
Briefs

Al-Shabaab Leader Abu Ubaidah Reemerges From the Shadows
Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Umar Abu Ubaidah (alias Ahmed Diriye) is notorious for keeping out of the spotlight. He had, for example, never made a public appearance until a November 2019 video, in which he gave a motivational speech to al-Shabaab fighters before they raided the... MORE

Insani Joy Samla’s Arrest and the Annihilation of Abu Sayyaf’s Courier Network in the Philippines
On March 2, Abu Sayyaf courier Insani Joy Samla was arrested by Philippine security officers on the island of Basilan near Mindanao (akhbaralaan.net, March 2). His arrest disrupted the remaining linkages between Abu Sayyaf’s increasingly small and dispersed cells across Mindanao, which have been degraded... MORE
Latest Profiles

Tides Turn Against the Pakistani Taliban: The Killing of Iqbal Bali
Since the fall of Kabul and the return of the Afghan Taliban to power in August 2021, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK) Province has faced a resurgence of Islamist terrorism. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or “Pakistani Taliban,” has perpetrated scores of terrorist attacks across KPK Province.... MORE

Eganius Kogoya: The Headline-Making Leader of the West Papua National Liberation Army
Since 2017, Eganius Kogoya has committed 65 attacks, resulting in the deaths of 46 individuals (kompas, February 12). He has also waged a guerilla war on two fronts: The first one is in the Papuan jungles, where he and his militants exploit the mountain's difficult... MORE

Janjaweed Commander to Political Power Broker: An In-Depth Profile of Sudanese General Hemedti
On April 15, clashes broke out in Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum between rival factions of the country's military government. Pitted against each other were the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The latter is led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo... MORE

Escaping Justice Through Geopolitics in Pakistan: Jaish-e-Mohammed Leader Abdul Rauf Azhar
Mufti Abdul Rauf Azhar (Abdul Rauf) is the deputy leader of the Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which was proscribed by Pakistan in 2002. The group is most notable for targeting Indian forces in Indian-administered Kashmir and claiming such attacks in the name of the “Kashmir... MORE