Amid ongoing coup contagion in West Africa, the region’s new military regimes—especially in Mali, but possibly in Burkina Faso and Niger in the future—are eyeing Russia, and particularly the Wagner Group, as potential partners in counter-insurgency support. Russia is more than willing to play a... MORE

On August 13, al-Qaeda’s Al-Sahab Media issued a call on a Telegram channel for Muslims to "take revenge" on Denmark and Sweden for Quran-burning protests, which had been carried out for several months in both countries. The announcement was ominously titled, "The obligation to attack... MORE

Al-Shabaab is increasingly threatening Ethiopia amid the escalating conflict between its militants and Ethiopian and other foreign troops in Somalia (The Reporter, July 1). With the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) set to fully withdraw from Somalia by the end of 2024, it... MORE

The Baloch separatist insurgency in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province has been taking on more dangerous features since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021. Separatist violence has dramatically increased, with women carrying out suicide bombings (see TM, May 20, 2022; MLM, August 5, 2022) as the... MORE

Abdallah Ag Albakaye holds a prominent position within Mali-based Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) as its emir in Talataye. The village of Talataye is in Gao, but is strategically located between the Menaka and Kidal regions. Ag Albakaye originally belonged to the JNIM sub-group,... MORE

Islamic State (IS) caliph Abu al-Hussein al-Qurashi was killed in northwestern Syria, IS’s third leader overall to be killed in the last 18 months. The role of the caliph is by definition central in the historic system of Islamic rule, the caliphate, which IS claimed... MORE

Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat is the military commander of the armed forces of the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA). An ethnic Tajik, Fitrat is currently leading the war on Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP). In June, Fitrat announced that the perpetrators of ISKP bombings... MORE

On August 16, one of northwestern Nigeria’s most notorious bandits, Dogo Gide, released a video in which he claimed his fighters were responsible for downing a Nigerian air force helicopter in Shiroro, Kaduna State; this attack killed 20 soldiers and three senior military officers (premiumtimesng.com,... MORE

On July 6, law enforcement in Germany and the Netherlands arrested nine Central Asians on terrorism-related charges. In Germany, five Tajik nationals, one Kyrgyz citizen, and one Turkmenistani citizen were arrested in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia for allegedly creating and participating in a... MORE

On July 12, nine Pakistani army soldiers and five militants were killed after security forces retaliated for a “dastardly attack” on Zhob garrison in the northern part of Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan (Dawn, July 12). The Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a relatively new militant group,... MORE