
Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles

Al-Shabaab’s Attack in Ethiopia: One-off Incursion or Persistent Threat?
Al-Shabaab’s Attack in Ethiopia: One-off Incursion or Persistent Threat? Ethiopian forces in July contained and repulsed an attack conducted in the eastern part of the country by Somalia-based al-Shabaab. Fighters from the militant group entered from southwestern Somalia and targeted four border towns in Ethiopia’s... MORE

ISKP Challenges Indian Interests in Afghanistan by Attacking Sikh Worshippers in Kabul
On June 18, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed an attack which targeted a Sikh Gurdwara in Karta-e-Parwan area of Kabul (Dawn, June 18). While ISKP stated there were 50 Sikh and Taliban casualties, two people were reported killed. The operation lasted for... MORE

Will Iraq’s Potential Purchase of French Rafale Fighter Jets Turn the Counter-Terrorism Tables in the Middle East?
Iraq’s request to purchase Dassault Rafale fighter jets from France will raise some eyebrows in Washington. Paris is eyeing the Middle Eastern weapons market and has signed significant agreements with Egypt and the UAE—and now Iraq. In a time of growing competition in the 4.5th... MORE

Briefs
Mozambican Militants Launch New Offensive On September 2, Portugal’s Prime Minister, António Costa, completed a two-day official visit to Mozambique, where the main focus of his meetings with his Mozambican counterpart, Filipe Nyusi, was economics. During the visit, Costa also offered Portugal’s support to Mozambique’s... MORE

Türkiye’s Objectives in Syria and the Changing Regional Balance of Power
On May 24, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that Türkiye would start a new cross-border operation in Syria once preparations were complete. He defined the main objective of the new operation as establishing a 30 kilometer-deep “safe zone” on the southern borders of Türkiye. A... MORE

Claw-Lock: An Assessment of Turkish Counter-PKK Operations in Northern Iraq in 2022
Turkish military operations against Kurdish Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan, or PKK) militants inside northern Iraq have evolved since the 1990s from large, ponderous, marginally effective incursions into a combination of semi-permanent screening operations with more precise strikes and raids. The shift, facilitated in large... MORE

Is an Iraqi Shia Civil War Looming on the Horizon?
Protesters loyal to Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr invaded the heavily fortified area in central Baghdad, known as the Green Zone, twice in one week in late July. They occupied the parliament building for days and blocked al-Sadr’s Iranian-backed rivals’ formation of a new government... MORE

Briefs
Abu Sayyaf’s Local and Global Prospects Look Increasingly Grim in the Philippines In one of the most recent counter-insurgency successes against Abu Sayyaf, the Philippines army announced that 100 former fighters have renounced the group, pledged loyalty to the government, and returned to their homes... MORE

How the Jihadist Threat Against India Has Evolved Since the US Withdrawal From Afghanistan
Following the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma’s remarks denigrating the Prophet Muhammad, several Muslim countries in Asia registered strong protests against India (The Hindu, June 6). The Indian Muslim community also protested in several cities, resulting in a tense communal environment... MORE

Jordan’s U-Turn on Iran and the Capatagon Conundrum From Syria
On July 10, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh claimed that Jordan had never treated Iran as a national security threat (BBC Arabic, July 10). However, two months earlier, Jordan's King Abdullah II had underlined the threat that Iran and its proxies would pose on Jordan's... MORE