Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
How Kurdish PKK Militants Are Exploiting the Crisis in Syria to Achieve Regional Autonomy
Turkish-Syrian relations have been always problematic. Dating back to the Cold War, Syria’s support for the Kurdish militants of the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) was a major obstacle to efforts to normalize relations between the two countries until the 1998 Adana Accord allowed Syria and... MORE
West Africa’s MOJWA Militants – Competition for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb?
With a deadly suicide attack on a security facility in southern Algeria, a newly formed group of West African militants has demonstrated it is a serious security threat and a potential competitor to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). As the gates opened for the... MORE
Somalia’s Neighbors Making Progress against al-Shabaab Despite Threats of Retaliation
Under military pressure from its neighbors on several fronts, Somalia’s al-Shabaab/al-Qaeda Islamist militants are beginning to show fractures in the solidarity of their leadership after losing several key towns and regions. As the movement faces the worst situation it has experienced in several years, it... MORE
BRIEFS
ARAB-TUBU CLASHES IN SOUTHERN LIBYA’S SABHA OASIS Following deadly clashes between Tubu and Arab tribesmen in the Libyan oasis of Kufra in February, another round of fighting between the Tubu and Arabs using automatic weapons, rockets and mortars erupted in late March in Libya’s strategic... MORE
Predators, Reapers and Ravens: The Drone Revolution in Tactics and Strategy
With very little discussion, the United States and as many as 50 other nations have inaugurated what amounts to a “drone revolution” that will profoundly change our very understanding of the security environment. There can be no doubt that unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, represent... MORE
Playing with Fire: Oil Conflict Threatens Leadership of the Two Sudans
The leadership in Juba and Khartoum need to find a breakthrough in their oil dispute or they risk their own survival and the possible outbreak of an unprecedented level of conflict – even for Sudan. In late January the Republic of South Sudan, the world's... MORE
Losing the Initiative: The PKK’s Crumbling Strategy
The winter of 2011/2012 witnessed an intensified campaign by the Turkish government against the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) and the network of organizations and individuals that supports it. The armed group, identified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, Canada and the United... MORE
Coup d’Etat in Mali
Update 1 (March 23, 2012 2:00pm) - The Malian Army Captain (name unknown), who appears to be leading the coup d'etat, released a video message stating that President Amadou Toumani Toure is safe and unharmed. Toure's location has not been released. On March 21, 2012... MORE
Array of security challenges face Yemen’s new leader – Abd Rabbu Mansur al-Hadi
In the opening days of his presidency, Yemen’s new leader Abd Rabbu Mansur al-Hadi has as his priorities the restructuring of the military and the expulsion of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and allied militant Islamist group Ansar al-Shari’a from the restive southern province... MORE