Violence and Security

Islamic State Militants Conrinue Killing & Kidnapping in Syria

February 15, 2023

Islamic State (IS) extremists remain an active threat in Syria, with IS militants continuing to kill and kidnap civilians, most recently with 11 deaths and 64 abductions perpetrated in the ancient city of Palmyra, according to data from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Netherlands Follows Germany in Prosecution of Nationals for Crimes a Committed as Part of IS

February 13, 2023

Dutch prosecutors announced the forthcoming twelve women repatriated as foreign fighters for the Islamic State (IS), including one for crimes against humanity for her enslavement of Yazidi women captured by IS in Iraq, in a trial that mirrors Germany’s approach to trying its repatriated citizens for the crimes they committed as part of the IS terrorist caliphate.
Swedish Security Service Warns of Increased Islamist Threat in Aftermath of Quran Burning

February 08, 2023

The Swedish Security Service (SAPO), responsible for counter-terrorism and counter-espionage operations in the Nordic country, is warning of a significant threat increase in the form of violent attacks by Islamist extremists retaliating for last month’s Quran-burning by a far-Right activist in front of the Turkish Embassy in Sweden, with an overall deterioration in the country’s security environment due to an associated, widespread disinformation campaign claiming that Muslim children in Sweden are at risk of kidnapping by the country’s social welfare agencies.
IS Khorasan Province Province Is Durable Jihadist Threat With Global Aspirations

February 08, 2023

The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) originated as a Afghanistan-Pakistan focused branch of the IS caliphate rooted in Iraq and Syria, and ISKP is proving both durable and ambitious as a jihadist threat, based on the violent successes of its regional operations and the sophistication of its online propaganda for recruitment towards a globalized Islamist jihad.
Islamist Violence Rocks Central Africa with Attack in Democratic Republic of Congo

January 31, 2023

Islamist militants continue their violent destabilization of the region of Central Africa, evidenced in the recent multi-casualty attack on a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that state security officials attribute to IS-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an insurgent group operating across the Uganda-DRC border which, only two weeks ago, carried out a deadly attack on a DRC church.
Iran Hangs British-Iranian National in Effort to Shut Down Domestic Unrest & to Signal Contempt for West

January 17, 2023

Iran’s Islamic theocracy executed a dual British-Iranian national accused of espionage, in a signal of contempt for Western warnings against the hanging and in an effort to send a message to nation-wide protestors that all forms of dissent will be met with maximalist measure to protect the Islamic Revolution.
Jihadists Kidnap Women in Burkina Faso in Further Destabilization of African Security Environment

January 17, 2023

Jihadists kidnapped an estimated 60 women in Burkina Faso, where chronic poverty and poor governance have aggravated the country’s ongoing vulnerability to al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants whose operations are producing a precipitous in destabilization of the African Continent’s security environment.
Times Square New Year's Eve Attacker Brought Up on Federal Charges of Terrorism for Jihadist Commitments

January 17, 2023

The attempted murder charges against the assailant who attacked New York police officers with a machete at the Times Square New Year's Even celebrations is now being brought up on federal charges of terrorism on account of his self-declared violent Islamist commitments, including his intention to wage jihad against the US government.
IS Suicide Bomber Hits Kabul as Competing Islamist Groups Destabilize Afghanistan

January 17, 2023

IS claimed responsibility for a multi-casualty suicide bombing outside the Foreign Ministry in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, with the attack underscoring the destabilizing security environment and human costs of the jihadist competition for hegemony between IS and Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime.
US Announces $10 Mn Bounty on Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Leader

January 11, 2023

In a move signaling the intensification of US counter-terrorism operations against Islamist extremism in Africa, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program announced a $10 million bounty on Maalim Ayman, the al-Shabaab military mastermind of the 2020 attack by the Somali-based jihadist group on a Kenya based used by US counter-terrorism forces active in East Africa.