Latest Articles about Syria
June 2014 Briefs
ISIS’ NEMESIS IN ALEPPO: KHALID HAYANI AND ITIHAD LIWA SHUHADA BADR Nicholas A. Heras In spite of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) success in Iraq, it is worth remembering that it is battling against a number of armed groups in Syria, not... MORE
Will Crimean Tatar Jihadists Join Forces With the Caucasus Emirate?
As the Crimean Tatars commemorated the 70th anniversary of their deportation from Crimea on May 18, many wondered what the Tatars’ next moves under the Russian occupation will be. Having already deported ethnic groups en masse—the Karachays in November 1943, the Chechens and Ingush in... MORE
Iraqi Shi’a Militia Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq Expands Operations to Syria
A suicide bombing struck an election rally in Baghdad that was being held by the Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’a militia group and political party Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH - League of the Righteous) on April 26, killing 37 people (al-Jazeera, April 25; for AAH, see Terrorism... MORE
Is Egypt Russia’s Next Major Middle Eastern Arms Customer?
Today, Russia is being associated almost exclusively with the crisis it has generated in Ukraine. But that is a myopic and excessively complacent view. Indeed, Russia is carrying on a global foreign policy directed at exploiting the United States’ retreats, mistakes or vacuums created by... MORE
Status of Chechens Rises in the Ranks of Middle East Jihadists
The Russian media, citing Agence France-Presse (AFP), recently reported that Yemeni authorities killed a militant named Abu Islam al-Shizani in the south of the country. His name was probably a distortion of Shishani, which usually means Chechen in Arabic. The slain militant had allegedly earlier... MORE
Algeria’s Political Transition Begins in the Midst of Major Security Challenges
Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika won his fourth term in office on April 17, when he took over 81 percent of the vote in presidential elections. Former prime minister Ali Benflis failed in his second attempt to unseat Bouteflika, taking only 12 percent of the vote... MORE
Kurdish Enclaves in Syria Battle Islamist Militant Groups
The main Kurdish militia in Syria, the Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG – Kurdish People’s Protection Units), has survived a siege of the town of Kobani (Arabic: Ayn al-Arab) by Islamist extremists belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The siege of the... MORE
From Syria to Sulawesi: Could Mujahideen Indonesia Timor become an ISIS Ally?
A schism emerged among Syrian jihadist groups after al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri announced on February 3 that al-Qaeda has “no connection” to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) (Daily Times [Lahore], February 13). The message, which was circulated on jihadi websites, has forced... MORE
Chechen Militants in Syria Make Key Gains in Syria Fighting
The actions of Chechens in Syria—repeatedly examined in this publication over the past two years—is a complex issue, which involves, in particular, the symbiosis of North Caucasian perseverance and Middle Eastern Islamic radicalism. This emerging phenomenon is more dangerous to Russia than the current problems... MORE
Assad’s Hurricane: A Profile of the Paramilitary Wing of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party
The presence of numerous auxiliary forces fighting alongside the regular Syrian military and security services against the armed opposition to Ba’athist rule is without question. Acting as ancillaries for the Ba’athist regime’s defense are a similar number of paramilitaries, including the Popular Committees, their successor,... MORE