Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
Egypt and Gaza’s Islamic Jihad: A Steady Deterioration in Relations
Egypt's relations with the Palestinian factions have become remarkably cold recently, with Egyptian efforts to end the Palestinian divide hitting a dead end. Cairo no longer has direct contacts with Hamas and contacts with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement have retreated recently. According to several... MORE
The Hizbullah Trial in Egypt: A War of Words in the New Middle East Cold War
The latest exchange of blows in the ongoing feud between Egypt and Lebanon’s Hizbullah came on April 28, as the Egyptian State Security Court convicted and sentenced 26 individuals who Cairo accuses of being part of an active Hizbullah cell in Egypt. Authorities claim the... MORE
An Ominous Break from the Past in Thailand: Implications of the Red Shirt Revolt
King Chulalongkorn (Rama IV-1868-1910) is responsible for initiating the modernization process in Thailand. Enamored with European civilization of the time, especially European economic and scientific gains, King Chulalongkorn embraced European rule of law, capitalism, education, and to a limited extent, politics. The king even introduced... MORE
The Deobandi Debate Terrorist Tactics in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Muslim clerics following the Deobandi school of Islamic theology (named after the movement’s original seminary in Deoband, India) are now increasingly associated with the Taliban and other allied militant groups in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Though the parent Deobandi seminary in India has distanced itself... MORE
The Asian Tigers – The New Face of the Punjabi Taliban
The emergence in North Waziristan of the Asian Tigers, a previously unknown jihadi group, has several messages for jihad watchers. Two of them are very important. First, the Punjabi Taliban are slowly but surely growing in strength and numbers. Second, their war is primarily against... MORE
Renegade Generals Threaten Unity of South Sudan’s SPLA as Independence Referendum Approaches
As the January 2011 referendum on independence for oil-rich South Sudan approaches, ongoing mutinies and indiscipline within the South’s military may create conditions of insecurity that threaten to delay the long-awaited plebiscite. Khartoum has little interest in seeing its main source of revenue separate and... MORE
Muqtada al-Sadr Calls for a New Role for the Jaysh al-Mahdi Militia in Iraq
Recent calls by the radical Iraqi Shi’a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to his Jaysh al-Mahdi (JaM) militia to become involved in protecting local Shi’a mosques have ignited fear of a new sectarian confrontation in Iraq. Al-Sadr has suggested that his followers join the national security forces... MORE
Breaking Yemen Apart: Al-Qaeda Exploits Social Divisions to Further its Agenda
Since its emergence in January 2009, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has become much more ambitious in carrying out international terrorist operations. The group’s ambition quickly grew beyond its stated desire to overthrow the Yemeni regime, reaching first into Saudi Arabia and then into... MORE
What Kind of Relations Does Egypt’s Islamic Group Seek With Cairo’s Al-Azhar?
Since opening its doors to academic studies in 975 CE, Cairo’s al-Azhar University has become the Islamic world’s preeminent institution of Islamic studies and its Shaykh (or leader) has been traditionally regarded as the Sunni Islamic world’s most authoritative voice. However, since the Egyptian Revolution... MORE
Al-Qaeda Infiltration of the Western Sahara’s Polisario Movement
Jihadi forum participants were excited about a posting entitled: "Al-Qaeda penetrates the Polisario army and the Mauritanian army is in danger" (atahadi.com, April 20). Endeavors to penetrate the Polisario Front of the Western Sahara have long been on al-Qaeda's agenda.The posting gives a short brief... MORE