Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
Al-Zarqawi’s Rise to Power: Analyzing Tactics and Targets
This article is the first in a two-part series on Zarqawi’s rising influence in the jihadist movement. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is attaining legendary status. Glorified by militant Salafists and jihadists the world over as an invincible warrior and vilified by Western governments as the most... MORE
Terrorism and Human Smuggling Rings in South and Central America
The road to the “American Dream” for many illegal immigrants usually leads from home countries through Mexico and then into the U.S. Although almost all of these illegal immigrants are merely looking for a better life for themselves and their families, world-wide human trafficking routes... MORE
The Algerian 2005 Amnesty: The Path to Peace?
On September 29, Algerians voted in an unprecedented referendum to approve a charter for “peace and national reconciliation,” offering amnesty to Algerian insurgents in exchange for laying down their arms. The charter also extends the same offer of clemency to police and security agents involved... MORE
The Re-Orientation of Kashmiri Extremism: A Threat to Regional and International Security
Since the onset of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the activities of foreign jihadists in Pakistan have been a major source of concern for both Washington and Islamabad. However, an equally if not more serious problem that has emerged over the last four years has been... MORE
Muslim Female Fighters: An Emerging Trend
Muslim women are increasingly joining the global jihad, some motivated by religious conviction to change the plight of Muslims under occupation, and recruited by al-Qaeda and local terrorist groups strained by increased arrests and deaths of male operatives. Attacks by female fighters, also known as... MORE
LIFG: An Organization in Eclipse
The British government’s decision in October 2005 to designate the al-Jama'a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah fi-Libya (Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, LIFG) as a terrorist organization must have come as welcome news to Colonel Qadhafi, given that at its peak the group represented the strongest challenge the Libyan... MORE
Upheaval in Nalchik: New Directions in the Chechen Insurgency
When Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev succeeded the late Aslan Maskhadov as the leader of the Chechen resistance, he was initially described by Russian sources as an Arab and a representative of al-Qaeda. Even after it was shown that the new President was a Chechen, many observers suggested... MORE
Re-Examining Jemaah Islamiyah in the Wake of the Zawahiri Letter
On October 11, 2005, the website of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence posted a letter believed to be from al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri to Iraqi insurgent leader and commander of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Dated July 9, 2005, this letter provided not... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s WMD Strategy After the U.S. Intervention in Afghanistan
With the loss of its Afghan sanctuary following the U.S. intervention in 2001, there was a question as to what role weapons of mass destruction (WMD) would play in al-Qaeda’s newly evolving strategy. Al-Qaeda has taken advantage of its recently assumed role as the ideological... MORE
Islamic Extremism on the Rise in Nigeria
Nigeria, a major oil producer, is the most populous African country with around 130 million people, of whom half are Muslim, 40 percent are Christian and 10 percent follow indigenous faiths. Nigeria has a civilian government, but is troubled by widespread corruption and uneven institutional... MORE