Latest Articles about South Asia
Saad bin Laden: The Key to Iranian-al-Qaeda Detente?
On July 28, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard reportedly released Osama bin Laden's 27 year-old son, Saad bin Laden, according to the German newspaper Die Welt. Saad had been held under house arrest in Iran, along with other al-Qaeda figures who were arrested in round-ups by... MORE
South Waziristan’s Veteran Jihadi Leader: A Profile of Haji Omar
The recent insurgency in some portions of Pakistan's tribal belt has produced a chain of new leaders who govern their respective areas. A common trait of these new leaders is that they receive inspiration from the Afghan Taliban and openly call themselves the "local Taliban."... MORE
Zawahiri: Internationalizing Jihad, Uniting Muslims and Trumping Saudi Clerics
Ayman al-Zawahiri's July 27 statement on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict deftly advanced al-Qaeda's own interests, as well as al-Qaeda's goal of putting the world's multiple ongoing Islamic insurgencies into the context of a single, Shiite-and-Sunni struggle against "the Zionist-Crusader aggression." The struggles in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq... MORE
UNCERTAINTY ON EVE OF NATO HANDOVER IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN
This week coalition forces in Afghanistan announced the end of the 45-day “Operation Mountain Thrust,” which killed more than 600 Taliban fighters. The operation took place in the volatile region of southern Afghanistan and included more than 10,000 U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces (VOA, July... MORE
Killing of Shiite Cleric Threatens New Round of Sectarian Violence in Pakistan
On July 14, Allama Hassan Turabi was assassinated by a suicide bomber in front of his home in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal section of Karachi. Turabi was a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric who headed the banned Tehrik-e-Jafaria (TJP), served as the vice president of the opposition Muttahida... MORE
Trail from Mumbai Blasts Leads to Multiple Terrorist Groups
As the Mumbai police continue to hunt down the suspects of the July 11 train blasts, a lesser-known militant outfit, Lashkar-e-Qahar (LeQ), has claimed responsibility for the coordinated terrorist attacks on India's suburban trains that left nearly 200 people dead and more than 700 injured.... MORE
The New York Plot: The Impact of Bin Laden’s Campaign to Inspire Jihad
The recent disruption of a developing terrorist plot to destroy an underwater tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City and inundate lower Manhattan offers an opportunity to assess the impact of Osama bin Laden's decade-plus effort to inspire others to undertake operations against the... MORE
Kabul Bombings Reveal Mounting Challenges Faced by the Karzai Government
A bomb detonated outside the Afghan Justice Ministry on July 4, injuring several civilians and shattering windows in nearby buildings. Three additional devices exploded across Kabul on July 5, targeting buses carrying Afghan government personnel, as well as an Afghan National Army (ANA) convoy in... MORE
Bin Laden Seizes Opportunities in his June and July Speeches
Osama bin Laden's speeches on June 30 and July 1 are notable because they portray his confidence and focus, command of the al-Qaeda organization and steady application of a strategy that seeks to prompt U.S. actions that spread U.S. military and intelligence forces in a... MORE
Baitullah Mehsud: South Waziristan’s Unofficial Amir
Militancy in Pakistan's tribal areas gave birth to a new generation of leadership. Most of the traditional tribal elders who constitute the jirga system have been killed at the hands of the local Taliban; those who survived this assassination strategy fled to safer locations in... MORE