Violence and Security

High-Casualty Jihadist Attack in Burkina Faso Indicates Expanding Islamist Extremism in Africa

August 23, 2021

A high-casualty attack in Burkina Faso at the contiguous “three-border” space linking Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali is a reminder of the expanding Islamist extremist operational environment that is destabilizing the Sahel and sub-Sahara region of Africa.
Taliban’s Sharia Law Record Suggests Afghan Women Face Limitations & Violence

August 23, 2021

The Standard reports that the half-decade of Taliban control from 1996-2001 suggests that the new Taliban's Islamist regime will use sharia law to restrict women's human rights and civil liberties, including limitations on freedom of movement, education, work, and dress, as well as a return to public floggings when judged guilty of violating Taliban interpretations of Islamic law.
U.S. Court Sentences Michigan Man Highlights Reach of IS into America

August 18, 2021

The eight-year prison sentence by a US District Court judge of a Michigan resident for providing material support to the Islamic State (IS) involved two other co-defendants who were traveling to Somalia to become part of jihadist operations, with the details of the multi-year case offering a reminder of the transnational reach of IS into the American homeland.
US State Department Designation Reveals Ineffective Policy in Africa

August 18, 2021

The US State Department's recent addition of five individuals to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) was significant for highlighting the growth of jihadist groups actively operating across Africa, and reveals in ineffectiveness of the current policy as a response to to the expanding threat of Islamist extremism on the African Continent.
Taliban Win Points to Feeble International Commitment to Rights

August 17, 2021

According to inews.com, the Taliban’s expansion towards the full capture of Afghanistan signals the group’s calculus that Western threats of aid embargoes are empty rhetoric when it comes to human rights priorities, and that states like China, Pakistan, and Russia also will prioritize pragmatism over principles with the impending sharia regime in their neighborhood, emboldening al-Qaeda in its unwavering commitment to all-fronts war against the United States.
Taliban Resilience Is Defeat of West by Islamist Extremism

August 17, 2021

BBC reports the Taliban are poised to capture full control of Afghanistan after two decades of US-led Western coalition presence in the South Asian country, with reimposition of a fundamentalist sharia regime, with connections to militants Islamist forces in both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, constitutes a real and symbolic defeat of the West by resilient, expansionist, militant Islamism.
Afghanistan Set to Become Islamist State as Taliban March Continues

August 13, 2021

According to The Guardian, the Taliban military blitzkrieg across Afghanistan continues with the capture of the country's second and third largest cities and all provincial capitals, with security experts predicting that the country's capital could fall within 30 days, making it inevitable that the geopolitically critical South Asian country will become a hardline Islamist state.
Al Qaeda Launches Lethal Terrorist Attack on Syrian State Forces in Damascus

August 12, 2021

Al Qaeda (AQ) carried out a lethal explosives attack against Syrian military forces in the country’s capital of Damascus, with the AQ disseminating images of the attack on social media sites.
Spreading Jihadism in Africa Provokes US Terrorism Designations

August 11, 2021

Reacting to the steady expansion of jihadism across all regions of Africa, the US State and Treasury Departments continue moves to combat terrorist financing, designating five individuals from IS and Al-Shabaab active in the states of Mozambique, Tanzania, and Mali as Special Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), with the consequent blocking of the property and finances by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Islamist Turkey Promotes Anti-Semitism & Terrorism Against Israel

August 11, 2021

Turkey’s Islamist regime continues to expand the mechanisms for promoting both anti-Semitism and terrorism against Israel, recently sponsoring an international conference in Istanbul where speakers reiterated anti-Semitic blood libel discourse used by Turkey's president.