Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
The Ideological Struggle Over al-Qaeda’s Suicide Tactics in Algeria
On January 29, a lorry laden with 1,400 lbs of explosives and driven by a member of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was detonated in the town of Thenia, east of Algiers, killing four and wounding an additional 23 people. The target of the... MORE
The Shaykh Said Revolt and Ankara’s Return to the Past in its Struggle with the Kurds
After the recent admission by some of Turkey’s leading former military commanders that the military option was not the best or only way of resolving Turkey’s Kurdish problem, it is now becoming clear that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is taking a new... MORE
The Impact of Pashtun Tribal Differences on the Pakistani Taliban
Though members of militant Islamic groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and other jihadis have almost the same anti-United States and pro-al-Qaeda worldview, they are not especially disciplined when it comes to organizational matters. Difficulty in this area explains the existence of so many extremist... MORE
Sufi Insurgent Groups in Iraq
The mystical approach to Islam known as Sufism has deep roots in Iraqi society. Adherents to Sufism normally stress prayer, meditation and the recitation of the various names of God as part of their effort to create a mystical communion between themselves and Allah. Yet... MORE
Jailing Jihadis: Saudi Arabia’s Special Terrorist Prisons
Saudi Arabia is nearing completion of new purpose-built prison facilities for its program of rehabilitation and counseling for Islamist militants. Under this program five new specialized prisons have been built in Riyadh, Qassim, Abha, Dammam, and Jiddah over the span of approximately nine months. These... MORE
The Emerging Militancy in Pakistan’s Mohmand Agency
The challenge of militancy in Pakistan's tribal region is no longer confined to the North and South Waziristan regions along the Afghan border. After establishing their strongholds in Waziristan, militants have recently made deeper inroads in the erstwhile peaceful Mohmand tribal agency in Pakistan’s Federally... MORE
Back with a Vengeance: Turkish Hezbollah
In a recent report submitted to the country’s National Security Council (NSC), Turkish police warned that the most powerful militant Islamist group in recent Turkish history has now recovered from the killing of its founder and the arrest of a substantial proportion of its armed... MORE
South Waziri Tribesmen Organize Counterinsurgency Lashkar
Four days after the murder of nine members of a government-sponsored peace committee in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, tribal leaders have vowed to organize a special force of tribesmen to expel foreign militants from the region. The deceased were involved in an attempt... MORE
Insurrection in Iranian Balochistan
Issues of dissent and rebellion amongst Iran’s elaborate patchwork of ethnic and sectarian minority communities are receiving increasing international scrutiny. Many advocacy organizations representing Iranian minorities accuse Tehran of operating a policy of cultural subjugation aimed at erasing identities distinct from Iran’s dominant Persian culture... MORE
Turkey’s Other War on Terrorism
On December 31, 2007, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the claims of unnamed Israeli security officials that intelligence reports suggested al-Qaeda cells had infiltrated into Turkey in preparation for an imminent attack against Israeli and U.S. targets inside the country. Yedioth Ahronoth reported that... MORE