Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
The Threat of Maritime Terrorism in the Malacca Straits
The Joint War Committee (JWC) of Lloyd's Market Association announced last week that the Malacca Straits would remain on its list of areas at risk from terrorism and other related perils. The announcement came despite a collective campaign by the three littoral states of Indonesia,... MORE
Bulgarians to Dismantle Iranian Terrorist Group MKO in Iraq
As the United States advances steadily toward a confrontation with Iran, the fate of an Iraqi-based Iranian opposition group appears to have been sealed. It has now been confirmed that Bulgarian troops will assume control of the formerly-armed Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) organization's Ashraf camp. This move... MORE
GSPC in Italy: The Forward Base of Jihad in Europe
Italy has evolved from a logistics base for Islamic militants to a de facto base of operations for Algeria's Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) targeting Italy, other European countries and the United States. While the GSPC continues to engage in and support terrorist... MORE
The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya
The recent killing of Saudi Sheikh Abu Omar Muhammad al-Sayf, a religious adviser to the Chechen resistance since 1995, heralded the demise of the first generation of Arab mujahideen in Chechnya. Their presence has had a profound effect upon the ongoing war in the Russian... MORE
The 2005 Los Angeles Plot: The New Face of Jihad in the U.S.
A recent U.S. District Court indictment accused members of a shadowy Islamist gang, Jam'iyyat Ul-Islam As-Saheeh ("Assembly of Authentic Islam," JIS), of conspiring to strike U.S. military facilities, Israeli national interests and synagogues around Los Angeles sometime during the autumn 2005 Jewish holidays. Most of... MORE
Saudi Security and the Islamist Insurgency
For over a decade, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has fought an ongoing battle against homegrown Islamist insurgents. These forces have sought to overthrow the ruling monarchy and replace it with what they have described as an "authentic" Islamic regime. Throughout the Saudi government's battle... MORE
The Terrorist Threat to the Turin Olympic Games
After Rome's decision to take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Italy has been repeatedly threatened by Islamist terrorist networks. In an effort to single out the terrorists' most likely targets and to effectively organize counter-terrorist strategies and pre-emptive actions, analysts and senior Italian authorities have... MORE
Tangled Webs: Terrorist and Organized Crime Groups
Since the early 1990s, Western law enforcement agencies have noted an increasing reliance on criminal activity by terrorist networks around the world. Funding sources from the Persian Gulf, charities and other non-governmental fronts have been placed under pressure. This development, compounded by the arrests of... MORE
The Indigenous Nature of the Thai Insurgency
The recent upsurge of unrest in southern Thailand has increased concerns that the country’s Malay Muslim provinces—Pattani, Yala and Narithiwat—may be emerging as a new front for cross-border terrorism in Southeast Asia. In particular, regional and western authorities fear that outside militants, including cadres with... MORE
Somalia: Africa’s Horn of Anarchy
Fourteen years after the ouster of authoritarian President Siad Barre in 1991 and the subsequent descent of the country into chaos, Somalia remains a lawless patchwork of warring fiefdoms. Terrorist networks have flourished in Somalia and neighboring countries, contributing to the deadly synchronized bomb attacks... MORE