Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu paid an official visit to Iran on September 12-13. He met the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani and the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.... MORE

The search for a "safe haven" in the strategic planning of the Salafi-Jihadi movement is a central issue in the intended establishment of the "Islamic State." The safe haven offers a set of strategic advantages, such as security, training camps, a certain degree of centralization... MORE

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), died on August 26 at a hospital in Tehran, where he had been receiving treatment for lung cancer since May 2007 (Fars News Agency, August 27, Kayhan, August 27; September 2). His death... MORE

In what might be described as Syria from a jihadist perspective, an article entitled “Al-Qaeda al-Sulbah” (the Solid Base) was posted to the jihadi website al-Faloja.com on July 21 by active al-Faloja contributor Abu Fadil al-Madi. The article urges Salafi-Jihadis to reconsider the importance of... MORE

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, accompanied by Zefer Caglayan, the state minister responsible for foreign trade, visited Iraq on August 11, as part of an emerging strategic dialogue between Ankara and Baghdad. Prior to departing for Baghdad, Davutoglu held a lengthy press briefing and outlined the... MORE

Jihadi internet forum members are engaged in a continuing debate on the obstacles hindering the application of Islamic law in Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal and suggest certain approaches to modify the current social and unreligious practices of the people. The debate was triggered by... MORE

The outbreak of ethno-sectarian unrest in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XAR) between members of the local Uighur community, an ethnic Turkic population that is predominantly Sunni Muslim, and ethnic Han Chinese, China’s majority ethnic group, has largely subsided on the surface.  The hostilities began... MORE

On July 30-31, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Lebanon, where he met the country's leading politicians, and visited the Turkish contingent serving as part of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the local Turkish-speaking communities. Davutoglu's agenda highlighted the contours of his new... MORE

The Turkish parliament approved a governmental motion on June 24 that will extend the mandate for the Turkish peacekeeping force contributing to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). If the U.N. Security Council decides to extend the UNIFIL's mandate, the government will be able... MORE

Delegations led by the Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay, Iraqi Minister of State for National Security Shirwan al-Waili and U.S. Major-General Steven A. Hummer, the deputy chief of staff for operations in Iraq's multinational force met in Ankara for trilateral talks to discuss how to... MORE