In mid-August 2015, the voice of Hamza Bin Laden, the so-called crown prince of jihad, reached al-Qaeda’s foot soldiers and sympathizers worldwide for the first time through an audio message. In that message, Hamza, a son of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was introduced and strongly endorsed... MORE

On January 23, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) top commander Khalid Saeed Batarfi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. [1] Batarfi is just the latest AQAP figure to be added to the U.S. sanctions list, a mechanism that... MORE

Despite popular misperceptions of religiosity in general and Islam in particular flourishing most strongly in poor rural areas, the Islamist revival of the last 30 years has been primarily an urban phenomenon. This has been the result of the loss of familial ties by those... MORE

In the spring of 2016, Islamic State (IS) propagandists released an unusual video purporting to show the famous Chechen pop-singer Azza Bataeva, previously known for her provocative clothing, wearing a niqab and calling on Muslims to join “the path of Allah,” as she tore up... MORE

Indonesia: Influential Islamic State Cleric Goes on Trial Indonesia has put on trial an Islamist cleric alleged to have been behind the 2016 shooting and suicide bombing attack in Jakarta. Although the trial is welcome, another conviction against him is unlikely to weaken the Islamic... MORE

Since last September, more than three million Russians have been evacuated from thousands of schools, businesses, cultural facilities and government offices in cities and towns across Russia in response to anonymous bomb threats—not one of which has proven to be true but all of which... MORE

As al-Shabaab continues to lose leaders to U.S. airstrikes and territory to troops with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), analysts have contemplated the possible defeat of the Somalia-based militant group. Indeed, Somali President Mohammed Abdullahi Farmajo stressed this possibility at a conference in... MORE

On December 8, 2017, the Chinese embassy in Islamabad warned its nationals of possible terrorist attacks targeting “Chinese-invested organizations and Chinese citizens” in Pakistan (Dawn, December 8, 2017). It gave no details of how it had come by this intelligence or who the potential attackers... MORE

Islamic State’s (IS) foreign fighters are a key part of its propaganda campaign in the West. The group thrives on attracting militants whose personal history makes them seem “too normal” to be terrorists. This strategy is designed to scare citizens of Western countries by creating... MORE

Despite relentless anti-terror drives aimed at neutralizing the resurgence of Islamic militants, Bangladeshi authorities are still struggling to contain the surge of Islamist militancy that has sprung up in the country since the Holey Artisan Bakery attack in July 2016. Groups linked to and inspired... MORE