Violence and Security

IS Branches Destabilize Southwest Asia in Lethal Church Attack

December 19, 2017

A twin suicide-bombing attack by an Islamic State (IS) branch in Pakistan against a Church in Quetta killed many worshippers in yet another Islamist assault in the province of Baluchistan, further destabilizing the geopolitically volatile Southwest Asian space where Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan share a border.
Afghan Taliban Train Openly in Signal of Islamist Resiliency

December 19, 2017

A newly-released video by the Afghan Taliban shows active training camps along the geopolitically crucial Afghanistan-Pakistan border, with open training by the ‘Umari Martyrdom Battalion’ indicating the resilience of this and other militant Islamist groups that continue to wage jihad despite the local presence of American and international coalition forces.
Islamists Split Over Israel

December 19, 2017

The militant Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza in the Palestinian Territories, has reportedly been arresting hardline Salafist jihadis suspected of launching rockets into Israeli territory in the aftermath of the recent US declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, indicating a significant split among Islamist ranks over engagement with Israel.
Hizballah Uses Family-Clan Ties, Economic Opportunity to Recruit

December 19, 2017

Hizballah, the Lebanese militant Islamist group that has been expanding the arc of radical Shiite influence across the Mideast with Iran’s help, relies on systematic recruitment among family-clan networks and within economically deprived neighborhoods to bolster a jihadi message whose resilience may lead other Islamist militant organizations to copy the model.
Article: Internet Forum Must Address Speech Restrictions

December 18, 2017

UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye and Nani Jansen Reventlow of the Digital Freedom Fund write that internet stakeholders should use the upcoming Internet Governance Forum in Geneva to oppose broad laws restricting "extremist" online speech but also to address the role of law enforcement officials in tackling "online harassment."
Jihadist Recruiting Relies on Cultural Alienation and Apocalyptic Nihilism

December 18, 2017

Renowned expert on Islam and French public intellectual Olivier Roy analyzes modern jihadism as an ideology that plays on cultural alienation and apocalyptic nihilism to recruit cradle and convert Muslims, so that combatting Islamist terrorism must focus on these features of the global jihadi project.
US Woman Used Bitcoin to Fund Islamic State

December 18, 2017

The US Department of Justice has charged a woman from Long Island, New York, with using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to transfer laundered money to accounts in China, Turkey, and Pakistan that were used to support Islamic State operations.
Al-Shabab Strikes Again in Deadly Suicide Bombing

December 18, 2017

The al-Qaeda-linked Islamist extremist group al-Shabab struck another blow in its efforts to impose sharia law in East Africa, killing at least 18 and wounding 15 others in a suicide bombing attack on the Police Academy in Somalia's capital city of Mogadishu.
Illicit Weapons Sales Continue to Make IS a Threat

December 18, 2017

The military defeat of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria has not mitigated the Islamist extremist organization's threat in the Mideast and elsewhere, since IS cells retain control over significant quantities of conventional armaments and chemical components acquired from an active network of illicit weapons sales, including many EU supply sources, according to a new report by UK arms-monitoring NGO Conflict Armament Research.
FRA Pushes for Broader Laws on "Hate" Incidents

December 15, 2017

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) have warned that a new FRA survey showing a substantial number of unreported "hate" incidents across the EU, including discrimination against and harassment of members of minority groups, demonstrates a shortcoming in European laws and policies seeking to address these phenomena.