Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
Lashkar-e-Taiba Resumes Operations Against Indian Forces in Jammu and Kashmir
After lying low for a few months following the November 2008 Mumbai carnage and the subsequent crackdown on its leadership and camps in Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has once again resumed operations in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). LeT fighters engaged Indian regulars... MORE
The Amir of the Islamic State in Iraq Lambastes President Obama’s Plan for Iraq
In his second speech of the year, the Amir of the al-Qaeda-allied Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, has criticized President Obama’s Iraq plan as deceitful and announced a new military campaign entitled “The Good Harvest” (al-hanein.info, March 17). The campaign is designed... MORE
BRIEFS
GOVERNMENT FORCES CLASH WITH ROGUE ISLAMIST COMMANDER IN MINDANAO Filipino government forces engaged in a major battle last week with rebel forces under the command of a renegade commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The clashes, described as the fiercest this year, occurred... MORE
PJAK, Iran and the United States: Kurdish Militants Designated Terrorists by the United States
The United States Treasury Department added the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (Parti bo Jiyani Azadi la Kurdistan - PJAK) to its list of designated terrorist groups on February 4. [1] Operating on the Iranian-Iraqi border under the umbrella of the Kurdistan Workers Party (Parti... MORE
Militant or Peace Broker? A Profile of the Swat Valley’s Maulana Sufi Muhammad
The peace deal between the Islamabad government and local Taliban militants in Pakistan’s northwestern Swat valley has, once again, drawn international attention towards Maulana Sufi Muhammad, a pro-Taliban religious leader who has long fought for the implementation of shari’a (Islamic law) in the region and... MORE
Al-Qaeda Ideologue Describes Alleged Spread of Al-Qaeda in the Levant
A leading jihadi ideologue known as “the Spearhead of the Mujahedeen” claims that al-Qaeda already exists in Palestine and soon there will be “huge good news” to prove its existence. In an internet question and answer session, “Assad al-Jihad 2” concentrated on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict... MORE
Sectarianism in Pakistan’s Kurram Tribal Agency
A U.S. drone missile attack on a Taliban training camp on March 12 highlighted the growing importance of Pakistan’s Kurram Tribal Agency in the war along the frontier with Afghanistan. Unlike Pakistan’s other six tribal agencies, the conflict in Kurram is complicated by sectarian divisions... MORE
A Profile of Militant Groups in Bajaur Tribal Agency
The bloody six-month-long stand-off in the restive and strategically important Bajaur Tribal Agency of Pakistan has ended in a ceasefire and an agreement between the Taliban and Pakistan’s security forces. The 28-point undertaking includes a commitment by the local Taliban to lay down arms, surrender... MORE
Evidence of French Intelligence Agency Rejected in Appeal of Former Guantanamo Inmates
They were already free. Now, they are innocent. On February 24, the Appeals Court in Paris overturned the conviction of five French Muslims, all former Guantanamo detainees repatriated in 2004 and 2005, on the charge of “criminal conspiracy in relation to a terrorist enterprise." Brahim... MORE
Scandinavian Trials Demonstrate Difficulty of Obtaining Terrorist Financing Convictions
As the international community gears up for reconstruction efforts in Gaza, a number of European Union members are grappling with the question of how to deal with the alleged funding of Hamas through a number of charities. A Swedish court’s February 17 acquittal of Khalid... MORE