AQAP praises Shabaab’s activities in East Africa
In the latest issue of its Sada al-Malahem magazine, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) heaped significant praise on recent operations conducted by Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch in East...
Tawhid
Islamic State’s current da’wah campaign across Africa
Since the beginning of the year, the Islamic State’s central media apparatus has made a concerted effort to highlight its men engaging in da’wah across the African continent. These actions...
Op-eds
Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership praises jihadists in Mali and Somalia
Al-Qaeda’s senior management, or general command, has released a two-page statement praising the jihadists in Mali and Somalia. Al-Qaeda has strong branches in both East and West Africa, and the international...
Op-eds
Playing yesterday’s game: India’s real foreign policy challenges lie in its neighbourhood
The South China Sea is several seas away from us. The NSG membership will happen some time after we (the people and the government) have stopped hyperventilating about it. Instea...
Op-eds
Al Qaeda-Linked Group Claims Responsibility for Rocket Attacks on Israel
The Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC), an al Qaeda-linked group, has claimed credit for a rocket attack on Israel early this morning. Two rockets landed in Sderot, Israe...
Op-eds
Palestinian Jihadist Trainer Killed Fighting for Al Nusrah Front
Co-authored by David Barnett A Palestinian jihadist military trainer and commander who was a member of the Tawhid and Jihad Group in Jerusalem and who previously served with Ham...
Op-eds
Tawhid and Jihad Official Praises Fellow Gazan Jihadists and Calls for Unity
By David Barnett On Nov. 21, an audio speech from Abdullah Jihad al Ashqar (Abu al Muhtasib al Maqdisi), a media official for Tawhid and Jihad Group in Jerusalem, was released t...
Op-eds
Mujahideen Shura Council is Consolidation of Salafi-Jihadist Groups in Gaza: Sources
By David Barnett On Saturday, the Israeli Air Force killed Abu al Walid al Maqdisi (a.k.a....
Op-eds
LIFG and Al Qaeda: A Response to Zelin
On Friday, I had a post at G&L questioning the field’s conve...
Op-eds
Shabaab Formally Joins al Qaeda
Shabaab and al Qaeda have announced their formal merger, according to a video disseminated online today and translated by the SITE Intelligence group. In the video, Mukhtar Abu al Zubayr (a.k.a....
Op-eds
In Defense of Ayaan Hirsi Ali & Afshin Ellian
Paul Berman's book, The Flight of the Intellectuals, which was neglected or dismissed by many in the liberal press without its reviewers seriously engaging with its arguments, deals es...
Op-eds
Is ‘Constructive Disengagement’ the Solution in Somalia?
On Thursday, Joshua Foust published an article at PBS's Need to Know that, though avoiding the term "constructive disengagement," mirrors the arguments advanced by Bronwyn Bruton's repo...
Op-eds
Understanding al-Shabaab
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Madeleine Gruen The advance of Islamist groups in Somalia is seen as a cause for concern by Western law enforcement and...
Op-eds
The Strategic Challenge of Somalia’s Al-Shabaab
Since emerging from an era of colonialism under Italy and Britain, Somalia has passed through military dictatorship, famine, and civil war to regional fragmentation. In the modern period, America...
Op-eds
Intercepted Letters from al-Qaeda Leaders Shed Light on State of Network in Iraq
Yesterday, Center for Terrorism Research (CTR) adjunct fellow Bill Roggio posted an...
Op-eds
Lebanon’s Militia Wars
Lebanon's civil war was a complex, multisided battle whose implications still shape the country's politics today. This article analyzes the forces involved domestically and the course o...