On Wednesday September 23 Lebanese authorities announced the arrest of the country's top al-Qaeda operative, who along with another Lebanese suspect had planned to stage simultaneous suicide bombing attacks in Beirut against the embassies of Italy and Ukraine, both participating members of the US-led coalition... MORE

As the number of allies of Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi in Iraq diminishes from the effects of coalition attrition, the loss of one ally in particular is likely to prove highly damaging. Sheikh Abu Anas al-Shami (also known as Omar Yusuf Jumah) was killed on September... MORE

The prediction concerning the potential targeting of Australia, made in the last edition of Terrorism Focus, duly came to pass. It came in the form of two incidents within a few days of each other, one an attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, the... MORE

Indications of a long-term plan to keep the Southeast Asia region boiling come from Indonesian police reports of two developments: the hunt for Malaysian bomb maker Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammed Top, and the investigation of video recordings seized from Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants.... MORE

Out of a list of successes and near-misses in Pakistan, the killing of one key al-Qaeda operative may mark a turning point in the fortunes of the contest. In what is the latest in a series of breakthroughs announced by Pakistani security, a two-hour gun... MORE

The latest edition of the online periodical Mu'askar al-Battar (‘The Al-Battar Training Camp') appeared on the web this week. Issue no 19, entitled ‘To arms, to arms! To the armies of Islam! The battle cry: No Surrender!' features essays on military training, the care and... MORE

The pace of Islamist insurgent activity in southern Thailand has stepped up to the point of near constant violence over the past two weeks. In the first week of October, Muslim extremists mounted a series of 10 shootings and bombings that left six dead. Most... MORE

The latest issue (no. 20) of the online al-Qaeda periodical Mu'askar al-Battar dismisses at the outset any reservations about fighting in the holy month of Ramadan. The Foreword written by Al-Faruq al-‘Amiri emphasizes the precedent set not only by their mujahid ancestors from the time... MORE

Libya this week arrested 17 members of a group it believes is linked to the al-Qaeda network, who were attempting an illegal entry into the country. Libyan Public Order Minister Nasser al-Mabruk remained non-committal on the nature of the links but gave their identity as... MORE

A ‘warning to the Korean Government' was posted on an Arabic-language site al-Muntada on October 10, threatening to ‘make Korea suffer' if Korean troops were not pulled out from Iraq within 14 days. The declaration, published by the Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper, was made by... MORE