Violence and Security

Turkish-Backed Islamist Militias Kidnap Christian Converts in Northern Syria

August 26, 2020

Turkish-backed militias in the northern Syria region of Afrin, heavily comprised of former IS and Al Qaeda fighters, recently kidnapped 14 Kurdish converts to Christianity, exacerbating the flight of Christians from the region and intensifying the use of kidnappings, ransoms, and apostasy as an Islamist weapon against non-Muslims under the control of Syria's pro-Turkish Islamist militias.
Islamist Insurgency in Mozambique Advances in Battle to Capture Natural Gas Resources

August 26, 2020

Mozambique's homegrown Islamist movement, Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama ("Supporters of Tradition"), is making steady military and societal headway in the insurgency to capture control of the East African country's rich natural gas resources and economic future.
Countering Violent Extremism Programs in Pakistan Need Overhaul

August 26, 2020

Despite two decades of support by US government agencies and local partners for CVE (countering violent extremism) programming to counter radical Islamist ideology and violence in Pakistan, a new report from the US National Defense University's Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies indicates strong resistance from Pakistani religious groups and state agencies and no measurable improvement.
US Justice Dept. Charges Three Men in Illegal Funds Scheme for Iran's Regime Leadership

August 24, 2020

Iran's chief Islamic cleric and political leader, as well as the regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, are implicated in an illegal currency transfer scheme from the US to Iran, revealed in the US Justice Department's recent charges against two US citizens and a Pakistani citizen.
Sustained Escalation of Islamist Violence in Africa Defies Multinational Military Solutions

August 24, 2020

The sustained escalation of Islamist violence across the African Continent over the past decade points to the failures of multinational military and counterterrorism efforts, such as the US Africa Command, in halting jihadist operations.
International Tribunal Ruling on Lebanese PM Hariri Assassination Underscores Hezbollah's Ongoing Role in Mideast Politics & Security

August 24, 2020

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon First Instance Court (STL) found that a Hezbollah operative was responsible for the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's then-Prime Minister (PM) Rafic Hariri, pointing to the ongoing, disruptive and malign influence of Hezbollah's Shiite jihadist activities on the Mideast's politics and security environment.
UK Court Sentences Manchester Arena Bomber for 2017 Islamist Terror Attack

August 24, 2020

A judge at London's Central Criminal Court meted out a minimum 55-year jail sentence to Hashem Abedi, the brother of the suicide bomber whose 2017 attack at the Manchester Arena was one of the United Kingdom's (UK) deadliest terrorist episodes.
GCC Pushes for Extension of UN Arms Embargo Against Iran in Sign of Continuing Tension Among Gulf Islamist Regimes

August 20, 2020

In a sign of continuing geopolitical competition among Mideast Islamist regimes and, more specifically, of Sunni-Shiite sectarian tension among the six Arab-majority members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran, the GCC is lobbying the United Nations (UN) to extend the soon-to-expire international arms embargo against Iran.
Signs of Islamist Empowerment Are Paradox for US Brokered Intra-Afghan Normalization Talks

August 19, 2020

As US-brokered, intra-Afghan normalization talks move into a decisive phase that Washington hoped would facilitate peace after a drawdown of American troops from the wartorn South Asian country, there is growing evidence and signaling that radical Islamist groups, including the Taliban and local IS entities, are making common cause to strengthen their position in ways that will empower jihadist operations and caliphate goals.
Jihadist Groups Will Make Continuing Advances in Sub-Saharan Africa

August 18, 2020

Jihadist armed conflicts and Islamist extremist groups are expanding their footprint all across sub-Saharan Africa, especially with the ongoing influx of career foreign fighters from Mideast caliphate territories, who bring new fighting techniques and financing networks, plus intra-jihadist competition, to an African region characterized by fragile state, endemic corruption, and COVID-19 vulnerabilities.