Months after she was kidnapped in Baghdad, Russian-Israeli researcher and activist Elizabeth Tsurkov appeared in a video released on Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias’ media platforms. In the video she spoke in Hebrew and stated she was an agent of both the US’s Central Intelligence Agency... MORE

The Kremlin has welcomed the Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza that began on November 24. The pause, however, does not fit into Russia’s larger designs for the Middle East. From Moscow's perspective, further escalation would have been a much better option in disrupting the US-led world... MORE

Executive Summary Along with their clear internal (domestic) needs, Chinese private security companies (PSCs) have been spotted operating in virtually all major regions around the world. These entities currently play a marginal role in the promotion and protection of Chinese interests abroad, though they will... MORE

On May 31, the Oberlandesgericht (state-level higher court) in Dresden, Germany sentenced the 28-year old university student “Lina E.” to five years and three months in prison for her leadership position in a “criminal entity.” Among other offenses, she caused “severe bodily harm” to others... MORE

Islamic State (IS) caliph Abu al-Hussein al-Qurashi was killed in northwestern Syria, IS’s third leader overall to be killed in the last 18 months. The role of the caliph is by definition central in the historic system of Islamic rule, the caliphate, which IS claimed... MORE

On August 6, Islamic State (IS) announced its new caliph, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. He is now the organization’s fourth caliph since Abubakar al-Baghdadi declared the caliphate in 2014 (allarabnews.com, August 6). The announcement also dispelled the notion that the previous caliph was killed by... MORE

On July 31, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the notorious Wagner Group that had attempted an unsuccessful mutiny resulting from conflict with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), stated, “At the moment, we are not planning to open recruitment centers. To avoid any talks and rumors,... MORE

There are numerous jihadist groups in Syria, some of which host or are comprised of foreign fighters from Russia and Central Asia among their ranks. Many fighters from Russia and Central Asia chose the Syrian Civil War as their theater of operations around 2012, and... MORE

US Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement on July 9 to announce that it killed an Islamic State (IS) leader in eastern Syria two days earlier. This leader, Usama al-Muhajir, [1] was killed in an air strike conducted by an MQ9 drone (centcom.mil, July 9).... MORE

On April 17, US Special Forces under Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted an operation in Syria in which they killed Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali. He was a prominent Islamic State (IS) leader, head of general security, and deputy governor of the group’s “Syria Province” (Akhbar al-Aan,... MORE