Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
The IS Economy: Will Losing Territory Cripple Islamic State?
Two recent offensives against Islamic State (IS) in Syria have forced the group further south, squeezing its so-called caliphate into a small pocket of territory between the Syrian and the Iraqi border. More crucially, these two successful operations — one undertaken by the Syrian Democratic... MORE
Malhama Tactical Threatens to Put China in its Crosshairs
In early August 2017, Malhama Tactical, an unusual militant group operating in Syria and sometimes labelled the “Blackwater of jihad,” issued a statement in which it hinted at a planned expansion into China and alluded to the experiences of China’s Uighur population in the western... MORE
No Exit for Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom’s War in Yemen
It has been more than two and half years since Saudi Arabia began its war in Yemen. The campaign named “Operation Decisive Storm” was supposed to be a short, sharp operation to defeat — or at least cow — Yemen’s Houthi rebels and reinstall its... MORE
Al-Qaeda Joins the Kashmir Conflict
Militancy in Kashmir took on another complicating dimension on July 26, when al-Qaeda announced its entry into the strife-torn Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement issued by the Global Islamic Media Front, al-Qaeda’s propaganda wing, Zakir Rashid Bhat (a.k.a. Zakir Musa) was... MORE
Briefs
Yemen: Saudi Arabia Takes Aim at Hezbollah Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired a long-range missile targeting the Saudi capital of Riyadh on November 4. The missile, apparently destined for King Khalid International Airport, was intercepted, but it nonetheless marks an escalation in the quagmire of Saudi... MORE
Myanmar’s Tatmadaw and the Making of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army
Since August 25, Myanmar’s security forces have conducted what the United Nations (UN) has described as “a textbook case of ethnic cleansing” against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. It has forced more than 589,000 Rohingya civilians to flee to Bangladesh, killing an estimated 3,000... MORE
Pakistan’s Tanzeem-e-Islami and Its Troublesome Extremist Links
A number of Pakistan’s Islamist organizations that agitate for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate but profess to be non-violent are finding renewed prominence, a concerning result of the surfacing of Islamic State’s (IS) local chapter, Wilayat-e-Khurasan. Islamist organizations such as Hizb ut Tahrir, Jamaat... MORE
Hezbollah’s Drone Program Sets Precedents for Non-State Actors
On the afternoon of September 19, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launched from an airstrip near the Syrian capital of Damascus flew into the demilitarized zone that separates the Syrian-controlled area of the Golan Heights from that which is controlled by Israel. The Israeli military... MORE
Briefs
Mauritania: Blasphemy Case Raises Islamist Ire Mauritania’s efforts to curtail Islamist extremism have seen success in recent years, but protesters calling for a blogger to be put to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed show that tensions continue to simmer. The blogger in question,... MORE
How Kenya’s Failure to Contain an Islamist Insurgency is Threatening Regional Prosperity
Life in parts of Kenya’s traditionally Muslim coastal region has become a nightmare of beheadings and midnight raids by masked assailants, compounded by the ineptitude of local security forces. In Lamu County, a historic center of Swahili culture, growing ethnic and religious tensions have proved... MORE