Evidence of the contentious issue of al-Qaeda presence in Lebanon may have come to light with the warning on a jihadist forum spotted by Focus on January 13. Posted on the al-Ma'sada forum (www.alm2sda.net) by the "Auxiliaries of the Organization of al-Qaeda in Lebanon," the... MORE

Domestic political sensitivities were sepverely tested by the worldwide response to the Tsunami crisis, particularly as armed forces from Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States poured into the province of Aceh which has been waging a separatist conflict with the central government for... MORE

As expected, the days approaching the January 30 election date are witnessing an intensification of insurgent activity, which is making the security situation on the ground appear desperate. However, amid the carnage the tone of the mujahideen is appearing similarly desperate. On January 16 the... MORE

Exchanges on jihadiist forums indicate anxiety over reports circulating of Al-Zarqawi's capture at Ba'aquba. The report first emerged on January 4 carried by the United Arab Emirates newspaper Al-Bayan. There have been no official declarations on his arrest, but media outlets throughout the Middle East... MORE

High ranking officers in the Kuwaiti army have been arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist acts against American military and residential areas in the emirate. The news provides more evidence of growing radicalism in Kuwait, and of fallout from the conflict in Iraq. A report... MORE

A plot to bomb the Christian festival of the Black Nazarene, due to take place in the Philippine capital Manila, was foiled on January 7. According to a report in the Manila Times, a group of 14 suspected Islamic militants were arrested assembling bombs. During... MORE

The fact that pressure from Algerian security forces may be forcing some serious reorganization is hinted at by a cryptic note posted on the Al-Ma'sada jihadist website. The note purports to be from the Tanzim al-Qaeda fi Bilad al-Berber, or ‘The organization of al-Qaeda in... MORE

The latest attempted bombing of the Interior Ministry building and the Special Emergency Forces headquarters training unit at Riyadh on December 29, appears to spell out more evidence of al-Qaeda's decline in the Peninsula. The bombings and related clashes with Islamist militants accounted for a... MORE

"Le GIA est mort" ran the opening line of the Algerian daily Le Quotidien d'Oran on January 4. The headline came a day after media speculation on the fate of the GIA had been dramatically put to rest with the announcement by the Algerian Interior... MORE

While the GIA may be out for the count, the larger of Algeria's insurgent groups, the Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat (GSPC) announced its continued presence with a deadly ambush on a military convoy at Biskra, 260 miles south of Algiers. According... MORE