As highlighted in Beijing’s May 2015 defense white paper, China is modernizing its strategic missile force as part of its focus on strengthening the PLA’s preparation for “winning informationized local wars, highlighting maritime military struggle and maritime PMS [preparation for military struggle]” (State Council Information... MORE

On June 26, one day after the Russian security services killed Magomed-Ali Aliev and his wife Leila in Nazran, Ingushetia (Topwar.ru, June 25; see EDM, July 1), law enforcement agencies in the Chechen capital Grozny killed two suspected terrorists. According to the Chechen government forces,... MORE

In mid-June, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lu Kang announced that Chinese land reclamation efforts would soon end, hopefully marking the end of tensions caused by China’s rapid expansion of a number of land features in the South China Sea (MOFA, June 16). Although... MORE

After months of relative quiet, there have been unexpected reports in recent weeks of battles with militants in Ingushetia, Russia’s smallest republic. Among other reported incidents, police officers were apparently wounded during a special operation in the republic’s foothills in May (Echo.msk.ru, May 23), and... MORE

In the wake of terrorist attacks by the Islamic State (IS) across the Middle East and Europe, Russian diplomats and the Kremlin-controlled media have been working overtime to suggest that the West will not be able to contain IS unless it secures Moscow’s cooperation. And... MORE

President Vladimir Putin continues to use strong rhetoric not only linked to what he sees as Kyiv’s “responsibilities” to adhere to Minsk II but also in an increasingly controversial area of Russia’s military modernization: namely the future role of the country’s nuclear deterrent. Moscow has... MORE

Finally, God granted me al-samaha [allowance to enter the caliphate land], Oh, my comrade, I’ve shook hands with arms I’ve lived [in] the caliphate and its excellencies (al-Quds al-Arabi, October 14, 2014) With these lines, Syrian revolutionary poetess turned Islamic State propagandist Ahlam al-Nasr announced... MORE

Abu Ridha al-Turkistani was the leader of the “Syria Branch” of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP)—the first TIP leader ever to hold that position. He died under as murky circumstances and with as little fanfare as he arrived. There is very little information on where... MORE

In Pakistan’s dangerously diverse universe of Islamic extremism, the name Jundullah (also Jundallah) and this militant group’s notorious commander-spokesperson Ahmed Marwat (a.k.a. Ahmedullah or Fahad Marwat) are synonymous with violence against minorities, indiscriminate attacks on foreigners and social workers and targeted assaults against Pakistan’s powerful... MORE

In a further indication of how al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is increasingly managing to exploit and take advantage from the current Yemeni political crisis and security vacuum, on April 2, the group’s militants launched a concerted assault on the city of al-Mukalla in... MORE