sawt al-Khilafa (Voice of the Caliphate) have now appeared via the Internet. Dedicated to Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mulla Omar and Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, the Islamic armies in Chechnya,... MORE
Thailand’s Islamist Insurgency on the Brink
With the pace of violence in Thailand increasing—the death toll since the renewal of the insurgency in January 2004 now exceeds 1000, making the region the most violent arena for Muslim violence outside Iraq—fears are growing that the Thai insurgency will take on more overtly... MORE
Clashes in Egypt with Sinai Bedouin Mujahideen
Egyptian police have spent the weeks following the July 23 bombings of Sharm al-Sheikh searching for bomb suspects and others involved in attacks. On September 28, they appear to have made progress, given the announcement that police forces shot and killed Moussa Mohamed Salem Badran... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s ‘Bowing-Out’ Strategy
The recent release of a tape featuring the address by an American al-Qaeda member ‘Azam' (thought to be Adam Gadahn, who earlier broadcast a message prior to the 2004 US elections threatening large scale terror attacks) has been evaluated by some analysts as demonstrating a... MORE
A New Chemical Arsenal for the Mujahideen?
According to a report in the pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat a group called the Jaysh al-Ta'ifa al-Mansura (Army of the Victorious Community), which claims affiliation to al-Qaeda, issued a statement that it had launched an attack on September 13 against some targets in Baghdad with... MORE
Another Algerian Jihadists’ Call to Arms
Despite the high-profile June 4 attack on a Mauritanian military outpost (see Terrorism Focus, Volume II, Issue 11), evidence exists of increasing exasperation among the Algerian jihadis. The reaction to the al-Qaeda murder of two Algerian diplomats in Iraq on July 27 demonstrated how out... MORE
Coming Soon: The ‘Voice of the Caliphate’ Radio
A September 11 posting on the jihadi forums further demonstrates the mujahideen's vulnerability and sensitivity to negative media coverage. Issued by the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), the posting detailed the imminent appearance of its latest project, the "first of its kind in the media... MORE