Jihadism

May 28, 2026 | Caleb Weiss |

Shabaab spokesman congratulates JNIM, denounces Western powers in Eid message

Yesterday, as part of its annual celebrations for Eid al Adha, Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, released its usual speech for the occasion. Delivered by Shabaab’s official spokesman, Ali...

May 7, 2026 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Syria’s Accommodation of Foreign Jihadists Backfires

The Syrian government’s effort to integrate foreign fighters into its armed forces may be unraveling. On May 5, Syrian authorities arrested 16 Uzbek fighters following a standoff with armed members...

May 6, 2026 | Clifford D. May |

Iran’s rulers are true believers  

That’s why they’re so difficult to deter or constrain

April 26, 2026 | Caleb Weiss |

JNIM and allied rebels surge across Mali, take several cities, pressure capital

Beginning on Saturday, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), and its allies in the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a collection of Tuareg and Arab rebel groups, fully or partially...

March 22, 2026 | Caleb Weiss |

Shabaab celebrates October attack on Mogadishu prison in new video

In a new video posted online as a so-called Eid celebration, Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, highlighted and celebrated last year’s assault on the Godka Jilacow prison in Mogadishu, which...

March 6, 2026 | Clifford D. May, David R. Shedd

The War Against Iran’s Jihadis: What’s Xi Got to Do With It?

February 10, 2026 | Bill Roggio, Edmund Fitton-Brown

The West’s greatest threat is still al Qaeda

July 29, 2025 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Replacing Iran with Turkey Is a Recipe for Disaster in Syria

The Syrian revolution was not an uprising for liberty, freedom, or democracy. It was a manifestation of Sunni Islamists, backed by Turkey and Qatar, venting their rage against the rule of Assad, supported...

July 11, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Ahmed Al-Shara’s Foreign Jihadist Problem

The man President Donald Trump hailed as a “tough guy” who will bring stability to Syria is empowering extremists tied to Al Qaeda.

May 16, 2025 | |

Abraham Accords Are Focus of Reported Israel-Syria Talks

Latest Developments Israeli, Syrian Officials Meet: Israel is reportedly holding talks with Syrian officials, even raising the possibility of Damascus joining the Abraham Accords — a series of bilateral...

March 8, 2025 | Mariam Wahba |

Double Dhimmi: The Plight of Christian Women in the Middle East.

The systemic persecution of Christian women in the Middle East underscores a harrowing reality that their suffering is not just the collateral damage in a war of ideologies but a targeted assault on the very essence of pluralism. It's time the West acknowledged the plight of the Dhimmi in its own battle for freedom and dignity.

February 25, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Netanyahu calls for the demilitarization of southern Syria

On February 23, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for southern Syria to remain demilitarized in the wake of the collapse of the Bashar al Assad regime. “We will not allow forces from the...

December 30, 2024 | |

Israel SitRep: December 30, 2024

Today’s Issue: | IDF Troops Eliminate “Many Dozens” of Terrorists in Overnight Ambush in Jabalya Area | IDF, Operating in Northern Gaza, Eliminates 14 Terrorists, Including Six October 7 Participants...

December 27, 2024 | Charlie Werb |

Turkey and JNIM: Jihadist messaging signals possible conflict between two ascending forces in the central Sahel

After years of Turkey progressively asserting its position in the central Sahel, recent months have seen Jamaat Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin (The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims, JNIM), Al Qaeda’s...

December 18, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

Jihadi history: Kenyan detainee transferred out of Guantanamo shows the extent of Al Qaeda’s jihad in East Africa

The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced yesterday that longtime Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu was transferred to his native Kenya. The Ugandan-born Kenyan national...

December 16, 2024 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Understanding Syria’s pleasantly surprising new ruler Sharaa

He told journalists the region’s problem is the Iran regime while he chooses diplomacy to settle disputes with Israel

December 8, 2024 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Assad Is Gone: What Happens to Syria Now?

On 9/11, Sunni Islamism attacked the U.S. and suffered a crushing American response that allowed Iranian Shia Islamism to rise and dominate parts of the Middle East. On 10/7, Shia Islamism – with the...

December 3, 2024 | Jonathan Schanzer, David Adesnik, Bill Roggio, Joe Dougherty

What’s next for Syria? Assad, Jihadist terrorist groups, and chemical weapons

July 13, 2024 | Caleb Weiss |

Jihadis mount prison mutinies across Africa

Over the last few days, jihadis have mounted two attacks inside prisons in Somalia and Niger. While the mutiny inside the Nigerien prison was successful, the Somali prison assault appears to have been...

July 8, 2024 | |

Turkey Open to Hosting Syrian Leader for Normalization Talks

Turkey is open to repairing ties with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad more than a decade after severing diplomatic relations with Damascus at the outbreak of the Syrian civil war...