Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
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
Implications of the New Kurdish-Sunni Alliance for Security in Iraq’s Ninawa Governorate
As the U.S. military “surge” and the activities of Iraq’s Awakening Councils drive al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups into northern Iraq, a new and largely overlooked accord between Kurds and Sunnis could have enormous implications for the security situation in the Ninawa governorate. On December... MORE
Is the “Politicization” of the Kurdish Struggle in Turkey a Security Threat?
For almost three decades, Turkish governments and the military establishment have had to fight back a violent armed struggle for an independent Kurdish state. Despite increased attacks in recent months by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), what Ankara has invariably tagged as its “top security... MORE
Al-Qaeda Adapts its Methods in Iraq as Part of a Global Strategy
For the last few months, reports from Iraq have been indicating a tangible decline in insurgency and terrorist operations. For the first time since 2003, the Iraqi people are enjoying a sense of security in the streets of Iraq, although skeptics claim it is the... MORE
Reviving a Forgotten Threat: The PKK in Nagorno-Karabakh
The decades-long war between the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish army has had a significant impact on Azerbaijani politics. Being a staunch ally of Turkey and suffering from problems of separatism and terrorism itself, Azerbaijan has always expressed its full support for... MORE
Oil and Jihad in Central Africa: The Rise and Fall of Uganda’s ADF
In the midst of all the horrors generated in Central Africa by the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the collapse of Zaire in 1997, a little known group of Islamist radicals has done its own part to contribute to the suffering. Based since 1996 in... MORE
Morocco’s Resistance to Regional Jihad
As 2007 draws to a close, the one year anniversary nears of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat’s (GSPC) official rebranding of itself as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) following its merger with Osama bin Laden’s group. With the change in name came... MORE
Imprisoned Leader of Egypt’s Islamic Jihad Challenges al-Qaeda
The Salafi-Jihadi ideology, the doctrine and constitution of al-Qaeda’s terrorists, is being re-evaluated by prominent Salafi-Jihadi ideologues. The same ideologues that previously sanctioned terrorist operations are now having second thoughts about the ideology behind many heinous terrorist acts. Last month Sayed Imam Abdulaziz al-Sharif, a... MORE
The Turkish Generals’ Talk: The Strategic Insights of Turkey’s Struggle with the PKK
In November, Turkish journalist Fikret Bila published a book entitled Komutanlar Cephesi (“The Commanders’ Front”) based on interviews with eight retired Turkish military commanders (Detay Yayıncılık, 2007). Prior to its publication, extracts from the book were serialized in Turkish in Milliyet (see Eurasia Daily Monitor,... MORE
If Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Strike Back: The Case of Iraq
The recent move by the U.S. government to designate Iran’s most powerful military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as a terrorist organization reflects a tougher U.S. stance towards Tehran in response to its controversial nuclear program and military reach in the Middle East.... MORE