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Latest Articles about Middle East
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Ukraine Fails to Deliver Personnel Carriers, Aircraft to Iraq on Time
A $550 million contract for Kyiv to deliver 420 BTR-4 armored personnel carriers and six An-32 light military transport planes to Iraq, which was concluded in 2009, faces a crisis. Ukrspecexport, the Ukrainian state-controlled arms exporter, hoped that the first BTR-4’s shipped under the contract... MORE
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Is the Islamic State of Iraq Going Global?
Iraq’s director-general for anti-terrorism and organized crime operations, Major General Diya Husayn Sahi, recently told al-Arabiya TV that Iraqi citizen Taimur Abd al-Wahhab al-Abdali was given explosives training in the Iraqi city of Mosul for three months before his failed suicide bombing in Sweden last... MORE
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The Tribes of Yemen: An Asset or Impediment to Stability? Part Two
Since responsibility for the “underwear bomber” and “toner bombs” was claimed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the focus on the growth of al-Qaeda-linked organizations in Yemen has intensified. The two failed attacks have led to substantial increases in U.S. military aid to Yemen... MORE
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Islamist Militants of the TNSM Plan Return to Pakistan’s Swat Valley
Fear of a Taliban resurgence is rising among the people of the Swat valley, less than one year after the Pakistan army cleared the picturesque area (Dawn [Karachi] Feb 26, 2009). Many in Swat believe the Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM - Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic... MORE
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Back with a Vengeance: The Baloch Insurgency in Iran
When Iran’s security forces announced in February 2010 that they had successfully captured Abdelmalek Rigi, the elusive commander of Jundallah (Soldiers of God), many observers wondered aloud about the impact Rigi’s capture might have on the Baloch insurgency. [1]Jundallah, an ethnic Baloch nationalist rebel group,... MORE
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Security Implications of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Return to Iraq
Muqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand Iraqi Shi?a cleric whose militia experienced a major military defeat by the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, stated angrily in April 2008: “The occupation has made us the target of its planes, tanks, air strikes and snipers. Without our support... MORE
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Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s Growing War with North Yemen’s Houthist Movement
Relations between the Zaydi Shi’a Houthi rebels in Yemen and al-Qaeda have never been friendly, despite government claims to the contrary. The two movements have not yet had direct confrontation, focusing rather on their own conflicts with the Yemeni government. However, two al-Qaeda-claimed attacks in... MORE
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The Tribes of Yemen: An Asset or Impediment to Stability? Part One
“The tribes are Yemen and Yemen is the tribes,” is a saying that is often repeated by Yemenis from the north central highlands where the tribe and tribal life are most dominant. [1] In the wake of the “underwear bomber” and the “toner bombs,” Yemen... MORE
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The Role of Egyptian Militants in Developing al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
The role of Egyptian Islamists in creating al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) can be traced back to the efforts of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) organization to overthrow the Egyptian regime in the 1990s. Al-Zawahiri played no direct role in... MORE
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The Return of Ali Salim al-Beidh: The Leader of Yemen’s Southern Secessionist Movement
In May 2009, Ali Salim al-Beidh officially reentered Yemeni politics with a speech addressed to his former constituents in southern Yemen. In the speech, al-Beidh called on southern Yemenis to continue their struggle against what he calls the military occupation of the south by the... MORE