Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is a hotbed for insurgencies of many kinds. The Niger Delta conflict garners the most attention for its frequent kidnappings and sabotaging of petroleum production facilities. Equally disconcerting and potentially more destabilizing is a little known extremist group... MORE

Over the past year, Pakistan has suffered from widespread extremist violence supported by a concerted al-Qaeda political attack on the government’s main institutions.  The most extraordinary escalation of this attack was a 130 page risala (monograph) written by Ayman al-Zawahiri, entitled The Morning and the... MORE

In the first week of March, the British and Canadian governments both added the Somali al-Shabaab group to their respective list of proscribed terror groups. [1] The decisions mean that it will now be illegal to fundraise or support al-Shabaab in both nations, while Canadian... MORE

Although the final count will not be available until the end of March, the preliminary results from Iraq’s parliamentary election show a strong victory for the State of Law list (SLA), led by the current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Iraqiyya Coalition, led by... MORE

Though it appears to have occurred on February 15, the death of the leader of al-Hizb al-Islami al-Turkistani (Turkistani Islamic Party - TIP) was reported only in recent days (Geo TV, March 1; Dawn [Karachi], March 1; The News [Islamabad], March 2). Abdul Haq al-Turkistani... MORE

Islamist terrorism in South Asia, the epicenter of global terrorism, thrives on lasting India-Pakistan enmity. Pakistan would have no interest in using jihad as an instrument of its defense policy in a conflict-free South Asia. One of the important objectives of the Pakistani and, arguably,... MORE

With an intelligence and military wing of over 1,000 people, the Sulaymaniyah-based Counter Terrorism Group (CTG) collects intelligence and carries out operations to prevent terrorists in Iraq from destabilizing the Kurdistan region in cooperation with U.S. forces. Lahur Talabani, the nephew of the Iraqi president,... MORE

This paper provides an analysis of Pakistan's policy on unmanned aerial vehicle (“drone”) attacks in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and how these attacks are perceived by students from Waziristan, the region most heavily targeted by CIA drones. The interviews with students were conducted... MORE

Yemen has become one of the most important strongholds and safe havens for al-Qaeda.  The impact of Yemen’s Salafi-Jihadist movement is no longer limited to that nation and its national security alone. The threat posed by Yemen’s militant Salafists has spread to neighboring countries such... MORE

Thai and U.S. officials are preparing for another year of unrest emanating from the continuing insurgency in the Muslim Malay-dominated Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.  Officials are also bracing for violence from the possible spread of the insurgency to neighboring provinces and the... MORE