The death in a clash with Afghan forces of long-time Pakistani jihadist Qari Saifullah Akhter, the emir of Pakistan’s Harkat ul Jihad e Islami, is both a surprising victory for Afghanistan’s security forces and an indication of the Taliban leadership’s recent attempts to rebuild frayed... MORE

Conditions in Yemen appear to be ideal for the expansion of an insurgent organization like Islamic State (IS). All the normal vectors for the spread of the virus of militant Salafism are present: grinding poverty; rampant youth unemployment; a weak and most often non-existent government;... MORE

In February, the Iranian government extradited five members of the same family originating from Hamadoni district, in southern Tajikistan, back to their home country (Radio Ozodi, March 2). Abdulfayz Vazirov, 33, and his sister Mohira Salimova, 32, left Tajikistan for Russia in the summer of... MORE

Somalia: One Step Closer to Defeating al-Shabaab In the build up to his election as Somalia’s president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed announced he would invite al-Shabaab for a “sit down and discussion” (Twitter, January, 28). His rhetoric toward the group since then has been less welcoming.... MORE

In contrast to the abundance of forecasts that predicted the weakening and eventual demise of al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda affiliated group is resurgent in many parts of Somalia. This resurgence is particularly notable in Puntland, a semi-autonomous part of northern Somalia where al-Shabaab has for a... MORE

In mid-January, Islamic State (IS) fighters seemed to be retreating in the face of advancing U.S.-backed Iraqi forces in the city of Mosul in Iraq. They were also under pressure from attacks by Turkish-led forces in Aleppo, Kurdish guerrillas in Raqqa and the forces of... MORE

Recent militant violence targeted at Myanmar’s border guard police in Rakhine State, which borders Bangladesh on Myanmar’s coast, has seen the emergence of what appears to be a new Islamist group with cross-border links. The fighting has once again focused international attention on the situation... MORE

On January 28, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) — the Jabhat al-Nusrah successor group formed in July 2016, which now claims that it is no longer al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria — announced, along with other groups, the formation of a new coalition called Hai’at Tahrir al-Sham... MORE

According to a confidential UN report, six million people, half the population of South Sudan, are in need of humanitarian assistance less than six years after the nation gained its independence as a result of militia warfare spinning out of control (AFP, February 15). Power... MORE

Fahman Hussein— a Kurdish militant more widely known by his nom de guerre, Dr. Bahoz Erdal — was born in Syria in 1969. He studied to be a veterinarian at the School of Medicine of the University of Damascus, to which the title ”Dr.” in... MORE