Kazakhstan has experienced a rise in militant activity carried out by Salafist groups on its territory and periphery since late 2011. The Salafists’ rejection of secularism and other types of Islam and their call for a return to the ways of the Salaf, or pious... MORE

Great uncertainty continues to shroud the ideological composition of the insurgency that is raging across Syria. The motivations of the rank-and-file of the Free Syrian Army (FSA - the armed wing of the Syrian National Council [SNC] opposition movement) and the constellation of factions that... MORE

Two recent events seem to have shaken the Haqqani Network to its core—the death of Badruddin Haqqani and the group’s designation as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO) by the United States. According to a Pakistani journalist based in the Tribal Areas, the death of Badruddin... MORE

On August 28, one of the most respected spiritual leaders of Dagestan of the past century, Said Atsaev, was murdered in the village of Chirkei, located 25 kilometers northwest of the city of Buinaksk. Better known as Sufi Sheikh Said Efendi Chirkeisky, Atsaev was a... MORE

On August 19, a suicide bomber attacked the funeral of a police officer in the village of Sagopshi in Ingushetia’s Malgobek district. Seven police officers were killed in the attack and at least 15 other people were wounded, nine of them seriously. Ilez Korigov, the... MORE

Over 22 years of fighting for a variety of rebel-movements and national governments, General Bosco “The Terminator” Ntaganda has established himself as the leading warlord in the little-known Nord-Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Nord-Kivu region is at the heart... MORE

One of the principal power brokers in Yemen is Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar.  As leader of the Hashid tribal federation, the strongest and second largest in Yemen, al-Ahmar is an individual of unique power. It was via his ability to control both the levers of legitimating... MORE

The Haqqani Network (HN) has recently been receiving global attention for its active support to militant movements in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tagged often as the “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the HN allegedly masterminded many sensational attacks in Afghanistan including the January 2008 Serena... MORE

As Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria shows further signs of weakening, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has begun maneuvering to take advantage of the regime’s expected collapse. In light of this, it is important to look at the Syrian Brotherhood’s leading political strategist, UK-based Zuheir Salim... MORE

IMU ANNOUNCES USMAN GHAZI AS NEW AMIR AFTER MONTHS OF DELIBERATION The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) announced in a statement that Usman Ghazi is the IMU’s new amir (high-ranking Sheikh), taking over the position from the late Abu Usman Adil, who was killed in a drone... MORE