
Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles

Brief: JNIM Consolidates Control Around Gao, Timbuktu
The town of Gao in northern Mali has been a key hub of jihadist operations since 2012. At that time, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) controlled Gao, while al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) controlled Timbuktu, and Ansar al-Din controlled... MORE

Nigerian Concerns Suggest ECOWAS Unlikely to Invade Niger
On July 30, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja and convened an extra-ordinary summit to address the July military coup in Niger. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu. During the... MORE

ISKP Attacks Pakistan’s Religious Political Parties for Participating in Elections
On July 31, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the convention of Islamic political party Jamiat Uema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) in Khar, Bajaur District. The suicide bombing was later claimed by Islamic State’s (IS) Amaq News Agency on behalf of Islamic State in Khorasan Province... MORE

Islamic State in Somalia Province: Before and After the Death of Bilal al-Sudani
Among Islamic State’s (IS) provinces, a majority of their most active affiliates are in Africa; included among these is Islamic State in Somalia Province (ISS). Recently, however, ISS suffered a severe blow when US forces killed a prominent militant leader in late January, alongside nine... MORE

Brief: Indonesia Reins in Islamic State Remnants
It has been nearly ten years since Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism force, Densus 88, began hunting down the country’s most influential Islamic State (IS) loyalist, Santoso, in Sulawesi in 2015. The force eventually killed him in 2016 (jakartapost.com, December 1, 2015). Since Santoso’s death and IS’s... MORE

Brief: Russian Wagner Group Faces Increasing Attacks From Sahelian Jihadists Amid Coup Fallout
Amid ongoing coup contagion in West Africa, the region’s new military regimes—especially in Mali, but possibly in Burkina Faso and Niger in the future—are eyeing Russia, and particularly the Wagner Group, as potential partners in counter-insurgency support. Russia is more than willing to play a... MORE

Al-Qaeda Issues Call for Revenge Against Nordic Countries Following Quran Burnings
On August 13, al-Qaeda’s Al-Sahab Media issued a call on a Telegram channel for Muslims to "take revenge" on Denmark and Sweden for Quran-burning protests, which had been carried out for several months in both countries. The announcement was ominously titled, "The obligation to attack... MORE

Al-Shabaab Threatens Ethiopian Security Ahead of ATMIS Withdrawal from Somalia
Al-Shabaab is increasingly threatening Ethiopia amid the escalating conflict between its militants and Ethiopian and other foreign troops in Somalia (The Reporter, July 1). With the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) set to fully withdraw from Somalia by the end of 2024, it... MORE

Two Years on, State of Pakistani Security Continues to Deteriorate After Taliban Seizure of Afghanistan
The Baloch separatist insurgency in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province has been taking on more dangerous features since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021. Separatist violence has dramatically increased, with women carrying out suicide bombings (see TM, May 20, 2022; MLM, August 5, 2022) as the... MORE

Brief: Dogo Gide’s Bandits in Northwestern Nigeria Potentially Aligning With Jihadists
On August 16, one of northwestern Nigeria’s most notorious bandits, Dogo Gide, released a video in which he claimed his fighters were responsible for downing a Nigerian air force helicopter in Shiroro, Kaduna State; this attack killed 20 soldiers and three senior military officers (premiumtimesng.com,... MORE