Latest Articles about Terrorism

The Implications of the Arrest of Imran Khan on Pakistan’s Stability
[Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. Since the writing of this article, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared Imran Khan’s arrest “invalid and unlawful,” releasing him from jail and granting Khan two weeks of bail in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case and 10... MORE

West Papuan Insurgents Increase Attacks in Bid to Gain International Attention
On April 14, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) shot at a small plane that was landing at an airstrip in Intan Jaya Regency in Indonesia’s restive Papuan provinces (Twitter/@udayxSEA, April 14). [1] The TPNPB asserted that it would continue to target aircraft and... MORE

US-Backed Proxy Strengthens Iranian Hand in Intra-Kurdish Struggle
Two Eurocopter AS350 helicopters crashed in northern Iraq’s rural Duhok province on March 15, killing the nine heavily armed passengers on board. The deceased were initially identified as members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) counter-terrorism officials (Kurdistan... MORE

Escaping Justice Through Geopolitics in Pakistan: Jaish-e-Mohammed Leader Abdul Rauf Azhar
Mufti Abdul Rauf Azhar (Abdul Rauf) is the deputy leader of the Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which was proscribed by Pakistan in 2002. The group is most notable for targeting Indian forces in Indian-administered Kashmir and claiming such attacks in the name of the “Kashmir... MORE

Akram al-Kaabi: The Anti-American Iraqi Shia Militia Leader Who Went to Moscow
In late November 2022, Iraqi Shia militia leader Akram al-Kaabi visited Russia and met with the Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov and other Russian officials. During his visit, al-Kaabi, who is the leader of the Iranian-backed al-Nujabaa (“The Noble Ones”) Shia militia, condemned the... MORE

The Mysterious Assassination of a Former al-Badr Commander in Karachi: The Case of Syed Khalid Raza
On the evening of February 26, two gunmen riding on a motorcycle assassinated Syed Khalid Raza (Khalid) in the Gulistan-e-Johar neighborhood of Karachi (Dawn, February 27). Khalid was known as an educator, but formerly was an Islamist militant commander in the al-Badr militant organization. His... MORE

Can Somalia’s New President Finally Stop al-Shabaab?
Al-Qaeda’s Somalia-based affiliate, al-Shabaab, has suffered major setbacks in its battle against the internationally backed Somali government since 2007, when African Union troops entered the war-torn country. The militant group has lost key towns and territory, including the capital, Mogadishu, and the port city of... MORE

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s Top-Down Disassociation from al-Qaeda in Syria
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) emir Abu Mohammed al-Joulani has for several years been actively rebranding himself and his group as an anti-Bashar al-Assad Syrian nationalist group and distancing the group from its al-Qaeda origins (Frontline, February 1, 2021). However, regardless of al-Joulani’s public disassociation from... MORE

Brief: Al-Qaeda Affiliates AQIM and AQAP Show Unity with Eid Statement
Historically, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were among the most effective al-Qaeda affiliates globally. After announcing its formation and affiliation with al-Qaeda in 2007, AQIM conducted frequent suicide bombings and ambushes of Algerian security forces, while AQAP... MORE

Brief: ISGS on Verge of Victory in Menaka, Mali
The town of Menaka, Mali has been a battleground for jihadists since the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) captured the town in 2012. At that time, MUJWA was an offshoot from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) led by Malian Arabs... MORE