Latest Articles about Terrorism
Pakistan’s JuA Commander Brushes With Death: A Look at Omar Khalid Khorasani
Few terrorist commanders in the Pakistani militant landscape are as ruthless, or notorious, as Omar Khalid Khorasani, the Emir of Jamaat ul Ahrar (JuA). JuA is part of the al-Qaeda-linked Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) network, which is made up of over 42 different Islamist militant groups.... MORE
The Brotherhood Fox: A Profile of Fugitive Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Leader Mahmud Ezzat
How does a leader of an outlawed religious-political movement apply pressure on an inflexible regime at a moment of organizational weakness and internal division? This is the dilemma facing Dr. Mahmud Ezzat, the deputy supreme guide of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The Ikhwan (Brothers) are... MORE
Diverging Trajectories in Bangladesh: Islamic State vs al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda and Islamic State have adopted divergent strategies in their competition for dominance in Bangladesh. Al-Qaeda has sought to build popular support by exploiting the grievances of the country’s political Islamists, and by employing targeted violence against secularists, atheists and those who are perceived to... MORE
Briefs
Pakistan: Government Losing Out to the Islamists Pakistan freed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest on November 24, one of a number of recent incidents that have shown the government’s increasing weakness when it comes to tackling the country’s Islamists. Saeed, the alleged... MORE
Electronic Jihad in Nigeria: How Boko Haram Is Using Social Media
While many jihadist groups have shown themselves adept at using social media to further their propaganda efforts, Boko Haram arrived late to the game. In 2010, the year then Boko Haram leader Abubakr Shekau declared jihad, one Boko Haram member even posted on the Ansar... MORE
The IS Economy: Will Losing Territory Cripple Islamic State?
Two recent offensives against Islamic State (IS) in Syria have forced the group further south, squeezing its so-called caliphate into a small pocket of territory between the Syrian and the Iraqi border. More crucially, these two successful operations — one undertaken by the Syrian Democratic... MORE
Islamic State’s White Widow: Sally Jones’ Digital Jihad
Sally-Anne Frances Jones (a.k.a. Sakinah Hussein; Umm Hussain al-Britani; the White Widow) is a former punk rock guitarist turned one of the most dangerous female militants in the Islamic State (IS) group, serving as an online recruiter and propagandist. Jones is believed to be the... MORE
Tackling Islamic State Recruitment in Southeast Asia: The Arrest of Karen Aisha Hamidon
Karen Aisha Hamidon (a.k.a. Karen Aisha al-Muslimah) was arrested on October 11, 2017, by the Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation (Counterterrorism Division) in Taguig City for luring foreign and local Muslims to join the Maute group (the so-called “Islamic State of Lanao”) to fight against... MORE
Special Operation in Tbilisi Highlights Risk of Terrorism by Returning Fighters in Georgia
Georgia recently carried out one of the most significant counter-terrorism operations of the past several years. On the evening of November 21, several special forces units armed with heavy weaponry pulled up in armored vehicles to an apartment complex in the Tbilisi district of Isani.... MORE
Malhama Tactical Threatens to Put China in its Crosshairs
In early August 2017, Malhama Tactical, an unusual militant group operating in Syria and sometimes labelled the “Blackwater of jihad,” issued a statement in which it hinted at a planned expansion into China and alluded to the experiences of China’s Uighur population in the western... MORE