In an apparent sudden about-face, the Kremlin has accused the Islamic State (IS) of planting a bomb onboard Russian Metrojet Flight 9268, which disintegrated in midair after takeoff from the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, on October 31, killing all 224 people on board,... MORE

President Vladimir Putin responded promptly to the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris with a telegram to French President François Hollande that condemned the “barbaric nature of terrorism, which challenges human civilization” and called for unity in the struggle against this “evil” (Kremlin.ru, November 14).... MORE

Russia’s air operations in Syria have triggered speculation concerning Moscow’s objectives, the length of the campaign, as well as the levels of planning involved. On the one hand, Russia’s information campaign describes a limited engagement, which boosts domestic support for the intervention. The Kremlin fears... MORE

Chechen authorities claim that a group of 20 young Chechens and Ingush studying in Moscow tried to leave Russia for Syria and were stopped at the last moment. According to Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, Western security services are constantly seeking to undermine Russia’s prestige (Instagram.com,... MORE

Since Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s air operations in Syria, Russian experts and commentators have attempted to interpret this policy shift. Putin and other members of the political-military leadership claim the intervention is limited to sending arms to Damascus and conducting air operations... MORE

The long-stagnant process of trying to conclude Syria’s devastating civil war was reinvigorated last week (October 30), when as many as 19 delegations gathered in Vienna for an eight-hour-long round of talks. Expectations were low, but the participating diplomats managed to play down their deep... MORE

Fatiha Mohamed Taher Housni al-Mejjati (a.k.a. Umm Adam), is a member of the Islamic State’s media committee and therefore one of the most powerful women in the organization (The Africa Channel, January 15). Wearing black from head to toe with a strong, bulky physique and... MORE

Since the start of the Syrian civil war, British police estimate that at least 700 British Muslims are believed to have traveled to that country to fight for various jihadist groups (BBC, September 18). Few have so far achieved significant leadership positions or any enduring... MORE

Born into a Muslim family in Spain’s Ceuta, Asia Ahmed Mohamed is just one of several Spanish women who have traveled to Iraq or Syria to join the Islamic State or another jihadist militia. She became connected to the militant group when she was searching... MORE

Russia, on September 30, launched airstrikes in support of the Syrian government in order to stop the advance of the Turkish and Saudi-backed Islamist Sunni rebel group Jaysh al-Fatah (“Army of Conquest”) into the country’s coastal Alawite Shi’a heartlands (NowLebanon, August 27). Meanwhile, the United... MORE