Violence and Security

Resilient Al-Qaeda Leads Globalized Salafist-Jihadist Movement

March 16, 2020

The recent US-Taliban peace deal reveals the reality of a resilient, resurgent al-Qaeda (AQ), the Taliban’s main partner, as leader of a globalized, relentless Salafist-jihadist movement.
US and OAS Warn of Increased Islamist Terror Activity in the Americas After Suleimani Killing

March 11, 2020

Government officials from the United States and its fellow member-states of the Organization of American States (OAS) are warning that Iran and its main Islamist proxy, Hezbollah, are likely to increase terror attacks in Latin America to avenge the January 2020 US drone strike killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader Qassem Suleimani.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Shock Troops Mobilize Against State Failure to Manage COVID-19 Spread

March 11, 2020

The leadership of Iran's Islamic theocracy have placed their shock troops, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on high alert in anticipation of growing public panic about the state's management failures and misinformation about the epidemic spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) across Iran.
Al-Shabaab Jihadist War in Kenya Targets Schools & Teachers, Forces School Closings

March 11, 2020

Somali-based jihadist group al-Shabaab has ratcheted up its cross-border war in Kenya, with a spike in targeted attacks on schoolteachers on the Kenya-Somali border leading to the closure of Kenyan schools in that area and leading to the further disintegration of state control.
Turkey's Weaponization of Migrants Diminishes Humanitarianism and Raises about Massive Influx of Muslim Populations into Europe

March 11, 2020

Turkey's Islamist regime has weaponized migration by massing huge numbers of migrants at Europe's external borders, a move that politicizes Islamic identity and thereby diminishes the development of a balanced approach to humanitarian needs and the migration of large numbers of Muslim migrants into Europe.
Threat Forecasting Shows Iran Likely to Increase Use of Transnational Shiite Networks to Hit Western Targets

March 05, 2020

US security, intelligence and law enforcement experts forecast an increase in the vulnerability of hard and soft targets of America and its Transatlantic allies in the aftermath of the US drone strike that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps leader Qassem Soleimani.
First Glitch in US-Taliban Peace Agreement Comes Over Release of 5K Taliban Prisoners

March 05, 2020

The first glitch in the US-Taliban peace agreement for Afghanistan has emerged only two days after the signing event, with intra-Afghan negotiations between the Taliban Islamists and the Afghan government suspended because of the Taliban leadership's insistence that 5,000 Islamist prisoners be released as a precondition for discussions with the Kabul government.
Hamas Using "Honey Trap" Spyware to Entrap and Hack IDF Phone Data

March 05, 2020

Hamas is using cyber "honey traps" of dating and associated sites to target Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers, in order to deploy spyware into IDF smartphones and capture data that can be utilized by the Palestinian Islamist political-military group in the ongoing conflict between the Gaza-based group and Israel.
Sunni and Shiite Islamist Groups Threaten Survival of Iraq's Christians

March 03, 2020

Sunni and Shiite Islamist extremist groups active in Iraq, including IS and its underground operatives and Iran-supported Shiite Shabak militias, are endangering the return, daily security, and longterm survival of Iraq's ancient Christian communities, whose numbers have plummeted in the face of sustained Islamist wars to capture Iraqi territory.
US-Taliban Agreement Leaves Open-Ended Questions about Islamism and Geopolitical Competition

February 26, 2020

The impending formalization of a US-Taliban peace agreement that rests on the quid pro quo of a US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan in exchange for the Taliban commitment to renounce Afghanistan as a platform for global projection of Islamist extremism leaves open a range of implementation challenges.