Latest Articles about Terrorism
Bomber Strikes Chinese Embassy in Bishkek; China Announces New Defense Transportation Law
Bomber Strikes Chinese Embassy in Bishkek On August 30, a car bomb exploded outside the Chinese embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Three people were injured in the explosion. Fortunately the car bomb was not able to directly ram the embassy, though the explosion was strong enough... MORE
Random Deaths Increasingly Frequent, as Innocent Civilians Mistaken for Rebels in Dagestan
At 10:30 PM, on August 5, in the Dagestani village of Karamakhi, police on patrol came under attack by unidentified individuals armed with grenade launchers. Three police officers and a local resident received injuries in the incident. “Unknown individuals fired shots at the police officers,... MORE
Choosing a Figurehead Over a Fanatic: A Profile of Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the New Leader of the Islamic State in West Africa
Andrew McGregor Though it might be difficult to conceive, there are apparently limits to the degree of barbarity the Islamic State (IS) organization is willing to tolerate in its regional leaders. On August 2, IS took the unusual step of intervening in the leadership of... MORE
The Face of Bangladeshi Jihad: Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif (a.k.a. Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury)
Animesh Roul The Islamic State’s (IS) announcement of a “Bengal unit” in its propaganda magazine Dabiq (issue No 12) in November 2015 left the entire Indian subcontinent flummoxed. That issue very prominently featured a chapter dedicated to the “Revival of Jihad in Bangladesh.” Subsequently, through... MORE
Islamic State’s Female Enforcer in Mosul: A Profile of Umm Anas (a.k.a. Hajiah)
Halla Diyab Female militants’ roles within the Islamic State (IS) have recently evolved, breaking from their more conventional functions as recruiters and online propagandists for the jihadist cause. Increasingly, women act as vehicles of oppression against other female militants within the group. This departure from... MORE
Back from the Dead: The Turkistan Islamic Party’s Abdul Haq al-Turkistani
Jacob Zenn One of the key militant groups in the Jaysh al-Fateh coalition in Syria, the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) is made up of more than 1,000 Uighurs from China’s westernmost Xinjiang region. [1] The TIP attributes its founding to Hassan Mehsum, who was killed... MORE
August 2016 Briefs (Free)
THE RETURN OF GADHAFI’S GENERAL: ALI SULEIMAN KANA Nicholas A. Heras The international coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) has recently begun to expand and intensify its activities in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte. In July, three French Special Forces soldiers were killed... MORE
Chinese Military Promises Aid to Syria
China has announced a shift in its foreign policy toward Syria. During a visit to Damascus on August 14, People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Rear Admiral Guan Youfei (关友飞) noted that this year marks the 60th anniversary of relations between the two countries. He further... MORE
Boko Haram: Abu Musab al-Barnawi’s Leadership Coup and Offensive in Niger
On August 3, Islamic State (IS) announced that Habib Yusuf (a.k.a. Abu Musab al-Barnawi), the son of Boko Haram founder Muhammed Yusuf, was the new wali (governor) of its “West Africa Province,” the name IS gave to Boko Haram after Abubakar Shekau pledged loyalty to... MORE
Political Turmoil in KRG Risks Hindering Kurdish Efforts Against Islamic State
Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq have been some of the most effective in tackling Islamic State (IS) on the ground, but the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) itself has been mired for more than a year in political turmoil over the extension of President Masoud Barzani’s... MORE