Al Qaeda loses one of its most experienced leaders in mysterious murder in Tehran
A shooting in a residential area of Tehran has claimed to have resulted in the death of Lebanese academic Habib Dawood, who had known ties to the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. However, there is no Lebanese academic by this name. As suspicion over the incident grew, news outlets came to
FBI finds al Qaeda link after breaking encryption on Pensacola attacker’s iPhone
Last year, a Saudi military trainee killed three US sailors and wounded several others in a terror attack on the Pensacola military base in Florida. New evidence shows that the trainee, Mohammed Alshamrani, was in communication with a suspected al Qaeda operative. After breaking through Alshamrani’s phone encryption, US investigators
Extremists see global chaos from virus as an opportunity
Although both the Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaeda acknowledge the health risk presented by coronavirus, some of their members see the global upheaval from the pandemic as an opportunity to hit countries at a time where they are already hurting and recruit more fighters. Recent messages from the groups
U.S. Operation Kills Qasim al-Raymi, Leader of al Qaeda in Yemen
In a drone strike earlier last week, the United States was successful in killing the leader of al Qaeda’s Yemen branch Qasim al-Raymi, who also served as deputy to the organization’s global leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. President Trump confirmed the reports on Thursday, although he did not provide many details about
US sends investigators to UAE and Saudi to probe CNN weapons violations findings
In September of this year, a delegation of officials with the US State Department and the Pentagon visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an attempt to verify the findings of a February report by CNN suggesting that US-made Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) sold to the UAE and Saudi
US Sees Rising Threat in the West From Qaeda Branch in Syria
Hurras al-Din, an al Qaeda affiliate in northwestern Syria, is plotting attacks on Western countries and poses a serious threat, US counterterrorism officials warn. Earlier this year, Washington’s concern about the rise of Hurras al-Din in Syria even prompted it to seek official permission by Russia to carry out airstrikes
ISIS’s West African Offshoot Is Following al Qaeda’s Rules for Success
Now that Islamic State has been defeated in Syria, analysts are warning about the rise of Jihadist groups in West Africa. One of the most successful organizations in the region is an off-shoot of ISIS known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). ISWAP is mainly active in the
The specter of Islamist extremism looms over West Africa
While the recent defeat of Islamic State in Syria certainly marks an important milestone in the fight against terrorism, analysts warn that West Africa is increasingly at risk of being overrun by jihadist fighters. Between November 2018 and March 23, violence related to the rise of extremist groups killed 4,776
Mali’s security crisis: A cycle of exploitation and corruption
Analysts are warning that the recent massacre of around 160 members of the predominantly Muslim Fulani herding community in central Mali is part of a security crisis in the country and the broader Sahel region. Over the past few years, militant groups linked to al-Qaeda have terrorized parts of Mali
US airstrikes in Somalia are killing civilians, Amnesty International says
On Tuesday, human rights organization Amnesty International released a report in which it claims that US airstrikes in Somalia have killed 14 civilians and injured 8 more. US airstrikes on the African country have increased under US President Trump. In 2018, 47 airstrikes were carried out, killing 338 members of