Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
“By the Hands of Men Who Don’t Fear Death” – Jund al-Khilafa Launches Islamist Insurgency in Kazakhstan
Since the Kazakh militant group Jund al-Khilafa (Army of the Caliphate) released videos in September and October of two attacks that it claimed to have led against U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the group has risen to prominence on the international jihad scene. The group’s three... MORE
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ISRAEL TO ASSIST KENYA IN BATTLE AGAINST AL-SHABAAB Kenyan reports say Israeli personnel will help secure potential targets in Kenya from terrorist attacks. The Israeli security experts are expected to start work in the next few weeks. According to Israeli ambassador Gil Haskel: “Israel is... MORE
Al-Qaeda and Algiers Struggle to Cope with the Implications of the Arab Spring
Al-Qaeda’s media arm released a video from Dr. Ayman al-Zawhiri in October that focused mainly on American “defeats,” but also offered the al-Qaeda leader’s views on Algeria. Al-Zawahiri called upon the people of Algeria to rise up against their government, which he claimed was guilty,... MORE
Wahhabist Militancy in Bosnia Profits from Local and International Inaction
Though the United States once took the lead in international efforts to save the Muslims of Bosnia during the bitter conflict that struck that nation in the 1990s, it is now under attack by the Salafist/Wahhabist community that began to flourish there after foreign jihadists... MORE
Turkey Anxiously Weighs Cost of Escalation with Syria
After a long thaw, Turkish-Syrian relations reached new heights in 2009 as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad initiated a new phase in bilateral relations. In September of that year, visa restrictions were lifted and cross-border trade flourished. High-level... MORE
Unrest in Syria Shaping a New Strategic Triangle of Hezbollah, Iran and Egypt
The final outcome of the unrest that continues to shake the broader Middle East remains in the balance. The grassroots protests that ushered in the fall of despots in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya and continue to rile ruling power structures in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and... MORE
Jaish-e-Muhammad’s Charity Wing Revitalizes Banned Group in Pakistan
Often tagged as the second most lethal India-centric terror group based in the Pakistani Punjab, Jaish-e-Muhammad (Army of [the Prophet] Muhammad - JeM) is once again raising its head under the guise of charity in an apparent attempt to revitalize its fledgling stature in the... MORE
Turkey Afraid Syria Will Target Its Kurdish Achilles’ Heel
Syria ended its support for the Kurdish rebels of the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) in 1998 and expelled PKK-leader Abdullah Ocalan, a move that ultimately led to his arrest in Kenya the next year. Now Turkey fears that Syria could use the PKK again against... MORE
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KENYA’S NAVY JOINS COUNTERTERRORIST OPERATIONS OFF SOMALIA Kenya’s navy has joined the Kenyan military offensive in Somalia with operations designed to end al-Shabaab or third-party resupply or arms, fuel and other material to al-Shabaab-held territories in southern Somalia, secure Kenyan waters from terrorist infiltrators and... MORE
Clan and Conflict in Somalia: Al-Shabaab and the Myth of “Transcending Clan Politics”
Clan identity and Islam are central pillars of Somali society, with clan dynamics and inter-clan rivalries magnified by decades of state collapse. Al-Shabaab - the dominant Islamist militia controlling much of southern and central Somalia - claims to “transcend clan politics,” yet reality on the... MORE