A recent report by the UN Security Council estimated that 15,000 people from over 80 countries have so far travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the Islamic State organization and other extremist groups, “including… [from] countries that have not previously faced challenges relating... MORE

On November 3, five people were shot dead and nine others wounded when three masked gunmen attacked a group of Shi’as who were leaving a mosque at the village of al-Dalwa in Ahsa governorate in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region. The attackers reportedly used machine guns... MORE

The Maldives, the Muslim-majority archipelago country in the Indian Ocean, is going through a tumultuous time, facing increasing Islamist activities at home, an exodus of radicalized youth to join the jihad in Syria and a growing domestic clamor for the implementation of Shari’a law. This... MORE

In recent weeks the crisis over the beleaguered Syrian city of Kobane has been a major focus of world headlines, leading to increased scrutiny of Turkey’s policies toward Syria and Kobane in particular. To understand Turkey’s reluctance to intervene in Kobane, it is important to... MORE

In recent months, Somalia’s main Islamist militant group, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, better known as al-Shabaab, has suffered serious setbacks in its conflict with African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops. Since al-Shabaab’s establishment in 2006, the organization had successfully entrenched its authority in central and... MORE

On September 15, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, announced on national TV that he had ruled out Iran’s participation in the U.S.-led military coalition to combat the Islamic State organization, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria... MORE

In June, Tunisia’s interior minister said that at least 2,400 Tunisian jihadists are fighting in Syria. The majority of them, about 80 percent, are allegedly fighting within the ranks of the Islamic State organization, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), although some... MORE

Al-Qaeda appears to be on the back foot globally. The Islamic State organization, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and years before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, is dominating the global jihad scene. More than 19 Islamist militant groups worldwide have pledged allegiance... MORE

A U.S. citizen working for Vinnel Arabia, an American defense contractor, was shot dead and another wounded at a gasoline station in eastern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 14 (Bloomberg Businessweek, October 14). The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, D.C. issued a statement identifying the... MORE

The Islamic State, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has been a key focus of global attention for the past several months, becoming the number one terrorist target for the United States and its Western allies. [1] However, one of the remarkable... MORE