
Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles

Jihadists in Syria: Myth or Reality?
In a speech on June 20, Syrian president Bashir al-Assad identified three components of the unrest in his country: citizens with legitimate grievances and needs that must be addressed; criminal elements; and “radicals” seeking to destabilise the country. He accused external forces, outlaws, and radicals... MORE

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Future of the Peace Process in the Southern Philippines
The emergence of a new rebel movement under renegade Islamist commander Ameril Umbra Kato is threatening a 14-year-old peace process in the Muslim south Philippines. Though Kato’s Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) consists of only 100 to 200 men, their impact on the ongoing peace... MORE

Pakistan’s Military Urges Tribal Uprising against Militants in North Waziristan
While U.S. pressure on Pakistan for a full-scale operation against the Haqqani Network and other militant groups in the North Waziristan Agency is growing, the Pakistani military is urging the local Wazir and Dawar tribes of the North Waziristan to initiate a “Wana-like uprising” to... MORE
BRIEFS
TALIBAN ISSUE STATEMENT ON USE OF CHILD SUICIDE BOMBERS Afghanistan’s Taliban movement is seeking to deflect a wave of criticism surrounding its alleged use of children as suicide bombers following a public appearance by President Hamid Karzai with eight children the president said were recruited... MORE

Uyghur Unrest in Xinjiang Shakes Sino-Pakistani Relations
It has been a difficult summer for China’s restive western province Xinjiang. A series of incidents characterized as terrorism have struck two of the province’s cities, causing death, destruction and ethnic tension. This picture was further complicated when the government of the city of Kashgar... MORE

Iran Uses Cross-Border Incursions to Pressure Iraqi Kurds to End PJAK Insurgency
Iran has recently shelled border villages and launched cross-border raids into northern Iraq to step up pressure on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to stop the anti-Iranian operations of the Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistane (PJAK - Party of Free Life of Iranian Kurdistan). Iran... MORE

Iraq’s Kata’ib Hezbollah Seek Greater Popularity through Threats to Kuwaiti Port Development
Last April the Kuwaiti government started building a new port on Boubyan Island near the marine border with Iraq. The port, named Mubarak al-Kabir (Grand Mubarak) after the founder of the Kuwaiti al-Sabah ruling dynasty, triggered the latest crisis between Baghdad and Kuwait, with the... MORE

The Battle for Zinjibar: The Tribes of Yemen’s Abyan Governorate Join the Fight against Islamist Militancy
As if Yemen did not already face enough political, social and economic challenges in the midst of a multi-sided civil war, there are significant and not unreasonable fears in the Yemeni opposition that President Ali Abdullah Saleh has manufactured a new conflict between the state... MORE

Indonesia’s “Ghost Birds” Tackle Islamist Terrorists: A Profile of Densus 88
After the 2002 Bali bombings, Indonesia recognized that the main threat to national security came from regional terrorist networks whose leaders returned to Indonesia after Suharto fell from power in 1998. An elite counterterrorism unit, Densus 88 (Detasemen Khusus 88, or Special Detachment 88), was... MORE

Somalia’s Famine Contributes to Popular Revolt against al-Shabaab Militants
Somalia’s drought and famine have slowed the progress of al-Shabaab operations in Somalia as people continue to flee from areas of southern Somalia under the movement’s control. These areas also happen to be the regions hit hardest by the growing shortages of food and water.... MORE