Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
Algeria’s AQIM Becomes a Regional Threat Despite Surrender of Senior Leaders
The Algerian-based al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) organization is facing new challenges to its leadership and its mission as a result of Algerian counterterrorist measures. The loss of a number of AQIM’s commanders to defections or arrest during security sweeps is beginning to have... MORE
Taliban Spokesman Discusses Relations with al-Qaeda and Opium Production in Afghanistan
Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi recently gave an interview to the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat in which he discussed the Taliban’s relations with al-Qaeda, the sources of opium production in Afghanistan, and the impact of the arrest of the second man in the Taliban leadership,... MORE
Is Yemen Contemplating a Military Offensive in the Secessionist South?
The secessionist movement in southern Yemen has become increasingly violent in recent months and has gained considerable momentum since it first attained a loose organizational structure in 2007. The prospect of a renewed civil war ensuing between southern forces and the central government in Sana’a,... MORE
AQAP’s New Strategy: Targeting Westerners and Promoting the Individual Jihad
A recent article appearing on jihadi websites insists that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) members will "carry out Osama bin Laden’s orders” to capture and execute U.S. nationals if jihadist captives in the United States receive death sentences. Sada al-Malahim, the magazine of al-Qaeda... MORE
Perceptions of Success and Failure in ISAF Operations in Marjah, Afghanistan
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) launched Operation Moshtarak in the Nad Ali and Lashkar Gah Districts of Afghanistan’s Helmand Province in mid-February. The intent was to wrest it from Taliban control and create a “bubble of security” for local governance, described in an ISAF... MORE
Iran Integrates the Concept of the “Soft War” Into its Strategic Planning
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said this week that “certain countries” are waging a “Soft War” against Iran that should be countered through the establishment of closer relationships with other nations (Tehran Times, June 8). The concept of a “Soft War” is quickly becoming an... MORE
Al-Qaeda after al-Yazid: Coping with the American Drone Offensive
The death of al-Qaeda’s operational leader in Afghanistan last month is a significant but not fatal setback for the radical Islamist movement. Mustafa Ahmad Muhammad Uthman Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. Shaykh Sa’id al-Masri) was apparently killed in a May 21 drone attack in Pakistan’s North Waziristan... MORE
Attacks on the Ahmadiya in Lahore Reveal Growth of the Punjabi Taliban
The multiple suicide attacks by the Punjabi Taliban on two mosques in Lahore where members of the Jamaat-i-Ahmadiya had gathered to pray on May 28 hardly came as a surprise. As hundreds of Ahmadis gathered to offer prayers in the early Friday afternoon, several suicide... MORE
100 More Terrorist Groups Banned in India: What are India’s Counterterrorism Priorities?
India, one of the most terrorism-troubled countries in the world, is finally pursuing the idea of proscribing nearly 100 terrorist entities, both regional and international. The proscription will exist in tandem with the United Nations’ consolidated list of al-Qaeda and Taliban linked groups. Many of... MORE
Europol Report Suggests Separatism Rather than Islamism Constitutes Biggest Terrorist Threat to Europe
Europol, a European Union law enforcement agency dedicated to improving the effectiveness and cooperation of member states’ security agencies, released its annual report on terrorism in Europe on April 28. [1] The report provides an overview of the current situation regarding terrorism in Europe and... MORE