In early May, the Taliban announced the appointment of Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of its founder-leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and deputy to its current amir (leader) Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, as chief of its military commission. Ibrahim Sadr, who Yaqoob replaced, and Abdul Qayyum Zakir would... MORE

On June 14, a U.S. drone strike in Syria’s Idlib province killed Abu al-Qassam al-Urduni, a top al-Qaeda figure who was a commander of al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Din. The death of al-Urduni, a.k.a. Khalid al-Aruri, follows those of prominent al-Qaeda leaders Abu al-Khayr al-Masri and... MORE

On June 26, Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) raided the Baghdad headquarters of Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), an Iranian-backed militia of the security umbrella organization, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) (al-Jazeera, June 26). The CTS arrested 14 KH militants and confiscated various rockets and other weaponry... MORE

Yemen’s Tihama region runs the length of the country’s Red Sea coast, from the port of al-Mocha to the Saudi border. It encompasses some of Yemen’s most productive agricultural lands and is home to the important port city, al-Hodeidah. As Yemen’s gateway to the Red... MORE

For two months in a row this past spring, during March and April, Azerbaijan surpassed Russia in delivering natural gas supplies to Turkey (Hellenic Shipping News, June 2). At the same time, Turkey’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports have also been skyrocketing, with LNG suppliers... MORE

For months, and particularly during the end of June and start of July, Russian politics was centered on ensuring the desired result in the vote on the set of amendments to the constitution. By resorting to crude manipulations and fraud, President Vladimir Putin secured his... MORE

Executive summary: After five years of war against the Saudi-led coalition and its allies, Yemen’s Houthi rebels remain defiant and are once again on the offensive. The Houthis’ keen understanding and consistent application of the algebra of insurgency are fundamental to their martial success in... MORE

While the world has been distracted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province remains volatile. The region, which has seen a period of relative calm, is on the brink of another major government offensive. Turkey has long sought the fall of... MORE

The security apparatus remains the key pillar of political power in the contemporary Arab state system. Whatever the post-war outlook of Syria will look like, its fabric will not change overnight. In one way or another, the Syrian military and intelligence community will remain the... MORE

In early May 2020, media reports highlighted the construction of a large hydropower system composed of the Khudafarin and Qiz Qalasi (Maiden Tower) hydropower plants as well as hydro junctions and related facilities and bridges on the Aras River, which follows part of the border... MORE