Violence and Security

Libya Chaos Creates Fertile Ground for Islamist Militants

April 10, 2019

Islamist militants continue to take advantage of the chaotic civil war conditions in Libya since the collapse of the state after the fall of the Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, attacking both civilians and targets of the weak Libyan National Army in a strained war of attrition involving Islamic State fighters.
IS Incites Forceful Response to Christchurch Attacks

April 04, 2019

As their fighters engage in a battle for the final caliphate stronghold of Baghouz in eastern Syria, the Islamic State’s (IS) leadership issued an audio message inciting Muslims to view the Christchurch New Zealand massacre as a crusader act against Muslims worldwide and to join a renewal of the IS caliphate’s worldwide mission.
Education Presents Challenge in Post-IS Context

April 03, 2019

International humanitarian agencies and local educators report that education of students in former Islamic State (IS) caliphate territory and in neighboring states hosting refugees who fled from IS will be a huge social-psychological challenge.
German Police Arrest 10 Suspects in Islamist Terrorist Plot

March 27, 2019

German police are holding 10 men on suspicion of plotting an Islamist terrorist attack designed to “kill as many non-believers as possible” using vehicles and guns.
US Secretary Labels Taliban a Terrorist Group

March 14, 2019

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s characterization of the Taliban as terrorists raised eyebrows in the press and diplomatic community given that the US is currently negotiating with the Taliban for an agreement to end 19 years of continual warfare by the group to make the Southwest Asian country a sharia state.
IS Propaganda Machine Calls for Continued Loyalty to Caliphate

March 14, 2019

Even as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces wage a siege on the final Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Baghouz in Syria, the IS online propaganda machine has called on the remaining jihadists to stay loyal to the caliphate’s military efforts and theological ideas.
IS Wife Supports Rape of Yazidi Prisoners of War

March 12, 2019

In a recent interview, the wife of an Islamic State (IS) fighter proclaimed that the Quran supports the Islamist fighters' rights to enslave and rape Yazidi women prisoners as property of the caliphate.
IS Punches Back in Iraq

March 12, 2019

Even as US-backed forces surround Islamic State (IS) fighters in their last stronghold in Syria, IS supporters are mounting a slow comeback in Iraq using the country’s chaotic security environment to develop guerrilla capabilities and excesses of intelligence authorities and the judiciary to draw support from alienated communities.
Taliban Continue Jihad During Negotiations with US

March 07, 2019

The Taliban have staged a lethal attack against an Afghan military base as part of the Islamist group’s jihadi operations to make Afghanistan a sharia state even as the group negotiates with the US for troop withdrawals after almost two decades of war seeking to stabilize the Afghan government and prevent an Islamist takeover.
IS Unleashes Car Bombs During Final Siege in Syria

March 07, 2019

Islamic State (IS) forces unleashed a series of car-bomb attacks against US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces laying siege to the final IS holdout town of Baghouz on the Syrian-Iraqi border.