Latest Articles about South Asia
Latest al-Zawahiri Tape Targets American Society
In an hour-plus videotaped interview broadcast on May 5, al-Qaeda deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri answered questions from an unnamed interviewer from al-Qaeda's video arm, al-Sahab Productions. The topics addressed covered the range of issues usually focused on by al-Qaeda leaders in videos, including Iraq, Afghanistan,... MORE
Dressed in Black: A Look at Pakistan’s Radical Women
Radical women in Pakistan are increasingly being used by male jihadi groups and extremists, including religious political parties, to serve their interests and promote their cause. This year's protests by women clad in black burqas of the Jamia Hafsa seminary in front of the Lal... MORE
Kuwaiti Cleric Hamid al-Ali: The Bridge Between Ideology and Action
Hamid bin Abdallah al-Ali is an influential Salafi cleric in Kuwait. He is designated by the U.S. government as a global terrorism financier and supporter, yet his website is registered in Vancouver in Washington state. Figures such as al-Ali are critical to the education and... MORE
U.S.-TURKISH INTERESTS COLLIDE IN IRAQ, BUT MESH IN AFGHANISTAN AND KOSOVO
Turkey and the United States are increasingly at odds over the entwined issues of the Kurdistan Worker’ Party (PKK) mounting hit-and-run guerrilla operations from northern Iraq into southeastern Turkey and Washington’s reluctance to rein in those activities, along with plans by the Kurdish Provisional Government... MORE
Afghanistan and Iraq: Two Sunni War Theaters Evolving Into One?
The lack of reliable metrics that can be used to measure progress or the lack thereof in the war on terrorism is a continuing problem. This is particularly the case when trying to assess what appears to be an evolving and common approach to the... MORE
The Taliban’s Turf War in South Waziristan
A deadly split has opened between the native Pashtun Taliban and non-native al-Qaeda-linked Uzbek militants in South Waziristan, a tribal agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. More than 200 Uzbeks have thus far been killed since the outbreak of fighting on... MORE
Transforming Pakistan’s Frontier Corps
While the jury is still out on whether General Pervez Musharraf's limitations in overpowering the Taliban in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas are primarily an outcome of "incapacity" or "unwillingness" (or both), the United States has committed itself to helping Pakistan transform its Frontier Corps into... MORE
The New Issue of Technical Mujahid, a Training Manual for Jihadis
The al-Fajr Information Center, a jihadi organization, recently published the February 2007 issue of Technical Mujahid, a magazine released once every two months that is available online. The release marks the second issue of the publication. The various jihadi websites have posted links to different... MORE
Despite Setbacks, JMB Remains Resilient in Bangladesh
The arrests of three Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operatives on March 14 in Rangpur and their subsequent interrogations revealed the organization's plan to conduct new terrorist attacks in Bangladesh. The attacks were timed to take place before the executions of six JMB kingpins—including Abdur Rahman... MORE
Uzbek Fighters in Pakistan Reportedly Return to Afghanistan
Since the fighting between local militants and foreign guerrillas began in South Waziristan's capital of Wana and its suburban areas on March 18, more than 160 people have been killed in the violence (Pakistan Times, March 24). The action may well have been generated by... MORE