Northern Afghanistan, a secure and stable area until last spring, is now an insecure and fearful place. Although Taliban and al-Qaeda activities have been limited mostly to southern Afghanistan over the past eight years, the Taliban were able to expand their terrorist activities to central... MORE

Not far from the site of a disastrous encounter with Afghan insurgents last year, French forces have now mounted an offensive to clear the strategic Tagab valley of Taliban and Hizb-i-Islami fighters. An important mission lies behind “Operation Avalon” – the construction of a new... MORE

On August 19, coordinated explosions rocked downtown Baghdad, resulting in over 120 deaths. Similarly, in the midst of heightened security measures, twin bombings on October 25 killed over 155 people in Baghdad, marking the deadliest attack since August 2007. Involving the participation of al-Qaeda in... MORE

The Mufti, or religious leader, plays an essential role for al-Qaeda and affiliated Salafi-Jihadi groups, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where the government’s counterterrorism strategy involves denouncing al-Qaeda’s religious credentials. There have been several al-Qaeda Muftis since the group began attacks on the Saudi establishment in... MORE

The Russian federal authorities today imposed a counter-terrorist operation regime on part of Chechnya’s Achkhoi-Martan district, with the aim of neutralizing a group of militants hiding out in a wooded mountainous area. The regime means that military and law enforcement personnel will have the right... MORE

On November 17, an expanded session of the Russian defense ministry board met to review the results of the training year and consider future plans. The annual meeting, however, was dominated by the current reform of the armed forces and inevitably discussion gravitated towards reflecting... MORE

Isa Yamadaev – the younger brother of former Vostok battalion commander, who was shot dead in Dubai in March, and of State Duma deputy Ruslan Yamadaev, who was shot dead in Moscow in September 2008– has asked the Russian head of state for protection after... MORE

Earlier this year Tariq al-Fadhli, the prominent jihadist leader from South Yemen, broke his 15 year alliance with the Yemeni government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Al-Fadhli, who was a member of the anti-Soviet Mujahideen movement in Afghanistan, is often described as the founder of... MORE

The Italian Home Minister, Roberto Maroni, recently stated: “We believe that terrorist cells fundraise and train to carry out attacks in our country. It is not yet a homegrown terrorist situation, like in the United Kingdom and in Spain, but we are getting closer to... MORE

The Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria this week has been the target of a series of attacks apparently carried out by insurgents. On the evening of November 17, an electric power substation in the Adyl-Su Gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria’s Elbrusk district was blown up. Later that same evening,... MORE