Latest Articles about Terrorism
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Nigeria: Another Small Victory Against Boko Haram According to reports this month, Nigerian troops uncovered a Boko Haram bomb-making factory near the border town of Ngala, Borno State, Nigeria. Army spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usma, keen to promote the find as the latest success in Nigeria’s... MORE
Insurgents in Chechnya Down, but Not Out
Over the past several years, there have not been many reports from Chechnya regarding insurgent activities in the republic. But while the Chechen government claims the republic has overcome the Islamist armed underground, insurgency-related incidents still sometimes occur, which means that militants still exist in... MORE
Insurgent Violence in Dagestan Lower Than in Previous Years, but Still Frequent
The Dagestani authorities’ reassurances that the intensity of rebel violence in the republic is declining are partly true, but there is also another trend in how the government is presenting the situation. The authorities are trying to ignore the activities of rebels and portraying their... MORE
Dagestan-Azerbaijan Relations: a New Flash Point in the Caucasus?
The Dagestan Days festival opens in Baku this week (May 12–13), during which ties between that republic in the Russian North Caucasus and Azerbaijan will be celebrated and new business deals announced (Azertag.az, May 7). However, relations between these two Muslim republics are increasingly tense.... MORE
Russian Media Grossly Exaggerates Level of Support for Islamic State in Europe’s Chechen Diaspora
Russian media coverage of the Islamic State (IS) continues to expand. Earlier, the Russian press primarily covered the Caucasus Emirate, Hizb ut-Tahrir and other Islamic movements. Now, all Islam-related themes are marked with the label “Islamic State.” No reliable data is available on how many... MORE
Can Adygea Continue to Avoid Problems Related to the Spread of Radical Islam?
The Republic of Adygea is located in the middle of the northwestern Caucasus, in the watershed of the Kuban, Laba and Belaya rivers. Although historically the area was the homeland of many Circassian tribes, wars and the forced deportation during the 19th century have resulted... MORE
An In-Depth Portrait of Major Muhammad Eyad Shamsi: Military Strategist for the Syrian Rebel Group Authenticity and Development Front
Nicholas A. Heras There is currently a nascent campaign supported by the U.S.-led multinational anti-Islamic State (IS) Coalition to build a local, Syrian Sunni Arab armed opposition movement against IS in the core areas of its control in eastern Syria (Terrorism Monitor, March 18; MLM... MORE
Love as a Propaganda Machine: A Profile of Islamic State’s Jihadist-Love Culture Propagandist, “Shams”
Halla Diyab The Islamic State’s (IS) construction of a revolutionary jihadist-love culture and its perpetuation of a narrative that stands in deep contrast to the barbaric atrocities of the group demonstrates the organization’s attempts to romanticize the jihadist experience to gain sympathy and support from... MORE
Post-Mortem Analysis: The Last Five Years in the Life of Saddam Loyalist Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri
Chantelle Berman He was one of Saddam Hussein’s key advisers and the leader of a militia temporarily tied to the Islamic State (IS). Now he is reportedly dead, reportedly killed in April 2015 in Salahuddin province (Al Arabiya, April 17, 2015). Since 2011, topics of... MORE
Al-Qaeda Top Leader’s Younger Brother, Muhammad Rabee al-Zawahiri, Released
Muhammad Mansour Muhammed Rabee al-Zawahiri, a younger brother of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was released from Egyptian prison on March 17. A court had acquitted him on October 15 of charges related to forming an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group called “al-Zawahiri cell” in Egypt, as well... MORE