Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
Crisis in Greece: Anarchists in the Birthplace of Democracy
Despite having consigned most members of Greece’s most violent anarchist groups to prison since 2010, there are new concerns amongst Greek authorities that the June 27 car-bombing of the Athens headquarters of Microsoft could mark a resurgence in anarchist political violence, a resurgence fuelled by... MORE
Holier Than Thou: Rival Clerics in the Syrian Jihad
The Syrian conflict is emerging as an extremely attractive recruiting ground for jihadi groups - in February, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the emir of al-Qaida, called upon “every Muslim and every honorable and free person in Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon to go to aid his brothers... MORE
From Pakistan to Yemen: Adapting the U.S. Drone Strategy
Perhaps one of the most important developments in the war on al-Qaeda in the last two years has been the gradual demise of al-Qaeda Central in Pakistan as a result of the war of attrition carried out by the CIA’s Predator and Reaper drones. Hundreds... MORE
The PKK Strategy to Disrupt Political Negotiations on the Kurdish Issue
Over the last few years, senior officers of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT – Milli Istihbarat Teskilati) have held several meetings with cadres of the separatist terrorist organization Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) in order to find points of agreement for the group’s potential surrender. However,... MORE
Intervening in Mali: West African Nations Plan Offensive against Islamists and Tuareg Rebels
As Tuareg rebels battle radical Islamists with heavy weapons for control of the northern Mali city of Gao, Mali and the other 15 nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are planning a military offensive designed to drive both groups out of... MORE
Are Yemen’s Ansar al-Shari’a and AQAP One and the Same?
Since its emergence in March 2011, analysts and experts have tried to pin down the real shape of Ansar al-Shari’a, the militant Islamist group that established seven Islamic Emirates in southern Yemen after its emergence in March, 2011. [1] While many observers maintain that the... MORE
Hot Issue — The Death of Abu Yahya al-Libi and Its Impact on AQ Strategy, Priorities and Goals
Executive Summary Abu Yahya al-Libi, purported to be killed in a drone strike, proves a heavy loss to al-Qaeda leadership. A charismatic leader and Ayman al-Zawahiri’s number two, al-Libi was seen as the successor to al-Zawahiri. Al-Libi was a part of the core group of... MORE
Preparing for a Post-Assad Middle East: Hezbollah’s Syrian Dilemma
In the spring of 2011, everything seemed to be going right for Hezbollah (“the Party of God”) in Lebanon. Five years after the war with Israel, its forces in the south of the country were not only reorganized, but also reinforced. In Beirut, the new... MORE
Proposed Saudi Arabia-Bahrain Union Reflects Intensifying Persian Gulf Rivalry
In the new Middle East, formerly suppressed political parties, movements, and ideas are increasingly shaping a political and ideological discourse that departs from previous paradigms. An equally important trend that is receiving less attention, however, is the mobilization of counterrevolutionary and reactionary forces opposed to... MORE