Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
Brief: South Korea Cracks Down on Cryptocurrency Transfers to Central Asian Jihadists
On January 16, two Uzbek and Kazakh citizens in South Korea were arrested for violating the country’s anti-terrorism funding laws by using cryptocurrency to fund the Syrian al-Qaeda-aligned jihadist group Katibat Tavhid wal-Jihad (KTJ) (Yonhap News Agency, February 16). Their funding of KTJ was, however,... MORE
Will Iran’s Conventional Army Join the Drone Export Game in Ukraine and Beyond?
Coverage regarding Iran’s growing exports of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including those recently sent to Russia for use in Ukraine, have generally focused on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC, an unconventional force, is known for its support for militants and non-state actors... MORE
The Haqqani-Akhundzada Rift: Could Civil War Break Out in the Taliban’s Ranks?
On February 11, in a speech at the graduation ceremony of an Islamic religious school in Afghanistan’s Khost province, the Taliban’s powerful Minister of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani, alleged the organization’s “power monopolization and defamation of the entire [ruling] system have become common.” He did not... MORE
The Deradicalization and Parole of Indonesia’s Umar Patek – the Bombmaker of Bali
On December 14, 2022, Umar Patek sat next to his friend and mentor in Indonesia’s deradicalization program, Ali Fauzi, and expressed remorse for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing. Patek further apologized to the families of 88 Australian terror victims in particular, who still... MORE
Brief: ISWAP Condemns Nigerian Elections Before Tinubu’s Disputed Victory
The current Nigerian vice-president, Bola Tinubu, was declared the victor in the February 25 presidential elections by the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1 (punchng.com, March 1). Only four days before the election, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) released a... MORE
Brief: South African Military Counters IS at Home and in Mozambique With One Hand And Reaches out to Russia With the Other
In December, South African special forces arrested Abdella Hussein Abadiga at a shopping center north of Johannesburg. Although South Africa has not yet confirmed this arrest, a still image of Abadiga at the mall has been released publicly. This indicated that he was indeed being... MORE
Ricin’s Round Two: Germany Prevents Another Islamic State-Motivated Bioterrorism Attack
On January 7, German police special forces arrested a 32-year-old Iranian citizen named Monir J. and his 25-year-old brother Jalal L. in Castrop-Rauxel in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to German law enforcement authorities, Monir J. had been planning to use cyanide and ricin in an “Islamist-motivated”... MORE
Islamic State in India: All Talk and No Action
Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) has espoused a more aggressive propaganda strategy to attract fighters. ISKP is not restricted to the borders of Afghanistan and is targeting new avenues for operations and recruitment. In the... MORE
Mass Civilian Defense Force Recruitment Raises Jihadist Threat to Civilians in Burkina Faso
In October 2022, the ruling junta of Burkina Faso began a campaign to recruit 50,000 civilians to join its volunteer defense force, known as the Volontaires pour la Défense de la Patrie (VDP) (Jeune Afrique, November 1, 2022). The junta claimed that it needs these... MORE
Brief: Indonesian Counter-Terrorism Force Detains JI and JAD Remnants
On February 9, Indonesia announced the elite counter-terrorism force Densus 88 arrested six Jemaa Islamiya (JI) members in South Sumatra, Jakarta, and Cirebon, a city in West Java (thestar.com, February 9). The six-member cell was among the more expansive JI networks found in recent years,... MORE