Executive Summary Maalim Ayman, one of al-Shabaab’s key commanders, was killed death in a US drone strike in December 2023. Ayman led the group’s push into Kenya. With Ayman’s death, the group’s ability to launch attacks like the ones against the Westgate Mall in 2013... MORE

Executive Summary Burkina Faso’s Air Force killed Islamic State in the Greater Sahara’s second highest-ranking member, Harouna Oulel (alias Abdel-Malick), in an air strike on a convoy the militant was leading in January 2024. This represents a rare victory for Burkina Faso's counter-terrorism efforts, and... MORE

Executive Summary Mullah Noorullah Noori has recently questioned the validity of the Durand Line, the internationally recognized border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, raising tensions between Kabul and Islamabad. Noori is currently Minister for Borders and Tribal Affairs in the Taliban government in Afghanistan, and served... MORE

Executive Summary GRU Colonel-General Yunus-Bek Bamatgireyevich Yevkurov has been tasked with taking over Russia’s operations in Africa from the Wagner Group. Proven and effective, he will be a formidable threat to Western interests in the region. Yevkurov is a Muslim Ingush from Russia’s North Caucasus... MORE

Executive Summary Abdul Mateen is the fugitive leader of Islamic State (IS) in al-Hind, and his network has been behind a series of bombings in southern India in the last five years. While his group has been seriously degraded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA),... MORE

Executive Summary Salaheddin Faroughi (alias Abdolrahim Mollahzadeh) is the emir of Jaish-al-Adl (JAA), a militant group seeking autonomy or an independent state for the Baloch people of Iran and Pakistan. JAA was the proximate cause of the most recent series of cross-border fights between the... MORE