Latest Terrorism Focus Articles
Deporting Radical Imams: A Viable Strategy to Combat Attacks Against the West?
After three attacks by Islamist fighters in June 2005—two in London, one in Egypt—Western officials and the media have become focused on identifying specific mosques and madrasas, and the "Preachers of Hate" who run them, as the means of stopping additional attacks. The assumption is... MORE
Saudi al-Qaeda Leader al-Awfi Slain in Medina…
Among the six al-Qaeda militants killed during police raids in the cities of Medina and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia yesterday was Salih Muhammad al-Awfi, supposed leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Awfi gained some notoriety in the Western media after numerous reports of his... MORE
UK Pressures Leading Jihadi Forum and Prominent Saudi Dissident
Fallout on the jihadi Internet forums from the London bombings continues. After the closure of the al-Qal'a forum (see Focus, Volume II, Issue 15) attention has moved to the prominent al-Tajdeed forum [www.tajdeed.org.uk] run by Saudi dissident Dr. Muhammad al-Massari. Participants to the forum noted... MORE
Al-Qaeda vs. the Iraqi Constitution
Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been active in a campaign to warn off Iraqis from voting on the constitution. The jihadi forums have carried the latest visual offerings from the Media Division of [Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's] Organization of al-Qaeda in the Land of the Two Rivers.... MORE
…as Another Qaeda Leader Arrested in Turkey
The arrest of an alleged top figure in the Turkish division of al-Qaeda following the failed plan to attack Israeli tourist cruiser ships, promises analysts a windfall of information on the present structure of the international Islamist terror organization. According to the Turkish daily al-Zaman,... MORE
Assessing London and Sharm al-Sheikh: The Role of Internet Intelligence and Urban Warfare Training
Western experts are continuing to debate whether the 7 and 21 July 2005 attacks in London and the 23 July 2005 attack in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, were directed and controlled by al-Qaeda's leaders, undertaken by so-called al-Qaeda "franchise" groups, or staged by al-Qaeda-inspired free-lancers. While... MORE
Latest video from Zawahiri an exercise in band-wagoning
The latest video communication from al-Qaeda, broadcast on August 4 by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television station, was notable for a number of reasons. First of all, it prolongs the mystery of attribution of the London bombings. The speaker, Ayman Al-Zawahiri noticeably did not explicitly... MORE
New Qaeda threats to the UAE
Additional threats from the mujahideen against the United Arab Emirates emerged at the end of July, with a renewed warning from a group calling itself the "al-Qaeda Organization in the Emirates and Oman". It called for the dismantling of all U.S. military installations within ten... MORE
Al-Qaeda expanding into Palestine?
On August 2 a posting on the forum al-Mustaqbal al-Islami (Islamic Future) included what it termed the "First Declaration of al-Qaeda from the Land of the Outpost, Occupied Palestine," specifically the ‘military wing' of a group calling itself "Alwiyat al-Jihad fi Ard al-Ribat" (The Jihad... MORE
For Mujahideen, bomb-making information readily accessible online
The controversy stirred up in the United Kingdom over the details given by the New York Police Department on commonly available materials used in the July 7 London bombings would actually appear to users of jihadi forums as of no particular interest. The details, described... MORE