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Analysis: Somaliland’s lingering jihadi threat
Terrorists haven’t launched major attacks in Somaliland in more than a decade. However, this does not mean it doesn’t face any real threats from Shabaab or the Islamic State.
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Analysis: Iran escalates maritime conflict against Israel
Israel and its allies mull a response after an Iranian attack against an Israeli-operated ship off the coast of Oman.
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Analysis: Ivory Coast witnesses surge in jihadist activity
Northern Ivory Coast has seen a substantial increase in suspected jihadist attacks since March of this year. Much of the violence is emanating from southwestern Burkina Faso, where al Qaeda’s Katibat Macina is expanding.
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Analysis: 17 Palestinian militant factions identified in recent Gaza conflict
More than a dozen Palestinian militants factions fought against the Israel Defense Forces during the recent conflict in Gaza.
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Analysis: Predicting the coming Taliban offensive
Taliban will continue to wage its war against a weakened Afghan government to resurrect its Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. A look at how the Taliban may attempt to achieve this goal now that U.S. forces, which were unable to prevent the Taliban from seizing key rural districts, will soon be gone.
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Analysis: Syrian missile explodes near Israeli nuclear facility
Official statements about a military confrontation between Israel and Syria casts doubt leading to a more probable explanation into what occurred Thursday morning.
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Analysis: Israel’s three-front conflict with Iran
A tit for tat exchange of retaliatory attacks has taken place between Israel and Iran over recent weeks which has the potential to push both powers towards a wider conflict.
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Analysis: Al Qaeda continues to operate throughout Afghanistan
Based on reports from Al Qaeda, the United Nations, and press reports, the terror group and its allies are operating in 21 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
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Analysis: Israel’s key Middle East concerns in 2021
As Iran tensions grow in the region, a look at Israel’s view of the necessity for a robust US role in the Middle East
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Analysis: Iranian state textbooks incite terrorism
Unsurprisingly, Iran’s official government textbooks continue to incite hatred, extremism, and terrorism.
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Analysis: Hezbollah renews threats in publication, fails to make an impression
Recent publications by Hezbollah have failed to get the message across to its intended audience which suggests the effectiveness of some of the group’s propaganda is waning.
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Analysis: Israeli military targets Hezbollah activity in Syria
Recent airstrikes in southern Syria indicate Israel’s attempt to thwart Hezbollah activity near the Golan border.
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Analysis: A History of Targeted Killings Attributed to the Mossad
Following the killing of Al Qaeda’s Abu Muhammad al-Masri, the Mossad’s history of targeted killings comes into focus.
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Analysis: Al Qaeda’s deputy emir killed in Iran
The New York Times and other press outlets have confirmed that Abu Muhammad al-Masri, al Qaeda’s deputy emir, was killed in an Israeli operation in Tehran on Aug. 7. His death was originally reported on an al-Qaeda-linked social media account.
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Analysis: Islamic State official critiques Al Qaeda in the Sahel
In an interview with the Islamic State’s Al-Naba newsletter, Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, attempts to paint al Qaeda’s efforts in the region as rife with internal squabbles and disunity.
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Analysis: One year after the targeted killing of PIJ commander Baha Abu al-Ata
A year after the killing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Baha Abu al-Ata, Israel continues to come under attack from Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.
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Analysis: U.S. confirms senior al Qaeda leader killed in Afghan raid
The U.S. has confirmed that Husam Abd-al-Ra’uf, a senior al Qaeda leader, was killed in Ghazni province earlier this month. The head of the National Counterterrorism Center touts his death as a “major setback” for al Qaeda and one of its “strategic losses,” but that is doubtful.
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Analysis: The IRGC runs for high office in Tehran
63-year-old IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan is eying the Iranian presidency. If his candidacy is approved and he is elected in 2021, Dehghan will be the Islamic Republic’s first military president, a development with significant implications for Iranian domestic politics and foreign policy.
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Analysis: JNIM celebrates prisoner swap in Mali
In exchange for the release of dozens of imprisoned members from Mali’s prisons, Al Qaeda’s Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has freed four hostages, three of them foreign. JNIM has since celebrated the prisoner swap, including a personal appearance by its overall emir, Iyad Ag Ghaly, in northern Mali.
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Analysis: Don’t trust estimates of Al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan
The U.S. government, military, and intelligence services have provided inaccurate assessments of Al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan for more than a decade. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued that tradition by recent regurgitating that Al Qaeda has fewer than 200 fighters in the country. This estimate, like previous ones, should not be trusted.
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Analysis: A ‘Tired’ Taliban talking point
American politicians, military leaders, and reporters have been claiming that the Taliban is “tired,” “desperate,” “war weary” and other such statements for the past decade and a half. Yet the Taliban keeps fighting.
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Analysis: Iranian-backed group in Bahrain creates sub-unit to target Israeli interests
In the first official Bahraini militant statement since the announcement of a peace deal between Bahrain and Israel, Saraya Wa’ad Allah says it is opening its doors for recruitment for a new sub-unit dedicated to attacking Israelis on the island.
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Analysis: Taliban is caught in a lie by denying Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan
The Taliban’s denial of Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan means that one of the two groups are not telling the truth. Either Al Qaeda has crafted an elaborate scheme to pretend it fights in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban, or the Taliban is lying, and Al Qaeda has fought there for decades and remains to this day.
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Analysis: Taliban again denies presence of foreign fighters in Afghanistan
The Taliban’s statement should raise deep concerns with U.S. officials about the group’s reliability to be an effective counterterrorism partner against Al Qaeda and other terror groups.
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Analysis: Palestinian factions warn Israel against West Bank annexation
Palestinian militant factions have issued statements against the annexation of the West Bank and warn of violence if Israel proceeds with its plan.
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Analysis: Iran’s propaganda game inside Iraq
Several groups have recently emerged inside Iraq that have claimed strikes against US troops. However, they all appear to be part of a calculated propaganda campaign propagated by Iran and its allies against the United States inside Iraq.
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Analysis: Soleimani’s last will and testament
The slain Qassem Soleimani’s last will and testament provides key insight into his worldview and the legacy he sought.
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Analysis: Islamic State claims Al Qaeda started a war in West Africa
In the latest edition of its Al-Naba newsletter, the Islamic State claims that Al Qaeda started a war against the so-called caliphate’s men in West Africa. Independent reporting shows the two sides have clashed in recent weeks.
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Analysis: The Islamic State’s ideological campaign against al-Qaeda
In late April, the Islamic State’s Yemen “province” released a video attacking al-Qaeda’s ideological credentials. The video is the latest piece of propaganda in the Islamic State’s campaign against its jihadist rival.
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Analysis: AQAP’s new emir reaffirms allegiance to Zawahiri, praises Taliban
Last week, AQAP released an audio message form its new emir, Khalid Batarfi. In it, Batarfi renews his allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri on behalf of AQAP. He also praises the Taliban and Shabaab.
