Violence and Security

Niger Responds to Threat of Spreading Militant Islamism in West Africa

February 16, 2015

In the aftermath of last week's attack in Niger by the Nigeria-based extremist Islamist group Boko Haram, Niger's government is ramping up arrests of suspected Boko Haram sympathizers and increasing troop deployments under the joint West African force fighting against the Islamist militants.
Islamic State Conducts Mass Execution of Kidnapped Coptic Christians

February 16, 2015

The publishing organ of the violent jihadi group known as the Islamic State ("IS") released a high-quality video and still photos of the mass execution in Libya of 21 Coptic Christians who were kidnapped from Egypt, warning that the beheadings targeted Copts in "a message signed with blood to the nation of the cross."
Islamic State Makes Headway in Egyptian Sinai

February 11, 2015

In addition to its main focus on territories in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State ("IS") has made significant headway in establishing an Egyptian operations beachhead, with the declaration of a Sinai Province as part of the IS Caliphate.
Islamic State Expands into South Asia

February 10, 2015

The spokesman for the Islamic State ("IS") has announced the transnational Islamist movement is establishing a new province whose territory includes Afghanistan and most of Pakistan, a declaration amounting to the expansion of IS's jihadi operations and Sunni extremist ideology into the strategically important, yet unstable, region of South Asia.
Germany Considers New Laws Aimed at Blocking Jihadi Travelers

February 04, 2015

The German Parliament will take up draft legislation aimed at tightening security and intelligence measures on foreign travel, in an attempt to prevent radical Islamists from transiting through and/or returning to Germany from jihadi wars in the Mideast.
Nigeria's Election Debates Heat Up Over Threat of Islamization

February 04, 2015

Nigeria's approaching presidential and legislative elections are provoking intense debates about the potential for the country's accelerated Islamization, with the ruling party charging opposition presidential candidate as a support of sharia, while the opposition party has criticized Nigeria's current president for attending meetings of the global Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC").
UN Chief Endorses Multinational Security Response to Islamist Militants in Nigeria

February 04, 2015

The Secretary General of the United Nations has endorsed a proposal to create a multinational security force to combat the spread of violence by the Islamist jihadi group Boko Haram, which is expanding its war to impose sharia law throughout Nigeria to the neighboring countries of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
Taliban Attacks Prompt Pakistani Government to Train Teachers to Use Weapons

February 04, 2015

In the wake of the deadly attack on a school in Peshawar last month, Pakistan's provincial government is training school teachers and university instructors to use weapons to improve school security against possible future assaults by the radical Islamist group.
Video Reminds of Syrian Women and Children Hostages Held by Islamist Militants

February 04, 2015

A recently released video is circulating in cyberspace, a reminder of the 50-plus women and children from the multi-faith, Syrian port city of Latakia, who have been held hostage for well over a year by the al-Nusra Front, the Syrian Islamist group affiliated with al-Qaeda.
Islamic State Execution of Jordanian Pilot Provokes Diverse Reactions from Political Islamic Spectrum

February 04, 2015

The Islamic State's ("IS") brutal execution-by-burning of a Jordanian pilot has provoked multifarious reactions from political Islamic organizations and various Mideast state leaders, including calls for punishing the perpetrators according to Koranic prescriptions and condemnations for IS's violations of Islamic law.