Latest Articles about Middle East
Russia Withdraws Su-25s From Syria
Russia’s air operations in support of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), which commenced on September 30, 2015, continue to experience modification and experimentation despite President Vladimir Putin’s order to begin withdrawing military forces in mid-March. Efforts to bring a meaningful ceasefire to Syria’s civil war... MORE
Moscow’s Appointment in Doha Goes Awry
Russian talks with Gulf states, in Doha, Qatar, aimed at freezing oil production and thereby raising prices, broke down on April 17 (RT, April 17). This failure to reach an agreement represents a major setback for Russia’s economy as well as its domestic and foreign... MORE
In Courting Iran, Russia Seeks Politically Safe Foreign Investment for the North Caucasus
On April 11–16, representatives of an Iranian investment company, Hamrahian Group, visited Dagestan to explore possibilities for cooperation with the North Caucasian republic. The visit came just weeks after Dagestan’s governor, Ramazan Abdulatipov, visited Iran as a member of a Russian business delegation (Kavkaz Today,... MORE
An In-Depth Portrait of Major Muhammad Eyad Shamsi: Military Strategist for the Syrian Rebel Group Authenticity and Development Front
Nicholas A. Heras There is currently a nascent campaign supported by the U.S.-led multinational anti-Islamic State (IS) Coalition to build a local, Syrian Sunni Arab armed opposition movement against IS in the core areas of its control in eastern Syria (Terrorism Monitor, March 18; MLM... MORE
Love as a Propaganda Machine: A Profile of Islamic State’s Jihadist-Love Culture Propagandist, “Shams”
Halla Diyab The Islamic State’s (IS) construction of a revolutionary jihadist-love culture and its perpetuation of a narrative that stands in deep contrast to the barbaric atrocities of the group demonstrates the organization’s attempts to romanticize the jihadist experience to gain sympathy and support from... MORE
Post-Mortem Analysis: The Last Five Years in the Life of Saddam Loyalist Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri
Chantelle Berman He was one of Saddam Hussein’s key advisers and the leader of a militia temporarily tied to the Islamic State (IS). Now he is reportedly dead, reportedly killed in April 2015 in Salahuddin province (Al Arabiya, April 17, 2015). Since 2011, topics of... MORE
Al-Qaeda Top Leader’s Younger Brother, Muhammad Rabee al-Zawahiri, Released
Muhammad Mansour Muhammed Rabee al-Zawahiri, a younger brother of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was released from Egyptian prison on March 17. A court had acquitted him on October 15 of charges related to forming an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group called “al-Zawahiri cell” in Egypt, as well... MORE
How Islamic State Gained Ground in India Using Indigenous Militant Networks
A series of arrests this year in India has highlighted how India has been unable to escape its overtures as Islamic State (IS) continues its attempts to expand its geographical and online reach beyond Iraq and Syria. While IS propaganda has so far struck a... MORE
Iraq’s Shia Militias: Helping or Hindering the Fight Against Islamic State?
The rise of Islamic State in Iraq has contributed to the increasing prominence of Iraq’s Shia militias. However, while the militias are united in their desire to defeat IS, there are nonetheless clear divisions among them arising from narrow self-interest, differing ideologies and political loyalties,... MORE
Jahba East Africa: Islamic State Alters the Dynamic of Somalia’s Conflict
With the emergence of a group in Somaliland calling itself Jahba East Africa, it appears Islamic State (IS) is becoming an independent entity in Somalia’s insurgency. This development will likely complicate the conflict both for the African Union forces in the country and the indigenous... MORE