Latest Articles about Terrorism

Russian Observers Expect No Groundbreaking Results From Latest Anti-Rebel Push
On September 27, a policeman died and four others were injured in an armed clash with insurgents in Chechnya’s Vedeno district. This was the latest reported incident in the mountainous area of the republic’s south, where Kadyrov’s government forces launched a large scale offensive against... MORE

Puntland’s Shaykh Muhammad Atam: Clan Militia Leader or al-Qaeda Terrorist?
No roads penetrate the mountains of the Galgala district of Puntland’s Bari Region. Though it lies almost directly south of the bustling port of Bosasso, Puntland’s commercial capital, the moderate climate and cave-riddled hills of the relatively inaccessible Galgala region form a natural base for... MORE

From Germ Warfare to Restaurateur: The Life of Malaysia’s Yazid Sufaat
Introduction Yazid Sufaat, a former captain in the Malaysian Army, was arrested under Kuala Lumpur’s Internal Security Act (ISA) in December 2001. He was directly tied to two of the hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon; is known... MORE

Qari Hussain Mahsud: The Father of FATA’s Suicide Bombers
Since the rise of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2003, dozens of its militant commanders have made strong imprints on the militant landscape in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Qari Hussain Mahsud maintains a unique status due to his capability to wreak havoc in Pakistan combined... MORE

If a Rebel Falls in the Forest: The Steady Evisceration of the FARC Leadership in Colombia
New Developments on the Colombian Battlefield The elimination of senior FARC leadership continues to intensify under the new Colombian presidency of Jose Manuel Santos. Aggressive tactics against the senior command structure of Colombia’s Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) rebels have not let up since... MORE

The Roots and Transformation of the Dagestan Insurgency
In early April, two women from Dagestan were named by the federal authorities as key suspects in the March 29 suicide attacks which targeted the Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations near to the interior ministry and the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB)... MORE

Kurdish Question Dominates Turkish Politics
Having received unequivocal backing from voters in the constitutional referendum, the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) has moved to address Turkey’s structural problems, most notably the Kurdish question, through a combination of domestic measures, as well as regional and international diplomacy. The resolution of... MORE

Security Agencies Hunt Former Islamic Opposition Fighters in Eastern Tajikistan
On September 19, 23 soldiers were killed and 15 wounded as a convoy of military vehicles passing through the increasingly volatile Rasht valley in eastern Tajikistan was ambushed by “heavily armed gunmen.” Another eight soldiers died later of the wounds they sustained in the assault... MORE

Khloponin Focuses on Dagestan’s Economy While Others See Civil War Looming
During a visit to Dagestan on September 21, Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, urged the republican leadership to use the opportunities that had been provided by the federal authorities to make advances in economic development. “The time when it was possible to... MORE

Analysts debate the nature of the split within Caucasus Emirate
On September 21, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov, in his capacity as “emir” of the North Caucasus Emirate, issued a video in which he dismissed three emirs from the Emirate’s Chechen sector – Aslambek Vadalov, Khusein Gakaev and Tarkhan Gaziev. In the video, Umarov says... MORE