Violence and Security

UN Says Afghanistan Is Key Geopolitical Platform for Global Jihadist Threat from Taliban-Al-Qaeda Partnership

February 05, 2020

The United Nations’ (“UN”) special team that tracks terrorist groups worldwide has concluded that extensive cooperation between the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, as well as active recruitment of jihadist from surrounding Central Asian countries, makes the South Asian geo-space a crucial geopolitical platform for projecting Islamist extremist ideology and violence.
Jihadist Threat in West Africa Prompts Mali Government to Increase Military Recruitment

February 03, 2020

The sustained violence of jihadist groups in West Africa is prompting the government of Mali to ramp up its military recruitment by 50% in 2020.
German Courts Sentence Dagestani Asylum Seeker for Collaborating in Islamist Terror Attack

January 29, 2020

German courts handed down a five-year prison sentence for plotting a terrorist attack to an Islamist from Dagestan in the north Caucasus, based on evidence of his cooperation with the pro-IS group that perpetrated the lethal Christmas market attack in Germany in 2016.
Al-Qaeda Members with Colombian Passports Apprehended by Texas Authorities

January 29, 2020

Evidencing the movement of Islamist terrorist networks into the Americas, U.S. security officials apprehended three al-Qaeda operatives from Syria who were attempting entry into the United States on Columbian passports via Venezuela, then Columbia, then Texas.
Yemen Remains a Disruptor in Iranian Shiite Arc of Aggression After Soleimani's Death

January 29, 2020

Yemen remains an important point of the spear in Iran's asymmetric warfare and disruptive strategy of expanding the Shiite Islamist footprint across the Middle East.
Tajikistan Cracks Down on Muslim Brotherhood in Central Asia

January 29, 2020

State authorities in Tajikistan arrested 113 people on charges of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the most recent move in the Central Asian state’s ongoing crackdown on a range of radical Islamist groups deemed responsible for terrorist attacks against government facilities and foreign tourists.
Western Prisons Are Islamist Incubators in Need of Overhaul

January 22, 2020

Empirical evidence shows that Western nations from the US to Europe are incubators for Islamist radicalization and post-release Islamist violence, with acute policy limitations in vetting processes for Islamic chaplains and ineffective outcomes for de-radicalization of inmates.
Jihadists Maintain Online Incitement for Attacks in San Francisco

January 22, 2020

Major online media and propaganda sites for key jihadist groups like al-Qaeda and IS continue to keep San Francisco in Islamist extremist crosshairs, maintaining constant incitement for Islamist attacks on the American city’s high tech and social media corporations and leaderships, as well as on major tourist attractions and financial and infrastructure targets.
DOJ Metes Out Prison Terms for Surveillance and Data Collection on Americans Opposing Iranian Regime

January 17, 2020

The US Department of Justice handed down jail sentences for two men convicted of federal crimes of conducting surveillance and gathering information on US citizens opposed Iran’s Islamist theocratic regime.
France Summit Aims at Improved Security Measures to Counter Widening Islamist Front in West Africa

January 13, 2020

France’s President is convening his West African counterparts in a summit to discuss urgent improvements in cooperative military and security measures to counter the expanding operations of diverse Islamist extremist groups across West Africa.