Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
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
After 3/11: The Evolution of Jihadist Networks in Spain
Nearly two years after the March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid, new militant Islamist cells continue to be disrupted in Spain on a regular basis. In 2004, Spanish Police detained almost 100 jihadists. The trend continued in 2005 with more than 80 Islamic militants... MORE
The Transformation of Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam seems to have dropped off the radar screen, while an even more active and deadly terrorist organization with similar nomenclature, Ansar al-Sunna, has emerged in its place. With its membership scattered and installations decimated, has Ansar al-Islam disappeared as a coherent force? Although... MORE
“Mujahideen of the Lowlands” on Trial in the Netherlands
The trial of 14 young radical Muslims is attracting widespread attention in Holland and elsewhere. This article examines the network and explains how young second-generation immigrants are radicalized to pose an unprecedented security threat to the Dutch state. Mohammed Bouyeri, who is already serving a... MORE
Assessing the Iraqi Elections’ Impact on Terrorism and Insurgency
As Iraq staged its first election for a full-term parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein, there are increasing hopes in Washington and London that the pace of the steadily growing insurgency may have at long last been stunted. But if previous elections in post-Saddam... MORE